Y’all know me I love my wildlife!  Birds are no exception; they do bring fond memories of my sweet Daddy!  Yesterday, I put a very gentle sprinkler on the grass.  I have an area that has water dripping into a bird bath and there is a slight spray out of the other end.  Along side of that there is a little iron 3 foot tall section of iron fencing in front of the plants that are along the fence.  That little iron fence serves to keep my sweet boy dog Tonka from marking his territory and thus killing my plants and gives my birdies somewhere to sit and preen after they take a bath.  I love to sit on the porch and watch them.  If you ever need mind distraction or entertainment  – watch birds!  The sprinkler was lightly spraying the little fence and the birds were thrilled!  They would sit and wait for it to come so they could get sprinkled.  As long as the spray was soft and gentle they would sit and flutter, but as soon as the spray got a little harder they would jump down off the fence and wait for it to get softer to go back up. 

Christians could describe our lives in this way, I can only speak for me.  I love life and enjoy relaxing in it, as long as it is easy; but as soon as it starts getting tough, I want to retreat to an easier spot and shake all of the toughness off. I want to sit licking my wounds with an attitude of,” I can’t believe this is happening “or the thought, “if I just wait it out whatever it is will go away and I can go back to the gentleness of my life”, which I prefer.  I have learned, however, that when life gets tough, I NEED to stand my ground!

 Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

If I am not careful with my relationship with the Lord, it starts to suffer when things are tough. When I find myself retreating, I need to spend a lot of time praising His name through song and listening to uplifting sermons to draw near to God.  The bible says to encourage ourselves and this is my way.  I have a playlist that is titled. “uplifting and encouraging” to listen to in times of despair, or struggle. It really is difficult to be sad , angry or upset when you have a grateful heart.  God is more than enough for me!  Nothing is impossible for God!  I found this scripture 2 days ago that really spoke to me.

Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”    Say that scripture out loud and let it sink in!

I encourage you when life gets hard, when the Dr. gives you a diagnosis you don’t want to hear, when you struggle financially or when you are physically hurt or ill, draw near to God! He is a gentle Healer and won’t break a bruised reed. Isaiah 42:3.  He will be your strength. 1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.”  Preceding that verse is the instruction to humble yourself.  If we will humble ourselves and cast all our cares on Him; He is faithful to encourage us, to strengthen us and gives us rest and peace!  Pour over the Word of God and He will give you a scripture to hold on to!   He gave me the above scripture but also gave me

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 

We can approach the throne boldly and with confidence, because we know that God is our ever present help in time of need.

Don’t hesitate to cry out and pray and when you can’t ask the Holy Spirit pray for you!  When you need help, that help that can only come from God – ASK BOLDLY for it! Pray scripture.

I find scripture brings peace, not like the world thinks of peace, but Shalom, that all encompassing peace that passes natural understanding.  If you’ve never experienced it, it is indescribable to the natural mind. 

In all things good or bad, draw near to God and as we do our hearts are encouraged and strengthened in a way nothing else accomplishes.  I encourage you don’t listen to your flesh, to the devil or the world and what they say which comes naturally.  Grab those thoughts and replace it with the promises in God’s Word!  People have great intentions but don’t realize that they are speaking destruction and chaos over you.  So be bold, if they are speaking against what the Word of God says.  Politely say, I appreciate your concern and love but I don’t agree with that. I’m not being unrealistic, I am just claiming and standing on the promises that are in God’s Word.

The devil manipulates people, well meaning people, like your family, doctors, etc. to speak things that they think will come to pass. God is the only one I want speaking things over my life.  Remember, there is power of death and life in the tongue! 

What God speaks in His Word is what I believe! 

Just because we experience hurt doesn’t mean God has abandoned us or that we have done something wrong.  It is a natural process of emotion.  It is our choice how we deal with that hurt.  The devil wants to isolate you, to destroy your confidence, your faith, but HOLD FAST to hope! What is that hope?  It is Jesus Christ, He is the Living Word, He is the Word become flesh and we must cling to that Word and His promises.

Lord, I thank You for each person reading this.  I thank You for your strength when we are weak.  I pray that You keep their faith strong especially during these trying times.  Lord whatever circumstance they are encountering Lord show them the hope that they can cling to.  That hope in Christ that brings us Your peace.  As we encounter things that rock us Lord, I ask that You remind each person of Your promises and Your Word that never returns void.  Bring to their remembrance each time You have been faithful and blessed them.  Encourage them Lord and help them learn to encourage themselves when they feel alone.  Lord help them to reach out to others in their times of need and to remember to reach out to those they see in need as well.  Lord help them come boldly to throne to ask for Your help, Your grace and mercy in their time of need.  Lord I ask that they recognize when the devil is trying to lead them to isolation and negativity.  Show them how to cast those things aside and reach for You in their time of need.  I pray peace, joy and that they can feel Your love surround them.  In Jesus name, Amen.  

 I ask that if you partner with Anchor and I during this time, that you pray only LIFE over us and not anything negative.  Remember, there is the power of life and death in the tongue.  Words can build up or tear down. Please pray God’s promises, such as Psalm 91 over us or the scripture God gave Anchor. It is Mark 16:18.

