I'm Letting Go

I have been walking in a season where I am learning to let go and trust God more.  I wish I could say I am passing every test with flying colors but sorry that is not the case.  I tend to focus on the problem and how I can fix it instead of looking to God and what He says about the situation.  Jenn Johnson puts trust in a great perspective.  She said true trust is always believing that all of God's intentions toward us are always good!  Sounds simple doesn't it?

Because I was not walking in this simple truth I was wearing myself out trying to calm all the storms that were raging in my life.  Recently I cried out to God saying I could not handle it anymore.  Now I am sure He was waiting for that exact moment when I said I cannot do this anymore because He was great to step into the situation and show me His perspective.  The storms that appeared so big to me are so tiny in comparison to Him.  With one step of His foot He can crush the storms because He is towering over them.

I am still walking this truth out but it is so liberating.  When the storms rise at work I sense the frustrations coming on and I look to Him and peace returns.  Recently a situation happened that I allowed the storms to again rise up and the waves to crash against me.  Like Peter I focused on the wave and started to sink as I felt the water closing in on me.  God broke through and began showing me the truth of that situation.  He showed me that well intentioned words spoken to me when they went into my inner man became twisted and spoke against my identity in God.  After the fact God spoke two words to me:  inferiority complex.  Not being sure of the exact meaning of these words I googled it and here is what I discovered.

An inferiority complex is a lack of self-worth, a doubt and uncertainty, and feeling of not measuring up to society's standards.

This definition spoke to my old man and not my new identity in God.  God says He has called me to greatness!  God's plans for me according to Jeremiah 29:11 are for my good and not my harm and to give me a hope and a future. 

So instead of seeing myself as worthless and not measuring up I began reminding myself of who God says that I am and because the well intentioned words attacked God's plan for me I reminded myself of the hope and promise He had given me even if I am only stepping into a small portion of His plans for me.

I am learning, slowly at times, how to let go and just trust God in any and every situation that arises.  I am learning, again slowly at times, how to keep my focus on Him and not on the storms that rage around me.  I am discovering that as I focus on Him my perspective on the storm changes as well and I begin to see it as God does.  But first I need to continually learn to let go of the control and just fall into God. 

I love the new song by Steffany Frizzel Gretzinger called Letting Go.  I believe this has become my theme song for learning to walk in greater levels of trust.  I also love Proverbs 3:5-6.  I have shared two different translations below because I love how both of them bring out different truths of this Godly promise.

One last thing; I also shared a picture from the movie Titanic because every time I listen to any song off of the new Tides album I get this vision in my head but instead of the characters in the movie I am standing at the front of the ship with my arms spread wide experiencing complete abandonment and freedom in God.

May you too learn to let go of control and learn to trust God more.  May we continually fall into Him with complete abandonment and freedom.

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths

Proverbs 3:5-12

The Message (MSG)

^5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
    Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
    your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
    give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
    your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
    don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
    a father’s delight is behind all this.

 

Through and Through Will Reagan

Today as I was listening to music and working I came across a song by Will Reagan called Through and Through. This song was so worth sharing because it so greatly portrays how our great love relationship with God is supposed to me.  Listen to the song with your eyes closed and just envision your father God's arms wrapped lovingly around you.  I also included the lyrics below.  Blessings.


I find that I'm safe and warm
In your loving arms

I find that I'm safe and warm
In your loving arms

You see me
And You know me
And You love me
Through and through

You see me
And You know me
And You love me
Through and through

You see me
And You know me
And You love me
Through and through

Bryan & Katie Torwalt - I'm a Lover of Your Presence (Live @ JCEncounter...

When God speaks to you, do you ever feel as if the record is stuck in the same place and the same phrase is repeated over and over again?  That is how I have felt lately and it is not a bad thing either.  The one word I continue to hear God speak to me is love.  He speaks words of love to me personally and He speaks words of love about His bride the church.  As I continue to hear His love declarations to me my hearts cry is for others to hear these love declarations as well.  I long for the church to know how great His love is and to learn how to show that love to others.  If we do not receive His great love for us how can we in turn love those around us?

