The Good Stuff

The deeper into the Word I go the deeper in love I become with my Savior!!!  I am beyond amazed at His love for me and when I do try to think on it, I become ever whelmed!  Oh the JOY that fills my heart =)

I just finished reading "Dear Evelyn" and I have to say that it fueled the fire in my heart.  If we do NOT have a desire to love others there is something wrong!  It is that simple!  I'm talking about a love that can only come from Jesus.  A love that drives us to do things that we would just not do in the natural.  It's a supernatural love that does supernatural things!!!  It's some GOOD STUFF!!!  To see past our own little world and into the world that so desperately longs for that JESUS LOVE!  They long to see it and experience it through you and me.  As we allow God to LOVE us and FILL us with His love we cannot help but want to pass it on to others!  There really is nothing like it.  When you share something from The Father that sets someone else free!  WOW! 

When we give our LOVE and reach out to meet the needs of others, we are giving back to the Lord! 

Matthew 25:36-40     For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
    “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
    “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Do we really treat others like we would treat JESUS? 

I hope that you are encouraged and challenged, as I was, to receive this TRUTH!  Oh Daddy God, do not ever let me forget how much YOU love people and let me see with Your Eyes to be Your Hands and Feet, Your Arms and Ears!!!  Flood my heart! 

Believe Big, Receive Big!

WOW!  That is the best word I can come up with to describe what Daddy God is up to in my life!!!  His call on my life and my dreams have become one in the same =)  I cannot believe or dream bigger than what He has planned!  There is such a JOY and EXCITEMENT in my spirit that I can hardly contain it!  I have been given the honor of being invited to speak to a group of women tomorrow and I cannot wait for the Holy Spirit to minister to us.  I am believing for encouragement and love, open hearts and healing, letting go and new beginnings!!!  This is just the beginning of an amazing road,  fulfilling the destiny I was created and prepared for! 

I am completely open to go where He leads =)  My heart is His! 

Trust me when I say if you BELIEVE BIG, you will RECEIVE BIG!  The are NO LIMITS with Daddy God!!!  For so many years I put limits on what God could do, not just for me, but through me.  Not anymore!!!   I am living a life with no limits =)  I'm believing it and trusting Him for it.  All the messages, phone calls and emails I have received gives stregnth to my heart and confirms what He has imparted to me!

To BELIEVE all you have to do is make the choice to BELIEVE!  Yes, it really is that easy!  Don't let the enemy deceive you into thinking it's hard!  We only have to give up control and allowing Him to fulfill our destiny! 

So the journey continues and the LOVE of Daddy God covers us so perfectly.  His Word is truth and it is perfect and it is SO WORTH planting in our hearts!  The harvest is NOW so lets get out in the fields =) 

Joy Talking

Ok I have to admit to you that when that title popped into my mind I instantly started singing The Bee Gee's "Jive Talkin'"!!!!  hahahaha  I actually sang it for a minute before allowing my thought to settle on this blog!

Ok I'm back on task now!  18:21 says, The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Life or death; Blessing or curse.  Anytime our lives start to go south just stop and pay attention to the words that are coming out of our mouths.  It is very important to get a hold of our mouths because we will wear what we say!  Our words are the acts of our beliefs!  We will speak what we believe. 

I have chosen to be filled with joy so I speak of joy and all it's benefits!  I lived too many years speaking curses over myself and my family.  I refuse to go back there again!  I claim the JOY that is freely offered by my Daddy God, for me AND my family!!!  I am blessed, I am healed, I have all my needs met....these are the fruits that I desire to eat of! 

I am not perfect (your shocked, I know!), and the enemy still gets to me at times, but I quickly remember where he took me and I do not care to walk that ever again!!!  I know what I have with Daddy God and I will protect it with all that I have.  I want to be a walking billboard of God's goodness =)

So speak The Word that is freedom and joy!  It is a matter of life and death!

I'll Take The Best Please

Have you ever thought about why we sometimes just accept less than the best?  I was really thinking about this the other day.  I know that God wants only the very best for me yet I have found myself accepting less because I feel selfish taking more than my share!!  The closer I grow in my relationship with my Daddy God, the more Satan is exposed!  See, it is our enemy that wants us to stay beaten down, not receiving what God wants for us.

