Stagnant

Stagnant - You can be happy and thankful for where you are; but in order to not become stagnant you must keep pressing for more. Be content; but not to the extent that you no longer want more of Him.


"I'm gonna keep on working till He comes till He comes..."

That was my thought for the day.

PRESS ON toward the mark.

Sometimes it's ...a fight; but it's never a game.

His Heart Doth Safely Trust

Pro 31:11 -12

-The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.


-She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Yesterday this scripture kept going over and over in my mind until I had to go look it up.  As I read it I began to think about what it really was saying. 

IF the wife will treat her husband well and not evil...then her husband will feel safe enough to give her his whole heart. 

His whole heart.  His whole devotion.  His whole faithfulness.  He wont have any need to fill that part of his heart with anything other than you!!

One reason that a husband may feel afraid to give us his whole heart is because maybe he has done that in the past (maybe more than once) and has lived to regret it.  Maybe (for lack of a better example) he has said to himself "one more time" and handed you his heart and you promptly placed it into a meat grinder.  I can say this because I have done this over and over myself.  I have apologized, to only turn around and do the same things again.  I know that there will be times that mistakes will come; but at the same time I have to actually be TRYING not to make them.

I feel like this scripture was talking to me.  For so long I have griped and griped about wanting that whole hearted perfect relationship when in truth I WAS THE ONE preventing that very thing from happening.  Could it be possible that I was sabotaging myself???  I think so.

If every time my husband gives me his heart I spend the next day, month, year picking the rest of him apart what's to stop him from taking his heart back; and worse yet someday giving up completely and giving his heart to someone else?  Wow, that's a sobering thought!!  I don't want my husband to feel safe with anyone; but me.  I want to be the one that he gives his whole self to.  Next to the Lord I WANT TO BE THE ONE!!  I want him to feel safe with me.  I want him to be able to trust me in everything.  I want him to KNOW that I will stand beside him forever.  If I want him to be the head of our home then I have let him know that I will follow!!!

I know that this is sobering; but the Lord is really working in our home and for that I am so thankful.  A while back the Lord dealt with me that the greatest calling (regardless of what I do for the church) I have been given right now is to be the keeper of our home.  It is my responsibility to keep the bad out and fill it with the good.  I asked the Lord to help me with this and I feel that He is.  By no means has this been an easy thing, and it has stirred up all kinds of things; but I really firmly believe that the Lord is cleaning house.  The Lord is moving His church on and He is starting individually.    

Day 9 - Husband Encouragement Challenge

Well it is only day 9 of this challenge and I must admit that this has been a really eye-opening experience.  By doing my best to not say negative things and take more time to say positive things to my husband I have seen a real difference in our home.  Not just on his part; but mainly on my part. 

His part - He seems a lot happier and more smiley (if that makes any sense). 

We have done a lot of laughing together and this may seem sad; but it is just the truth...when you have built a relationship on negative communication it actually feels weird to be...happy.  I feel like we are learning each other all over again.  Learning how to say nice things to each other and not hurtful.  We are having fun doing things FOR THE OTHER PERSON.

My part - I believe that by spending more time looking for things I can compliment him on it has taken my focus off all the little annoying things.  Which in turn has made me much happier.  Instead of looking at the dark negative things I feel like I have been shown the light!!

It is funny how something as simple as this challenge could have such a great impact on our home.  Can't wait to see what else this month holds for us.  Praise the Lord!!!

Day 5 - 30 Day Challenge

I signed up for a 30 Day Encourage Your Husband Challenge and today's assignment was to tell my parents and his how I feel about my husband. This is something surprisingly hard and embarrassing for me to do. I am fine sharing how I feel about most things; but this seems to be so private it's intimidating. I do however want to do this challenge whole heartily so here goes.


When I was a little girl I always imagined being married and having my own family. Like most little girls I had it all planned out. I can already see in my daughters this natural wifely and motherly instinct taking hold. It is funny how that we fall in love with the idea of being a wife and mommy before really knowing what all that will entail.

