I woke up in a building and didn’t know where I was. There were many rooms and I could hear other people. I could hear dogs barking loudly. I got up and went out of my room. The hall was long and narrow, it was musty and I needed air. I went to the door and opened it. There was bright sunshine, the kind that makes you squint but feels so good. I went out and breathed deep. I began to walk around exploring. I saw vast rolling hills with beautiful brown and green. I went into another building in search of food. As I began to open doors there were many people there and all of them were watching TV in shackles in the dark. They each had a blank stare and never even acknowledged that I opened the door.

I came to an area with a kitchen and there were 3 people there all in shackles tied to a long cable on the ceiling. They were eating standing up watching the TV on the wall. Even though they had great plates of food in front of them they were skinny and eating as if they hadn’t eaten in days. I decided not to eat there and went out into the fields. As I was walking I saw a man with long hair and a dog. I instantly recognized him as an attorney I know. As I approached, he said hello and called me by name. I ran to him and said help me; I don’t recognize where I am. I woke up someplace unfamiliar. I’m hungry and thirsty, but I don’t know what or where to get satisfied.

He took me by the hand and said follow me, you will get what you need, I will make sure of it.

That was the end of the dream. I laid there quite a while asking God to help me understand what I had dreamed. He began to reveal to me a beautiful but scary awareness. The unfamiliar place I woke up to is America. The falling asleep and then waking up is exactly what the church has done. We have turned a blind eye or been asleep to what evil the devil has brought to us. When we finally have woken up we don’t recognize where we are because it isn’t the America we know or could even imagine it could become. Christians everywhere are unfamiliar and unaware of what is going on. Those people shackled to the TV (and it could be just music too) are filling their mind with mindless entertainment that has slowly been getting worse. It started out with a little shock value that we as Christians ignored as “that isn’t too bad” and went to “oh my gosh, it is blatant and in your face now!”. We as Christians, must renew our mind daily with the Word of God and keep our thoughts on Him. He tells us that Satan is prowling about looking for one to devour. Guess what, he has found it in us and especially our children. The ones in the kitchen eating but not getting full are eating the wrong things and are starving for what God has for us! The only thing we should be filling ourselves with are things that are pure and good. God is warning us that we MUST protect our eyes and ears from what the devil has for us and our children. We must be the example for our children, we must feed them the good things of God or they will fill up on the evil the world has for them. God tells us in Phil 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” There is a reason he tells us this. To protect us.

Now to the attorney, that attorney is Jesus, our advocate who is guiding us, protecting us, feeding us. When Jesus came to earth he was our example. But if you don’t read your Word, you won’t know what his example was. He paid the penalty for our sin and when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, he is our advocate between us and God. We must run to Jesus and stay close to Him so He can protect us. We must fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word and find out the way to live by reading about what Jesus did.

If you don’t know Jesus, then I ask that you just pray Lord Jesus, I come to you with a humble heart and ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my heart. I turn away from what the world has and ask you to help me everyday to only fill my heart with You and Your word. I want you to be my Lord and my Savior. In Jesus name, Amen! If you prayed that reach out to me or someone you know is a Christian to help you walk everyday. Find a church, stay involved, so that you have people around you that can help you when it gets tough and it will. But Jesus is always right there with us, He will NEVER leave or forsake you. We must guard our hearts and minds and be ready with God’s Word to change the way we begin to think or act. It doesn’t mean you won’t ever sin again, it just means God is just to forgive us when we do.

I pray for each of you that today and everyday you will make time to read God’s Word and talk with Him. He loves you! I love y’all and pray y’all choose wisely today. Pray for others you know are struggling, never give up, God doesn’t!

Choose joy today!

As we drove up on the tank dam to go fishing, something at the far end of the tank splashed into the water. Anchor, said, did you see that alligator? I said DO WHAT?? He said, I’m not sure what it was but it was not a bull frog. We began to discuss the alligator, named Gladys, that lived in the lake on the ranch his grandfather, Andrew managed. Dora, Anchor’s grandmother, made it a pet. She would take or send the kids to take chicken bones, left over stale bread and anything else she thought she’d eat out to her. The kids would stand on the pier and holler Glaaadddyyysss and here she would come to the end of the pier, they would throw it in and she would devour it. She would often come to the end of the pier when they were fishing to mooch anything that they weren’t keeping. She was a pest but never really bothered anyone other than being a mooch.

Now, I never saw her because Gladys was long gone before I came onto the scene. I am really glad of that because I don’t much care for alligators being in the same space with me. Gladys lived there for many years and then one extreme rain and she went the way the water went, was the guess. Just like that she was gone.

