God's Promise

My cousin sent this birthday card to me. She is dying from a rare disease. Her father died from this same disease a few years ago. She is 36 years old.

Always remember when God made you He did so with a purpose and a plan. He saw all your days before you lived one of them and placed over you the covering of his protective love. He has allowed nothing to come into your life that has not first been screened through that love. His hand has remained upon you to this very day. He calls you by name. You are his beloved child... the apple of his eye... the delight of his heart. Today you are in the exact place he wants you to be, and tomorrow he will be with you as he has always been- in goodness,in kindness,in faithfulness. ( Roy Lessin)
Genesis 15:1 I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

I am speechless. My cousin loves Jesus. She knows that her illness is a part of God's plan.
He has never promised that this life would be easy. In fact it is pretty hard at times. But one thing He did promise is that he would never leave us nor forsake us.
Our family prays for Misty to be healed, and we believe that with God all things are possible.

My prayer today is that I will be thankful for my health and that others would see Jesus in me.

Pray for my cousin Misty. Pray that God would heal her, and if for some reason that healing is not manifested here on this earth, that she will never take her eyes off of Him.
God is our hope,
Amy

God's Image.........

Amy shared this quote with me a couple of years ago. I was looking through some old files today and found it. I wanted to share it because it is so powerful:

At times when your children or even your spouse isn't quite measuring up to your expectations, remember that he or she was created in God's image not your image.

"the beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

Blessings,
Robbie

Desperate for Jesus.............

The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than two-edged sword.... Hebrews 4:12

Last night was the first night of Pursuing More of Jesus bible study by Anne Graham Lotz. It is a study that I would have never chosen, but I feel so strongly the Holy Spirit led me to this study. After months and months of prayer, I knew when I picked it up that I had felt the Holy Spirit. But every time I would look at the pages in the study guide, my flesh would tell me "no, this can't be the study, your girls won't like this study, the pages are completely blank except for one or two scriptures". It is totally Holy Spirit led. After the study had been purchased and the class was beginning to fill up, my flesh rose up inside of me and gave me so much doubt. We truly have a merciful God! Let me share what he did to give me peace. My twelve year old daughter came running into my room one day and said to me "Mom, I think God woke me up last night and told me which study you are supposed to do!" Now she knew how much we had been praying for the answer but she had no idea that we had already purchased the study Pursuing More of Jesus. I looked at her puzzled and she said "Mom, you are supposed to do a bible study on the Gospel of John!" I have to tell you I couldn't believe what she had just said. I looked at her like I had seen a ghost. I said "Gracie, that is the study we are doing! The Pursuing More of Jesus study is only on the Gospel of John!!!" Can you believe that? Confirmation. God can use anyone and anything to speak to his children. But the primary way is through his word. Even for our prayers to be effective we have to know his word!!!

I feel that God is showing me so much lately. I walk around all the time talking about how much closer I want to get to God but never doing anything about it. It's like I want all the benefits that God can bring to my life but I don't want to put in the effort it takes to know him better. I like the easy. Remember Amy and I like to stay in the pit. It is comfortable, familiar. We like it there because it is easy. Satan doesn't mess with us as bad if we stay in our pit. But when we get the courage to climb out and try pursuing Jesus again, Satan is there like a roaring lion waiting to devour us at any moment.

If we REALLY want to know God, if we REALLY want to understand who we are and whose we are, then the Bible has to have the highest priority in our lives. That is basically what the Pursuing More of Jesus study is all about. I understand why God wanted me to do this study now. It is time we stop reading other people's thoughts and what they say they heard from God. It is time for us to sit down with our bibles open , start out with prayer and get to know God. If it is our purpose to glorify God in all our ways then we have to know him first. Did you know that the Holy Spirit our comforter plays such a big role in our lives. I don't know about you but I feel so comfortable talking with Jesus. When it comes to God, I feel like I have a huge respect for him and I really don't want to get on his bad side. LOL.. But seriously the Holy Spirit, I don't feel like I know him and what his role is supposed to be in our lives. Let me share some of the wisdom that Anne Graham Lotz has shared in her DVDs in our class.

