In His Arms

There are days that all I need is to just climb into the arms of my Daddy God!  Just let Him love on me.  I love that He can fill me up to go out and be His child with a passion and energy.  How He can give me a WORD to share with someone that moves them in a way only He can.  I am thankful for all the opportunities He gives me to be a part of change.  But there are those times that all I need is His arms around me, His love flooding my spirit and knowing that He has all the time in the world just for ME!  I can access this at any time.  Sometimes we get so busy that I think we forget that we have access to this!  The best part is HE desires is more than we do!!! 

Hunter is 18 now and I don't get a lot of snuggy time these days!  haha  But, when he was little, snuggy time was my absolute favorite!!!  We didn't have to even talk to each other.  Just having him crawl up in my lap and let me put my arms all the way around him and just snuggy!!!  Most of the time I didn't even have to ask him to snuggy, he just came all on his own because he desired to snuggy with his mommy.   As amazing as that feeling was to me, I know Daddy God loves it even more when His children snuggy with Him =) 

If you haven't been there in a while, I encourage you to go and spend some time in Daddy God's arms, just let Him love on you!!!   Snuggy with your Heavenly Father =) 

Impressed

God gave me another opportunity this weekend to go and share His goodness through my story.  I have to say that it fills my heart with unspeakable JOY when I get to talk about just how good my Daddy God is!!! 

As I got up to speak I could feel my heart reaching out and being received by those at the conference.  I could look at  the faces and see that the Lord was ministering to them through me.  It was powerful and humbling at the same time.  I felt so small yet larger than life!  I knew that THE ONE with the power was inside of me, enabling me to stand before them and tell my story.  He gave the ability to encourage them that they, too are eligible for freedom and restoration!!! 

I had people coming up to me after, sharing their stories and how they, too wanted to be free from their past!
God is at work and the work is GOOD!

On my way to the conference I was talking with Daddy God and asking Him to use me, asking Him to touch and restore!  Asking Him to bring healing to the broken.  As I began to pray it hit me like a ton of brinks......and I said to Him, "I am so IMPRESSED with YOU!  I am IMPRESSED that YOU can use ME!"  See, I was NO GOOD for SO LONG!!!  There was NO GOOD in me and He MADE ME GOOD!!!  He took all the bad and replaced it with His good!  It really is astounding!  He used ME to carry the most important massage....HIM!  I receive A LOT of encouragement but I also receive discouragement.  I know that I do not have to receive the discouragement!!!  This is HIS PLAN and no man can hinder it! 

Are you IMPRESSED with what He has done in your life?  Are you IMPRESSED with just how far He has brought you?  I encourage you to spend some time thinking about it and thanking Him for it! 

Love on Purpose

John 3:16   For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not parish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:16  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:19-20 We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-13  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


God has a LOT to say about LOVE!  LOVE is the most important because GOD IS LOVE! 
We can do nothing without LOVE.  We are called above all else, to LOVE.  The only way to receive this LOVE is from LOVE HIMSELF!  And if we do not have it, we cannot give it. 

Receiving God's LOVE is not some mystical thing that happens in a dim lit room with praise music and an emotional heart.  Not that you can't receive it under those conditions, but my point is that LOVE is a CHOICE!!!  We have to choose, on purpose to accept God's LOVE! 

Once we have received God's LOVE we are told, by God, to then share it with others.  But be reminded that, you cannot give (or share) something you do not have!  God's LOVE has the ability to take root deep inside of us.  It's supply is limitless!  And unlike a "feeling" or emotional love, with God's LOVE, the more we share it with others, the more of it we receive!  Think of yourself like a vessel.  We are God's vessels.  We carry His LOVE inside of us.  He fills us up and we pour ourselves out on others and He keeps us filled up!  The secret to the continual filling and pouring is HIS WORD!  The Bible is God's Words to US!  He encourages us through His Word.  He instructs us through His Word.  He corrects us through His word.  He LOVES us through His Word!!! 

Satan is the total opposite of LOVE.  He is anger towards others.  He is jealousy of others.  He is fear of others.  So we have a choice!  We either choose God's LOVE or we choose the way of the enemy. 
It is not always easy to LOVE others, but it IS possible!  Sometimes it comes easy and sometimes we just have to LOVE and trust that God will take care of everything else! 

I am not saying that we have to agree with a person demonstrating a wrong behavior.  Even if that wrong behavior it towards us.  But we still should choose LOVE.  Even when The Lord reveals to me when I am in the wrong, He still LOVES me.  He does not condemn me.  Sometimes the LOVE is simply in our hearts for a person.  We may never see that person or talk to them, but in our hearts, we have LOVE and we can pray for them with that LOVE.  (for example, I do not see or talk to the man who raped me, but because of the power of forgiveness and God restoring my wounds, I can LOVE him and pray for him to accept Jesus).  And trust me when I say, THAT was a CHOICE that could only be made because of GOD'S LOVE!!! 

I really hope I am making sense!    hahaha  I do not want to just ramble on and on!  Oops, may be too late!  =)  

I hope you are encouraged today!  I really do LOVE you, but more importantly, GOD LOVES YOU!!!  And He give us all the ability to LOVE!!  So today I challenge you (and myself)  to LOVE ON PURPOSE!!!!