As we sat there fishing, I began to ponder and I know that God gives me inspiration in my pondering, so I go with it! How many of us have a Gladys in our lives? Something or someone that is dangerous and could bite us, but we are comfortable with it/them and we even feed or encourage it/them even though we are focused on them or the problem and in doing that we are just miserable? Those things like food we know that isn’t good for us but we eat it anyway even if it makes us feel sick. Maybe we drink, even though we know we have an addiction or that it impacts our relationship or job negatively. Or maybe we continue in a relationship that we know is toxic to us because we don’t like change, so we continue to tolerate the verbal or even physical abuse. Maybe it is we tolerate that person because we don’t want to be alone.

God doesn’t intend for us to be miserable just because we don’t like change; we shouldn’t accept misery as a way of life. God loves us and wants what is best for us. Unfortunately, we often think that it is God’s will for us to be miserable. We think He doesn’t care or is mad at us. That is not what His Word says, it says, we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). He says, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) He loves us so much that he adopted us! (Ephesians 1:5-6)

I encourage you to find a quiet spot, sit still and really reflect on your life. Think about those things that you eat or drink and the people in your life that might be like Gladys. Those things that you are feeding, those things or people that do or could possibly bite you or that make you on edge just enough to keep you focused on it/them instead of on what God has for you! Focus on what God’s Word says about you and let go of the things that keep you on edge or give you misery! You won’t be alone! God is always there, He never leaves or forsakes us, we often choose to walk away, but if we just let Him He will give us comfort and joy! (Deut 31:6)

I pray joy for each of you, peace that passes all understanding and encourage you to read God’s Word everyday to see what wonderful things He says about you! God’s promises are Yes and Amen – so search them out..

Enjoy today, speak life and love to those around you to draw them to Christ and remember God could be back today so live like today is your last day to show God’s love to someone! Love y’all!

New beginnings are always exciting but can need rest to get started in the right direction.  We worked on getting our house ready to sell, giving away things, selling things and figuring out what we would keep and what had to go.  It was a lot of very hard work.  So we decided that our new beginning needed to begin with a period of rest and rejuvenation to start our season of service.  We have decided to stay at Anchor’s sister in Iola for a month to figure out our new living arrangement in the RV and to help her with some of her projects.  I’ll tell y’all, it is a learning curve going from living in a house with 1300 Sq feet to 355 sq ft.   Trying to find spaces for the things we need to have and having to decide we can live without some things. 

Maggie’s house sits on top of a beautiful hill and has beautiful sunrises and sunsets (even though I have to admit I haven’t seen many sunrises yet until this morning.  I have enjoyed getting to spend time with family, resting when I need to and getting to take pictures of two dog field trials and a roping down the road that have been awesome too!

For those close to me you’ll be shocked, I even began drinking COFFEE!  Even though Bonnie says it is a “latte” because it is half milk half coffee.  But you gotta start somewhere right? 

God’s word is full of “new beginnings”, just a few of my favorites – 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.  The old has gone, the new is here!  And the one for this season –  Philippians 3;13-14  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

In this service season, Anchor and I are pressing on toward the prize for which God has called us. We have joined Campers on Mission and will be traveling around helping repair homes after storms, (*not the initial clean up but the long haul stuff*), helping repair camps or churches or helping with new construction.  Whatever God leads us to!  We are excited to get started but realize we need to start well and get things ironed out before we head out.  Be patient we will be posting our journeys and travels as soon as we get going!

Since starting the above on April 1, here on April 20^th, this season of rest is wonderfully rejuvenating; however, a change in medication for my thyroid threw me into an inflammation storm that I am trying to get out of.  It got so bad that I would have to be helped to rise out of a chair and couldn’t walk more than a few hundred feet without hurting badly.  It took a bit to figure out what was happening and now I’m trying to heal from that.  It has put a bit of a kink in getting things organized in the camper but things are coming along.  I have found a thyroid protocol that we are praying helps me and I have found a new endocrinologist that I will see May 4^th.  All that said to say this, please pray for my health issues and that I will get up and moving easily, that all my inflammation will be relieved so we can get started on our calling!  I will be writing over the next few days / weeks about our calling and how that came about so that those who haven’t been following will understand what that is. The devil is at work hard y’all to keep us from getting out there!  But God!  We believe it will be happening and will be following God’s leading as to when, what and where! 

Thanks for all the prayers!  Be bold y’all, talk to everyone who is in your scope of influence, the person at the grocery store, standing in line with you, the cashier, your waitress… Time is short and the Lord’s people need to share the Good News that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life in this season where people don ‘t know what “Truth” really is.  Even one of the definition of truth in Merriam Webster’s dictionary now says, “a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true”.  Truth are facts and actuality y’all not whatever somebody decides to accept as true.

Choose Joy!  Love y’all – have a very blessed day!

