Saturday, June 20, 2009

Life Changing Conference

Today I was blessed with the ability to attend a Voice of the Martyrs Conference right here in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.  The stories and the testimonies that these speakers shared at this conference made a great impact on me.                                                             (check out their website:  http://www.persecution.com/)

The speakers told about all the horrible persecution that happens all around the world because of people’s belief and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Persecuted for their faith!!  WOW!  That may be unthinkable to you or you may not be able to imagine being persecuted – tortured, killed, mutilated, hung, beaten, raped – for your faith and/or beliefs because you are blessed to live in a free country such as United States, but here is the reality:

In 52 Countries the Holy Bible is Illegal!

Christians are persecuted for going to church.  Christians are persecuted for sharing the gospel – the story of Jesus Christ.  You are probably thinking – THAT’S CRAZY!  Well, yes it is, but you know what is just as crazy as that?

Many Christians in the United States and in other politically FREE countries take their freedom for granted.  Christians in the NON-FREE countries go to church anyway even though they know they will be subject to persecution, while many Christians in the FREE countries go to church because they feel like it is a “to-do” item on their lists. 

Man, that is CRAZY! 

Listening to those testimonies made me realize that I, as a Christ Follower, a Christian, need to attend church with an incredible gratitude that God has blessed us with FREEDOM to worship, to praise Him, to share is Word, and to fellowship with other believers.  And furthermore, I need to go after reaching my God potential with everything I’ve GOT because I am FREE to do so!!!

 Lord I pray for the millions of Christians around the world that are being persecuted for their faith in YOU, Lord.  Please give them the courage, the strength, and the wisdom to stay the course and to keep the eyes of their hearts focused on you Lord.  I pray for the families that have been left with no mother or father, husband or wife – give them strength and peace.  Fill their hearts with your love and give them the courage to forgive their enemies.  Thank you Lord.  In Jesus’ Name. AMEN!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Getting Away

I was invited to the Keys for the Memorial weekend by my younger Brother and his friends.  Those that know me well, know that I love fishing, boating, camping, and the Keys.  Those activities have been a part of my life since I was born.  Therefore, I was SO excited to go and spend some time doing the things that I no longer get to do often.

God always has a lesson to learn.  During just two days, I realized and grew a greater appreciation for the life I do have.  I am so incredibly blessed!  This weekend I clearly saw with my eyes how blessed my life truly is!  God’s intended purpose for our lives.

Lord thank you so much for opening the eyes of my heart to see your beauty and blessings.  Lord thank you for blessing my son and I with your PEACE and LOVE!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Mountain Moved

WOW, I can finally openly blog about my most recent life event. As I have stated before, God has huge changes for me and they are flowing in! Thank you Lord for seeing me through them with the strength, courage, wisdom, peace, and grace you supply me with daily.

My faith was tested yet again! Just 3 weeks ago I was on the road to loosing my job of almost 15 years by very unfair and unjust actions taken against me. I was broken heart-ed and extremely hurt by the unfairness when I was presented with 'the report'. After a couple of days of hurting and consultation with my super duper special Sister in Christ - GOD overwhelmed my heart with a peace that surpasses understanding. I wish I could box this GOD given peace up and share it with others! IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!

With this peace came an overwhelming assurance from God that everything was going to be OK. GOD kept telling me everything will be just fine - "I got your back, girl"!

Oh man was God right. He moved a mountain and a miracle happened. I was moved and my job was saved. Now for the person that served me the injustice - well God has him! I do not need to take revenge, hate, or dislike because God will take care of him. I just need to continue praying for this person. I ask God to soften his heart to be able to see the hurt and pain he causes those around him. My prayer is that one day this person sees the light and is able to treat people as he would like to be treated himself.

Thank you Lord for your guiding light. Thank you for salvaging me, for rescuing me, transforming me, and for your daily grace. Lord I pray for those that do not know you and your love. May they be opened minded enough to just give you a try at least once because I know that you would rock their world with love. Lord thank you for loving us so dearly. I love you Lord! It is your son's precious name that I pray - AMEN!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Success or Failure

Everything that I started because I’ wanted it that way or have tried to accomplish within my own strength – has failed or has caused me much grief. As God transforms my heart I am finding that many of the things ‘I’ set to accomplish have failed in the past year. Do I consider it failure?