 Mark 16:18, “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

We agree that this chemo (deadly poison) will by no means hurt Anchor and that as we lay hands on him he will recover.  We stand on the scriptures, by Jesus stripes he WAS healed.  Our family has that Shalom peace that only comes from God and we pray that you too will experience Shalom in whatever your situation is.  In Jesus Precious Name, Amen

If you need prayer, please reach out, I would love to come along side and pray in agreement for whatever your need is.  I pray that your faith be increased as you lean in and let God hold you in and through your time of need and in just your everyday life! 

I speak life over each of you; I speak peace and joy abounding for each of you!  In Jesus name,

Love y’all – Choose JOY and lean on God!

Don’t let the devil use your circumstances to distract you from what God has for you!

Yesterday morning, I sat on my stool pulling weeds (you older ladies will get why you must sit and you younger ones will understand the older you get!) I was really just enjoying the birds all around and keeping my hands busy with the things that always need doing, but you rarely take time for!  I heard an unusual call and looked up to see a pileated woodpecker.  They are amazing birds, tall and noisy but graceful in flight and very entertaining to watch as they hop and fly all over.  Many of you may not know but I am a very avid bird lover, watcher and photographer.  My daddy instilled that in me when I was young.  He loved birds and we would sit at the bay window in the kitchen and watch them fly up to the bird bath.  He would tell me what each one was.  It is a fond and wonderful memory of my sweet daddy.  I think having a very sweet father made it so easy for me to understand the love that God has for us.  I know some that have had a hard father and it is hard for them to grasp that God is so loving.  But if my earthly father loved me so much and was so good to me, how much more does God, who is the giver of life, love me!

As I was pulling weeds sitting on my stool, I would reach way out past what was just around me and pull and pull but couldn’t quite get that weed to come up. God brought to mind, we do that often.  Instead of working on what is directly in front of us, we reach out ahead of what God has for us and try to do something that is incredibly hard.  It’s only hard because we haven’t got the spiritual maturity or strength on our own to do it. I often times have many things in front of me that are needing completing, but I WANT to work on what I WANT to work on instead of what God has for me right now.  I often try to get ahead of God and do what I think is next instead of working on the now.  I am an overachiever, if you hadn’t gotten that already from my writings!  I like to stay ahead of things and not let them sneak up on me.  Well, God doesn’t work that way!  We need to stay in His timing and not our own, in His strength and not our own strength.  When we work on the now instead of the future things, God gives us the strength to do that because that is where He is working with us.  I have found if I work where God is working it is SO MUCH easier than trying to do it in my own timing and strength.  But I still do it and when I do and find things getting harder and harder, more roadblocks, etc. I stop and pray Lord is this your work or my own?  Let me tell you that is a very hard prayer to pray, so be ready if you do.  It is very difficult on me for God to tell me, that you are ahead of Him or not doing what He wants.  Not all roadblocks or difficulties are because you are out of God’s timing.  Many are the devil trying to stop you from doing what God has called you to do.

God has called Anchor and I to go and serve Him, yet there have been many attacks of the enemy to try and stop us.  First in 2017, Anchor had to have emergency surgery and they removed half of his small intestine, then he had a blood clot.  Both required a week in the hospital and time to recuperate.  We thought we are well on the road and started getting our house in order to sell, but needed to finish some things on the house. In 2018, I wound up in the hospital due to thyroid issues.  In 2019, we thought we were well on the way, but this time God put on the brakes.  We had been trying to get a loan and every time we were just about there, God stopped it.  In much prayer, we realized that we were trying to do it in our own power and strength. We are both VERY clear in God’s communication and calling and we will not be shaken but we MUST do it in His timing and His strength so that NOONE can say that Anchor and I did anything, but it was ALL GOD.     In 2020, not only with Coronavirus, and riots; we found out last week Anchor was diagnosed with a rectal/anal squamous cell cancer.  It is very slow growing (the size of an English pea) and we found it quickly, but it needs to be dealt with. We see the oncologist July 8^th.  I know that the devil thinks he is going to stop us, but we are still moving forward.  God has given direction to each of us and we have put up “for sale by owner” signs.

We keep praying about timing and realize that this year God was protecting us from what was coming and what we pray is the FINAL roadblock to us selling and going out to help others.  Only God knows the timing and if our house sells, we will KNOW it is time and we are ready to move about the country serving where God places us!  I know that God is a God of healing still today – Please pray for complete and quick healing for Anchor.  I pray that whatever God has called each of you to, you will not let anyone or anything distract you from.  I pray that God give you clarity, strength and wisdom to know what your calling is and to get a clear vision of what that is.   God will strengthen you, provide for you and move heaven and earth to help you complete any task that He calls you to.  He won’t call you and then just watch you flounder around trying to figure out how to make it come to pass!  He is a good and faithful Father and He loves each of us with equal measure, we all have an equal measure of grace and He is always there for us to lean on!  We must choose to lean on Him so that in our weakness He is made strong!  Choose joy!  Time is short and I encourage you to share Christ with those around you. Don’t let the devil discourage you!  You are who God says you are not who the devil tries to convince you of. Choose to move forward no matter what the roadblocks!  Thank You Lord for being a steadfast help! In Jesus name, Love y’all.