James 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Good morning Lord!  As I sit and listen to praise music I am undone by Your goodness and mercy!  Thank You for Your love and faithfulness! I have Jesus, how could I want more?? Thank you for restoring me, for restoring relationships and for loving me!

I can’t wrap my head around why God loves me so much that He sacrificed His Son and why Jesus sacrificed His life for my sinful, selfish self!  I LOVE YOU LORD JESUS!  I thank You for saving me!

I love the verse Isaiah 41:10 & 11 – “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand!  Behold, all those who were incensed against you, Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish!”

Lord, Thank you for taking such great care of me!  Isaiah 41:13” For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, Fear not, I will help you!” 

Such peace comes from that verse, that no matter who or what comes against me, the Lord will be there fighting that battle for me!  That He holds my hand and knows my name no matter what!  Just as Selah sings, O the Blood is my victory!  Yes, Lord Jesus YOU are my VICTORY!!

I won’t allow fear to rule me! As Francesca Battistelli sings “Fear you don’t own me!!  There ain’t no room in my story for you!  I know who I am!  I am strong, brave and I am free!  So fear, you will never be welcome here!”  I love that song and it helps me remind the devil that he has no dominion over me! 

I love Your voice, You have led me through the fire, and in darkest night You were close like no other!  I have known You as a Father and as a Friend, and I have lived in the Goodness of God.  For all my life you have been faithful, and all my life You have been so, so good!  With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.  Your goodness is running after me!  With my life laid down, I surrender now, I give you everything!  I love this song, “Goodness of God”!  It reminds me that God has never left or forsaken me and He won’t!  I want to sing His praises every day that I have breath!  I love the Lord so much, that I just want to shout it from the rooftops! 

I can’t wrap my head around how anyone gets through a single day without knowing the Lord.  Trying to do it on your own, in my opinion, isn’t truly living but existing. I did that for many years and I can tell you having a relationship with God through Jesus has made such a difference!  There is such freedom, peace and love knowing that the Lord of Heaven knows my name and loves me.  Is it always easy? No, but I can tell you a lot of the time it is my own doing because I have made a decision without talking to the Lord.  He is always faithful to get me through my mess!  I can say I prayed for God to get me through my mess for years, but until you learn to surrender and give it all to the Lord, He won’t bless your sin choices.  You cannot continue to sin and ask for God to bless that.  He wants complete surrender and a turning to Him.  He wants relationship but He always commands obedience to His Word.  It is hard to see that while you are in the midst of choices that are totally against Biblical principles.  I pray that God would open your eyes to anything that is going against His principles.  I pray that You would experience release from anything that is holding you in bondage.  If you need anyone to talk to I am ALWAYS available 24/7 to anyone that needs to talk.  I will listen and pray with you. Don’t isolate yourself from people and from God, He wants relationship with you and He will send someone and sometimes multiple people to minister to you.  He wants to lift you out of the pit and put your feet on Jesus the Rock! 979-324-0112

Such a beautiful morning, I am so thankful for Jesus birth!  Such a wonderful thing is new life, He came to give us just that new life and more abundantly! 

Don’t let that sacrifice pass you by!  If you haven’t declared the Lord Jesus, Lord and Savior of your life, I encourage you to not wait another minute!  Do it now!  There is no guarantee that you will have even one more minute on earth.  Confess with your mouth that He is Lord, lay down your sins at his feet so He can help you conquer them, He will forgive them and doesn’t bring them up over and over but releases you from any condemnation!  He will save you! 

I thank you Lord for Jesus birth, life, death and resurrection!  I pray that each person reading this today will have a new revelation of who You truly are.  Bless them Lord, give them that peace that only comes from You, provide for their needs and wants, help them capture their thoughts to the obedience of Christ.  Show them Your way Lord!  Help them choose joy!  In Jesus Holy and Precious Name!  Amen!

Choose JOY today!  Don’t let your faith fail because of your circumstance.  Don’t just tell God about your circumstance; tell your circumstance about Your God!  Speak Life! Speak scripture over your situation; replace those negative thoughts with God’s Word and what it says!  It is amazing how much that changes your thoughts about that situation.

Love to each of you and Merry Christmas!  If anyone is alone this year, please reach out!  We’d love to have you join us celebrating Jesus!

This morning when my eyes opened I looked out the windows in my bedroom, I could see the gold and orange hues of the sunrise shining against the rough bark of the 60 ft pine tree that stands towering above the yard.  The sunlight danced as the branches lightly blew in the breeze.  The birds were flitting in and out of the branches and there were many red flashes of cardinals, black and white flashes of Carolina Chickadees  white breasted nuthatches, and the gray of the Titmouse or is it titmice? It was a beautiful sight and I thank God for such a beautiful wake up and His wonderful handiwork that I get to see every day.  If you haven’t stopped to watch the world He gave us around you, take a minute and do just that every morning.  I find it hard to be angry, unhappy, stressed when I am grateful and taken back by such beauty. Lord, You make such beautiful things!  Thank You for sharing them with us!