The devil wants me to think of myself as a failure, but God is working to move me from where I was headed and into a direction that has meaning, has purpose, and brings joy and peace. I am sure you have heard many people say “one door closes and another door opens”. Well, God is closing doors and opening others.

I need to conquer my thoughts and not allow the evil thoughts – such as “you are a failure” – to take hold of me. As each day passes me by I see more and more of the many blessings in my life and all around me. They may not be exactly what ‘I’ had set for myself, but I am realizing the incredible blessings that were always right under my nose and I neglected to appreciate them or thank God for them.

Therefore, the fact that I have not accomplished what ‘I’ set as goals has turned out to be a huge success. The doors that have closed in my face have caused me to look under my nose!! This internal look, this heart transformation from God has made me see all the blessings I have had all along. So, I have more now than a year ago – even with all the failures!! How ironic, right?? But so true!

Thank you Lord for opening the eyes of my heart to see all the blessings around me. Thank you for all the beauty on earth – the stars, the trees, the birds, the flowers, the mountains, etc. Thank you for the many gifts you have blessed me with – my son, my family, my church, my friends, my hands, my eyes, my legs, my heart, etc. Thank you for blessing me with this country where I can worship you and write about you in this blog with freedom! Lord, remind me of that incredible blessing of fredoom every day. I pray for those that love you Lord and worship you under persecution. Give them the strength and wisdom they ever so need to endure. Bless them with your grace, your everlasting love, and peace. In Jesus’ name – AMEN.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Learning to Enjoy Being "Single"

God has been working in me for many years on this. I have always chosen not to listen, not to understand, and not to embrace my “singleness”. I can say today that I have finally WOKE UP! God was finally able to break through my thick skull and my thick flesh.

The breakthrough came to me last week as I was still home with my recovery. (I tell you I have had lots of time to think, pray, and dig deep in my soul! Thank GOD!) Well, I realized that I have always thought that I would be happy ‘when’ I have a loving husband by my side and in the meantime I would just sit waiting and riding through life. I finally received the slap upside my head that I needed! My thinking was SO WRONG!! How unfair to myself, my son, my family, and everyone around me that I consider myself unhappy or just riding by life until I have a husband. I must enjoy my journey through every season of my life. I need to enjoy my singlehood while it exists!! There are reasons why God has me single at this time in my life. There are purposes in life that I must fulfill before I am married again to that great husband that God has in line for me. I must learn to love myself for who I am – ALONE!

Loneliness has been the toughest to get through while being single. No one to share my heart with, no one to share my thoughts of the day with, no one to do life with… I do not feel this loneliness anymore. The past few weeks I have been alone (physically). I have been at home recovering from the surgery, so you would think “time to feel loneliness”! WELL NO WAY! I have never felt so much company, so much love, so much companionship, so much bonding time… I am blown away with happiness. GOD WAS THERE. I finally got the message. I finally understand. All I need is God’s love. If you allow God into your life, into your heart, He will transform you and fill your heart up with all the love you need and you will NOT feel empty anymore!

I am renewed. I feel so blessed, filled with joy and happiness. I am enjoying my journey as a single woman that is trying to fulfill God’s purpose for my life.

Thank you dear Lord for being my strength, my redeemer, my strong tower… Thank you for loving me so, even with all the mistakes I have made. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for never giving up on me because you don’t give up on anyone! Thank you for opening up the eyes of my heart to experience and embrace your unconditional love that fills my heart with all the joy, peace, and happiness I need during this season of my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Life Changing House Fire

Ok! I promised that I would keep you all up to date with the happenings in my last post. So, I must tell you what BIG thing God had for us. OH YEAH it was big!!

Well, on Friday, 2/13, I was at home getting ready for movie night at my church. Ironically enough, the movie 'Fireproof"! I put candle wax to melt & burn on the stove while I took a shower so that the house can get a nice aroma. I was trying to change my spirits because I had been having a day with heartache because it was a Valentine's Pre-Day and everywhere there was love and couples talk. I was missing you know who!