I want to start by apologizing.  Apologizing for posting so many videos of what is going on in our world and filling your feed with the things of this world instead of the things that God is giving me, I too have been consumed and for that I am sorry and ask that you forgive me.  Please read this to the end and if you have turned me off because of all of those things, I pledge to keep that kind of stuff to very few.  Please feel free to hold me accountable to this!  I believe what I am about to say should awaken all of us to what God is asking of us. 

I was just waking up this morning; you know that state between wide awake and asleep.  I describe what I had as a vision because I was not all the way asleep, maybe it was a dream, but I know it was very vivid.  I was looking down from above and looked down on a city in chaos, fighting, and rioting.  God told me to look above all of that and as I did I could see the angels fighting demonic powers.  God reminded me that Daniel prayed for 21 days (Daniel 10:12-13) before his answer came and when that angel came with his answer, he said it took so long because I had to fight my way here.  God told me my people need to continue to pray, to pray for people’s hearts to be softened, for their ears and eyes to be open to see the things of God, to keep seeking his face and to seek revival in our nation.  We need to know that only if we keep praying will the angels be able to get through with the answers our country so desperately needs. 

God also told me that we need to fill our hunger and thirst with the things of the Lord!  We must be full to the brim in times like these.  We must feed on the Word of God, hide it in our hearts so when the devil comes, and he will, that we can bring forth the Word and squash whatever the devil is trying to bring to us.  We must fill ourselves with living water!  How do we do that?  By getting in the presence of God so that His living water washes in and through us – Praising God in worship is a great way to usher in his presence.  Get alone or do what I do put on your noise cancelling headphones so even if people say something or there is distractions, I am not distracted.  NOW IS THE TIME TO FOCUS ON GOD!

We need to bow to our Lord in reverence not fear, fear only feeds demonic power, and it strengthens them and gives them dominion over you with your permission.  Joyce Meyer has a great saying, “Fear tolerated is faith contaminated”.  We have seen a whole lot of fear these last few months and that is why we are seeing so much demonic activity in the way of rioting but also in our leaders local, state and nationwide.  We MUST as Christians stop being fearful! We must trust the Word and what God says.  Our fight is up and down not side to side.  We need to stop fighting each other and start praying for each other.  It is okay to voice your opinion, if you know evil is occurring, but don’t berate someone for feeling different.  Pray that their eyes of understanding will be open.  Show them what the Word of God says if God leads you to, if not just smile and give them grace, just like God gives us. 

I am going to say this – most of the time if you really watch you can see those that are fearful or angry and you can see the demonic activity that continues to set up camp around them.  The differences that God gave us, is what makes this country the greatest country on the earth.  Believe it or not, God’s hand is on this country and if you want it to continue to be blessed, you will fight with all you have to make sure that Christians are not silenced, that God’s name is not removed that our legacy of being a Christian nation is not removed.  That is what is at stake right now, it isn’t racial, it is demonic the fight we fight.  If we, as God’s people, loved people, all people, as we should there wouldn’t be this tension.  If we would quit talking about race and start talking about God and God’s love for everyone and spread that and hold people, all people to God’s standards and show them how that happens through our own lives, inequalities would cease.  Do we need to call out inequalities, yes, we should but being the hands and feet is how we change things, by spreading God’s love.  We have a heart problem.  Bottom line.  And we, as Christians, better stand up and start voicing that.  This rioting is just a distraction the devil has put out there to cause fear and anger so that we will not be the hands and feet.  Fear and anger feeds the demonic and empowers it.  The dream I described above, God was showing me that, along with a message I heard last night from Randy Caldwell, a great picture of what we are up against.  We are on the verge of a great revival in this country, but we as Christians MUST PRAY!  Continue to pray daily, the fight is real for this country, for our brothers and sisters of all color!

Stop watching TV, stop feeding on FB videos (and YES this goes for me too!), we can watch but don’t 24/7 keep that in front of you.  Keep God’s Word in your ears (there are apps that read to you I love them!)  Dwell is a great one, but even Bible Hub reads to you.  Keep your praise and worship music on.  Remember Philippians 4:8, “ whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever  things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things”.  That says meditate and the definition is to deliberately direct your thoughts to God’s word and remember what He’s done in the past. Start and end whatever your doing with prayer, thinking on God’s Word that you’ve read that day or even for several days.  Just direct your mind to the things of God.  That is meditation.  

In the end times, and I believe we are there, the church will rise up and spread God’s word.  Romans 13:11, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” We need to wake up Christians, arise and preach the good news in both word and deed. We must start NOW.  Don’t let your spirit be asleep or be groggy!  Wake it up by feeding and quenching your thirst with living water that comes from God! 

I pray that you have a blessed day!  Choose joy, choose what you are feeding on and drinking in.  I pray it be worthy of the Philippians 4:8 test.  I also pray Philippians 4:6 for each of you.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Have a blessed day in the Lord! Love y’all!

I know that God always directs me where I need to go for answers and today is no different.  I have been praying over what happened in Minneapolis with the man being killed, peaceful protests and rioters killing innocent people who got in their way, stealing and destroying things like a housing complex for low income people and many shops owned by a very diverse population.  It saddens me greatly.  I have been searching the scriptures and found Proverbs 17:11-27 which talks about rebellion and evil. 

Then this morning, God directed me to this message by Ravi Zacharias from the time of the Paris bombings in April 2018. Here is the link for that.