As I lay there watching and trying to wake up enough to make all my body parts work, I was looking at the bark of that huge pine tree and thinking about how intricate of a working it is.  Under that bark are things I can’t see.  Just like that bark is the skin of the people I see everyday.  I can’t see under the facade we each put on. Deep inside are the things that are hurting each of us, either emotionally, physically or spiritually. Things that are buried deep just like under the bark of that tree. It doesn’t change the fact that it is there and in the future, it could come to light. 

In people, how many times do we actually see their hurt?  Sometimes, we can see what they let out in the way of an emotional outburst, unexplained anger or just a flash of pain that is lashed out on others.  Sometimes, you can see the sadness in their eyes or just the quietness of their demeanor that may give a glimpse of that hurt or damage.  We often lash back because we don’t understand that it is something, totally not us, that is causing that lash out.  It is so hard not to lash back when that happens or to get offended.  It often leaves us wondering what did I say or do to get that reaction or it rises something up in us that has been hurt and we lash back.  It is so easy to allow those outbursts or fear of offending them to keep us from interacting with them.  Right now, I am seeing that in mass on FB especially.  It is so easy to forget that the person, behind that screen, is just that a person with feelings, emotions and a soul that may be hurting, afraid, or just in need of a hug because of a lack of human interaction in this last year and half.  I would encourage everyone before you answer a post (I am preaching to myself here as well y’all!!!) to pray over it, yes pray over it!  We need to be more careful about capturing our thoughts to the obedience of Christ.  2 Cor 10:5  We have got to start acting in love, speaking in love and showing the goodness of Christ to draw others to Him.  As the time of Christ’s return grows near, we need to be keeping our eyes fixed on the prize, that upward calling of God! Everything we do needs to be kingdom minded. 

I am praying that God give each of us the discernment to be able to see people as He sees them.  Every time we leave the house we need to be praying that God put people across our path that we can show His love to, to share Jesus with.  Get out of your comfort zone, look to see what is hidden in people that you can minister to.  Our own testimonies need to be boldly spoken to help others. 

We can use those injured and broken spots that have been healed by Christ in us, to help reach out to others to help them grasp the hope that they have in Jesus Christ.  You ask how do I do that, how do I know what people need?  Here is one of the things that Anchor and I do.  We ask our waitress/waiter when they bring our ticket if there is anything we can pray for them.  You would be entirely shocked by what some people are dealing with.  Behind those smiles, required on the job of the wait staff, is a world of hurt and pain.  Sometimes it is so painful as they share they begin to cry.  Always ask if you can, before you touch them or hold their hand and pray with them right then!  You’d be surprised the peace that will overwhelm them.  Remember, if they reject you praying for them they aren’t rejecting you personally.  Hurt, anger, disappointment will often manifest as rejecting anyone that is trying to help them.  If you can’t ask them because it is SOO busy that they can’t stop, then when you leave their tip, leave them a note (their name is almost always on the ticket!)  Call them by name and tell them you will be praying for them and then do! 

In this hurting world, we need to be the salt and light!  God’s love should leak out of us everywhere we go, in everything we do.  Just a smile goes a long way these days.  If you are walking around with a scowl, a worried look or are agitated, how can people see the Jesus that we claim as the hope of our glory? If you are walking around like that, go back to the beginning of this word and remember if you start your day being grateful, it is extremely hard to walk around like we don’t have Jesus!   I even try to drive around with a smile on my face, as I look up and catch people’s eyes I smile at them. 

I pray you choose Joy today, choose to be grateful, thankful even in trials, and that God will abundantly bless you more than you can ask or imagine!  Be kingdom minded, focused on the Lord and how you can be the hands and feet in the calling God has for each of you.

Here is a big ole’ hug from me to you as you start your day and I share my smile with each of you and hope I’ll get some back too!

Love y’all! Rejoice I say and again I say rejoice in the Lord!

Hebrews 12:12&13 “Strengthen the hands that hang down and the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather be healed.”

Isaiah 35:3 & 4 “Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!  Say to those with anxious hearts, “Be strong, do not fear!  Behold, your God will come with vengeance.  With divine retribution He will come to save you”.”