She showed us her bible and through her bible she had pictures of her Dad "Billy Graham"; and then there were lots of pictures of her grandchildren. She said every time she opened her bible and saw those pictures it reminded her to pray for them. Then she explained that when you or I open our bible there are pictures of Jesus all the way through scripture. It is the Holy Spirit's job as we read God's word to show us the pictures. That we might see Him, know Him, love Him. That we might even lay our lives down before him and live our lives in obedience to him not because we have to but because we love Him... Isn't that beautiful? So read your bible and look at the pictures of Jesus fall out before your very eyes!

So I invite you to join me in a pursuit of Jesus! You can start right now today. You do not have to be in this study, I will outline everything that Anne has taught us in her study. You can pick any scripture you want and apply these five steps and I promise you God will speak through his word to you.

Please just try this and comment back and let me know how it is going and if you have any questions or if you don't understand one of the steps.

First before you start anything spend some time in prayer with the Lord, ASK for the Holy Spirit's help with getting to know Jesus better through his word.

(You will need a notebook, bible, pen, highlighter)

Step 1:

Begin by picking a scripture any scripture that you love etc. Today I worked on John 10:1 because that was the scripture for us in our study guide. Take only one or two scriptures to begin with. Your goal is not to get through as much scripture as you can but to pick a scripture and spend time with it and to listen to hear Jesus speak. Let the Holy spirit do His work!

Then after you have your scripture read it and reread, take your notebook and open it to your first page and write the time and date in the upper right hand corner. Then write your scripture down in your notebook.

example: John 10:1

I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate; but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber.

When you have finished step one, make a verse by verse list of the outstanding facts. Don't get caught up into details; just pinpoint the most obvious facts. Don't PARAPHRASE, but use actual words from the passage itself. We want to be very careful that we don't add anything to the word of God. Look at just the facts; look for nouns, verbs, person, place or thing. Get rid of prepositions etc.

example: Man who does not enter by the gate is a thief and robber.

Step 3:

After reading the lesson and listing the facts, look for a lesson to learn from each fact.

Ask yourself: What are the people doing in the passage that I should be doing?

Is there a command I should obey?

A promise I should claim?

A warning I should heed?

An example I should follow?

Focus on the spiritual lessons (remember there is no right or wrong answer). These examples are what I heard God speaking to me. Yours will be different. His word is ALIVE and it applies to whatever is going on in your life. God will make it relevant!

example: There is only one way to heaven!!! It is through the gate; and that gate is JESUS!! Jesus is the gate!!! Is that not amazing!

This exercise blows me away; it works! God will speak to you if you are seeking him in his word.

Step 4:

This is the most meaningful step, you can't do it effectively until you have completed the first three steps. Rephrase the lesson you found in step 3 and put them in the form of questions you could ask YOURSELF, YOUR SPOUSE, YOUR CHILD, YOUR FRIEND, YOUR NEIGHBOR, OR YOUR COWORKER. As you write these questions, listen for God to communicate to you through his Word.

Don't get caught up on what you don't understand. Just look for the general principle and lessons that can be learned. Don't rush through this. BE STILL AND LISTEN FOR GOD TO SPEAK! This is where you can have prayerful meditation to discover meaningful lessons and hear God speaking to you.

example: Do I believe that the prince of this Earth is waiting like a roaring lion to kill, destroy, and devour me?

If you have time look up John 10:10; I did not read it until after I had wrote this. WOW!!!

The last step is to live it out; how will you respond to God's Word?

example: I am going to stay under God's wing for protection. I will not look to man for protection or the things of this world.

Just record what God is saying to you, and your response to him. Which response stood out to you? Then hold yourself accountable to follow through in obedience.