I know that what we have is a heart issue but had never thought about it in the way Dr. Zacharias describes it.  It is from Habakkuk 1 and 3.  I’m sure I won’t give it justice, so please listen so you can see for yourself.  I will attempt an overview, he basically says that the problem with the left and right fighting is that it will never be overcome until we realize that it is the up and down that should be fighting!  God against the devil, good against evil. Hab 1: 2-4, Habakkuk is crying out to God : – How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?  Or cry out to you, “Violence!”, but you do not save?  Why do you make me look at injustice?  Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?  Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.  Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails.  The wicked hem in the righteous so that justice is perverted.”

In the late 1800’s atheist Friedrich Nietzsch said “God is dead”. He commented, how are we going to define up and down, then he commented because God has been eliminated in the 19^th century, two things will happen in the 20^th century – will be the bloodiest century in history and a universal madness will break out.  Why would an atheist say that?  Because he says man would start playing God, and that is exactly what has happened.  What revelation!  LISTEN NOW I encourage you, it is an eye opener you’ll probably have to listen to several times as it is very deep.  It is only 51 minutes long.  I ask before any Christian continues to make commentary on what is going on, listen and see that it truly is a heart problem not anus versus them but a good versus evil! 

I pray for each of you that is reading and listening, Lord please open our hearts to see what you have for each of us, open our eyes of understanding, Prov 3:5-6, don’t let us lean on our own understanding but on Yours.  I pray Lord that we as a Christian nation would get on our knees together to pray and ask you to forgive us for fighting each other instead of banding together to fight the devil and the evil going on around us, for us allowing the killing of our babies just as they did in the old testament when they sacrificed them on the altars of Baal, Lord strengthen us and give us revelation and revival in our land.  Give us strength to be bold and cry out for injustice and wrong, give us boldness to share the truth of the gospel even when we are ridiculed for it.  Lord I pray peace for our nation and for each of us. John 14:27, Lord show people that it is an up and down problem not a left and right problem.   In Jesus name, Amen!

As I sat on the porch listening to the birds sing their beautiful morning songs, I began to hear the sound of cattle bellerin’ (that is slang for making lots of noise!)  Ahh I thought, the neighbor is feeding his cattle this morning. Such a symphony, the bulls deep bellow, the calves sweet call and the mama’s calling back to each other and saying, I’m so glad you’re here, I’m hungry!  As they kept up that symphony encouraging the neighbor to hurry and drop feed, then the cows close to me started to call out as well.  They knew that melody meant food, but fences prohibited them from participating in the feast! 

Our souls are designed to be fed by Jesus and we call out to Him in anticipation either in prayer or praise. We call to him saying, we need You, we need to be fed, or we need help Lord!  Are we on the right side of the fence to fed?  Or is something prohibiting us from getting close so we can get fed?  God never prohibits access to Himself, but often times, we limit ourselves by attitude, by sin or rebellion or by walking away when we should be running toward Jesus.  Why is it when we need Him most, the devil deceives us into thinking that God won’t want us like this? 

Jesus is the bread of life! John 6: 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”  He is our Sustenance in time of hunger, our Provision in time of need and our Refuge in the storms of life! 

Ask yourself, which pasture am I in today?  The one close to the Lord or the distant one fencing me off?  The choice is ours which one we remain in.  I pray that you will tear down whatever is prohibiting you from closeness with the Lord.  If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, it only takes on moment, one prayer to ask him into your heart and your life.  “Lord Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and I want you to be Lord and Savior of my life, come into my heart and save me.  In Jesus name, Amen”

Whatever side of the fence you are on God can meet you there.  He is waiting for you, it is your choice whether you accept Him to guide you to His side of the fence and your choice to let Him love you!  Seek Him with your whole heart and you will find Him. He promises that in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

He will feed you, if you allow Him to. Get on God’s side of the fence, open your Bible and your heart and let God feed you today!  He will fill you up with things like peace, joy, love, kindness, goodness, patience, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Make your choice, draw near to Him and He will draw near to You!  That is a promise directly from God in James 4:8. 

I encourage you to check out the following verses to see what God has for you!  Matthew 6:33, Proverbs 8:17, 2 Chronicles 16:9, 1 Chronicles 16;10, Psalm 34:4-5, Proverbs 3:6, Lamentations 3:21-25

Have a blessed day and choose joy! Keep praying for wisdom and strength for our leaders and medical teams.

Shalom

As I lay in bed talking to God this morning, I was discussing what verse to pray over our nation’s leaders today. I brought to mind a few but God directed me to a verse I had written about on few weeks ago. That verse is Micah 6:8

I ask that you join me today. Lord I pray that the Holy Spirit impress upon each person in leadership, The President, Vice President, each member of Congress, the Governors, the state legislators and the local leaders this verse. Remind them Lord that you love a humble heart. Give them godly counsel, give them your wisdom and draw them close to you as they seek answers to this crisis. Show each of them what you require of them, to do justly, love kindness and to walk humbly with You!

Open their eyes of understanding and help them not lean on the worldly understanding but give them divine understanding. I pray as Jesus prayed for Peter that their faith will not fail. As Jesus prayed for all of us, sanctify them with Your truth Lord, keep them from the evil one, strengthen them Lord so they may strengthen others! Lord, theirs and our, flesh is weak but the spirit is willing. We declare Your Word that in their / our weaknesses You are made strong!