 I can remember when I started the journey through facing my attack and all that went with that, I would journal every day.  Most days would consist of, waking from a nightmare, realizing it was real, trying to NOT think about it, having flashbacks, writing them down, trying to work, be a mom, be a wife, hold down my job.  Then at the end of the day I would look back and think, is THIS my life?  I allowed the enemy to get a lot of talking in through those days.  And the killer is, I BELIEVED HIM!  I believed that somehow it was all my fault.  I believed him when he told me I was so damaged that I just needed to find a way to live with it because it wasn't going to get any better.    When he told me my husband despised me and everyone around me didn't want to hear or help me.  I believed him when he told me that this was what I deserved!  Satan would always bring up my past and all the hurt that went along with it.  BUT GOD!!!  My hero, my Savior, my protector, my healer!  He is my TRUTH-TELLER!

 It was only when I started listening to God that I began to heal and move forward.  He replaced all the lies with THE TRUTH!  He created me to love and be loved and that is all I need to know!  Yes, I have been hurt.  We all have!  But HE loves bigger that the hurt!!!  I no longer have the need to be fed by lies!  I am worthy of receiving the VERY BEST!  God sent His son, Who knew no sin, to be sin, so that through Him we might become the righteousness of God (from 2 Cor. 5:21).  It pleases the Lord when we confess that we are His righteousness, because we are laying hold of what He suffered and died to give us!!!  I for one am going to graciously ACCEPT what He died to give ME! I am His righteousness!  There is still an enemy that continues to throw things up in my face but God loves me with a love that is above anything the devil and dig up!!!

 I hope that you are encouraged today!  Make THIS the day that the voice of Christ becomes louder that the voice of our enemy!

Freedom in Letting Go

There is freedom in letting go of things that either we can't control or things that simply do not matter.  I have learned (mostly the hard way) that it is very selfish to hold a grudge.  It is damaging to hold on to hurts.  I have been treated badly in my lifetime and people have hurt me in ways that I did not deserve but for me to hold on to that only gives the enemy a foothold in my life!  I spent too many years holding on to all the hurt.  I missed out on so much joy because my attention was focused on that hurt.  Then I went through a time when I decided to let it go but I settled on the fact that I had lost that time.  I would just move on and accept things lost and just hope for better things to come.  Then The Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit and assured me that not only would all those things be restored to me but Daddy God goes above an beyond when it comes to restoring His children!!!  As I released the hurt feelings, guilt, self blame and even the hard feelings I had towards other people, something amazing began to happen in my heart!  It grew deeper and deeper to where I was able to hold more and more of the LOVE that God had for me.  The LOVE He wanted to give to me and the LOVE He wanted to show THROUGH me =)  I became a LOVE CONTAINER!  The more of self I released, the more of Him I became.  I could, for the first time, see others as Jesus saw them.  I was beginning to love others in a way I have never experienced before. 

There have been many things I have had to "let go" of and allow The Lord to take over.  I believe that with the Love of Jesus, there is no relationship that is beyond His ability to completely restore!!!  When those relationships are restored the very face of Daddy God is shown =) 

There are still times when the devil will bring something (or someone) to my mind and I can feel those old hurts trying to surface.  At that very moment I have a choice to make.  I can either allow myself to respond to those feelings in a damaging way by dwelling on them.  I mean there have been times when an old hurt will surface and I will start talking about it with myself!  I can talk myself into being hurt all over again!  The other (an wiser) choice is to SPEAK to the one who is bringing it up!  I say, sorry devil but I have already dealt with that and I do not have to deal with it anymore!  It is done, I have released it and God has taken over that area of my life.  I then can replace any negative feelings with the TRUTH in God's Word!  There is that "renewing the mind" again!  hahaha  The more of God's TRUTH I have planted inside of me the quicker it springs up in my spirit when Satan comes against me! 

As I prepare for my book release I am still releasing parts of my past.  I want to be clear that as I release the hurts of my past I also remember what God has done for me.  I do not tell my story to remember or relive my past.  I share it to give testimony as to what God has done!  I share it to encourage others!  I am living proof that there is nothing The Lord can't do.  He can take the absolute worst things and use it to bring Glory to Him.  He can turn bitterness to JOY and hurt to HEALING.  It is through Daddy God that we receive FREEDOM!