When I finished with my shower I could smell a smoky candle smell. I walked out of the bathroom, wet & naked, headed toward the kitchen. As I approached the kitchen I could see the reflection of fire off the back door. I reached the kitchen and saw the pot of wax on fire and the fire burning the over-the-stove microwave and the back panel of the stove (the pot was on the back burner). Crazy me, I put my hand in and slowly moved the pot to the front burner. When I did this the flames started to burn the entire front part of the microwave. The fire was not letting loose. I tried to find my fire extinguisher and it was MIA (I still have not found it!). In those seconds every fire prevention course and details ran through my head. I thought of putting a towel over the pot, but the fire was big, so I quickly turned that down because the towel would catch on fire, too. So I turned to the ever so common solution! WATER.... OH BOY! I filled a cup of water and poured it quickly into the pot. BAD IDEA! The fire increased and just went absolutely WILD!! The kitchen cabinets were damaged, the microwave burned to a crisp, the side of the refrigerator got burned. The fire reached the ceiling! I screamed and ran!!!

I was able to escape. God spared my life and my home. Thank God Briston was not home. I had just dropped him off minutes before to spend time with his uncle (My Bro - Thank you!). Thank GOD!!!

Well, all this for a HUGE lesson. I would have never imaged what God did after this.

As a little background, my house has been and still is a construction site (4 years of drama!). So needless to say, this house is the GIANT in my life. God has given me so much courage and strength to battle with this giant. It is only through God's grace that this project will be completed one day! So, this fire came as another additional project for this house. Another drama, another obstacle, another indication that this is the GIANT.

I gave up! My faith was tested BIG TIME! That is exactly what God had in mind for me. 'The' test came my way. I now write to you that I passed the test! My faith is stronger now than it was before the fire! We MUST believe that although sufferings or tough times come our way, those are the times that make us stronger, wiser, more faithful, thus growing us closer to GOD!

James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

I know now more than times I have blogged it before - GOD HAS AN AMAZING PLAN FOR US!!!! God works everything out for the GOOD!

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

We must learn to look at our sufferings and our tough times differently. We can not look at them in a negative way. Those trials and situations are the key to our life purpose. They mold us into who we are - what God has intended us to be. We then should use our lessons learned from our sufferings to help others. We were not created to be greedy or selfish with our love, kindness and wisdom - enjoy the results of your sufferings and help others!!!

Wow! There is so much more that I have learned from this house fire, but this post is already long enough. Leave a comment and let me know if you want to know more. It was life changing for me and I am here to serve through the love of Christ.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Recovery Time

As many of you know I had surgery last week. Everything went well - thank God. So I have been home recovering this entire week. It is funny how God puts situations in your path so that you can STOP and REST!

In these last few days I have had some very deep, internal, soul searching time were I have gotten really close to God. I am so glad that this surgery took place and forced me to rest. I am at a place of 'full surrender'. I am experiencing so much freedom. I am not worried, I know that everything will be OK, and that God is with me every step of the way.

I am excited about my next steps. Where is God going to take us? These days have helped me realize that there are BIG changes coming. I don't know exactly what is around the corner, but this overwhelming peace from God that I have in my heart tells me that it is all going to be OK.

I promise that I will keep you all in the loop and up date with all the happenings.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Share Your Love - Don't Be Selfish

For the first time in my life, I was finally able to share my deepest feelings and thoughts with someone that I loved. What a relief! I told him exactly how I felt, how I loved him, and to what depth. In the past pride would grab a hold of my mind and prevent me from sharing. I would get thoughts like “he will think you are weak”, “he will think you are stupid, silly”, “he will just use you”, “you will feel inferior”, “he won’t like you anymore”. Well, let me tell you – God has transformed me SO much that I was able to put all those thoughts aside and ‘spill my beans’! I have no regrets. I must confess, I do have moments of thoughts trying to get in to tell me that I shouldn't have done it, but I stay focused on the why I did it to begin with and it helps me slap those thoughts right out of my mind.

Why I did it? Well, God nudged my heart to tell him that I loved him and how deep my feelings were. I did not do it for me. I did it all for him. God wanted him to know how much someone in this world (me in this case) loved him. That he is special. He can be loved. He is of value to many in this world. He did make an impact in someone’s life. It was important that I share that with him even though I ran the chance of not being accepted and being rejected.