Help them lean on You Lord, we pray and ask that the Holy Spirit encourage those that believe in You and that He show Your Salvation to those who don’t know You.

Lord forgive our nation for our sins and for being complacent in Your truth and direction, for embracing the worldly things instead of heavenly things, draw us back to You, we humbly ask for Your protection and Your covering over our nation. Lord eradicate COVID19, give provision and peace, joy and strength to each of Your children! Help us boldly stand on Your truth and be humble and loving when sharing Your Word! Bring comfort to those suffering and show Your church how to be Your hands and feet! Help us live out the Gospel in our lives not just in our words.

I pray these thing in the mighty and precious name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, Amen

Prov 16:3 , “Commit your works unto the Lord and your thoughts will be established.”

My pastor, Andy Golden, preached a great message Sunday that really stirred my thinking!  He was talking about the above verse.  Today I began to break down the verses Andy gave us and unpack them.  I encourage you to do that with every message you hear.  It is amazing what God will expound on and give you in addition to what you heard the first time!  Here is what God gave me.

I started first with some additional verses Andy gave us.  They were Proverbs 37:3-5, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 26:3, Lamentations 3:21-26.

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 26:3, You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts You!  Again this reminds us that if we keep our minds on the Lord He will give us perfect peace.  I don’t know about y’all but I hate that feeling of anxiousness or the restlessness of uncertainty that comes from not having peace.  So I strive to keep my peace and not allow the devil to steal it or unfortunately sometimes I just hand that peace over to him, hook, line and sinker.  I just allow myself to get frustrated or angry instead of just saying you know what Lord I trust you and so I am not going to give in to the devil.  Not today devil, not today!  You are under my feet! I have perfect peace.  When I go off on the devil so to speak, not only does it make me chuckle because I think this out to really tick off the devil and I love to do that!  I want him to be so frustrated by me that he goes away because he can’t get to me! Just FYI the more you do that the less often he comes around because he realizes it is a waste of time.  I’m not saying that he doesn’t ever come back, but it does get less frequent because he has other people to do his bidding, but my goal everyday is to not be his puppet and allow him to manipulate my thoughts, feelings, and actions!

Psalms 37:3-7 these verses start off with “Trust in the Lord” and end with “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him”.  Lamentations 3:21-26 starts off with “therefore I have hope” (in the Lord) and end with “it is good that one should hope and wait quietly”.  There is a common theme here and what do we KNOW about the Bible – if it is said repeatedly we really need to pay attention. 

So trust in the Lord is easier said than done often times.  But it is possible or He wouldn’t have told us to do it!  Don’t allow ole’ Satan to fool you into think you are just made to worry and to be anxious.  Bull corn!  The Bible says we are overcomers and that God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.   So do you believe the Bible?  If so, then guess what you aren’t made that way!  God wouldn’t make you one way, in His perfect image, and then not give you the ability to maintain that!  He is a just God and remember He can change His mind but cannot change His character.   

There is wait patiently (quietly is another way to say that).  Hmm, that is extremely hard for some of us (My hand is up on this one!) Once this girl gets a plan or gets done with something I have a very difficult time not running with that plan or getting done and be like let’s move on to the next thing.  Unfortunately, God doesn’t work on my timeline!  This is where resting in Him is crucial!!!  I can’t say that enough, this is where resting in God is crucial! Did you catch that I said it twice so pay attention!  I know that being patient and waiting on the Lord is hard, I get that, but just keeping yourself in contact with God at all times is a real help and blessing to help with that.  Just keep reminding yourself that God has perfect plans for you.  Jeremiah 29:11 is a great one to keep on your frig!

Micah 6:8, In this verse Isaiah is telling Israel what God says and is pleading with them to turn from their wicked ways.  The verse is: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?”  Why does it seem so difficult at times to do those things?  I believe it is because it is totally against what our culture teaches. 

Our culture teaches things like me first, step on others, lie and do anything to get ahead, if someone wrongs me I have a right to say whatever I want, to have no mercy or to forgive them, and to get angry and get even.  Unfortunately that has been embraced and you can see it in the media and on social media – what do we see happen if someone disagrees with what someone is saying – well they attack them personally.  They no longer present an argument to convince the other person of what they are saying from a reasonable stand point – nope they just get loud, bully them and shout obscenities.   

God culture teaches us to put others first, to help others, even if they have wronged us, to forgive, to keep the peace, to have the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  (Gal 5:22-23)

If we walk with the Lord in humility and commit all we do to Him our thoughts (and our actions) will come into alignment with His Word.  Walking daily with the Lord is spending time reading the Word, praying, worshipping, and keeping Him at the forefront of our minds all day, we can’t help but do justly, love others and give mercy! In walking with the Lord as He wants we can commit our works to the Lord and in that He will be faithful and establish our thoughts – He will make your pathways straight and He will give you the desire of your heart because they will line up with His desires!

So my friends, I implore you as Isaiah did to Israel, what does God want from you, but for you to do justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with Your God!  I pray peace and joy for each of you today.  I pray provision in the physical and in the spiritual today! I pray that God’s peace will wash over any anxiety or fear that you might have, especially in this trying time.  Choose joy today and choose to kick that fear (the devil because he is the author of all fear) to the curb and have a blessed day walking with the Lord!