When Phillip was 11 he moved to Houston, TX. From the first moment I saw him I knew that he was the man/boy for me. Some say that at that age you can't possibly know; but I did. As our lives went on I dated others; but always would come back to Phillip. None could compare. He was the one!!

When we got married I was in love with the idea of love. I knew that I loved Phillip and that I wanted to spend my life with him; but I had no idea what a wife was supposed to be and I will readily admit that for the last 11 years he has put up with a lot. He has never left...physically or mentally. He has a lot more patience and mercy than I have ever thought about having. He truly LOVES me.

Phillip is a GREAT provider. He willingly sacrifices his wants and even his needs to give everything he has to me and our two girls. He gives his time, his body; and every last cent of his money to make a life for us that he feels we deserve. I hope that one day I will actually DESERVE it.

Phillip is a FANTASTIC father. He loves his children more than life itself and would lay down his life if it was required for them. He is caring and considerate with them. They are his BIGGEST fans. =D

Phillip is my BEST FRIEND. There is no one besides the Lord that loves and cares for me the way he does. He takes more abuse than any man I know and still will reach over to comfort and listen to me.

Phillip is my PROTECTOR. When he is gone I have a hard time sleeping because he sleeps with his arms around me most of the night. In his arms I am safe. I know that I can trust him because I KNOW that he loves me.

I could go on and on; but this note would get very mushy very fast. The truth is that I love him more than just about anything. I do not deserve how good he is to me; but I do intend to spend the rest of my life trying my best to prove to him that I love and appreciate him.


I don't just love him for the things that he does for me; but I love him for just being there. Staying when I know that most men would have run the other way. For making me fee like the most important woman in the world.

I love you Phillip...more than any words I type could ever say. You are the man that goes beyond my dreams!!!



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30 Days to Encourage Your Husband *Day 3 Update below

I am a person that is very hard on myself.  I feel like I KNOW the teachings of this Body and so that leaves no excuses for mistakes.  I am working on this.  As well as being hard on myself I have realized that I expect the same of my husband and my children.  I know that these are unrealistic expectations and I am working on that as well.  In all of my soul searching the last few months I have realized that I can be very merciful and patient with others; but when it comes to my husband and my children I am critical and harsh.  This realization is nothing short of painful for me.  To realize that you have hurt the people closest to you is heart breaking to say the least.  I have been trying to rebuild this relationship; but have found that sometimes the only thing that I can do is pray and keep my mouth SHUT!!!  I have watched my daughter Sophia and she wants to please me so much and I want her to know more than anything that I love her and accept her.  I have the job as her mother to help shape her confidence in herself.  I want her to believe in herself.  Both of my girls.  And my poor husband...he works so hard to provide not just our needs; but all of our wants.  He does a great job and I spend 90% of my time pointing out his flaws instead of praising him for the good he does.  Lord help me!!  This brings me to the title of this post.  I was online and looking at one of my favorite sight's and this was the article that popped up.

  http://www.reviveourhearts.com/challenge/husband-encouragement/#comments

It is something that I think I am going to try.  For the details click on the link; but I wanted to post it in case others were interested. 

I will try to post any interesting things that occur.  Hopefully I will regain the trust and confidence from him that I so desire.  I am determined that if I will let the Lord help me HE WILL!!!  (Per my Aunt Karen =)  He has already so many times before!!


**Day 3 - So far so good.  I have been doing my best to NOT say anything negative to Phillip or about Phillip.  This has been really encouraging because instead of focusing on the negative I have been looking for the positive.  It is amazing how this has changed MY outlook.  We have had a few very pleasant days.  I am excited to see what the rest of the month holds!!