As I read Hebrews this morning, I came across this verse.  As I studied the commentary, the Greek and the Hebrew the repeated theme was hands that hang down (limp hands) and feeble knees are sign of despair, losing hope, giving up, or worse yet defeat!  How often do we feel that this world, our lives, have defeated us as Christians that we are in despair and losing hope or have given up and resolved ourselves that this is just the life we have to live and we no longer hope.  Yes, we still have faith that God is God and He is ultimately going to come back and take us home.  How often do we just settle in for the long haul and give up trying to fight the good fight of faith?  Isaiah 35:4 for me was a kick in the pants, this says to me don’t just strengthen (encourage) yourself and others but take heart – BE STRONG!  DO NOT FEAR!  God is the one that comes with vengeance with divine retribution to save us! 

In this world, we will have trials and tribulations it says it right there in your Bible.  But we as Americans forget that struggles are part of fighting the good fight.  We have been complacent for so long because of our immense blessings that we forget that we must stand firm, strengthen our limp hands and feeble knees so that we won’t be dislocated.  Dislocated means put out of place, force a change in the usual status, relationship or disruption of a normal status.  Disruption, now there is a word for you that would describe exactly what is happening today in this current state of things, wouldn’t you say?

Take to heart Isaiah 35:4, Be strong, do not fear.  God’s promise is that He will come and save us!  What that will look like I do not know, but I do know the divine character of God and that is He is faithful, just, and will never leave or forsake me!  In that alone I find strength.  I can tell you, sometimes, I wonder what it is going to be like, for Anchor and I, when we sell everything and travel in our RV.  My human side says, you’re crazy, don’t do it.  You need to hide away in your peaceful, beautiful place and then you won’t have to deal with all of the insane things that are happening in the world.  But Anchor and I both know we are called to go and make disciples, to show God’s love to a hurting world. 

Actually, you, yes you, are called to do the same.  Every one of us is called to show God’s love and compassion, to show God’s goodness through our kindness to draw people to the Lord.  Through whatever means God shows you to make disciples and help encourage them, so that when they are discouraged, fearful, or weak that they will be reminded that the Lord comes to save us and that if we don’t strengthen ourselves through the preparation of the gospel of peace (the Bible) that we will not be prepared to fight the good fight of faith!  We won’t be prepared with the armor that God has already given us.  We must choose to keep it on or put it back on to make sure we can fight off the fiery darts of the enemy.  Remember, Ephesians 6 says, that we aren’t fighting against flesh and blood but against powers, principalities, against rulers of the darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.  It also reminds us in 6:10 we must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

We must not only encourage others but encourage ourselves.  When we start looking through our natural human eyes America looks bleak I admit, but look at it through spiritual eyes.  The harvest is white and the workers are few, there has never been a time in my life where people are hurting everywhere in America, they are scared, discouraged, defeated, and have lost hope.  Now, is the time for us to rise up to our calling as Christians, to reach out to anyone in our scope of influence and tell them about Jesus; to encourage our fellow Christians that God is and always will be here, faithful, strong and just.  We must make our pathways straight by following God’s Word.  To do that we must know what it says.  Fall in love with God’s Word!   Use that Word to encourage others, to make disciples so that others will also know the character of God and the hope that we have in Christ Jesus! 

Hebrews 12:12 & 13 say, we should strengthen ourselves so instead of being dislocated we can be healed.  God’s instructions are never without care for us.  He wants us healed not only physically but spiritually!  He wants restoration of relationship with you, that heals us spiritually.  We can’t be healed without relationship.  If you are married think of it this way,  your married and the marriage certificate says so but, if you don’t talk to that person or even spend time with them, how does your relationship grow, how do you feel emotionally?  You feel very dislocated – by definition that means change of relationship.  You can’t grow in your relationship without communication.

I encourage you to STOP listening and paying attention to the fear that is so rampant.  Don’t let fear kill your hope or give you limp hands and knees, God’s character never changes.  He is always with us, He never leaves or forsakes us.  We must do our part in the relationship by spending time with the Lord.  Read His Word, pray and the most important part is giving time to get quiet so that we can hear Him speak to us.  Relationship is a two way street, not just our laundry list of things we want/need from the Lord nor is it just complaining about how terrible things are. Pray and when you’re finished, learn to just sit quietly with the Lord and let Him speak to your heart through His Word or even just through the Holy Spirit.  That small still voice that speaks to us.  Pray and ask for the Lord to let you hear from Him, that you would know when it is the Holy Spirit speaking to you.  He is faithful to do just that. 

My prayer is that God strengthens your feeble hands and knees so that you are healed, made whole and restored to the hope that is the calling of Jesus Christ.  That God will give you each revelation knowledge, wisdom and the courage to stand up for biblical principles in America.  That God will show you He has made you bold and confident through Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2) and that as such you will tell others about your Jesus! Choose joy!  Fall in love with Jesus and His Word!    Have a blessed rest of your week!

