Get ready for the extraordinary!

You just have to get excited when you read this...I know I do.  Let God shake  you out of your complacency, let him stir you up!!! Read this and be encouraged!!


"David was kid in the midst of warriors, and yet he was on his way to being a king…I must prepare you , because God is getting ready to take you out of your element out of your comfort zone, He’s getting ready to take you into an idiom of thinking that makes you intimidated and insecure, He’s getting ready to take you into a place where you don’t fit, where you don’t fit in with the crowd He’s going to take you in. Have you ever been out of your element, over your head, out of your circle, and said, Lord I haven’t been trained for this, I didn’t go to school for this, I don’t have the background for this..but when God calls you, He calls you according to His own divine purpose, He calls you according to His own destiny, and if you stay with the familiar, you’re gonna miss the spectacular. If you stay with the ordinary, you are going to miss the extraordinary. ….The Lord sent me to shake somebody, shake you out of your complacency, shake you out of your ordinariness, shake you out of your hum drum, routine, know what you’re going to do everyday life, God wanted me to stir you up, because something is about to happen in your life!"  TD Jakes 10/3/11

On the Verge, About to Emerge...Greater!

This is such a powerful word for anyone feeling on the verge of transition.  This blog is simply a transcription of a message I heard it, and  felt like it was for me and for me only...yet I know when God does that it's often for many of us!!  So if it resounds with you too....take it!!



 From T.D. Jakes October 3,2011 AND I QUOTE!!
"Many of you are in a transition; you are at a turning point in your life. You are standing right on the edge, on the verge, of a new idiom of thinking and being and doing and becoming, and you sense it in your spirit, yet you have a certain degree of uncertainty about the particulars. Because whenever God does a thing, He never describes what He does, He just does it because He’s sovereign. He does it because He is God all by himself. He doesn’t give you details, He just tells you to step off the boat and walk on the water. He doesn’t give you details, He just says, Go to a place that I’ll show you when you get there. He doesn’t give you details, He just says build me a house. He doesn’t give you a lot of details about circumstances and situations, He just is…and somebody in this room, God has been nudging you towards something and you can’t even explain what it is…it’s beyond your sphere of reference, it does not fit in with your resume, it does not tie in to a natural progression of thoughts, it is not an ordinary like A, B, C, D, it’s like A, B, Q it’s just all out of alignment with everything you thought was about to happen, but you are on the verge of a mighty transition and the Lord has sent me all the way from Dallas Texas to prepare you because something is about to happen in your life!"

I'm so excited right now I can hardly stand it!! Do you understand?  A, B, Q  God redeems the time that we think it's going to take to get from point A to point Q, but with God, you can just skip the grades or the natural progression of things and He can elevate you and promote you outside of the normal progression!  A new idiom of thinking and being and doing and becoming.....nothing changes until you change your mind...renew your  mind on His word...There's so much in there that helps, that tells you who He is, so you can understand more of who you are.  The more you know Him, the more time you spend with Him, the more you realize you are like Him, and the more you realize what things must change for you to be even more like Him.  He's your father, and if He's your father, then you have the same DNA.  

DNA...Doubt?NotAnymore!  I know I'm His, and He's preparing me for what He's transitioning me into...I can't explain it but I can feel it, and I know He hasn't brought me this far to leave me!  

Be encouraged!

Belly Laugh

 
You know the kind I'm talking about....when a kid just laughs from deep down and it just seems to come up from their belly!  It's one of the most beautiful sounds ever!

Well I was at the Doctor's office the other day, and this Adorable little girl came into the waiting room.  She was literally all over the place, full of energy and volume. :)  She had this beautiful infectious laugh though that kept her from being bothersome, although she was so high energy.  As I listened to her, I had the thought...Wow, I wonder when we lose the ability to just laugh like that...at anything and everything.  I smile and chuckle occasionally but it takes a lot, more than it should, to really make me laugh (God's working on that with me)  To hear this little girl's laughter was so lovely.  It just made me smile. I imagined asking this question to many people, about when we lose the ability to just laugh at the simple, and simply find such joy in the little things of life...and I could hear many say, "Just wait until she experiences life...it won't take long, life is tough, and a few rough things and she won't be quite so quick to laugh and have so much joy.  Right now all is right in her world, and it's the laughter of innocence.  Life has a way of taking that away from you...."  I might have been inclined to believe this theory....might have.