Help Button

I had this silly little thought. You know when you are in a site like FB and you are having trouble with it...there is a little button usually at the bottom of the page that days HELP? I got to thinking about that button and that how if you need help you can just push that little button; and this nice little box pops up with all these different things you may need help with. Sometimes it will give you options or steps to try with that subject. It also gives the option that if your "problem" is not listed below you can run a troubleshooting session on your computer. If that doesn't help there is another option to try...you may need to run a diagnostic test on your computer. I got to thinking about this. Sometimes spiritually when you push that help button your "problem" pops right up with all the directions on how to solve it; but then there are other times when your "problem" is not listed. It's at that time you need to allow the Holy Ghost to run a diagnostic check. Allow it to go down deep and touch that part of you that is malfunctioning. You would be surprised at the problems that can be fixed by just allowing the Holy Ghost free reign in your life.




And that was my thought. =D



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Humbled

As I was driving home yesterday I was singing the song the Lord had given me this weekend.  As I was singing I heard my daughter (Sophia) trying her best to sing along with me.  I stopped to listen and she said "Mom, sing it again".   I began to sing again and then after a few times asked her to sing it for me.  She said " No mom, you sing it with me".   I could hardly sing I was so choked up.  Some of my fondest memories are singing in the car with my mother; and there on that very day I got to sing in the car with my daughter.  It humbled me to hear the words the Lord had allowed me to write down for Him, coming from her mouth.  She loves to sing and I hope that she always holds these songs near to her heart.  The songs of the Body of Christ.  The songs that overflow with this truth that I love and hold so dear.  Right now 2 songs that she sings over and over are "Lord I Want To Go", and "I Came Here To Praise You".  I am so blessed.  Maya also loves to sing.  Right now her favorite song is Veggie Tales or anything that her sister is singing at the time.  She does her very best to sing right along.  I am so very blessed.  Thank you Lord for planting the seeds and Lord help me to help you cultivate them into something that you can use.

The Remedy

A little chorus the Lord gave me this weekend.

I was listening to Bro. George Wright and he said "He is the remedy for all humanity"; and my mind began going ninety miles and hour.


I've got the remedy
For all humanity
Just come and follow me.

If you'll give up control
I can make you whole
And set your spirit free.

If you will follow me
Then I will lead you
My people you will be.

So come on my child
Come on, let go
And let me set you free.

Joy in the Camp

"Joy is not the absence of storms, it's learning to dance in the rain."

I saw this quote somewhere and my mind began working.

Finding joy in the midst of chaos is sometimes hard.  Well, honestly it is always hard.  Joy hides in places your carnal mind wont look.  Joy is something that you can't buy, you can't sell; and if you look for it in the flesh you wont find it.  Joy goes BEYOND happiness.  I can pretend to be happy; but in order to find true joy...that flows from within.
Joy comes when you look at your circumstances and see a bigger picture.  That this chaos is somehow for our good even though we can't see why yet.  I know that sometimes it is hard to see the BIG picture; but it's at those times that the Lord gives us grace.  Grace for what?  To endure.  Why must you endure?  You endure because you have been given hope of a promise.  A promise of life eternal. 
I am not saying that I have this down pat.  I do NOT!!!  I have to continually remind myself of this; and when I can't seem to remember it the Lord is so faithful to remind me.  He send a song, a testimony; or a message my way that helps me remember why I endure.  That feeling begins to wash over me and I remember.  That peace, and comfort; and yes...even JOY returns to give me that little push to go a little further. 

"It's not by might, nor by strength; but by my spirit..."

He said He would never leave us or forsake us.  You may find yourself in the midst of chaos; but look around He's right there.  Don't allow yourself to end up in the ditch of sadness, complaining; or depression.  Call on the name of JESUS!!!!  If all you can do is stand in your living room and holler HELP, holler help!!!!!  HE WILL HEAR YOU!!!!! 

"Then you ask me why I love Him.
Why I choose to walk this way.
Why His service it gets sweeter everyday.
It's the only life worth living.
And it makes my world complete.
Oh THAT'S what Jesus means to me!!!!"