To experience all the greatness of God we must learn to put Him first, to seek Him, and to spend quality time with Him.  We must learn to not allow the distractions of this world to drag our attention and focus away from God.  This weekend Holy Spirit has been showing me how important He truly is.  I have many things to get done in preparation for a business trip I will be going on soon but it paled in comparison to my hunger and desire for more of Him. As I allowed my Mary spirit to take over Holy Spirit and I experienced some sweet, sweet time together.  In all my years of following after God I have never experienced anything as great as this and I am praying it only gets better from here.  Will everything get done that needs to be done?  Yes, but now the stress will not be present because I am so overwhelmed with the presence of God that is all I am aware of.  He has become my focus and I am so undone by how truly wonderful He is.  If our earthly worship of God can be this great and amazing how much more will we experience when we are in heaven face to face with the one we love?  The very thought of it undoes me!  I am sure I cannot even imagine how great it will be. 

Today may you realize that all you really need to is love.  Begin to allow God to pour His love out on you.  Begin to take steps towards Him because as you take small steps towards Him He will begin to take giant steps towards you.  May you truly learn what it means to become a lover of His presence.

Allow me to share the words of a spontaneous worship song from Bethel Church... I don't want to talk about any other lovers, your the only one there will be no others for me now, no others for me now.  May we only know God and God only as our lover.

For Such a Time as This - Mandisa

Recently as I was talking with some other women I noticed a general theme begin to emerge in our conversation.  We were all struggling with our identities, worth and value.  We struggled with negative feelings that drew us away from God and spending time with Him, we struggled with not being overwhelmed by the cares and concerns of this life, and I know I personally struggled with acting like I still had it all together as I was weathering the storms.  Unfortunately thru the years I have developed a bad habit of stuffing my feelings.  I hear Joyce Meyer's voice going through my head as I type this "something buried alive never dies."  Guess this is true because I have buried my negative feelings for so long they are resurrecting themselves in my life when I least expect it.  And those negative feelings know just where to dig to hurt the most, my identity. 

I think women in general struggle to truly understand their importance, I know I do.  Too many times in my short life I know I have felt so unimportant I did not see any reason to continue living, but when I was at my lowest God was always good to be there with me.  He would remind me that He created me for a purpose and that I was important.

Recently I listened to a message by Brian Houston on confidence.  In this message he touched on identity and he declared that we not only had worth and value but we were also qualified.  Now I have never heard anyone declare identity using the word qualify, it made me stop and think.  So many times I have struggled with feeling qualified to do a lot of things but the biggest struggle has been the areas God has called me in.

The more I prayed and mediated on this word the more I began to believe that yes I am qualified. I believe my feelings of being unqualified have come from that fact that what God calls us to do is normally beyond our realm of ability.    Another area that has made me feel unqualified is when I have sought the approval, affirmation, or confirmation of my calling from man.  As with any calling we can get wisdom and advice from man but we need to learn to trust God and follow His ways to glorify Him in the calling that He has placed on us.  Allow Holy Spirit to continually remind you how qualified you are.  God's word declares that we can do ALL things through him because He enables us. 

Psalm 139 is a great example in the Word declaring how important and qualified we are to God.  He knew us before we were ever born and every day of our life is recorded in His book.  He knew our yesterday, He knows our today, and He knows our tomorrow.  How amazing.

Psalm 139:13-16

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

So if God formed us and He knows every day of our life before it has even happened,  why do we always want to change our life?  Personally I know if I could change certain things about my life I would do so in a nanosecond.  I would be taller, more outgoing, have perfect hair, etc.  I may want to be taller, live elsewhere, be more outgoing, and so on and so forth but I know that God has me where He wants me in this specific time and place for His plan and purpose for my life.
 
As I was working on this blog and typing the above God gave me this vision.  Imagine Him looking down at you as you go about your day.   Imagine Him asking you to do something for Him that day and you said no either out of fear or laziness.  You then go about your way doing your own thing and ignore what God has asked you to do.  The picture now changes and God looks down at the page in His book that He had written for you and starts erasing what was there and replacing it with what we did.  Can you see Him saying "crud that did not happen, guess I'll have to erase what I had for them and re-write the day for what they wanted instead."  When the vision first came to me I laughed because it seemed so ridiculous but the more I thought about it the sadder I became.

How many times do we go our own way, do our own thing, and ignore the promptings and guiding's of Holy Spirit?  Imagine if Esther had ignored her uncles warning and had not gone into the king uninvited seeking deliverance for her and her people?  Would God have raised up someone else or would He have allowed His people to be destroyed?  She was very important for that time and for that purpose.

