There must be more . . .

An encouraging word from Francis Fangipane

And I pray "Lord, forgive me for seeking a safe life instead of a supernatural life. I want more of You. Call me out of the boat of my familiar, predictable world. Master, for the sake of reaching the lost, increase my faith until I am standing with You on the water of divine potential. In Jesus' name, Amen." by Francis Frangipane

God's gifts . . .

What a great joy it is to watch the gifts of God being unwrapped in one's children!
James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, . . . "

A beautiful sound . . .

Jesus, help us . . .

My heart and prayers go out to the family and friends of those involved in the shootings at Virginia Tech University this week. May God bring comfort and healing to your hearts, as only He can.

Memorial

Standing strong . . .

This morning as I awake, I am struck, blow by blow, over and over again, by every lie from that the pit of hell wants to throw at me and believe. As I felt myself get mad, then sad, then begin to bend over and lay down, as if defeated, I heard this, louder than anything -

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then . . ." Ephesians 6:13-14

And so, (after about 20 minutes) I JUMPED off the floor, and screamed NO WAY am I going to be knocked down today! I prayed the armor of God on me, and asked for forgiveness from God for opening my mind to the belief in any of the accusers lies, and declared that I am covered in the blood of the lamb.

If YOU are feeling bent over and knocked down today, know that true strength and true victory is only a prayer away. For the promise of our God is - "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; . . ." Revelations 12:10-11

If you know Jesus, YOU ARE AN OVERCOMER!

If you haven't met my very best friend Jesus yet, go here

Today I sing two songs. As I sing them, I sing them as a declaration over my life, my families life, and my home.

I'm Still Standing by Elton John

Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah
I'm still standing yeah yeah

Stronger by Delirious

We're getting stronger everyday
We're getting braver in every way
Hallelujah here we come.
We're getting stronger everyday
Push through the rains that fall our way
Hallelujah here we come.
We're much stronger when we're one
Hallelujah here we come.

Oh, I love You from the depths of my heart
And nothing here will tear us apart
Everything's beautiful with You
Everything's beautiful, when You invade my life
And I'm living just to say that 'I love You'.

We're getting closer everyday
Chasing the dreams that heaven gave
Hallelujah here we come
We're getting closer everyday
Into Your arms I'm here to stay
We're much stronger when we're one
Hallelujah here we come.

Trust in the Lord . . .

Yesterday, God did a mighty thing. He removed heavy yokes from my life that I hadn't even realized were there. Thank you God for freeing me from the heavy yokes of failure, guilt, and fear. Every place where I had opened the door in agreeent with the lies of the accuser were removed by Your mighty hand! Yesterday You also told me to look forward, look forward, look forward, and leave the past in the past.

So, today as I look forward, not back, I ponder the many areas before me. Questions, questions, questions . . . so many of them. Will Tim's job change next year? Will he teach summer school? Should he teach summer school? What will we do for homeshcool? What will this summer look like? Should we put our backyard in? Where do you see our lives for you God? And many many more . . .

As I look and ask, there is only one who can answer these questions . . . Jehovah himself!

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 (Amplified)

Today Lord, forgive me for trying to figure things out. Forgive me for carrying the weight of guilt, failure, and fear for the past few months. Today I wait patiently for You, and You alone.

I trust YOU!

And I LOVE YOU JESUS!

Miracles . . .

I saw a miracle this week. As I sat among my family, and looked around the room, God gently whispered to me, "Look at my beloved children. You know the places and adversity each life has faced. Look at them. Look at yourself. Each one, each one of my beloved children, miracles!" And as I looked around, a great sense of awe in God overcame me as I knew what He meant. We are miracles, overcomers . . . in the hands of our God. Thank You Jesus!

"I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples." Psalm 77:12-14

Seen any miracles lately? Look around . . . small and big, they are abundant! Look for God's display of power among the peoples today! You will see Him if you look . . .

" . . . and those who seek Me find Me." Proverbs 8:17b

Promise . . .

I believe today for the promise of God. He says " I will . . . " and today, I believe. For the brokenhearted and hurting . . . I believe. Nothing I can do will save someone or fix someone, but as I look around my life today, the loved ones surrounding me . . . I believe for every promise in God's word over our lives.

Isaiah 42:16
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

There is so much more of You God, but today, I believe you . . .

Hope . . .

Today, Lord, I am in need of hope. So many situations around me look hopeless. I woke up today with the weight of worry on my shoulders. I worry about the living situations of my pregnant friend who is bi-polar and on no medication right now: I worry also for her unborn baby. I worry for the man at church who had a stroke, and they cannot stop the bleeding in his brain. I worry about his wonderful wife too. I worry that I hear you right and I make the right decisions in my life. But . . . I know You tell me not to worry Lord, so right now, I place these weights and worries at Your feet.

"Praise be to the 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, " Peter 1:3

JESUS IS our LIVING HOPE!
Our hope is not for someday, far away in eternity,
it is a HOPE for the LIVING for TODAY!

Forgive me Jesus for my unbelief.

I stand in belief and prayer for myself and every one of my family and friends who today, are facing hard, hurtful, fearful, and unbelievable things.


We look past the impossible to believe God for the POSSIBLE!


"Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

The view from my beach chair . . .

Just thought I would share a small glimpse of my beautiful weekend away. With the sound of the oceans roar behind me, I actually had a moment all to myself (which is rare with three small children). Good thing I packed my pencils and pad at the last minute. Not great by any means, but FUN for me as I realized once again how much I love to draw.

A refreshing ocean breeze . . .

This weekend I had been given a wonderful gift of a trip to the coast with my friend. I love the coast because it holds many, many great memories from my life of fun times spent with my family and friends. But even more than that, to just sit and gaze upon the greatness of the ocean makes me even more in awe of God.