I had a dream early this morning.  A fancy new resort was being built.  It was widely advertised it and it was beautiful!  After completion, the company invited everyone to come for a free week stay, there was only one catch you couldn’t leave or you would have to pay.  Sounds great, right? 

Many, including myself, rushed to stay in such a beautiful place, with all the free food and entertainment you could handle.  I just enjoyed relaxing and walking around soaking up the sun at the lake, the beach they had set up, horseback riding, golfing and the spa.  Then I began to explore a little further, I began to notice that my calls to my family outside the resort were not going through or they would connect then hang up like a bad signal.  Others were experiencing the same.  I began to explore further and further out into the countryside.  There were beautiful woods to hike into, but I began to pack food into my backpack and go further and further until I came upon what seemed to be a stand of trees that were tightly packed one right next to each other.  I found one just big enough to wiggle through and then there was another stand of trees and I did the same thing.  Upon getting through the next one, I found myself staring at a huge concrete wall that was at least 30 foot high, as high as the trees.  I tried to climb up the tree to see how far this thing went.  That’s when I realized that the trees were actually only growing about 15 feet, and then they were painted iron at the top and slick.  I went back to the resort, packed my things, and tried to find the front desk.  It wasn’t where I remembered it.  Every time I would ask someone they would just say it’s up in the front.  I was getting frustrated and I started talking to people, they just said just don’t leave they are obviously are taking care of us.   I went back to my room, deposited my things and began to walk and talk to people.  I found a few like me who really wanted to go home or reach out to family and they were having the same trouble.

 We decided to meet and discuss this without staff around.  So we chose to meet in the forest the next morning and I would take them to where I had found the wall.  The word had spread and there were about 100 people the next morning.  We began to talk about the little things we had noticed.  No cell service, things being taken away or missing like laptops, telephones out of the rooms, the food quality going down slightly, the resort just not being as nice as it started out to be.  That’s when the resort staff showed up, well there shirts said staff but they were big guys with no smiles, they asked, “What are y’all doing?”  We said we are meeting and discussing things.  He said here we don’t allow meetings of any kind.  You need to go back to the resort.  I said or what?  He said you don’t want to know.  I said how about you kick me out.  Someone laughed and said that will never happen.  So they escorted many back to the hotel while the rest of us just said we will go hiking then.  We talked as we went and I showed them the wall. 

I began to see that this was not what it was purported to be.  This was no resort but a camp of some kind.  We passed the word among those that were ready to go home and said let’s meet at sunrise in the forest at the wall.  Just come in different ways so they won’t know what we are doing.  I told everyone to pray for strength during the night.  We got to the wall, of course, we knew security would be there shortly, we prayed together and then on the count of 3 we shouted, “In the mighty name of Jesus, wall come down.”  Down it came!  What a mighty shout.  We walked forward about ½ a mile and there was another wall, we again shouted, “In the mighty name of Jesus, wall come down.”  It again came crashing down.  Every time the wall would come crashing down, we would walk sometimes a mile or two and there would be another one.  We would shout and that one would come down.  The landscape began to change each time, it got a little more desert like and the terrain became more difficult to walk.  People where beginning to complain and grumble, even when the wall would come down, someone would say I wonder if there is another one.  Then complain loudly when there would be another wall.  After it got really hot and the most rugged and that wall came down that the terrain began to get easier.  I and others encouraged each other to keep going, don’t quit it is getting better.  We lost people along the way who thought that going back was easier.  They said, “at least I can sit by the water and enjoy myself.”   When we got to what would be the last wall there were a handful of us.  We shouted, “In the mighty name of Jesus, wall come down!”  It came crashing down, it was beautiful and lush and no more walls.  I woke up. 

I started praying.  I soon realized that God was telling me what we tolerate is what we agree with.  What we stay in, even if it is beautiful, it is not always good for us or in God’s plan for us.  Things start out exciting and because of our excitement we tune out what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us.  We think because it looks good or feels good, how could it not be right? Even if there is a little something that bothers us, we overlook it!  Then, we finally realize this isn’t good for us.  We try getting out of it and it isn’t easy.  But God is good and faithful and He will uphold us in His righteous right hand.  OUR PART IS TO NOT GIVE UP, no matter how hard it gets, how bad it looks; we MUST focus on God and how good He is and how faithful He is and He tells us He will never leave or forsake us.  Those promises aren’t given lightly; God never lies and never goes back on His promises!  

Don’t focus on the problem or circumstance, focus on the Lord!  How do you do that?  By renewing your mind with the Word of God, by praying and getting alone with God everyday; this will lead to a hunger and thirst to spend more time with God.  Don’t let anything distract you from spending time with God, we must purpose in our heart to do that!  Put down your phone and go to the throne today! I promise you there is much more life with Him than anything you’ll get there and you won’t miss anything, you’ll actually gain much more by spending time with God. 