Sorry this has been such a long post; but I have to end this in prayer.

Father I just praise you for this wonderful way to learn to be still and hear you speak. Thank you so much for choosing this study. I pray that anyone reading this will give it a try and experience the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. We long for more of you. Give us the hunger and the desire to seek more of you. We want more than salvation; we want to be disciples for you. Use us Father. Let it be your will on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen.

pursuing more of Jesus,

Robbie

" Let your words be few"

First of all the devil does not want you to hear this message, because in trying to review and edit. It was erased. So through Christ I will reveal what was laid on my heart.
"Let your words be few" was a statement on my refrigerator for a long time. Until I got tired of my husband holding it up when he had heard enough.
Psalms 141:3 says " Set a guard, Oh Lord, over my mouth: keep watch over the door of my lips."
This should be a prayer we pray every morning before we even get up. I'm as guilty as the next when it comes to rambling on about nothing or saying things that do not please God.
Below are just a few things to consider before speaking:
1. Is it true?
2. Is it kind?
3. Will it build up, will it edify the person of whom I'm talking?
4. Is it necessary?
5. Does the person I'm talking to need to know this?
6. If this were about me, would I want it shared with someone else?

Our job as Christians is to glorify God, to be a witness for him. It is not to condemn others. We are to love, listen, and be understanding. The Holy Spirit will condemn for us.

A very hurtful thing was said to me, but a life learning lesson. Someone a work said to me, " I didn't know that you were a Christian ?" Wow!!! talk about a conviction that stung my heart.

I want to be a light that shines for Jesus.
People are watching us and judging us. Be careful of not only what we say, but also what we allow ourselves to hear. If it is not pleasing to God, walk away. You may be talked about or laughed at, but they will respect you and you will glorify Jesus.

So as the song says, " Oh be careful little ears what we hear, for the father up above is looking down in love, oh be careful little ears what you ear. Oh be careful little tongue what you say..... for the father will cut your tongue off, just kidding. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. You get the gist of the song. I do pray often for God to put a piece of tape over my mouth to keep it shut.
So lets pray for guidance and strength. Pray for understanding of his word. Spend time with Jesus. And let him speak to you. What he says is powerful. He will give you the answers you are looking for. Let your words be few and his words be many.
Love in Christ,
Amy

I only have a few more days before the big departure. I have been so blessed already by all that has been given and done for me. I have been blessed by friends and coworkers that have given things that only God would know I want or need. I have been blessed with a father and mother that have provided for me so that I have this opportunity that otherwise I may not have had. I have been blessed with inlaws that are willing to give up their time to come down and help with my "life" here so that I don't have to worry about all that goes on the week I am not here, plus they have collected so much for me to take with me to give to the children there. I have been blessed with a husband that supports me through all of our ministry decisions and gets excited to hear about new endeavors, and he is just plain AWESOME and I love him so much. I have been blessed with children that voice to me how important I am to them and how much they will miss me, but how excited they are for me to go and do God's work. I am blessed to have the support of a work environment that allows me to take time off without question and know that I have a job to come back to.
I am blessed with so much and so unworthy of any of it. I am blessed to even have the skills that God has gifted me with to be able to do something like this. I could have messed up so much over the years, in the beginning of my adult life, with some of the decisions that I made, but God snatched me out of a firey pit and set me on solid ground.
Thank you to everyone that has been there for me with prayers, thoughts, monetary gifts, time, supplies, and anything else that I may be missing.
You will all be blessed for what you have done for me. For what you have done for me, you have done for the Father.
Thank you.
Have I said that enough? I don't think so.
Thank you.
Thank you Jesus for your love and mercy and forgiveness and life.
Thank you thank you thank you.
I leave on Saturday morning very very early. I've heard that we may have internet availability at one of the places we are staying at so if I get a chance I will blog while I'm there, but if not...I will definitely fill you all in when I get back.