On a book related note; I received notice that I will be receiving the first copy of my book in 10-15 days!  Talk about a journey!  It has been a waiting time and a growing time.  I am so ready for the next phase of this amazing journey!  As soon as I receive my copy of the book it will be available for purchase!  I will share the details on where and how you can get it in the VERY NEAR future!  I am doing most of the promoting on my own so spread the word within your circle =)  Thanks again for all your support through prayers and words of encouragement!  I claim blessings flow through you today!  May we all get SOAKED in the blessing and the LOVE of Daddy God today =) 

False Hype

So yesterday got pretty interesting in our area in the way of weather!  We had some storms a couple of days ago and yesterday morning the media started building up all these storms and warning of strong tornadoes.  By early afternoon there were reports of 3 teams of storm chasers headed to our town because we were the "hot spot"!  One of the storm chasers said he was predicting that the storm and it's damage was going to be EPIC!  Local media predicted we were going to have the worst outbreak of tornadoes that we have seen in years! 
All the while, the sun was out and the wind was mild.  It lightly rained of and on during the day. 

We had to take our boys to get haircuts after school.  A few local schools sent the kids home early, and businesses were closing early!  All to go and prepare for these EPIC storms!  I had to take a couple of my kids to the dentist after lunch and all the talk at the dentist office was about the storms that were coming and the storm chaser that were arriving.  I had taken scripture to read while waiting on the boys and I tried not to listen to the other parents talking. 
Later, after school, we all headed to get haircuts and the weather still looked fine.  No dark clouds our heavy rain.  Waiting on the boys to get their hair cut I started looking up the weather.  I kept noticing that I couldn't see anything on the weather map!  The line of storms had not even formed yet and all this hype had put us all on high alert!  Max kept telling me to stop focusing on the news reports.  We came home and lost electricity but the EPIC storms never hit us!  We had been calling them down and claiming Psalm 91 throughout the day and evening.  We cooked outside and played cards using the light from a lantern.  The lights came back on around 10 pm but all the kids had already gone to bed and Max and I went to bed soon after. I  had a really good nights sleep, too =) 

It was so interesting to me how all that hype cause so much fear!  It had not even formed yet but we were putting our faith in the weathermen and other media!  I am certainly a work in progress, growing stronger everyday but I saw first hand yesterday that I do not have to put my faith in man!  I have a knowledge that supersedes this world.  I have God's Truth and all I have to do is stand on that and believe.  God says that He has given ME all authority over the enemy and his destruction!  I do not have to posses fear when I stand up to the enemy!  I have the authority to call for protection over my family and property!  Now, that's some truth that I can build up and it's not just "hype"!  IT IS REAL!  God it real and His Word is real and true =)

Thank You Holy Spirit for living on the inside of me! 

Satan wants to take us out but I for one am going to continue to renew my mind and build my Spirit man STRONG!  I strive to be on guard and ready at all times!  So, when the devil comes to try and destroy I will stand up STRONG and boldly say, "NOT ON MY WATCH!!!!!" 

PSALM  91

¹HE WHO ^[a]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power NO foe can withstand].
    ²I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
    ³For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
    ⁴[Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
    ⁵You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
    ⁶Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
    ⁷A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
    ⁸Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
    ⁹Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,^{(A)
    10}There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
    ¹¹For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
    ¹²They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.^{(B)
    13}You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.^{(C)
    14}Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
    ¹⁵He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
    ¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.


BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

Breaking Free

I spent (too) many years living in bondage.  The spirit of fear overtook my life!  Of course guilt, condemnation, insecurity, and isolation were as much a part of my life as breathing.  It took all my energy to "pretend" I was ok, that I had it all together.  I'm not even sure I pulled it off.  For the most part, I think those around me thought I was ok.  There was nobody at that time that knew the "real" me!  I was not listening to God during that time.  I was talking TO Him but not WITH Him!  The enemy, however, had all access!  I believed all the things he was telling me.  I allowed him to steal my confidence! 