I believe we too are that important for the time and place that God has placed us in.  What has God spoken to you about you?  What plan does He have for you?  I know when you seek Him He is good to start revealing to you His plans.  He will declare that He has prepared you for such as time as this!  Do not get impatient with Him, His timing is perfect.  When man starts to declare over you something different than God just love them and stand firm in who God says you are.  I know personally I am not man's choice.  People look at me and they see a petite timid woman but when God looks at me He sees me as the women He has designed and created me to be.

Today begin declaring to yourself who God says you are.  Beth Moore in her Believing God series has a five point statement that I believe goes well with this. 

1. God is who He says He is
2. God can do what He says He can do
3. I am who God says I am
4. I can do all things in Christ
5. God's word is alive and active in me

Now declare I Believe God!  Because if we do not believe Him and what He is saying we cannot step into the fullness of all He has for us.  We cannot live the good plans He has recorded in His book for us.

I love Mandisa's song from The Story on Esther Born for this, it goes so well with this message that God has laid on my heart.  Enjoy.

 

Beautiful - Remind Me Who I Am

Recently I was shown the video for the new Dove Commercial.  In the commercial a woman enters the room and is asked to describe herself to an artist that never looks at her.  He proceeds to draw the portrait of the woman based off of her description.  Once he is finished she leaves and another individual enters the room.  The second person has meet the woman who just left and they too are asked to describe her to the artist.  He begins a second portrait of the woman based off the second individuals description.  Once complete the two portraits are placed side by side and the woman returns.  When she views the two portraits it is obvious which one is based on how she sees herself and which one is how others see her.  In every case the woman realizes how truly beautiful she is.

Now imagine that you were asked to do the same thing.  You enter the room describe yourself to the artist and a portrait is created.  Now instead of another person coming in after you God enters the room, sits down and starts describing you to the artist.  How truly different would the portraits be?  I am sure the portrait of me that is based off of God's description will differ greatly from the one based off of my description.

It is so much easier for us to see the bad and believe the negative then to see the good and believe the positive.  As I have stated in a previous blog, God created us in His image and when He looks at us He calls us His creation good.  Who are we to call His creation bad?

Instead of seeing your flaws and short comings ask God how He sees you?  Gaze long and hard at that portrait until you see yourself the same way.  Everything may not be perfect and you may even feel overwhelmed at times but know that God has it all covered.  Allow Him to fill you with His peace, joy, and assurance.  Know as well that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.  You are beautiful a true master piece!

I have attached the link to the video and below that I have Jason Grays song Remind Me Who I Am.  Daily allow God to remind you who you are to Him.

Blessings.

Love

Have you ever noticed that the enemy loves to attack us when we are most vulnerable and his best area of attack is in our minds?  Most of the enemy's attacks are the same as they have been in the past and in areas where victories have occurred.  So why do we continue to experience attacks in the same area?  I believe that the enemy cannot come up with anything new to attack us with and even though we have experienced victories in these areas it is still a sensitive vulnerable area that has caused us the most hurt and pain.

These attacks seem to occur on a regular basis in my own life.  The enemy knows my weak spots and where I am most vulnerable.  The seed of a wrong thought is planted and immediately doubt and unbelief enter the picture.  The enemy whispers in my ear that this situation will not work out, what you want will never occur, just give up now it is no good, God is not going to do what He said He would do.  I begin to remind the enemy of who God is, what He said He would do, and begin to declare God's word and promises over the situation.  At this point the enemy's voice becomes louder as he tries to force me to look at the problem and how things are in that moment.  He tries to lie to me telling me nothing will ever change for the better. 

He knows my weak and vulnerable spot is with rejection.  While I have experienced freedom and victories in this area it is still where he loves to attack the most.  It is where the wrong thoughts begin to occur as is the case in what happened recently.  I recognized the attack for what it was, an attack from the enemy, and immediately began declaring God's word and promises over the situation.  But has I declared the enemy's voice continued to get louder and louder until he was screaming "it is never going to change, those you want to be in a relationship with do not want to be in a relationship with you."  Finally in desperation I cried out to God declaring I was tired of the trip around this mountain, I was tired of listening to these lies over and over again.  To be honest I was just plain tired of  looking at this mountain and going around it.  Even though the mountain had shrunk and the trip had become shorter it was no longer a trip I wanted to make.