Just A Note

I am going to be adding a lot in the near future.  I have felt for a long time to do this and so slowly; but surely I am going to put my hand to the plow.  I hope that the things that I post are uplifting, encouraging; and that they give you a little hope in the midst of the chaos.  I know that everyday I learn something from my children and my husband.  We have been given the greatest classroom opportunity...LIFE.  I am excited and humbled at the chance to share mine with you.  So...here we go.  If you want you have my permission to recommend this to someone; but I do ask that it is someone that you believe is trustworthy since I do have pics of my children on here.  Just have them send me their email and I will be happy to add them.  Thank you for taking the time to read a few pages out of my book.

It Does Matter

My heart is so overwhelmed and my mind is just racing so the way I resolve that is to write.


It is amazing to me the amount of people that can feel the Lord dealing with them on things in their lives and know that the Lord is tugging on them; and yet still they think that you can live with one foot in the world and one foot in the church. It breaks my heart actually to see them struggle within themselves everytime they are at church only to get a little bit of relief and go right back to doing the things the Lord has convicted them of. Don't we know the affect it has on our life. I'm talking to me as well because it seems that we all fight this battle somewhere in our walk with the Lord over something we're holding onto. We are either in or out. The Bible says that the lukewarm (one foot in and one foot out) He would eventually spew out of His mouth. We all know this; but to really understand what all that entails I think would spur more of us into action. Yes, I believe the Lord gives second chances, and Yes I think that He has mercy for us; but I do think that eventually it will come down to one last chance. We will either say that "eternal yes" the ministers have been talking about or we will say to the Lord "No, Lord, you know I think I can handle this all on my own".

God forbid!!!! Where would we be without the Lord??? I know the answer to that question in my own life and where I would be is not worth mentioning at all!! I owe Him my life. MY LIFE!!! That is what He wants from each and everyone of us. OUR LIFE. Not to question when He says jump; but to jump with all my might. Bro. Brown tells this story about Bro. Patton and him that I think is kind of funny; but so true for me. He said that if the Lord told Bro. Patton to jump out a window he would just do it. Bro. Brown (like me I think) would have to look out the window and see how far down it was and where the best place to land would be. I am sorry to say that more often than not when the Lord has dealt with me in my own life I tend to relate more to Bro. Brown. I feel like that the time for that in my own likfe is slowly dwindling away. I don't feel like in my life the Lord is pleased with that anymore. Why would the Lord send me before the kings of this world to speak for Him if I question every thing He asks me to do in my own life now. How can the Lord trust me if I don't trust Him. He said if I would keep His commandments that I could have eternal life. What is better than that?

Lord help me to take my foot out of the world and plant them both in you!!!

I had this experience one time the Lord was asking me to give up some things I'd been holding onto. I was really getting a good blessing and I had this picture of those big bulky plastic bracelets. You know the ones you can get in all shapes an sizes? I had them all up and down my arms and written on them were things that I'd been holding onto.
Ex. - hurts, pride, even getting down to the specifics written on these bracelets.
The Lord would have me to look at one of them and he would ask me to take it off and drop it to the floor. Now I wasn't physically doing this, it was all in my head. I would fight a bit; but then I would take off the bracelet and drop it to the floor. This happened several times and the more I took off the deeper I went in the spirit. It was a wonderful expereince. I felt that the Lord was showing me that if I would be willing to take those burdens off that I could have more of Him. To this day I think of that when He starts dealing with me about something. If I can let go of what I'm holding onto I can have more of Him; and untimately there will be none of me left only Him!!!

Praise the Lord!! Ok, now maybe I can sleep.



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My Testimoney

Gelina Gilbert asked me to write this a while back...



My testimony...what would I consider my testimony? Since I have been here all my life my testimony may not be quite as spectacular as others. I guess my testimony would be a testimony of the love and mercy of the Lord shed abroad in my life.

