When your plans change.

When your plans change! I have always been somewhat in awe of those that plan out their lives with such meticulous care. I've had teacher friends that planned the month they would give birth to their baby so as to not disrupt their school year. And others that have planned ahead with money management programs so they knew right when they would be debt free. Even though I am curious and as I said "in awe" of that forethought, I simply cannot relate. It seems that I am handed a daily plate of variables and managing those variables is a supreme challenge. There are certain things that are not negotiable. My love and commitment to the Lord and to the church is not going to budge. I know better than to go that direction. And faithfulness to my husband and children; not giving in there either. But there are unexpected visitors that constantly knock on our front doors, like: unexpected bills, broken hearts, health issues, infertility, unexpected fertility, accidents, being led by the Lord to do certain things or go certain places. When you hear from God that you are to go back to school and have to live on "peanuts" for years, or when you hear from God to start a church by yourself with no one but your children to assist you, or when you learn that you do not have the "flu" as you had supposed and that you are going to have a baby in your forties! These are things that cause you to re-write any plans that you had. Life is wonderful and full of wonder. A child of God can trust that God knows what he is doing, and the sooner we relax and allow ourselves to praise him FOR EVERYTHING, we will be better off. God loves it when his children are led by him. He will fight our battles if we let him; he will bring the victory. I know people that have followed a financial plan for their lives but in doing so, they have "lost" what matters most. What matters most? That we follow after God and see that our children follow after God too. When the trumpet sounds, it won't matter if we still have unfinished things in our lives. What will matter is that we are READY to go.

Joy cometh in the morning.

I sometimes write this blog with a specific person in mind; sometimes it's me. Sometimes I feel so much inspiration; it feels like that adrenaline or Holy Ghost rush (I should sound more spiritual, right?) you get right before you are to share what the Lord had given you to speak in a church..... I again am amazed. God certainly knows where we are and knows what we are going through. If the people that are supposed to speak into your life are not able to due to distractions, spiritual injury or lukewarmness, God will send someone else. He will. Just hold on and follow hard after the things of God. Direction and peace will come. As kids we rode this ride at Como Park in St. Paul that was so scary then AND still is NOW! It was round and the carnies strapped us into it standing up. After we began to spin and spin, they removed the flooring of the ride and we were held in place by the force of the spinning, (centrifigal force). That is how some of our trials feel. Life is spinning out of control it seems and then on top of everything the bottom drops out of our lives! It's awful, it's a time for panic..but then you realize you are being held up by a power greater than yourself. God is holding you. He will continue to hold you until you are back on the ground, and then he will still hold your hand, always. Get your strength from the Word...don't just read about the Bible; READ THE BIBLE. Talk to God, let the tears flow. He is aquainted with grief, he understands our sorrow and our joy. Psalm 30:5.....weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Jesus understand weeping but he understands JOY TOO! Be of good courage, my friend, you are not alone.

Backsliding. Slow Fade. Lukewarm. Falling Away.