When I am unsure of where to go in God's word to gain victory I begin with my go to verse, 1 Corinthians 13.  Love is the answer for everything.  Have a difficult boss, love is patient love is kind and as one translation declares love is not provoked. Begin to declare these things over yourself and the situation and all of a sudden your boss is no longer a problem.  As I read this chapter words began to jump off the page at me. The first was I was bankrupt without love.  I was going around this mountain because I had a love deficit.  Hello, what a simple solution to the problem.  I just needed a fresh infilling of God's love in me so I could walk in love towards those around me, even the ones I was feeling rejected by.  How simple yet profound. 

How could I walk in love towards anyone, especially those I was feeling rejected by, if I was not full of God's love?  As I began to focus on God and love on God He began to fill me to overflowing with His love.  Did the thoughts go away, not really but the voice that was speaking them became so quiet I no longer heard it.  As I began to focus on God and allow Him to fill me with His love he began to do what only He could do.  He began to turn the situation around.  The ones I had felt rejected by began seeking me out, they began to contact me and I suddenly realized that what I had been declaring was beginning to take place.  God was blessing me with new friendships and relationships.  Because God's love for us is so great He loves to do good things for His children and bless us beyond measure.

In the midst of this attack I received an assignment at church to mediate on 1 Cor 4:20.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.   The Message translation phrases this as an empowered life. When I first read this verse I began asking God how to live an empowered life.  So while God is good to bless He is also good to answer and teach when we ask.  He began to show me after reading 1 Cor 13 that love equals power.  In order to live an empowered life you must learn to love.  Think about it, in the beginning of 1 Cor 13 it states we can do all sorts of great and powerful things but without love it is nothing.  This puts some fear in me because I want to do great and powerful things for God but I want them to be done with His love flowing through me.

I believe Heidi Baker states it the best to live a life of love we must love God and love the one in front of us.  We cannot even begin to live an empowered life without first loving God, because if we do not love Him and receive His love then we have nothing to love others with.  When we love God and allow Him to fill us full of His love then we will have an overabundance of love available to flow through us.  I believe God gave me a great vision to illustrate this.  In my vision I saw myself standing with God standing over me holding a pitcher.   When I was an open vessel He was able to pour His love into me but when I was closed then the love bounced off the closed lid and hit the ground useless.  Be an open vessel so He can fill you full of His love!

Below I have listed 1 Cor 13 from the message bible and the different translations of 1 Cor 4:20.  Below all that is the song The Proof of Your Love.  Praying this blesses and encourages you and makes you realize how great God's love is for you.

1 Corinthians 13

The Message (MSG)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

² If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
^3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

¹¹ When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
¹² We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
¹³ But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

1 Corinthians 4:20

 

NET ©	For the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk but with power.
NIV ©	For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
NASB ©	For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
NLT ©	For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God’s power.
MSG ©	God's Way is not a matter of mere talk; it's an empowered life.
BBE ©	For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
NRSV ©	For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power.
NKJV ©	For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

He's Alive

Sunday is coming!  Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Sunday we once again remember how great is God's love for us in that He allowed His one and only son to die for us.  Today and not just Sunday may you be overwhelmed by God's great love for you.  Take time out of your busy schedules to praise Him and thank Him for all He has done!

He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God (Rom 4:25 NLT).

Happy Resurrection Day!  Jesus is Alive!!!

Treasures - Spring O Well

Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that a lot of earthly treasures like silver and gold are buried in the earth?  Individuals seeking those treasures must work to dig them out sometimes in harsh unstable environments. There are numerous shows on television now about gold mining ,but the one that I first started seeing these nuggets of truth was Bearing Sea Gold.  The Bearing Sea is mighty cold.  The water temperatures average between 34-45 degrees and I believe the water can get even colder than that.  Can you imagine mining for gold in this environment?  God sure hid those earthly treasures good!

So if man is willing to go to such extreme lengths to reach a treasure that does not satisfy why are Christians not going to the same extremes to unearth Godly treasures?  Why are we not digging into His word to reveal the treasures that lie within?  Why are we not going to extremes to proclaim His truth to others? Why do we not worship Him with all that is within us?  If we truly love God and desire more and more of Him than why is He not first in our lives?