When I was 8 or 9 years old the Lord in His own simple way began to show me my need for Him in my life. I gave my heart to Jesus on the edge of my parents bed while blow drying my hair for church. My parents were in the room at the time and I always wondered if they noticed that I was crying and talking to the Lord; but they never said. They let me have my moment with the Lord. From that time on I began to seek the Holy Ghost. I remember one time I was down front and after I was done praying my mother asked me if I thought I got the Holy Ghost. She never said I did or didn't. She wanted me to know for myself. I told her I thought so; but I really hadn't got it. Later on at a Vacation Bible School in spring, TX when I was nine I was down front praying with some of my friends to get the Holy Ghost and something happened. I basically lost track of where I was and what I was doing. To this day I don't remember speaking in tongues right then; but I think that's the moment I actually got it. Later on during that week some of us were all in a circle praying down front and I closed my eyes, opened my mouth; and out came the Holy Ghost. I heard myself. When my mom picked me up I ran outside and jumped in the car. I practically hollered at her "I GOT IT! I GOT THE HOLY GHOST TODAY"! She said, "Are you sure"? I was sure! From then on my parents encouraged me every chance I got to keep my Holy Ghost alive. Through the good and the bad it is my constant comfort. I firmly believe that as a child and a teenager it is important to be soaked in the Holy Ghost. Soaked to overflowing! You should never be ashamed to feel the Holy Ghost. Even if everyone around you isn't showing it they may be feeling it. They may be waiting for someone else to show it so they feel comfortable letting go. This June I will have had the Holy Ghost for 20 years; and I have learned that when you're going through a trial or test it is not always easy to touch the Lord; but it is so important. When my mother passed away I left the funeral and got on a bus and went to a youth meeting in Dallas, TX. That may have been strange to a lot of people; but I knew if I was going to make it through, that I was going to need something extra special from the Lord. He supplied. All through middle and high school I tried to blend in with those around me; but deep down inside I knew I held something different within me than they did. The Lord has never let me forget that and I pray He never will. He's been better than good to me. In 30 years I have watched things change around me and friends come and go; but the Lord has kept his hand on me. By the grace and the mercy of God - I'm still here. Yes, I'm still here...thank you Lord for leading me this way...the vision you gave me grows clearer everyday...I realize Lord you could have chosen others in my place...but I'm so glad I'm in this race...and I'm still here.

Sorry Old Man

10-27-04




(Lord gave me this while Bro. Larry Vance was talking about the things befalling our young people.)

The devil may be bidding a high price for our young people; but be rest assured there will be some that WILL stand up boldly and raise their swords and shields to fight for what our forefathers fought for. There WILL be a generation that will carry the vision of the Body of Jesus Christ on their shoulders. They WILL raise the banner of righteousness up draw the Lord's chosen out of Babylon. WE WILL STAND, WE WILL FIGHT, WE WILL MARCH, AND WE SHALL PREVAIL!!


He stands on the corner bidding us to come in.
"Only for a moment, you don't have to stay.
Sit for a spell, put your feet up.
What does your heart desire?
Riches, power, fame are all here!
You can have all you want,
For just one small price."
Sir you may give me the things of this world.
You may try to fulfill my desires;
But be not deceived my desires are not here.

You may be willing to pay all that you own
For the price of our souls;
But you cannot give us the thing that can fulfill.

Sorry old man; but your time is up!

You've tried your best,
Used all your tricks;
There's nothing left.
My soul you see has already been bought.
Bought with a price
By the Son of God.
You couldn't buy Him,
And you CAN'T BUY ME.

God's prize is one you can't see!
Life everlasting is what my heart desires,
To stand and worship before the Lord's throne.

You see old man, your time is up.

I wont go in and share your dazzle.
There's nothing there but dust and rubble.

See you old man, Your time is up!

My eye is on the prize And I'm not giving in,
Cause I'm on the side that'll win in the end.