love
Jennifer

Okay, I just have to share something that God did. God blessed me through 2 beautiful women that I work with. These women are truly a blessing from above, and even if sometimes it is hard for us to receive certain types of blessings, God will allow situations like this to occur to humble us and show us His love through other individuals.
I was in awe of what God did for me through these 2 people and all I could do was cry and say, "God, why? Why me? I am so nasty and selfish and filthy? Why would you let this be done to ME? To me Lord, Why?"
"Because I love you my child. Because I cherish you my daughter. Because you are my daughter and I want to bless you. Just Because...that's why."
I don't have to have an answer. I don't have to know the reason behind certain things, but I have to be open to receive, and this is a VERY, VERY hard thing to do for a lot of us, including myself.
But, whatever they do for me, they do also for the Father.
I want to just say Thank You. Thank You Janice and Kim. Your works will not go unnoticed. Do I know what to say? No, words cannot express how I am feeling on the inside right now as tears fall down my cheeks again, but thank you. Thank You. Thank YOU.
I don't deserve a thing, yet God gives me everything. Thank you God for your love and for speaking. Thank you for women who are open to listen to your voice and be obedient to it.
I pray that they will be blessed in turn and that you open up the storm gates of heaven and let blessings pour down. POUR DOWN BLESSINGS FROM ABOVE.
Thank you.

Jennifer

Ladies,
If you have read some of our blogs, you may know that I am going to be going on a Medical Missions Trip to Guatemala in a few days. I leave the end of the week and will be gone for 1 week. This past weekend has been very busy and things are starting to become "overwhelming" (if I may use that word) with all that needs to be done before I leave. BUT, I realized that as I prepare for this trip, and let me mention that this is my first missions trip, I must not forget the reason for why I am going and the spiritual preparation that I must do. Sure, there are clothes and supplies that need to be bought and packed, kids to get ready for this "absence" of mommy in the house, a husband that needs to have everything in order in the home before I leave, BUT there is also a lot of spiritual preparation that had and still has to take place.
I started a while back thinking on specific things that I must do everyday and certain areas of this "whole picture" that need to be covered in prayer, and I began to pray just for those things on certain days of the week. I made a list in my head and began to pray for very specific things.
Can I just tell you that with all of the emotions, the thoughts, the nervousness, the anxiety, and sometimes reservations, that God has put even more excitement in me. I feel like I am about to explode with absolute excitement as to what God is leading me into. I have no idea what to expect, even though I have a very well planned out agenda. I have no idea what God will do in these days to come.
So, as I prepare to leave my beautiful family and embark on this journey that I have been birthed for and gifted for by God , I ask that you remember me in your prayers. I ask that you pray as God lays me on your hearts the next few weeks and pray as God leads you to. There may be some that God will awaken in the middle of the night to pray, and I ask that you be obedient to that calling and pray. Pray for the lives that will be touched and call out for the salvations that will take place.
I will share with you this week as the time gets closer and then when I get back. I will be keeping a journal while I am there and blogging on the experiences that God allows me to have while I am there.
I will even post PICTURES when I get back!!!!!!
I want to thank God for this opportunity and, as a part of the Yahweh Sisters Ministry, I am blessed to be able to go to another area of this world and share God's love and message of who He is.
May God use us as we allow ourselves to be wide open to His calling for our lives.
I know that God birthed this desire to go and serve in a 3rd world country in me and to give a gift that God put in me. I know that this is part of my ministry as a Yahweh Sister, and I can't wait to share with you all that God does.

Blessed Beyond Measure,
Jennifer

Holiness.........................

Holiness and Sin both matter...They matter to GOD! We must understand both of them before they will matter to us.

We can't just sit on our church pews and nod our head in agreement with the message of repentance. It has to penetrate down to the very core of our soul.. It has to change the way we think and live.

My pastor last week was talking about growing up in his home and when they were going to have company his mother would say "Get READY, get the house READY, get on your nice clothes, be READY for our guest."
Think about it..."Girls get READY, get your life in order, get your home ready. GOD is coming back to take the church home. Are you READY? Am I READY? Are we READY? Truly READY?"