If we developed such an intimate close relationship with God where His love flowed freely to us and through us then I believe we would not have to dig for the Godly treasures that lie deep within.  I believe it will be as the first gold miners proclaimed:  the gold is lying on the ground all you have to do is pick it up.  We would truly understand how great is God's love towards us.  That He lavishes not only His love on us but all good things.  We would be walking in complete and divine healing and deliverance.  We would be loving God and loving the one in front of us.

In Psalm 84 God's word proclaims one of the treasures available to His children, that He will withhold NO good thing from those whose walk is blameless.  Now I know we are not perfect, but when God looks at us all He sees is Jesus in us.  Guess what Jesus was blameless so that means we have everything we need in Him.  Makes you want to dance!!!

• For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.  He gives us grace and glory.  The Lord will  withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.  Ps 84:11 NLT
•  the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those who walk is blameless.  Psalm 84:11

After showing me the treasures lying on top of the ground God also showed me a stream that was flowing freely in a beautiful meadow.  I believe He was showing me that more treasure was to be found in the stream.  As God was revealing this word to me He also brought to me the song Spring Up O Well.  At this point I started to question God.  One the song is a bit old school and I truly doubted it would be on YouTube.  Second a well is underground not above and everything He was showing me was above ground.

The word says ask and you shall receive.  Well God was great to answer my question.  He took me to the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Women in John 4 and then He took me to John 7:38.  God gives great answers, by the time I got to John 7:38 I was shouting and dancing it is that good!


John 4 contains the story about Jesus and the Samaritan Woman.   Vs 10 If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.  vs 14 Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

John 7:38 declares that Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said streams of living water will flow from within him.

The Amplified translations says it well also:

³⁸ He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.

 

The well springs up and the stream flows!  I believe the well symbolizes God's love within us. If we are filled to overflowing with God's love, if we believe in, trust in, and rely on Him then that love will begin to spring up out of that well to become streams of living water that will affect all those who come in contact with it.  We will not only be able to pick up the treasures God has readily available for us such as healing and wholeness but we will have such an abundance that we will be able to give some of the treasure away as well.

Enjoy the song, it is a short one this time!

The Way You Love Me (Jeremy Camp)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

² If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
^3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

¹¹ When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
¹² We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
¹³ But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

I love how the message bible translates 1 Cor 13.  We are given three things:  faith, hope, and love but the greatest of these is love and we are to love extravagantly!  We cannot totally fathom or understand how great God's love is towards us.  We may try at times, we may even grasp a measure of it, but I do not believe we have really and truly experienced how great His love is for us.  I know at times when I have tried I have been overwhelmed and completely undone by how great His love for me is.  Imagine if He revealed all of His love towards me.  I may still be on the floor enjoying Him!!!

The flow of love from God to me is simple I love Him and He loves me but that is only part of the great commission.  In the second part we are commanded to love others as we love ourselves.  I know personally I could not even begin to love others until I first began to love myself.  Learning to love myself was not easy and is a process I am continually walking out with God.  Daily I must remind myself what God says about me so I begin to walk out how love is described in 1 Cor 13.  After all the word says "love cares more for others more than for self."   I wish I could say I have it all down.  I love God, myself, and others but it is still a process that is being worked out.   But this is what I do know:  God's love is a waterfall flowing down on us and then it becomes a river flowing out of us.  My river may be small now but it is continually growing.

One way I believe that the river can grow is by putting God's love into action.  Love is more than a feeling we have towards something, it is a verb.  A verb, for all of you who may have forgotten, is a word that conveys an action.  I have been praying on how I can personally put God's love into action and how I can take others along with me.  God recently gave me a wonderful vision regarding this that I truly believe goes along with the prophetic word Corrie Ten Boom had over Northwest Arkansas.  For those of you who do not know Corrie's word over this region was that she saw a great revival taking place here.  For years I have heard this and for years I have always been told it would occur within a particular church.  I am not saying this won't happen but God does not see us as as a particular denomination, He sees the "church" as His bride.  The church is the believer and not a building or a denomination.

In my vision I saw two puzzle pieces, the two puzzle pieces represented two different churches in this area.  In the vision the two pieces were joined together.  Together these two churches were training and equipping the body of Christ to put God's love into action within the community.  The impact they had was to such an extent that other churches (puzzle pieces) were joined together with the first two to create a great and bigger picture of the love of God in action.  It was not just one church here and one church there, it was the body working together!  With the churches joining together to put God's love into action in Northwest Arkansas revival was sparked and the atmosphere was changed and electrified to the glory of God.