I pray you don’t let whatever wall is in front of you hold you back.  That in the mighty name of Jesus, you will command it to fall down and then believe that it will and it will!  It might not be in your timing, but God is faithful to answer us!  Get alone and enjoy time with God today!  Keep focused on Him and not any problem, trial, health issue, or circumstance.  God says, if we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains.  What mountain do you need God to move today?  Reach out to someone you trust to pray with you and in agreement to move that mountain.   

Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Love y’all and choose joy today!

In Jesus name, Amen!

I hope this song by Sanctus Real “Confidence” helps you see what God can give you to knock down your wall!

In order to have a great outcome we must have a great beginning.  How we begin is how we finish.  The Lord showed me that in order to have the outcome He intends we must start where He wants us to start.  I thought, that is way easier said than done! 

Think back to when you were a kid, when your mom or dad would come out in the yard to call you in while you were out playing.  If you were close to the house you could hear them easily, but if you were way of it might take you a while to discern that they are calling me.  It is the same thing with God, if we stay close through prayer, reading our Bible, and spending time during the day talking with Him, it is easier to hear Him when He is guiding us. 

In every season of our lives, even a season of rest, we must prepare.  I drove a tractor yesterday for about 6 hours.  I should have prepared for my season of rest with a dose of Ibuprofen, but I forgot.  So all night, I tossed and turned because my arms and hands were achy.  Even in that season of rest, I could have gotten up and done my preparation work of taking Ibuprofen, but I didn’t want to wake Anchor up.  My lack of preparation kept me from sleeping soundly and as a result I am sore this morning.

These are the physical preparations for physical things.  What type of things do we need to do to be prepared for the spiritual things in our lives?  The very first and foremost thing, is building a strong foundation.  Jesus is and should be our cornerstone. 

Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[e] the Spirit.

The above scripture is Paul talking the Ephesians telling them that as members of the household of God they are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the cornerstone.  So we, as fellow citizens and members of the household of God, we ought to build our foundation on those things as well.  In addition, to being joined together with other Christ followers, we must grow into a holy temple in the Lord and as such we are built to be a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit.  That is our prep work!  We are building on that foundation to become the temple that God wants us to be so that we are prepared in time of trouble, in time of joy, in time of crisis and in time of rejoicing! 

I can tell you in the season that we just finished with Anchor’s cancer treatment, had we not been prepared with a foundation in the Lord, we would have fallen apart.  We totally leaned on Him because we know he loves, cares for and will never leave or forsake me or Anchor.  But I wouldn’t have known any of that had I not been prepared with the washing of the Word of the Lord, the renewing of my mind and the armor of God.  I love the NIV of Ephesians 6:15, “and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”  Anchor and I were prepared because we have fitted our feet with the readiness that comes from reading God’s Word, The Word of God really is a gospel of peace.  Anchor and I both had complete peace in this season.  That doesn’t mean you don’t have concerns or walk around in euphoria.  That means when the going gets tough, we turned to the Lord and said, hey I’m struggling help me!  You dig back into God’s Word and pull out the promises, let those promises wash over you, pray those promises back to God, that is where crying out to God is!  Yes, that sometimes involves tears of sorrow or sadness.  But God is faithful to sooth and strengthen us with His Word, with the Holy Spirit who is the great Comforter.  But the preparation is required to be ready to deal with whatever life has in store. 

I encourage you to work on your foundation starting today, so that you will be prepared for whatever season is coming and even for the one you are in.  Don’t wait, don’t put it off!  If you don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, then you have no time to waste!  All it takes is confessing with your mouth, believing in your heart that Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead you are saved.  Roman’s 10:9

God doesn’t make things difficult, we want it to be difficult because we believe we have to earn our way, but God doesn’t work that way.  He gives freely, but will you receive freely? 

For the update on Anchor:  God is so good!  He is back at work full-time and he is strong and we are starting back on work on our master mathroom today.  I thank each of you for your prayers and encouragement!  If you know someone struggling today, reach out to them with just a simple, praying for you text, I know from experience it makes a great impact!  Sometimes, when we are struggling and think no one cares, even though we truly know better, it is great to have that encouragement. 

Please reach out to me if you need prayer for any reason, I would love to partner with you to pray with and for you!  Reach out to those around you, make a difference in someone else’s life by being the hands and feet of Christ.  If you aren’t prepared, put on the Armor of God (Eph 6) you are going to need it, if you don’t already! 

I pray that your faith not falter in this time of our world, I pray you focus on the One who holds you in His hand.  Love y’all and choose joy today!