I was laughing with Amy yesterday because we feel that we are floating out in the middle of an ocean with these rubber ducky floats around our waist and ours has a hole in them. We are moving all around going in circles and not accomplishing anything. It is like we have Attention Deficit Disorder for God. We want to do all these things for him but continue to spin our wheels and not go anywhere. I start to question "Am I REALLY Ready?"

God has shown me lately that I am drinking from this world. I have set up idols in my heart. (Substitutes for God). Girls I am battling with my own indwelling sin. Some of my examples are self-control with "my tongue", my eating habits, my spending habits, and these are just a few (believe me I could fill the pages with things - we all could I'm sure). I have even had to admit this week that I love myself more than I love others BUT I am still so busy trying to please everyone around me instead of pleasing God, so afraid of what they may think of ME if I don't.

I am a sinner DESPERATELY in need of God's mercy .

I have felt such a power struggle lately within myself. I so desperately want to please God by doing what I know I am supposed to do to please him. Satan is not very creative but he is very effective. He can cause us to be so busy with everyday life and house hold duties, work, kids, husband, activities with our children that we either miss the chance to get away and spend some time with God or we just get too tired to stay up and do it. We have an amazing ability to make some great excuses why we don't have the time. I've heard this saying a million times from Jennifer that she says..."An excuse is a reason wrapped up in a thin layer of a lie". Think about it. How true is that; yet, we find ourselves making "excuses" all of the time for why we CAN'T do that for God.

We have tremendous power given to us by God...The Holy Spirit. God gave us the Holy Spirit to work in us here on this earth. He can renew us, our mind, and give us peace and strength to sustain us. Praise God for his Mercy and Grace and He is always there to catch us when we fall.

Verse for today:
ROMANS 7:21-25
"When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! (or woman) Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ is Lord!"

The law at work in the members of my body is the "SIN DEEP WITHIN US". The bible explains that this is where we are vulnerable. Everything in us is more loyal to our flesh and our old selves than to God.. How sad are we. But there is good news, God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. God has conquered our sin by sending His only son Jesus to die for us. Without the Holy Spirit the sin is stronger. We never have to stand up alone. God is right there beside us fighting for us.


Let's strive for Holiness together this week. Starting today give up one earthly treasure.

What are your entertainment choices? What TV shows do you watch? What music do you listen to? Magazines? Movies? We have to set out to die to the flesh daily. Let's set out on an intentional pursuit of Holiness and Righteousness. Pick and choose what you allow in your life. Whatever you feed your flesh with is going to influence you whether it is Holy or not.

There was a guy once that in his walk with the Lord, he got to a place where God started to speak things to him about dying to the flesh. One thing that he began to do was he began to run. Now, he was definitely not a runner, never had been, never had any interest in it, didn't even look like someone that would want to try it. BUT, he knew that because his flesh hated it so much, he needed to start doing it because he needed to DIE TO HIS FLESH, and what better way than to do something that your flesh doesn't want to do. It wasn't something that he had to continue over the years, but for that season he had to fight that battle between flesh and spirit and let the flesh die down so that his spirit man could rise up. And, it did. He sold everything that he had, gave up his life here in the states, packed up with his wife and 3 children and now serves as a missionary in Lima, Peru. God spoke to him about overcoming the temptations of the flesh, dying to the things that you love or even to the things that your fleshly body hates to do, and allowing your spirit to rise up in its place. No, its not always the easy choice to make. You may have to choose salad over homemade lasagna, but if it means dying to the flesh and bringing you into a place of holiness with the Father, THEN CHOOSE THE SALAD! RUN LIKE THE WIN! TURN THE TV TO THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL! PUT THAT NEW PAIR OF JEANS BACK ON THE RACK! CUT OFF THE CABLE! SELL THE MERCEDES! GET OUT OF THE BED, PUT TOOTHPICKS UNDER THE EYELIDS, OPEN THAT BIBLE, AND READ IT UNTIL GOD MOVES! LET THE LAUNDRY GO FOR A DAY, LET DUST COLLECT ON THE ENDTABLES FOR AN HOUR, AND GET ON YOUR FACE BEFORE THE LORD! BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A MINUTE, BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A DAY! LET UNCOMFORTABLENESS BE YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!