I believed that my past would determine my future so the present seemed pretty hopeless.  That is how the enemy works.  He keeps us so focused on lies that we don't see the TRUTH!  I'm not sure when it happened but the time came when that TRUTH started to rise up.  I started reading scripture and was reminded Who I belonged to!  I still spent too long trying to "figure it all out" when all I had to do was just trust and believe.  It really IS that simple!  See, that is another lie the devil tells us.  That we have to jump through all these hoops to be delivered from bondage!  That we have to do enough "good" to cover all the "bad" we have done.  That we have to take our punishment for past mistakes to be forgiven.  ALL LIES!!!  Once it "clicked" with me that all I needed was Christ and His Truth,  my whole life changed!  I began to renew my mind by flooding it with God's Word, and BELIEVING IT!!! 

Satan wants our confidence in who we are most of all.  If he can get that,  his work is pretty much over because we will do the rest for him!  That is why Proverbs 4:23 teaches us to guard our hearts with all diligence!!!  Once we get in our hearts that we are children of the King of Kings we cannot help but walk in the confidence that NOTHING can separate us from that FATHER!  That truth will make you physically stand a little taller!!!

I was able to break free from the bondage and that is proof enough that it is possible!  God is a life changer!  His Word is TRUE!!  ALL OF IT!  In His Word He replaces every lie of the enemy with HIS TRUTH and PROMISES! 

Do not misunderstand me, there is still trouble in this world, but we have been given the ability to overcome the things of this world!  We have everything we need to rise above, press through, and retain JOY! 

WoooHoooo!!!  Anybody feel a shout rising up??!!  hahaha

If there is a topic you would like for me to blog about please let me know!  I am so loving the messages I am getting =)  I have some rockin' blog peeps!!!!!! 

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

PAID IN FULL!!!

Praise The Lord!!!  As of this morning my book is COMPLETELY paid off!!!  God has worked in and through people to accomplish this task.  I am excited for the release (still do not have an exact date).  I hope to have more information on that when I speak to the publisher today or tomorrow =) 

As I stood drying my hair this morning I reflected on this recent journey and with each miracle came strength and assurance that our God is GOOD and He is LARGE AND IN CHARGE!

He reminded me this morning about speaking TRUTH!  His Word is truth and His promises are REAL!  I have several confessions that I speak over myself from God's Word.  I'm going to share the one I confess the most!!! 

Psalm 91

1HE WHO [a]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
2I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

3For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4[Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

5You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,

6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.

7A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

8Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.

9Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,(A)

10There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.

11For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].

12They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.(B)

13You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.(C)

14Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].

15He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

Then I SHOUT;  TAKE THAT DEVIL!!!!!!!

My message to the devil is this; I'm going to winning; even when it looks like I'm losing I'm WINNING!!!!!!! 

I encourage you to SPEAK to the mountain in your life! Confess Psalm 91 OUT LOUD!  There is power in speaking The Word out loud.   SPEAK to the enemy, remind him WHO you belong to! 

I am falling in love with the Blog world and all the wonderful people =)  I absolutely LOVE the messages, emails and comments so keep them coming!  I am a stay at home wife and mom so I don't get out much!  hahaha    Now bless someone with your WORDS today!

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

I'll Take The Best Please!!!

Have you ever thought about why we sometimes just accept less than the best?  I was really thinking about this the other day.  I know that God wants only the very best for me yet I have found myself accepting less because I feel selfish taking more than my share!!  The closer I grow in my relationship with my Daddy God, the more Satan is exposed!  See, it is our enemy that wants us to stay beaten down, not receiving what God wants for us.

 I can remember when I started the journey through facing my attack and all that went with that, I would journal every day.  Most days would consist of, waking from a nightmare, realizing it was real, trying to NOT think about it, having flashbacks, writing them down, trying to work, be a mom, be a wife, hold down my job.  Then at the end of the day I would look back and think, is THIS my life?  I allowed the enemy to get a lot of talking in through those days.  And the killer is, I BELIEVED HIM!  I believed that somehow it was all my fault.  I believed him when he told me I was so damaged that I just needed to find a way to live with it because it wasn't going to get any better.    When he told me my husband despised me and everyone around me didn't want to hear or help me.  I believed him when he told me that this was what I deserved!  Satan would always bring up my past and all the hurt that went along with it.  BUT GOD!!!  My hero, my Savior, my protector, my healer!  He is my TRUTH-TELLER!