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

Monday Madness

OK, so last Monday I made a vow to not speak ill of Mondays!  Guess what???  Today it is raining, AGAIN, I have a sick child who I have been up with most of the night, AND I do not have any MILK!  I drink milk everyday and I ran out of milk this weekend.  No milk for 2 days!!!  I broke down and ate a pancake just to spite the evil forces that are coming against me today!  hahaha
For those of you who do not know me well, I have a strange addiction to pancakes!  I tried to "kick the habit" but have since fallen off the wagon!  haha 

Let me just say now that because of lack of sleep, I will not be held responsible for anything I ramble about today =)  This morning as I was cleaning and disinfecting EVERY SQUARE INCH that my sick one had touched, walked on, sat on, BREATHED on........!  I noticed that my Lysol was coming out white!  I just sprayed more and continued to clean when I noticed I was spraying PLEDGE!  So I am happy to report that there is no dust on the toilet, sink, floor, basically  ANYWHERE in the bathroom!  You may be thinking....did you not SMELL the pledge?!  Well, I had this virus last week and will NOT get it again, so I was holding my breath as I sprayed the Lysol/Pledge!  haha

I am hoping to hear from the publisher today sometime.  I sent in all my adjustments and am so ready to sign off on the book to go to print.  In the meantime I will just continue to engulf my house with Lysol and prayer!!!

In other news, that really has no significance to anyone but me!  hahaha  I am up for a hair makeover!  I have been trying to grow my hair out some and since I have had it dark for some time now, I'm ready for a lighter color and highlights!  Maybe a cut.  Still thinking on that one.  I am longing for what I like to refer to as, my "summer hair"!  I think that blonde with a bit of darker undertones is by far my favorite "natural color" of my hair =)

Well, I'm off now to go call down all sickness in my house!  I am praying for each of you to be blessed to day!  For the love of God The Father to overflow in your life!  I also want to express again just how blessed I am by the love and support I have received through this blog!  I only hope that I encourage you half as much as you encourage me everyday!  I get so excited when I sign on and see another "follower" has been added =)  I love the emails and messages!  I have even gained some amazing "friends" on my facebook page!!!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  God is SO GOOD =) 


BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

A Kept Woman!

Ok, so in one of my first blogs I talked about the process of getting my book published.  I knew from the very beginning that I would not base any decision on money but on what God told me to do.  He told me to publish my story (really it's "our" story because He has everything to do with it!).  I didn't consider the cost and took that first step of faith.  I remember the very first "seed" that was sown into my book.  It was $100.00 and the day it was given to me I had to meet my grandmother for lunch.  We had a waitress that day that was very pregnant and after talking with her found out she also had 3 other small children.  I wanted to give her the $100.00!  I asked the Lord and just didn't have an settled feeling about it, so I kept the money.  The next morning as I was ironing school clothes and watching Joyce Meyer I heard her say something that changed my thinking.  She was talking about sowing seed and that we always think of it as money.  Not all seed is money.  It can be our time, our prayers, our words, ect.  Then I heard the Lord tell me that the $100.00 was for my book and that my story IS my seed!  I am sewing my story of healing and freedom into lives and that God will use my story to change, heal and comfort others! 

As the days and weeks went on God called more people to sow seed into my book and my life!  I have received money and prayers, and encouragement!  God always comes through and provides everything I need to do this work He has called me to! 

Yesterday I woke up and as I was laying in bed collecting my thoughts for the day, I heard the enemy speaking to me.  He was saying, "Where's your money?"  "You know you have to have $430.00 in 2 days and you don't have it?"  "Your bank account is going to be overdrawn!"  "When the publisher sees you have no money they will not publish your book!"   I am being very transparent here so I am thrusting that you understand my heart in sharing this.  You see, we had $8.00 in our account and the publisher will draft the LAST PAYMENT for the book ($420.00) on Thursday!  I pointed my finger at the devil and said, "STOP IT!!  You LIE!!!  My Daddy God has already provided my needs!!!!!"

I thanked God for being my provider and for loving me above the lies of my enemy!  I took a shower and as I stepped out of the shower I had a text message asking me to call when I could talk.  I made that call and as I hung up, I had $200.00 for the book! I praised God and thanked Him all morning!  By the afternoon I had another $100.00 seed money!!!!  MY DADDY IS THE BEST!!!!!  How could I NOT trust Him????? 

I was reminded of the verse
“What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?] He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” Romans 8:31-32

His plan for me is so good and so big!!!  He is for me and He has given me all authority to cast the enemy off of me!  I do not have to accept the lies of the devil! 

As I end today I have to say that on the way to town this morning my husband got a phone call and when he hung up he looked at me and said, "YOU BOOK IS PAID FOR!"  All praise and glory go to the KING OF KINGS!  It's another day in the blessing and living the miracle that is, life with Jesus =)

I am believing that you are encouraged today!!!!  I am challenging you to encourage someone else today!!!  If God has placed instruction on you to give money, time, or just a word to someone...DO IT!  Do not count the cost because what you receive will be more that you could ever imagine!!!!!!

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!