What better way, ladies, than to walk away from things that interest your flesh the most, that feed you inside and out, that make you look good on the outside to others that see you.

Father I pray to you for strength. Oh Father, please plug that hole up in our rubber floats. Help us to make it to shore. Thank you for getting us out of spinning in circles with our tired old floats with holes in them. Thank you for showing me today that we don't need those tired old floats to stay up on top of the water and that all we really, truly need is you Father. We need the Holy Spirit to live in us to give us power. And when we fall (because we will fall sometimes), thank you Father for being there to catch us. Forgive us Father for trying to use our own power to overcome sin. Thank you for showing us we need to lean on you. Not our strength Lord, but yours. In Jesus' name. Amen.


Remember pursuing Holiness is a life long process. Becoming more like Christ is a fight to the bitter in. The fight of your life. But the battle has already been won. The end results are already written. Depend on Christ. There is nothing we can do to earn it.

Praise you Father.
Pursuing Holiness......

Robbie

PURSUING MORE OF JESUS

We will be starting our next bible study in a few weeks.
Pursuing More of Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz is the study that we have felt God laying on our hearts to do.
We will be posting each week different thoughts and prayers from the study as God leads us along into a deeper walk with Him.
If you are hungry for more of Jesus' love and wisdom and want to explore the lessons that Jesus shared with His disciples, then join with us in this study. Anne Graham Lotz will take a look at the later part of the Gospel of John.
We are excited to begin another study. This study is different from a lot of the ones we have done in the past, but we know without a doubt that this is the one that God has for us to do.
Pray and see if God would have you follow along with us in this study. We are always here for questions and discussions and hope that God will continue to open the doors through this ministry for us to share His love through our lives here on earth.