 It was only when I started listening to God that I began to heal and move forward.  He replaced all the lies with THE TRUTH!  He created me to love and be loved and that is all I need to know!  Yes, I have been hurt.  We all have!  But HE loves bigger that the hurt!!!  I no longer have the need to be fed by lies!  I am worthy of receiving the VERY BEST!  God sent His son, Who knew no sin, to be sin, so that through Him we might become the righteousness of God (from 2 Cor. 5:21).  It pleases the Lord when we confess that we are His righteousness, because we are laying hold of what He suffered and died to give us!!!  I for one am going to graciously ACCEPT what He died to give ME! I am His righteousness!  There is still an enemy that continues to throw things up in my face but God loves me with a love that is above anything the devil and dig up!!!

 I hope that you are encouraged today!  Make THIS the day that the voice of Christ becomes louder that the voice of our enemy!

 Tomorrow I am going to post an excerpt from my book!!!  This is another biggy for me so be kind!!  hahaha

 BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!!!

Who's to Blame?

One of the issues as a rape survivor is, who's to blame?  For years I blamed myself.  Did the decisions I made lead to my attack?  Did I ask for it?  Was I just to stupid to see it coming?  And the big one; was God trying to get my attention or teach me a lesson?  I struggled with these questions (and many more) for years.  I settled, for a time, on blaming God, but not in a bad way!  I was scared to be mad at God so I just figured He had His reasons and I would just be gracious and accept it and move on.  I even thanked God for choosing me to be sexually assaulted!!! 

 WOW!  I blow my own mind sometimes at the things I believe!  I find it very interesting that I never placed the blame where it belonged.  I never blamed the rapist.  Don't get me wrong, I knew what he did was wrong, and I was hurt on a level that I cannot even express in words, but the emotion that I reserved for the rapist was, wait for it.......sadness!  Yes, I felt sorry for him!  Even before I knew why, I felt sorry for him.  I just could not for the life of me wrap my head around how he could have been so evil.  Why was he so evil?

  It was only after God reveled some TRUTH to me that the blame was to rest on the one responsible for all that evil.  It was Satan!  The ruler of the darkness.  See, God is LIGHT and there is NO darkness in Him!  It is the enemy who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  God comes to give LIFE and give it in abundance!!!  I was giving God credit for something the devil was responsible for!  My Daddy God is a life GIVER!!!  Satan is a life killer!  I also came to the understanding that my rapist made choices, out of his free will, he allowed himself to be so influenced by the enemy that he was capable of  caring out the unspeakable acts that day.  God didn't give him the ability or instruction to rape me! 

 I do not have ALL the answers but I do know what the Lord has reveled to me and shown me.  Everything else is on a need-to-know basis and when I hit that point I replace my questions with TRUST and FAITH that God is the ultimate winner and I will be delivered to my place at His feet when HE sees fit, NOT when the devil says so!  See, if it were up to Satan, I believe he would have taken me out that day.  BUT GOD!  God was with me then and He has been with me everyday since, and He still has work for me to do in HIS Name! 

 When I share this belief, some have asked me why I think God "allowed" this to happen to me.  Why do bad things happen to good people???  In case you haven't noticed, we live in a fallen world!  All I know is that God is GOD and I trust Him.  He is ABOVE Satan and his demons that roam this earth!  And a day is coming when HE will stand and even the demons will bow down!  I am on HIS side, no matter what!  I have had this vision of the demons bowing and all evil bowing like cowards, and all of GOD'S CHILDREN are standing behind Him peeking around His robe, safe behind DADDY!!!!  At that time we will no longer have to exist in a world filled with evil.  BUT, until that day comes, it is up to us (as Christians) to speak TRUTH into as many lives as we can!  Greater is HE that is living inside of me!  We have the Holy Spirit as our helper, and we are to be a witness to the LOVE and SALVATION of Jesus Christ!  Let's live our lives like we have been changed, and be LIFE CHANGERS!!!!!

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!