What an amazing and awe inspiring image!  I am honored that God would reveal this to me and pray continually that He would bring this to pass as only He can do.

As I prayed over this message I believe the new Jeremy Camp song The Way You Love Me conveys this message so well.  If we showed the world around us how God loves us it would entice them to want Him to.  Let His light shine through you now and always.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Matt Redman

Today I read online that the worlds ugliest woman was buried. The headline was enough to capture my attention as I wondered why anyone would deserve such a title.  The woman actually lived in the 1800's and because of some medical defects that gave her an ape like appearance and facial hair the world deemed her the ugliest woman.  The man who married her exploited her in a carnival freak show and even her son who lived a matter of days was embalmed and exploited because he too bore his mother's defects.  When she died her body continued to remain part of the freak show until someone 150 years later said enough was enough and it was time for her to be buried.

The point of this story is no matter what this woman looked like she was created in God's image.  To Him she was His beautiful creation, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!  I first heard the song Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Matt Redman in October at a women's encounter.  I loved the song because it so greatly illustrates Psalm 139.  

We are so fearfully and wonderfully made!  We are all made in God's likeness, in His image.  How can we call something ugly that is supposed to reflect what God looks like?  How can we look at our flaws and maybe the things we most dislike about ourselves the most and not see the beautiful one that God created?  When God looks at us He sees a beautifully wonderfully created being.  Begin to see yourself as God does.  Stop looking at the flaws and failures and begin to live your life fully for Him.

Because I use music so much in this blog I was disappointed that I could not find the song anywhere on YouTube so I created my own video and received permission from the record label to post online.  I hope you enjoy my first attempt at creating my own video's. 

I Still Believe Kim Walker Smith

Today when I woke up the song I Still Believe was on my heart.  As I listened to the song the words began to overwhelm me and I had to stop what I was doing and allow the music to wash over me.  I had to allow God to do a work in me.  It is so easy to sing a song and even to feel and be moved by the power of the music but it is another to dwell on the words and say do I really believe them?  Do I believe that God is still powerful?  Do I still believe that God keeps His word?  Do I still believe that He is sufficient and can meet my every need?  Do I still believe He can heal the deaf ear and open the blind eyes?  Do I fully trust God?

I realized as I tried to type this post that no I was not fully trusting God.  I believe this was the song God wanted me to share today but I struggled to find the right words to put in this post.  What message was I to share when I had not fully understood the message myself?  I had to take time to finish allowing God to speak to me.  I realized fear was holding me back.  I was afraid I had stepped outside of God's timing on a situation and had messed everything up.  That I was either trying to place myself or I had not heard God in that area.  I don't know about you but every time fear raises its ugly head I start to doubt that I hear from God.  Not only do I doubt I hear from God I fear that His promise of healing will never come to pass in my life.

I took some time as I was struggling with this post to pray.  I asked for forgiveness if I had stepped outside of God's timing and to fix any mess I may have made of the situation.  I also prayed and declared that God's word is true, even if I do not see a physical healing in my body today I know that God is still willing and able and His word will come to pass in my life.  Last I declared that I do hear from God and I do believe He speaks to me.  As I prayed, praised, and declared a peace settled over me that I knew was from God.  To maintain this peace I may need to make this a daily act for awhile but I know that I will come to a place where the peace will stay, a place where I do not waver in doubt and unbelief, a place where I fully trust God.

God totally knew what He was getting into when He called and chose me.  I was no surprise to Him at all.  He knows how I will respond to His destinies He has spoken over me, that at first I may declare no way!  But over time I will allow Him to soften my heart to His request because I know He only has good plans for me.  My original response of no way is just fear raising it's ugly head because while God's plans are good and to give me a hope and a future they are also overwhelming.

Some who have heard my story about starting this blog are shocked that I argued with God.  I said no way, no how was I doing this.  I had allowed fear to enter.  Fear I would have nothing to say and fear that no one would read whatever I posted. It took months for Him to work on me so I would get to a place where I said okay.  I even recall I was in church one night when God gave me the name for the blog.  Here is my response:  "That is a great name God.  I'll even right that down but I am not doing it."  I even told God no one would read the blog because I wasn't telling anyone.  Well guess what!  That changed too.  I personally like to think that through this whole process God would look down at me, smile, shake His head, and know He was going to have His way in me.  I am so glad He did.