A Daughter to the Best Father in the World

Yesterday at church, our worship leader stopped to speak to the congregation about spending time talking to the Father. God wants us to be quiet at times and listen to Him, and then there are times when God wants to hear us talk to Him. The church began to talk to God, began to enter into worship by talking to our Father (yes we are a spirit filled church so things can get a little loud sometimes). As I stood in God's presence, I began to speak to Him about being His daughter. I began to want to be His daughter and know what and how to be His daughter. I've never thought about this for long, but as I stood there in His presence, tears began to fall down my face as I realized what that really meant. Sure I know that I am a daughter of the king. But yesterday I started to think hard on what that meant. What it meant to be His daughter.
You see, I compare a lot of what goes on in the spiritual realm to my earthly experience here physically. I had a very loving father, although it was not shown to me with physical touch or even words of affirmation or encouragement. My dad was one of those men that was very hands off. He used to even say that he told my mom that he loved her when he married her and if he changed his mind he would let her know. He didn't believe that he should have to say it everyday. He believed that actions spoke louder than words, and that words can be so empty sometimes. So, instead he showed his love by provision and protection. Now don't get me wrong, if I had a problem and needed to talk, my dad was there to listen and he would tell us that he was proud of us when he was. But when he did, we knew it was true. My dad just didn't feel us up with empty words that didn't match his actions. What my dad said was from the heart. My dad would still go to the end of the world for me. If I needed him to protect me from harm, he would. If I needed financial support, he would provide. He would never want to see me suffer or hurt or be in pain.
I started to compare God to these actions. I stood in church and started to see God as my earthly father was for so long. As a child, my dad would never throw me into a burning fire and tell me to walk through it to get to the other side and hope for the best. The only way my dad would tell me to go through it was if he knew that it was better on the other side. And even then, my dad would be right there with me to walk me through it (or run), holding my hand the whole time, or carrying me close to his chest, trying to protect me from the flames of the fire. Yes, I may get burned in places and have a few spots when I got to the other side of the burning fire, but my dad would gladly take the entire consumption of the flames for the safety of his daughter.
Our God is like this. Sometimes we are faced with "burning fires" in our life. But, God doesn't expect us to go through it by ourselves and then report back to Him and let Him know how hot the fire was or how many burns we got along the way. No, He is there to walk with us through it, even carry us through it so that we aren't in harm of being consumed by it and dying from it.
Yesterday I saw God holding my hand, as His daughter, and walking me through this fire (and believe me I have been through some fires in my life).
I want to know and learn how to be a daughter to the Father of all Fathers. I want to know how to raise my own children so that their "grandpa" will be proud of them. I want to have my Father's acceptance and approval, and yes, discipline.
I have known, loved and served God for a very long time, but yesterday I saw a different role, a different characteristic, a different walk that I must take with Him.
I was reading the other night in a book, and it spoke about myrrh and how it is not pretty to look at. It is bush-like and not pretty to look upon and it even has a bitter taste to it if you were to put it in your mouth. BUT, if you take myrrh and crush it, it puts off the most beautiful fragance. The more it is bruised and crushed, the louder the fragrance that it puts off.
Sometimes we have to be bruised and crushed until a fragrance comes off of us. Sometimes we have to go through a really big fire and get bruised up a bit so that we come out smelling better. And, then when we walk into a room, people will know that we have been in the presence of God because of the fragrance that comes off of us. It will be recognizable.
I want to thank God for my earthly Father and for blessing me with an example to look at and compare and learn from. My dad is the best dad in the world and I love him more than words can express.
I continue to want to be the best daughter to my earthly father and to my heavenly Father. I want to continue to grow to be the woman of God that I am meant to be. I want to radiate with a fragrance that draws others to me and makes them wonder what it is "I am wearing". I don't WANT to be crushed and bruised and hurt, but if it means that I get closer to the characteristics of the Father and I come out "smelling" better, then I am open to whatever God takes me through...because I know that my heavenly Father will be right there, holding my hand, shielding me with His arms and body, carrying me when I can't walk and getting me through to the other side so that I can shine for Him.
Teach me, O God, how to be the best daughter a dad could ask for, one that makes you proud to call me your own, and one that shows the characteristics of her father in the most useable and loving way.
I love you dad.

Your Daughter,
Jennifer

Are you comfortable where you are?

Sometimes I will get this excited feeling and I don't know why. I usually will stop and think about what is going on and usually it is nothing special, but I feel my spirit jumping inside. I always get a good feeling when this happens, anticipating the unknown.
We have no idea what God has in store for us. But I know that the Holy Spirit that lives inside of me knows. And He wants to give away the secret, but can't. We have to wait.
Robbie, Jennifer, and I often ramble off all the things that we feel God wants us to do. But then like Robbie mentioned in her post below, we will fall into a pit. Satan is scared of what will happen if we fulfill all that God has for us. So he will bring up things from our past, or tell us lies that will hurt our feelings, make us mad. etc. And this will buy Satan time and maybe even souls. Like I always tell my kids, "How hard can it be? We have been over this and over this. You should know the answer by now.". But unfortunately we don't. We are like weeble woobles, but we are the ones that fall down.
Robbie mentioned earlier to me that we all have a purpose in this life. I personally do not want to miss it. I sometimes think that maybe I am more comfortable in the pit. I'm sometimes safe in the pit. I have salsa and chips in this pit. Not really funny, but Robbie and Jennifer know that I love salsa. I know Jesus as my personal Savior and my name is written in the Lambs Book of Life. Wow, that sounds so great. But in the pit I am not ministering to anyone. I once heard (Greg Lorie I think said this) "salvation is free it will cost you nothing. Following Jesus will cost you everything.".
So once again I'm going to say put on your armor and get out there. God will never leave us nor forsake us. It is the little things that please Him.
One little story. Robbie, Jennifer, and I are critical care nurses. Jennifer and I work at night. Last night I took care of this lady that had been neglected and was in bad shape. I knew that she had very little time left. I don't even know if she understood what I said as I gave her a bath, but I felt the need to ask her if she knew Jesus. She was on the ventilator and could not respond. I wish I would have told her that Jesus loves her and for her to pour out herself to Him. Hopefully I will get that chance. But anyway I coaxed another nurse in the room to help me with her hair. It was a mess. I told this nurse that today may be her last day on this earth, and I wanted her to look good. I also mentioned to this nurse, who loves Jesus, that one day this patient will come up to her in heaven and thank her for taking the extra time to fix her hair. The nurse, who really did not want to help, started to take extra time and effort.
Just one day at a time, one moment at a time, lets make a difference for Jesus.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.... Isaiah 43:2