I don't care for the the term "backslider"...but....I feel I must address this issue AGAIN. You see or hear some terrible news of someone acting in an ungodly way. You are shocked but in time you step back and ponder. I ponder so much that it hurts my head sometimes. As one ponders and takes the entire picture into perspective a hidden motive may become more obvious. Under the evil popping up out of the ground, one will find the love of money. The love of money is behind all evil... I didn't write that; this is Scripture. "ALL EVIL"?, my pondering mind says. Yes, all evil. Here are just a few examples of loving money... -a mother sees her friend's nice things; yet she struggles, she is tempted to leave her marriage and seek after a wealthy new guy... -a father is tired of being so financially strapped that he is tempted to just "chuck" the marriage and fatherhood. -A single man marries the wrong lady. He marries another because she has connections and money. -A single woman does not marry for love but for advantage. -A preacher fails to preach biblical truth since truth may offend his parishioners ie:support base. -People can step on others in their effort to climb the ladder of success. -A skilled physican goes into the field of medicine that TAKES life since there is guaranteed income. -A person takes a job where the focus of the company is inherently destructive to individuals and families. -People are tempted to dress immodestly to attract another for personal advantage. When a believer gets the money section in order, he/she is so much stronger. I know some people that are blessed abundantly and their children are blessed as well JUST because they have the MONEY question settled. This is not a blog about tithing....but honestly, giving God our first fruits is so fundamental, yet people nit-pick about it. If the patriarchs got it...and the New Testament church gave even more than their firstfuits or tenth, why do we question the power and truth of the tithe? It reminds me of speaking with tongues. It makes no sense, yet it is a God thing. When we surrender all of ourselves to God, we begin to worship him and it's no time that we lose ourself in the Spirit of God and a beautiful utterance comes out of our mouth. Advice from a friend; don't mess with money. Trust God, give him the first fruits, and don't covet. Just tell the Lord when you need or want something. He will provide. He's the best daddy you could ever dream of. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."Luke 12:32 Next time you see evil popping out of the ground...look at the roots,you will find the love of money. Put God back in charge and trust HIM for all of your needs.

Wish I Would've Known This Years Ago.

I wish that when we were starting our church sixteen years ago, that there had been a booklet written of "what not to do" as you are starting a new "work".

I get it mixed up, I keep trying to make sure I don't offend people, when Jesus, as I study, did not seem to worry about offending people.

He knew he had only three short years to teach and influence a whole lot of people. He called people names and he spoke directly to their needs. Lord, help us to be infused with your anointing so that we may speak with boldness and love. Recently I felt so led to go to a lady's home that had been very ill and had not been in church for a long time. After a while of small talk, I felt led to talk straight to her about her relationship with God. Thankfully, she opened up her heart to me and cried, afterward, we had a great prayer meeting. I never saw her alive again, the next time I looked at her she was laying in a beautiful casket. I am so glad that I talked directly to her need. I had a boldness come over me that shocked even me. I laid hands on her and prayed fervantly for her. She never again was in a church; she died. At her funeral, I was overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord that he had moved me to go see her. Lord, help me to be led by your Spirit and to be bold. If I had worried about offending her, we would not have been able to pray that way. She needed to get through to God, and she did. Be bold, be loving , but be bold.

Sharp Tongues

"Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth." How many times have we sung this worship chorus and never knew what a dreadful line was right before it in the 57th psalm of David. The verse right before this: "My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." To have people in your life that could be described as lions with fierce teeth and tongues is frightful, and yet, David endured this and still praised the Lord. You may live in a house of unbelievers or work among people that mock the things of God and church, but you can still praise the Lord with your whole heart,as David did. To this day we read and sing these praises, because they were written in anointing and power and we overcome by the words of our testimony. Just keep praising....it's a tried and true remedy for dealing with this world we live in. Sharp tongues in your office or your kitchen? Sing this! "Be thou exalted O God above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth."

The desires of my heart?

The intellect. The heart. The Hebrew word is translated "heart" by the 1600's English translators, but in Hebrew it is translated, the inner man, mind, will, heart, from Strong's #3820. We need to have our intellect satisfied when we spend time in church or in personal time with God. I hear that our youth leave the faith at alarming rates these days. Many youth have intellectual battles as they go on to secular higher education. Is it possible that we have lopsized worship services? We need "spirit AND truth", Jesus said. Youth leaders, worship leaders, praise singers, pastors, please study and go deep in the Word for us...we need it. Our "heart" needs it. We can fight the battles if we are well armed with the Word. Give us the Word! Please! Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine ....(inner man, mind, will) heart.What a promise.

Reading the Bible

Just simply reading the Bible is a WORKOUT. It is just as hard as a workout routine, not physically, but as far as self-discipline.. An old mentor of mine said, "always do the hardest thing first everyday and your day will go better". Read your Bible...do it first if possible and you will get a strength that you never thought you had.