The little girl found a little white feather that had come out of one of the pillows on the couch in the waiting room.  She was touching the face of the lady she was with, repeatedly.  Each time the little girl touched the woman's face, the woman would draw back quickly in an over exaggerated sort of way, and the little girl would belly laugh, like it was the first time every time.  I could not help but comment aloud, "Isn't that one of the most beautiful sounds in the world?!"  The woman smiled, I believe happy to know that the little girl wasn't causing aggravation or irritation.  

After a few minutes, the woman said to the little girl, "You better go ahead and eat your bagel."  At this the little girl just kept flitting about and said, "I'm saving it for Grandma."  She kept on playing, and the lady said, "No, it's o.k., you go ahead and eat it."  This made the little girl stop and look at the lady and say, "No.  Grandma was up all night long and the she said she thought she was gonna die she was so hungry, cause the doctors wouldn't let her eat.  Cause of the blood work you know.  She's hungry, so I'm saving it for her."  Well she could see that clearly the lady and I were impressed with her knowledge, and she just looked at us, and shrugged her shoulders and said matter-of-factly, "I'm smart."  At which I had to chuckle and say, "You sure are smart!"

I told the lady, "I think it's so sweet that she wants to save that for her Grandmother."  Then the little girl said, "There's one for Grandma and Grandpa."  So I replied, "You must really love your Grandma and Grandpa", and she said, "I do!  and I never want to leave!"  I wasn't quite sure how to respond, so I simply said, "Well good!  I think that's nice!"

At this point the lady was trying to mouth something to me that I couldn't understand...and then turned to the little girl, and said, "Why don't you tell her why you are living with your Grandma and Grandpa."  The little girl covered her face at this point and said, "No.  It will make Grandma cry."  The lady said, "It's o.k.  She's in the back, she won't hear you."  At this the little girl said, "Oh yes she will hear me and she will cry."  She said this like even if her Grandmother were on the other side of the world, and she spoke, that her Grandmother would still hear and cry.

At this point I thought I now understood what the lady had tried to mouth to me, so I spoke to the little girl and I said, "You know what?....My husband is in heaven."   Her head jerked up in surprise, and she so quickly responded in such a surprised tone, "That's where my mommy is!"   I said, "Really!?  Well maybe your mommy and my husband know each other.  What was your mommy's name?"  and she said, "Joe-Lynn."  I said, "Well my husband's name was John."  At this point the lady told me that the little girl's grandfather's name was John.  I looked at the little girl and I said, "Isn't that neat!  I bet they do know each other.  I bet Jesus said, Joe-Lynn, this is John.  John, I would like you to meet Joe-Lynn."  The little girl was just looking at me with such big eyes, so I said, "All I know is heaven is very beautiful and is a wonderful place."  and then.....the nurse called my name to come back.

Will this little girl ever know how much her laughter touched me?  Was her Grandma pleased to see the bagel?  I may never know.

As I was leaving the Dr's office, the last one to leave the place by the way, I told part of this story to the ladies in the office, and they too had been touched by this little girl.  They filled in a little more of her story.  They shared with me that this little girl had watched her mommy die.  Evidently her mother had also given her one last gift.  All I can imagine is this mother knew she was dying, possibly from cancer or some other issue.

So this little girl, just 5 years old, had already experienced this in her young life, and yet...still had her laughter and her joy!  What an example.  I pray that somehow a little part of her healed even more to imagine Jesus introducing her mom to people, and to just be able to share that her mom was in heaven, and to just say her mom's name again...Joe-Lynn.  She may never know how she blessed me.  I continue to be amazed at the beautiful divine appointments that God sets for us to see such beautiful examples of things he wants to teach us and blessings He wants us to offer others.  I'm so thankful to God for his tender care of this little girl, and the blessing of her beautiful laughter.  God is so good, and I am so thankful that he let me meet, Joe-Lynn's daughter!

Hey, Isn't this the wrong way?!

Have you ever been trying to get somewhere and you are not sure exactly how to get there, so you are going on the word of someone who said, "Oh yeah, go down 3 streets, take a right and then a left and you'll see it no problem". Only when he said go down 3 streets, he forgot to tell you that is was about 5 miles between each
street...and you start thinking, man this doesn't seem right, I thought it would be...... yeah. So many of us have been in this place.