Do you ever ask God "where have you been?"

"Why did you let this happen?"

Maybe you just don't understand something going on in your life, trying to figure out if it is being allowed by God or is it Satan who has been granted permission to sift you?



Remember that God is moving even when he is silent. He may be drawing near to you and you have not noticed. Maybe your own tears are blinding you from his presence! Just maybe you can't hear his gentle whisper in your heart because you are so caught up in your own self. Get to higher ground so you can hear him better. Don't remain in your own self pity. Satan wants to take you back to square one. He wants you to start completely over. You have to get out of your pit. It can become a habitual cycle over and over again. One of the Yahweh sisters and I laugh because we are constantly falling into our own pit. We offer each other our make believe tools. She will even text me and say, " Do you want to borrow my tools to get out of that pit, just make sure you return them I might need them tomorrow." (Amen)... Surround yourself with Godly friends that can help support you when you are down. Friends that can lift you up when your wings don't remember how to fly. If you don't have this pray for God to send you someone that is walking with God that can give you Godly advice and help when you need it. I am so blessed to have the Yahweh girls; and if I need prayer I text and I know they are hitting the ground on their knees for me. They love me with all my imperfections. So today I thank you God for these precious women in my life.. Remember that Satan is like a roaring lion walking around ready to devour you and your life at any minute.
God doesn't always protect us the way we feel that we should be protected. He doesn't always keep us from suffering. But what he does promise in HIS word that HE will be present with us in the midst of our suffering and pain.... He said, "Fear not....When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.... For I am the LORD YOUR GOD...YOUR SAVIOR;...YOU ARE PRECIOUS AND HONORED IN MY SIGHT, AND ...I LOVE YOU"...Isa. 43:1-4......
Blessings,
Robbie

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Just want to share something I read the other night.
It comes from the book WHY? because you are anointed! by T.D. Jakes:

"Many times we pray for things, but we don't recognize or understand the answer to our prayers. Remember, in all things God has a divine process and order by which He operates everything on earth.
We ask for strength, and God sends us difficult situations to make us strong. We pray for wisdom, and God provides us with problems that provoke us to come up with solutions and develop wisdom. We ask for prosperity, and God gives us strength to work and wisdom to invent. We ask for a favor, and God gives us responsibility. A large percentage of our success is the result of our eating the bread of adversity and drinking the bitter waters of affliction.
'The genius of success is to be able to see the good that hides in every situation. As a pessimist sees obstacles in his opportunities, so an optimist sees opportunities in his obstacles.' Tribulation worketh patience."

Thank you Bishop T.D. Jakes for that middle paragraph. We ask for so much from God and don't see it when He is giving us the answer. Sometimes the answer is right there in front of our eyes, right there in the "difficult situations" and "problems" and "responsibilities". Make sure to open your eyes to what is going on around you and see if this is the answer to the prayers you've been praying.

Jennifer