Despite all my fears and short comings I know that God still loves me, He has chosen me, He is doing a work in me, and yes He does speak to me.  As we develop a more intimate relationship with each other I fall more deeply in love with Him.  The voices of fear, doubt, and unbelief are becoming more distant as they are being evicted from my life.

I am thankful for each and everyone of you.  I am thankful that God has connected us physically and/or electronically.  I am thankful that God continues to speak to me and has given me a sensitivity to what He would have me post.  I pray the posts bless you as much as they do me and I pray that you will each fall more deeply in love with God and develop a more intimate relationship with Him.  Pursue and chase after Him because you will find Him. As Bill Johnson's brother stated we need to become hopeless romantic soldiers.  We need to know the aroma of the one we love and desire that above all else.

Today I have shared the song I Still Believe by Kim Walker Smith.  Listen to the words and allow them to change you.  Know that darkness cannot stand in the presence of the almighty God.  May our faith grow in leaps and bounds as we seek Him.

It is good (Matthew West & Leigh Nash

I love spending time with my sisters in Christ.  Every time we get together I am inspired.  And no matter what I feel God has laid on my heart to share in this blog it seems to get changed after we meet.  This morning during our time together we watched the video The Story.  If you have not watched it I highly recommend, such an uplifting encouraging video that brings the Bible to life in such beautiful visual imagery with wonderful music.  All the songs touched and moved me and to be honest I could possibly post a blog about each of the songs but since you probably do not want to read 13 blog posts back to back I chose one.   For now!  I can make no promises for later. 

The song by Matthew West and Leigh Nash Good put to music the story of Adam and Eve.  Throughout the song one phrase continued to be song:  "it is good."  As I listened to the song and heard the phrase "it is good" over and over I was reminded that everything God created He called good.   When I think of God creating man and woman in His own image and calling it good then how can I look at myself and declare what is not good.  How can I allow the negative hurtful words of my past or present be thought or spoken over my life by me?  I know I cannot control others but I can control what I think or say, so why am I declaring words over my life that do not line up with what God says?

If negative words have been spoken over you and you have dwelt on that negativity then today begin to see yourself as God does because He has said it is good.  I know this is a daily walk in my own life.  It is not an easy path to begin to see yourself as God does because we have believed the lie far too long.  Know that you are loved and chosen by a great, mighty, and powerful God.  God looks at us, with His eyes shining full of love, and He says it is good!

Below are the words to the song.  Read them before watching the video below.  They are so powerful.  As humans we want to rewrite history, we want to change out past and make it all sparkling and new but no mater how painful our past God has used it to shape and mold us into the people He wants us to be.  I may still have many lessons to learn and stuff to overcome but with God at my side I can do it because He has looked at me and declared it is good.  Not only does God sees us as good but He loves us with a love that is so powerful and overwhelming.  Just rest in that love today.  Know that God outrageously loves you and He has said it is good!


If I could, I'd rewrite history
I'd choose differently; if I could, I would
I'd leave out the part where I broke Your heart
In the garden's shade, fix the mess I made
If I could, I would

If I could, close my eyes and then
Dance around again; if I could, I would
Be who You adored, why did I need more?
When beauty was not trained to hide behind my shame
If I could, I would.

Can You hear us cry?
Wishing we could turn back time
To feel Your breath when branches move
Take one more sunset walk with You
Must each tomorrow hold
Such brokenness untold?
Can't imagine how You could
See all of me and say it's good

If I could hold one memory
It would surely be how You walked with us
I'd go back in time, untell my first lie
And let love's injury heal in spite of me

Can You hear us cry?
Wishing we could turn back time
To feel Your breath when branches move
Take one more sunset walk with You
Must each tomorrow hold
Such brokenness untold?
Can't imagine how You could
See all of me and say it's good
Say it's good

It is good. It is good.
You still love us more than we believed You could
Could there be something more?
Will it ever be the way it was before?

Can You hear us cry?
Wishing we could turn back time
To feel Your breath when branches move
Take one more sunset walk with You
Must each tomorrow hold
Such brokenness untold?
Can't imagine how You could
See all of me and say it's good