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Sweet Peace

Sitting here reading all your posts and just thinkn' that my blessings so outweigh my troubles.  This world is full of so much turmoil (sp?);
but I laid my head down last night in sweet peace.
Everything may not be MY version of perfect;
but God is great and in control.
He never said there wouldn't be bad days; but He did promise He wouldn’t leave me or forsake me.
If HE's there with me then what mountain cannot be removed?
What character flaw cannot be overcome?
What fleshly desire cannot be subdued?
If He is beside me then I am MORE than a conqueror!
Praise the Lord? PRAISE THE LORD!!



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Weapons of Warfare

My father (not just because he's my father) did an excellent job of talking about this subject this weekend. He didn't even know that the whole week before the Lord had really been talking to me about that. I have some things (as I'm sure we all do) in my character that I fight daily. I (as I'm sure most of you) have been feeling the need to really dig deep and clean out. Bro. Brown a couple weeks ago talked about having a pure heart towards God. He used our dear Sis. Blanchard here as an example. When she gets blessed she has this laugh and holler that just spills out over the whole crowd. He took the chance (after one of these times) to point out that if she didn't have the life to back her up those sounds would not have the affect on the crowd the way it had. Without the life to back it up it just wont work he said. That really struck home with me because (and I don't write this for any glory I am just trying to make my point) I feel like at times the Lord has been able to use me in different ways. I feel like that He has used me even when my life DID NOT back it up. For that I am grateful; but I feel more than ever that I want the Lord to be able to have a clean vessel to work with. Why should He always have to work around my faults? Well the truth is HE WONT ALWAYS. I feel like that time may be drawing closer and closer to being over. I want my inside to match my outside. Now back to my weapons. In my praying about these character flaws I was to the point where I was crying out and telling the Lord that "this is what's wrong with me and I have no idea how to help it"?!! I was asking for help. The Wed. night before Bro. Wyzard from McAlester, OK was here and he spoke about an experience he had had. The Lord told him in this experience that "He wasn't going to come down any further we must come up"! I couldn't stop thinking about that. How do you come up? What did I need to do to come up? A million thoughts ran through my head; but the next morning the Lord dealt with me to get up and read my Bible and pray before the kids get up. I do read everyday; but I always saved it for right before bed. One thing Bro. Wyzard said was that the Lord would give us our DAILY bread. Not our bread for tomorrow; but what we needed to make it through TODAY. How could I get what I needed for today if I was waiting till the end of the day to read and pray? So...I did that for a couple days and really felt more strength. Was thinking that maybe he knew what he was talking about.=D Saturday morning the kids woke up early so I missed my time; but as soon as the kids went down for a nap I went to my room to fulfill my comitment to the Lord. I opened Bro. Whittle's book to see what I was to read that day and could have shouted when I read that it was 2 Corinthians 10. After I read this I closed my Bible and began to cry and pray. I had a really good experience that day. It is the scripture that talks about the weapons of our warfare not being carnal. It starts out in v.3 says that we do not war after the flesh... The light bulb finally went off. If you try to fight with the flesh against the flesh you will LOSE!! You have to fight with your spiritual guns!! You can't fight a bear with a water pistol. GIVE ME A RIFLE!!! (2 Corinthians 10:4 - For the weapons of our warfare are NOT carnal, but MIGHTY through GOD to the pulling down of strongholds...) I can't do it in myself. The more that I try to do it in myself the worse I make it. The more I try to ignore it the bigger it grows. Bro. Whiittle also said in his book - "There are exalted notions and opinions in the castle of the human mind that must be conquered and demolished". How? By spiritual weapons. "Some prejudices may be destroyed by neglect, but there are many more which must be (I love this) STORMED BY VIOLENCE. This can only be accomplished by Divine strength imparted by the Holy Spirit and the dynamic Word of God. There are some areas in which we must simply stand still and see the salvation of the Lord; there are others in which we are to fight the good fight of faith".


This song came to mind later that day and I have been singing it ever since.
I haven't slayed the dragon yet; but I've been giving him some good jabs!!