I woke up later than the usual this morning.  I looked out the window to see the fawn that hangs around eating the sunflower seeds under the bird feeder.  He was waiting around hungry and expecting to be fed.  I got up, went out in the rain and fed.  There were 11 deer this morning waiting in expectation of breakfast. 

That got me to thinking about how we are hungry and expect the Lord to feed us.  But I have a part in that too, I have to abide, that is hang out with God (biblical definition- to continue in a place).  I sometimes get to a place where I am feeling miserable, things aren’t going the way I want them to, other people’s attitudes or activities affect me, or I just feel lonely (and yes that is possible even surrounded by people).  I have come to realize that usually means I haven’t been spending much quality time with the Lord.  I spend every day with the Lord, but I mean that quality one on one time, encouraging myself with what God has for me in the Word or even just praying and listening for what He has to tell me.  Getting quiet is so hard.  When I am busy, distracted or self focused, I cannot hear what God has to say to me.  That is where I have to be like those deer, just abiding, continuing in the place until I get fed.  It is up to me how much feed I receive from the Lord, the longer I abide, the more full I get and when I get all full, then I can go out and give to others.  It is extremely hard to keep giving to others, if I don’t have fuel for both my spirit and my physical body.

Psalm 42:1-2 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.  My soul thirst for God, the living God.”

If you are feeling tired, worn, weak, lonely, or hurt, I encourage you to get by yourself, pray, read the Bible until you feel full and restored. Sometimes if it has been a while, it will take several feedings to get your joy and peace back.  The key is to keep getting fed until you are so full of what God has for you that it overflows to everyone around you!  Don’t give up!  I have found when I give up the devil wins and I don’t know about you, I don’t want to give him an inch or any satisfaction that he has taken me down.  I AM THE DAUGHTER OF THE LORD AND I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM!  Don’t let the devil or anyone else tell you any different.  God says that I am a co-heir with Jesus, inheriting everything that Jesus has and has to offer!  You have power, so walk in that power.  Tell the devil your gonna kick his butt all the way back under your feet! 

I have found that the more Word I get the less often I get discouraged!  So I encourage you drag out your Bible, dust it off and keep it close so you are prepared when life tries to get you down.  If you have God’s Word in your heart; you can put the devil to flight with the scripture.  He hates that and will run off if you keep telling him what scripture says! 

Update on Anchor – this week has been tough, please pray for his skin and his stomach to be restored to what it should be.  He has 4 more radiation treatments then is done completely!  Praise God that He is healed by Jesus stripes! 

Have a blessed rest of the week!  Encourage yourself by worshiping God and recalling all of your blessings both large and small!  Yesterday I found a parking place close to the front of the store so I didn’t get soaked, THANK YOU JESUS!  Even in the little things He is faithful!  Choose joy and I pray peace, Shalom, over each of you!

Update on Anchor – What a busy and eventful week this has been.    This was the last 96 hours chemo treatment for Anchor.  I am praising God that He has protected Anchor from the crazy side effects that can come with chemotherapy.    He has 7 more limited radiations.  Please join us in praying Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.” Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, said the LORD.”  Also praying Matthew 16:17+18, “”These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  We declare that the chemo and radiation will only kill the cancer cells and that his body, skin, immune and organs are protected by the blood of Jesus and the promise of Psalm 91. 

The storm has affected people we know and it is difficult not being able to take off and go help.  But this season is a season of rest, restoration and focus for Anchor and I.  We must keep our eye on the prize of Jesus and run the race that has been set before us.  That doesn’t mean we have quit moving forward or helping where we can.  We are keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!  The goal he has given us to complete is the remodel on our house, so we can officially put it on the market.  It is already up for sale and we have for sale signs in front of it.  We are both very excited for the plan God has for us and know it is going to be amazing because the devil has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at us.  We just keep praying that the Lord show us the actions we need to take and the things we need to let go of or move toward or away from.  We don’t want to be out of His plan, we want to be right in the center of it.  We are praying for wisdom and discernment and that our every step is ordered by God! 

Keep praying for those affected by Hurricane Laura, for the lineman and clean up crews and for the leadership of LA , TX and FEMA to do everything they can to help and not hinder cleanup. 

God has continued to put Matthew 24 in front of me the last few days.  I encourage you to read it, it is prophetic about the times we are living in now.  I encourage you to turn off your TV, the news, FB or whatever else is distracting you from your personal time with Jesus our Lord!  Focus on Him and He will make your pathways straight, cast your anxiety on him.  Remember He didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. 

If you want a great message to listen to, click here: https://youtu.be/_DMiNj47kII  Jimmy Evans message on the Tipping Point is spot on and again directed me to Matthew 24.   Jesus’s return is near so get ready!  It could be anytime. 

I pray that everyone stay safe out in this oppressive heat!  Choose joy it will change your life forever!

Love y’all, peace out!