The JOY of the Lord is my strength!

Love y’all!

2 Corinthians 11:3. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Anchor and I and many others were at a place that had overgrown weeds, many large rocks, lots of leaves piled up.  You had to climb down through all of that to go inside.  There were many ages, older people, all the way to very young toddlers. Everyone was outside.  As I was climbing down to go inside Anchor was sitting on a rock and as I walked past I saw an orange snake coming out from the rock next to him.  I told him watch that snake I’m going to go get something to kill it.  I ran off telling people watch for snakes. When I got back he was talking to someone and said he didn’t know where the snake went.

As I walked up the path further I saw a large rattlesnake go under a piece of tin.  There were 3 teenage girls coming up the path and I said stop and let me kill this snake.  They acted like they hadn’t heard me.  I shouted stop!  One of them actually sat down on the piece of tin.  They were laughing and giggling and I finally grabbed one of them and shouted at her, can’t you hear me!  SNAKE!! 

She looked at me like she didn’t understand what I was saying.  I said there is a large rattlesnake and it might bite you.  You need to pay attention to where you are going.  Then I woke up.

As I laid there talking with God He said my people are not listening and are not watching to see where the devil is about to attack them.  It is time for them to wake up and start being prepared to kill the snake, the devil that is lurking at every turn.  Be prepared with My Word to repel the devil.  Know scripture so that You can defeat him.  But also you must watch, he lurks in everything around you.  Don’t allow him to get close – replace the thoughts that he puts in your head with scripture so that you don’t listen to him.  Don’t put worldly things into your mind, but only holy things.  Spend time with Me, listen for My voice, I will guide you! Don’t let the fear that the devil is spreading take hold of you.  For I am Your God, the One who will never leave or forsake You.  Take hold of your faith, the faith that I gave you and strengthen it by the reading of the Word, listening to godly men and women who are teaching My Word, and spend time in prayer, pray My Word.

So my friends, NOW is the time to get prepared!  Read Your Word, spend time with God, guard your heart and mind against what the devil is throwing at us.  Remember he is the prince of the power of the air.  The air, meaning airways – meaning what we watch and listen to. So capture your thoughts and have the Word of God ready to replace the thoughts that don’t line up with God’s Word.  The time of His return is getting near and we, the church, the body of Christ must start telling others.  So BE BOLD, don’t worry about what someone else might think of you.  Strengthen your walk with God so you will be confident and ready to share it!

Choose Joy! Love y’all!

As we watched the weather report for the day to be prepared I continued to see the report of the fear that the coronavirus is creating.  Things from hoarding toilet paper (which I totally don’t get), to closing schools, closing work places, quarantines, even possibly pushing back the tax deadline.  I thought to myself Lord, these people are so totally deceived by the devil.  I believe that because if you look at the statistics for the regular old flu and the coronavirus it is incredible that more died in the US from the regular old flu and complications from that.  I totally get preparation folks, but this is all out fear mongering.  I have heard repeatedly from Dr.’s and the CDC that this has totally gotten out of hand and that the media is to blame.  Well, they helped but what is really going on is that the devil has worked his stealth to get people into agreement with fear that comes only from him.  The verse, John 10:10, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy means just that.  He is stealing your peace, killing your progress and destroying your witness and walk with Christ.   Most people stop at that part of the verse, however, it goes on to say that I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  So what part of fear is walking in God’s abundance?

If you are a Christian and you are fearful, then you need to stop and examine what you really believe.  Question #1, do you believe the Bible?  Question#2 Do you believe ALL of the Bible?  If you answered both to those, then examine what your daily walk and talk says.  Do you feel anxious, fearful, do you talk about your fears.  Examine whether you really truly believe that or are you just giving lip service to it.  I know that is harsh, but it is true.  If you aren’t working daily to walk in Biblical truth, then you are just giving lip service and your heart is in the wrong place.  Do we falter daily, you betcha, but if your go to is “I’m just a fearful person”,  then you aren’t believing what God says in 2 Timothy 1:7,  For God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”  Hebrews, 13:6, So we may bodly say:  The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, What can man do to me?, Deut. 31:8, “ He will never leave or forsake you, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.  And my favorite John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you; Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I was really disappointed that churches are cancelling services and altering the things they do because of fear.  What does that truly say about our religious institutions? I call them that because the “church” is the body of believers not the physical building or the church hierarchy. Does that scream to the world, I believe and trust in God and the devil is the father of all lies and one to instill fear?  I am burdened for our churches and pray that people would wake up and stop getting their ears itched.  2 Tim 4:3, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned asides to fables.”  Those fables come straight from the devil and comes in the form of things like this fear.

One true test is ask yourself,  do you go to church so you can learn, so you can seek others so that iron can sharpen iron (have others to help you be accountable to God), and when the message really convicts you do you stop going or get upset with the preacher or teacher? Do you go because it looks good?  Do you seek God Monday-Saturday or just on Sunday?  One really great test is during your week, if Jesus appeared right next to you and you saw him would you be ashamed of your words, deeds, actions?  If he appeared in your living room would you be ashamed of what you are watching or looking at on your computer/phone?