Unfortunately, I was rejected. He walked away. He heard what he needed and turned his back. I don’t think he rejected my love for him; he rejected the love of God that flowed through me to him because it was all God that was working through me. I know that it was only through the Grace of God that I was able to voice all my deepest feelings for him straight to him – in person, face to face! That was a big step for me!!! But for some reason God needed him to know my feelings for him. Now it is up to him to do what he needs to with that information. That is between him and God. I pray that one day he will find God and get to know God because God loved him so much that God gave me the strength and courage to share my heart with him.

I can sit here and say “what about me?” But I have learned that life is NOT about me. It is about giving and serving others. This is the true purpose in life. I am full of joy and happiness now because I was able to share my love with someone. I was able to provide someone with one of the greatest gifts in life – knowing that you are loved!

Thank you Lord for giving me the courage and the strength to share love openly, honestly, and whole heartedly. Please Lord, continue to help me battle the wicked thoughts in my mind concerning his rejection and any future rejection. Thank you Lord for your daily reminders of how much you love me and how all I need is YOU Lord. Lord I ask that you please give those that read this, the strength and courage to share their love. Give them the wisdom to know that by sharing our love we encourage others and that is a reward. Thank you Lord. In Jesus' name. AMEN.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Persecution - Attacks from Non-Believers

I can only imagine how painful it must of been for Jesus to be persecuted because of his Father's blessing on Him and purpose for Him. When we are persecuted, ridiculed, or disliked because we are Christ Followers it is just a grain-size amount of pain and sorrow in comparison to that of the pain that I imagine Jesus endured.

It hurts so much to love someone so much and be persecuted, rejected, insulted by them for living with the love of GOD!

Everything reminds me of him - places, people, things, comments, etc. I find myself yearning to hear his voice, feel his embrace, see his face - OH so very often. At the same time my hunger and thirst for God's love and a desire for a deeper relationship with God is more evident than ever. I have found so much peace, joy, and happiness with God's love that it would only be normal that I would want to share my experiences with those that I love the most. My prayer is that one day he may get to know the peace, joy, and happiness I have found in God's love.

It hurts to be persecuted, rejected, and insulted by him for my belief in God and for accepting God's love for me. I know that scripture says that "Blessed" are you when people persecute you because you are a Christ Follower. (see Mathew 5:11) It is hard for me to see that as a blessing right now, but I understand why it is a blessing - IT SURE IS!! It still hurts. My wounds are fresh, but I have faith that my blessing will come and I will understand why it had to be this way in time.

Why is it more acceptable to be hanging at bars, clubs, or any other places than at church? What better place to hang than at church!! I refuse to conform to the worldly, acceptable 'hang out' spots for singles nowadays - even if it means loosing someone that I love so dearly. I am doing good deeds while at church - feeding the homeless, volunteering at the church, hugging people that are hurting, encouraging those that are down, etc. So why does he find this so wrong? That is what hurts the most.

Lord continue to give me the strength, courage, and wisdom to surrender my love for **** to you. You have me and him in your hands and you will take care of our hearts and our paths. May your will be done. God I know that you love me and that this too will only make me stronger and wiser. Thank you Lord for the lessons and trials. Thank you for your ever so present peace and overflowing grace. Amen

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year - New Beginnings

Happy New Year! Welcome to the year 2009....

The new year is here and I feel so blessed to enter this year with a "new lease on life" (as the phrase goes). It will soon be exactly one year since I accepted Christ back into my life and what an amazing experience it has been. A time of healing, repentance, forgiveness, commitment, and so many other things (just a total overhaul! lol..) God has transformed me, renewed me. His love, grace, and peace have now filled my heart. Thank you Lord.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17


This year is going to be a year of many more new beginnings for me and Briston. We are going to continue to move forward with our passion and thirst for the love of God so that we can continue on our life journey of reaching our "God Potential"!

God has a great plan for us and I am excited about what God has in store for us this year. What new challenges? What kind of blessings? Who will we be blessing? Where does God want us to go? In what ways will God use us to bless others? I can dream of many things, but I can not even come close to imagining what He has in store for us - it is always bigger than what I can imagine!

God wants the best for all of us and has good plans for all of us. It is all up to us to accept His love! May the peace and grace of our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all! Happy New Year.....