"And we are in the army of the Lord
We've been washed in the blood
And we are going forth
There is nothing that can stop
This mighty moving force
With a SHOUT a PRAISE
a TWO-EDGED SWORD.
Every strong hold and bondage
Must fall beneath our feet
Every prisoner held captive
MUST BE FREED
For our deliverance has come
Through the POWER OF THE SON
It's the blood-bought the church
THE REDEEMED!!!

Faith

"These all died in faith, not having recieved the promises, but having seen them far off, and they were PERSUADED of them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth .  For they that say such things DECLARE PLAINLY that they seek a country.  And truly if they had been mindful of that country FROM WHENCE THEY CAME OUT, they might have had opportunity to have returned.  But now they desire a BETTER COUNTRY, that IS, and HEAVENLY: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city."

Hebrews 11:13-16

Bro. Whittle:


"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for..."; that is, it is a REALITY, and not a fancy or figmanent of the imagination. It is the fulfillment of your dreams; it is heaven's answer to the longings and desires of the earth. It is that which is a SURE foundation...Faith is the ingredient that enables the trusting heart to act upon the promise as though they were fulfillment; it translates the uncertain future into the certain now; it transforms the invisible into what can be seen and known.

"Now faith is...the evidence of things not seen..."; that is, it is the facts established as legitimate proof. Faith is MORE than desire it is the fulfillment of desire. The foundation of faith is THE WORD OF GOD. Faith rests confidently in that which God declares. To believe, that God will do exactly what He promised in by no means presumption; it is FAITH in the INTEGRITY of GOD and HIS WORD.

The Boxer

Lastnight I was laying in bed just thinking over the things that happened this weekend. We heard such encouraging words. Words that to the flesh are hard to swallow; but renewed the inner man and gave him strength to stand and fight.


I was laying there thinking and this picture developed. I would tell you to close your eyes; but then you couldn't read it. LOL.

Imagine this boxing ring and in one corner you see a boxer enter the ring (the Body of Christ). Slowly he begans to put weight on one foot ... and then the other. Back and forth, back and forth. He raises his hands and takes a couple little practice jabs. First the left ... then the right. Back and forth ... back and forth. His opponent steps into the center ring and the crowd goes wild. The boxer slowly, confidently walks into the center ring. He surveys his opponent. Tattered and worn are his garments. Muscles big is mountains. Spewing all sorts of hate and misery from his lips. This opponent to the natural eye is severe and impenitrable. Any normal man would cower at thought of facing such a man. But slowly the boxer lifts his head. His eyes shine bright with knowing. A hush fills the room and He is filled with that strength from within. He's not alone. Adorned in white and draped with banners of the victories they've won he raises his hands to fight. He takes one last look at his corner to make sure and recieves a nod from his faithful coach. The man that has done it all.

Whether it takes one punch or 10 it doesn't matter because he knows that he can win. This beast of a man will not stand against HIS mighty hand. For they have done the work. Prepared the way and they know that POWER had been given unto Him and that he is MORE than a conquerer. The ref gives the signal and his opponent begins to lunge; but the power alive within the boxer rises up and **BAM** one powerful, mighty, solid blow and down goes that beast of a man. The boxer steps back and not a sound is heard. His opponent goes down. ONE...TWO...THREE...FOUR...FIVE...SIX...SEVEN...EIGHT...NINE...10!!! The boxer is your winner!!! Instead of giving in to the roar of the crowd the boxer turns and falls to his knees. He bows to the man in his corner. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The Captain of the Lords host. He is the one that has won this battle. He is the one that deserves this praise. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; and without him this fight would be in vain.

So think not about what the Lord is asking of you. It is but a small thing. Turn and look at that man in your corner. HE paid it all. HE holds the keys to victory. With him there is no character flaw you cannot overthrow. There is no mountain you cannot move. There is no victory that you cannot win. Make sure you have Him in your corner and the battle is "ours" thus saith the Lord.