The message I keep getting from God in my quiet time, is the church, the body of Christ, the believers, needs to awaken and rise up to their calling (FYI everyone is called to do something). We are here only to further the Kingdom of God by sharing the good news, not always just in words, but more so in actions, in lifestyle, in the everyday things. 

That all being said, if you are fearful of something , examine why are you fearful, then see what the Bible has to say. My favorite is Psalm 91. When I am afraid I say that and remember that God is my covering! It brings such peace!  Try it out, commit it to memory or write it down so you can see it!

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler (devil)

And from the perilous pestilence (Coronavirus)

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you

Shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler (covered the length of your body)

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday,

A thousand may fall at your side

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you,

Only with your eyes shall you look

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord who is my refuge

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling (this includes coronavirus)

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways,

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone,

You shall treat upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name,

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him;

With long life I will satisfy him

And show him My salvation.

With all of that being said, I am not saying if you have an immunity problem or are old and susceptible to catching things that you should walk blindly without caution.  But those folks know who they are and they must be diligent against the flu already with being in large crowds.  Be wise and wash your hands!

I pray that God will give peace, Phil 4:6 & 7, to His children and that they will be able to rest in Him and His promises.  Psalms 91 uses the words Will and Shall – not might and could, so stand on God’s promises.  Walk in His ways, think on things above, Phil 4:8 &9, and above all commit your ways to the Lord and He will bless you, have a spirit of excellence in all you do, everything unto the Lord.  The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!

Choose Joy and capture your thoughts unto the obedience of Christ!  Walk in power, love and a sound mind, not fear!  Have a blessed week!  Love y’all! 

What a beautiful and cold morning!  80 this weekend and 32 this morning, what a contrast.  My poor trees, flowers and grass don’t know what to do.  To bloom or die it is a real struggle.  As the sun broke through this morning, I was listening to worship music.  I try to get up every morning and listen to music so I can start my day out worshipping the Lord, today it was the song, “Less Like Me” off the Rescue Story Album by Zach Williams.  If you haven’t listened to it, try it out!  I don’t know why I’m amazed but I am that the Lord gives me a consistent theme a lot of days.  I was listening to a message from several years ago by Jonathan Cahn, if you haven’t listened to him do.  It is amazing the facts that he brings out about what is going on in America parallels Israel’s rebellion against the Lord.  It really got me to thinking and talking to the Lord about what is going on in our country and with Christians, me included.  Listening to that message brought me to my knees in prayer!  It is amazing how humbling a word from the Lord can be.  As I prayed and the Lord spoke to me, He asked me to write this message to help people think about their lives in an honest way.  I know it is a little long, but this is my heart cry given to me by God!

I believe what is going on in America today is really a wake-up call for Christians! Hear me out, before you click off thinking this is not going to be a political post!  I have several things to ask myself and please ask yourself these things too. 

As Christians, are we doing what God designed us to do?  Are we bringing God’s Word to others?  Are we fulfilling the call that is on each of our lives?  Our calling is multi-faceted.  Our lives include our attitudes, our way of handling crisis and do we show God’s grace and mercy in the way we deal with others.  When we have a situation that is less than pleasant, are we grumpy and irritated or do we show grace and mercy?  We don’t have to walk around all the time with a crazy grin on our face but do we exhibit joy and peace?  Here is the best question, are we living up to the fullness of joy and abundant life that Christ died for?  If not, then we need to repent and ask God to help us find that full and abundant life, ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and guide us and give us wisdom to know how to do what God has called us to do.  And YES we are ALL called by God.  The scriptures, He knew us before we were formed, He knew us in our mother’s womb come to mind.  (Ps 139:16) If he didn’t know us then he wouldn’t have a plan for us, he would be surprised when we were born.  I don’t think God ever says, Oh Wow!  Look there it is a little girl.  Wonder what I should call her to.  Nope, he says, Wow!  Donna is being born today and I have such amazing plans, abounding joy and love for her!  I can’t wait to watch her grow! 

Knowing that God loves us and brought us forth to further His kingdom is the first step.  We begin to see that we must do our part.  We must let go of what we see and feel in the natural (in the world view) and begin to go focus on things of the spirit. Rms 8:6 says it best, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” Jesus died for us and sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us. (Rms 5:5) So we need to take full advantage of both of those!  After we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes and lives on the inside of us, filling us with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.  That is an amazing thing!  It really should embolden us to do more for the kingdom; however, the devil has us convinced through the world’s point of view, that we cannot do that!  That people will believe that we are crazy, that we won’t succeed, that guilt and shame of what we have done in the past will keep us from victory, people will condemn us.  Examine the things that you believe about yourself.  The Lord says we are wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  That we are free from condemnation, guilt and shame! (Rms 8:1-2)

In our self examination, we need to ask ourselves, do we really believe what God says about us, do we really believe what the Bible says?  If the answer to both of these is yes, awesome!  If the answer is,  I’m not sure or no, then go back to God’s Word and pray and ask God to reveal to you the things that He wants you to believe about yourself and Him.

If your still here, great!  This is the bottom line of this message from God through me!  Christians, it is time for us to pray and commit to living for the Lord! If you are saying, I do that.  I pray that you examine your life, in truth and honesty, to see if you are truly doing that.  The devil gets us so complacent that we often think I’m am living for Christ, when we are truly just existing and waiting for the Lord to return.  Waiting is not a passive activity; waiting on the Lord is an active and very vibrant activity! 