To try to imagine with my eyes the great expanse of the sea, my mind cannot fathom. I look and look, and soon I realize how small I really am, and how great and mighty is our God. To watch the waves break, I am reassured of His love. To look upon the sand is to stand in amazement that He knows the number of grains of sand. And to watch the sunrise, and the sunset, day after day, is to know that God is faithful; He never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As I am caught in the moment of the greatness of God, how He is so mighty, yet knows every part of the smallest corner of my heart, I fall in love with Him all over again.

He knows me, really knows me. And, He loves me . . . more than I can even imagine.

And the same is true, not just for me, but all of us!

The God who made the vast expanse of the sea, and also knows the number of hairs on your head, longs for an intimate friendship with you! He sees you, He knows you, He made you, and best of all, HE LOVES YOU!

Do you hear Him today, calling your name . . . lovingly, over and over again.

Run to Him today, His arms are open wide, waiting for you . . . with a smile on His face.

What's in a name?

As a family, and in homeschool, we are studying the names of God. I have been changed as I come face to face daily with knowing that God IS who He says He is. Today we learned about Jehovah-Ahavah, "God Is Love".

"It is God’s nature to love (1 John 4:16). He keeps His covenant of love for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9). In Love, God reveals Himself to us and seeks fellowship with us. Love is a basic attribute of God’s nature. He is the perfect expression of true love.
“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63:9 "

from the book 'I AM: Inheriting the Fullness of God's Names' by John Paul Jackson

Knowing that God is the perfect expression of true love; then I believe You God, Jehovah-Ahavah, and I ask You today to come and ravish my heart with Your passionate love. Replace my heart with Your heart, so I may love like You love. Replace my eyes with Your eyes, Jesus, so I can see others as You do.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is to love and be loved in return. ~ From "Unforgettable with Love" by Natalie Cole

Increase my faith . . .

Last night I had the privilege of attending a Lamaze class with a single friend of mine who is having a baby in June. That's me, the labor coach. It is our third class, and last night we watched the birthing video. I am so overwhelmed and amazed all over again at how wonderful our Creator is. He designed everything so perfectly . . . birth IS a miracle. And then I am left wondering with all the whys? Why God do you allow some people to have children, and leave some women barren? Why God do you allow children to be born in severe poverty, and leave well-to-do families childless? Why God does thing called abortion exist when there are endless numbers of couples waiting with open arms for a child to love? Why God . . . my mind cannot understand. Today Lord, my heart breaks for the unborn. Will they make it to birth? Will they survive the birth process? Will they have a safe and loving home once they get here? Lord, increase my faith today, because even when I can't understand . . . my heart always trusts You. You are Jehovah, Elohim, El Shaddai . . . Almighty God, Our Creator . . .the I AM. Forgive me Lord, for my unbelief.

Encouragement I received for today . . .

I thank you Lord today for those that you have placed in and around my life. We all need each other . . . forgive me Lord for the times when I think I can do it on my own. I was greatly encouraged by this word from John Paul Jackson.
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Out of all the prophetic men and women in Scripture, only two are described as being gifted to understand dreams and visions: Daniel and Joseph. There are many prophetic people in the Bible, but only two who were gifted like this. In other words, we shouldn't be shocked or downhearted when we don't understand all of our dreams, visions or experiences. All of us aren't going to understand our dark knowings, the deep things the Lord has called us to do--the deep things He has told us about. We have to depend on other people to help us.

You Will Always Need Other People

As simple as it sounds, this creates incredible tension. We have a gift--we're supposed to be the ones with the revelation! If we depend on others, what if they see us as weak? Well, I'm the one with the gift, we think. If I don't know, who's gonna know? Yet we often don't know, and the not knowing forces us to go one way or the other: We can choose God and His "family plan," or we can choose to become orphans who have to survive on our own. We are part of the body, and we cannot exist solo, no matter how gifted we are.

Walking in Faith

God will make us walk through life in faith so that we can understand how other people walk through life in faith. Walking in faith involves believing that what God has said about us is true. It means we take Him at His word--which takes a lot of courage, depending on our personality type and our fears. We accept the fact that He did not create us to be loners who know everything. In fact, even though we can prophetically see for others, often we can't see worth a flip for ourselves. If we didn't have to walk in faith, we would have absolutely no comprehension or understanding of the divine dynamic tension that everybody else has to walk under. In essence, God tells us, "I'm going to let you see for everybody else but you. Very seldom will I let you see for yourself. I am going to have others come to you and tell you, 'This is what's going to happen,' so that you have to walk by faith just like they do. You will know, then, how it feels when you go and tell that to them."

All of Us Equal

As we go through this maturing process, we realize that comforting others as we ourselves have been comforted (2 Corinthians 1:4) doesn't just apply to helping others through their pain. It is also a general statement of how God created us to live with one another whether there's pain involved or not. We are not separate from one another. What one goes through, we all experience; and so, we learn to live in deep compassion and humility, realizing that God created all of us as the apple of His eye. All of us are equal in His sight, even if one gifting seems to be spotlighted more than another. His affection does not pertain to gifting. It does not pertain to accomplishments. It pertains to His heart. He has chosen us to be recipients of His compassion. When we realize this, loving people becomes a little easier. Their destiny is just as important as ours, and we cannot make it to ours if they cannot make it to theirs.

by John Paul Jackson
Streams Ministries

Life . . .

True life, as I have discovered, is found only in Jesus. And there is where I shall dwell . . . because in that place I find all I need to not just survive, but to REALLY live.

Hebrews 8:35 -39 says "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? . . .”No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Got Life?