Strong Tower

Last night Bro. Wright was talking about when you find yourself in the midst of temptation that there will always be a way of escape; and that we are to look for it. When I am in the midst of a temptation I seldom take the time to think much less look for a way of escape. This morning as I was reading I read the scripture


Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, AND IS SAFE.”


This brought to mind an experience I had this weekend.


Sunday morning I had the girls in service and Phillip was at work. It was a pretty good service; but my children were acting “extra crazy”. ;o) I was so frustrated by the end of service I was in tears. I could feel this anger starting to build inside as I was driving to lunch. I was beginning to be short with my kids and I could just feel myself sliding into this place of complaining and lashing out. I could see this happening and I thought in my head Lord I don’t want to go there anymore. I don’t want to be upset at my children because I didn’t get to focus completely on the service. I felt this unction to call on the name of the Lord so I just started saying JESUS!!! I didn’t know how or what to pray for; but I began to call on His name. Pretty soon I began to speak in tongues and the Holy Ghost filled my car.

It dawned on me as I was reading this morning and thinking on last nights service that that had been my way of escape. The situation didn’t change in the fact that I still had missed the majority of that service; but my attitude had elevated so that I could be ok with that.

That may seem like a small thing; but it has given me faith that in EVERY temptation to come the Lord will send that way of escape. If I don’t see it at first I can call on the name of the Lord and He will show me that way of escape.

Thankful

Sitting on my bed this afternoon before church and thinking on some things. Tonight we had church. Since Christmas fell on our regular church night we all still came in and had church. As I was thinking about church and getting ready these thoughts dropped in my head...I am so happy to be going to church tonight. It kind of surprised me at the feeling I was having. I always enjoy church when I get there; but sometimes it is hard to get up and go. Phillip wouldn't be able to go with me and there was no nursery so I would have to sit through church by myself with them. For some this may not be a big deal; but my children haven't quite learned to sit still yet. On any other given church service when I have to do this I grumble and complain about it the whole way there and then to Phillip on the phone the whole way home. So, the fact that I was so happy to go under these circumstances was odd. I knew in my mind that I would be going alone with them, and that "this" situation was going on; and that "that" had happened. My mind was carrying all these burdens; but my heart leaped within me to know that I could go one more time to worship the Lord. My Holy Ghost was excited. I am thankful!!! We have almost made it through another year. I AM STILL HERE!!! There was nothing so big that happened this year that caused me to lose my way. Now I am NOT saying that things haven't happened; but there has been nothing so big that HE couldn't handle!!


When I got to church I could feel the Holy Ghost right away. The band played Blessed Redeemer and I love that song. We were entering into his courts with praise. Then Sis. Luvanna Marshall began playing All Hail King Jesus; and from the first note the Holy Ghost filled that building. If I could've thought of a song to go with what I was feeling that would be it!!! The Holy Ghost welled up inside me and burst forth!!!


I am SO THANKFUL to have been in service tonight!!!



He is STILL God today!!


He is STILL able to heal!!!


He is STILL able to save!!!


He hears!!


He holds!!


He strengthens!!


He keeps!!!


HE IS STILL GOD!!!!

Pliable

We always hear the scenario of how we need the fire to get all the wrinkles out of our lives. They use an example of an iron ironing clothing. As I was ironing Sophia's skirt this morning a few thoughts dropped into my head. Her skirt had gotten twisted in the dryer and was almost unrecognizable. I ironed and I steamed; but the wrinkles just wouldn't come out! I turned the heat up and even held the iron on just a little bit longer trying to make the skirt cooperate. Finally I added a little water, and heat; and steam. Those wrinkles came right out. Thought how some wrinkles won't come out just with fire. They are so deep that it takes all three. Heat, steam; and water. The water was needed to make the skirt pliable so that the heat could do it's job. Hmmm... Maybe if I can stay pliable the heat won't take as long.