We must wake up focused on Christ, go through our day focused on Christ and go to bed focused on Christ.  I promise if you do that, you will be amazingly blessed and in turn will bless others around you and those you come in contact with.  Remember the scripture, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Well this is where it comes to action.  When we are weak the Lord is strong in us. 

I talk to many people, Christians and pre-Christians alike and the common theme is I don’t have time for anything else.  Well, if you give Christ your time, He will give you more time.  I didn’t believe it either but it does work.  I spend time with him and think I’ll never get all this stuff done and amazingly I do.  But I also have to realize that time with Him is my first priority and I need to really prioritize things.  Things, often times, that we think must absolutely be done could actually wait another day or even two or not at all.  The Lord asks all of us, am I first in your life?  Am I important to you?  Do you think it is important to tell others about me, even when it is uncomfortable? 

At this time in America, it is popular to argue that I am right and you are wrong.  How about we just agree that we are different?  As Christians, we are called to be different; we are to be the salt and the light.  To show the world God’s love and just a hint arguing we are right is not a great way to show God’s love.  You can definitely present information but we must do it in a loving way.  We are not to be the conviction of the world, that is the Holy Spirit’s job.  We are so blessed as a nation that we forget that many around the world, especially, in China are not free to worship the Lord.  They are burning churches, imprisoning people and killing people for proclaiming the word of the Lord.  Most of us, even those at poverty level in America, make more than the majority of others in the world.  Is it really a surprise that the coronavirus is hitting China?  Read God’s Word, He will not be mocked or torn down.  So here is where some will say, why would God kill innocent people?  Well, just like Israel when you rebel against God, which is your choice, He gives warnings (and if you look I am sure there were warnings in China just like there are warnings here in America) and if we as a nation don’t hinder those warnings, then He does bring about judgment and punishment. 

Here is where God is calling Christians to pray for China, pray for America, pray for the bride of Christ, (Christians) to remember that we are called to be in the world, but not of the world.  What?  What does that really mean?  It means that we walk according to God’s Word.  How do you do that?  Well, first off, you must read and study God’s word.  Pray and spend time (even 15-30 minutes a day) with the Lord.  This doesn’t mean give Him your laundry list of wants/needs and then be done.  This means, study God’s word and the prayers found there, Ephesians 1, Colossians 1,  1 Chronicles 4 (the prayer of Jabez), Philippians 4:6,7, Mark 11:22-25, Hebrews 12:1-3.  You can turn any scripture into a prayer.  I pray Psalm 91 over myself and others when there is a storm, a stressful situation.  I remind God of His word and His promises over us.  I pray out loud a lot of times to remind the devil that I have victory and that God is on the throne of my life.  Our lives should each be in submission to the Holy Spirit.  I remind the devil that the Holy Spirit is in control and that Jesus rules and reigns in my life.  Now if you pray out loud and remind the devil of that and it is not true, look out he will press in that much harder to see if it is truly true!  So self examination is essential!  In all situations, we must look to the scriptures and you can’t do that if you don’t know God’s Word.  Even the devil knows the word, but he twists it just a little to make it sound like truth.  So knowing God’s word is essential to fighting the enemy.  If you come to a situation, look around you before you react and see where Jesus is and how He would react?  Pray just for a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to guide your reaction.  Would your reaction guide people to Jesus or would it be just like someone without Christ.  If it is just like a pre-Christian (unbeliever) then you probably want to reexamine how you are going to react?  Negativity, fear, uncontrolled anger and words, unloving, disrespectful, agitated have no place in you if you have given your heart to Christ.  It is your choice how you react.  No one makes you do anything, it is always a choice whether you blame someone else or you take control of your thoughts and actions.  It is majorly easy when you have been in God’s Word because you know what God’s reaction is and what He has called us to.  We are made in God’s image after all!

In conclusion, I have prayed over and asked the Lord to guide me in this writing.  I prayed and asked that He would prepare your heart to hear the message you need to hear.   Lord, help your bride, all Christians, to show joy and peace that comes from You and You alone.  Help us call evil, evil and good, good in this time especially when it is difficult.  Strengthen us to show others Your mercy, grace, goodness and love to all those we come in contact with, especially those that are so difficult to deal with.  Let us let go of what we see in the natural world and grab hold of what we see in Your Word, help us be Kingdom minded.  Help each of us find and walk in our calling.  Help each of us to let go and let you rule and reign in our hearts and our lives.  Let us be more like Jesus and less like our own sinful self.  Help us choose You in every situation.  Lord I pray for our nation, our leaders that we will return to You and the path that You have for us.  Forgive us Lord for not standing up for you and help us from now on stand firm for You!  Help us choose the peace and joy that you have already given us!  Prepare the hearts of those reading this to hear from You and give each of them wisdom and direction to follow You!  In Jesus precious and Holy name I pray, Amen!

Choose Joy, walk in peace (check out the word Shalom!) Love to y’all my brothers and sisters!

Further reading from scriptures Galatians 5:16, Psalm 139, Psalm 91, Romans 5 & 8, Matthew 5 & 6, Ephesians 1:15-23, Colossians 1:1-14, Philippians 4, Hebrews 12:1-3, John 15:4, Rms 5:5, John 14:17