Well for me, there are so many times that I'm trying to figure out where I'm going...in life. Sometimes, and I've said it many times, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up. Other times, I have some vague idea of direction but nothing super clear. Anyone else ever felt like this? Listen I'm not going to lie, I am

still struggling with clear direction on several things in my life. This, however, is what I am learning, and it became so real to me today.

Today, I needed to go somewhere that was north of here. Northwest a little, but basically north. Well, for whatever reason, I became very aware of the "direction" light on my dash that, of

course, changes whenever you go around a curve or bend in the road. Well, most of the time I was heading north, just like I thought I should be, but then something happened. The road had a slight bend in it and I was suddenly going NW...no problem really, but then there was another

slight curve, and suddenly I am heading West. No North anywhere in the picture...just West. I travel this road all the time, so I did know where I was going, but I started thinking...how many times do we have part of the information...maybe just that our destination is north. So if we ever deviate from going North, we feel we are somehow off track. What I'm finding is that sometimes even though it may feel and look like we are going in the wrong direction, it is exactly the road we need to be taking and the road that really does ultimately lead to our destination.

Let's put it this way....if I had only headed north...I would have ended up hitting trees, driving through fences, fields, probably into ponds, wrecking my car and never actually ending up at my destination. It took heading West for awhile to actually end up where I needed to in North.

Then another example came to mind....the one way streets in Old Towne. If I am headed south on one street and am asking for directions to a certain place, and someone

says, well actually it's just one street over and back just a little ways heading north. Sounds pretty close, but because of the one way street...I still have to continue south until I find a street going the right way, that will allow me to cut over to the north bound street and start heading north.

If I insisted on going North immediately, I would head straight into oncoming traffic. Not only would I cause complete havoc and confusion for others, I could possibly harm myself and others by doing this. Does heading in the wrong direction (south) seem like it is what will ultimately get me to my shop on north street? Heck no! But if I trust the road signs, and realize that sometimes what doesn't look like it makes any sense, is actually the safest most intelligent way to get where I need to go.

So tonight, I ask you this...Have you felt like some things happening in your life are the opposite of what you have been promised? Seems like they are going the wrong way? Maybe like me, you have been saying...Hey! This doesn't look right?! Well sometimes that's true...sometimes it's time for you to see if you've been going the wrong way and make some changes.

Sometimes it's time for you to stop allowing certain things to happen in your life. Speak God's word and change those things, and put a stop to some things.....and then other times...when you've done all you know to do, and all you can say is, God, I'm trusting you....then do exactly that...Trust Him...it may seem a round about way to get to where you are going, but I'm learning, that it's exactly the way that gets you there safely, and who knows who you'll meet along the way that you can offer direction to.

Destination North? Don't get discouraged when it seems you are heading West....

sometimes, it's just part of the journey...and really what we learn on the journey sometimes, is what actually prepares us for the destination! Hold on. If He said we'll get to our destination, then by God we will!

Buy The Shoes!!

Ok...those of you who have a problem and are addicted to shoe shopping...this is NOT for you! :)

I just have to share this story...especially for those of you, who like

me, are holding on to the promise of God as Provider of all that we need.

Let me start off by saying, I live and breathe by the concept of sowing and reaping. I believe that if what you have in your hand is not enough to meet your need, then what you have in your hand is probably your seed.

So I follow the principles in God's word for tithing and sowing and I do expect and believe that God will provide all of my needs.

Well one morning I was reading this devotional about a widow (so yes of course this peeked my interest) who became so convinced of the scripture that said that God would be the leader of the home and provider for the widow, that she began to talk with Him just as if He were her husband. She said, "God you know the plumbing around here needs a lot of work. Can you please take care of that for me?" She never had any more trouble with her plumbing from that moment on....why? She had meditated on God's word until it was just more than words on a page, it was truth that she knew as hers. She had a true revelation of His promises.

So here's where my personal story comes in....I needed a pair of shoes. Not wanted, needed. Really. I did not have extra money for shoes. I started thinking, you know if we needed

groceries, I'd go spend the money to get what we needed and would just know it would work out. So I made the decision...I said "Hey God. I need a pair of shoes and I know you are going to provide what I need to get a pair. Thanks!". Grace said, "Mom I need a pair too." I said "Grace, today is about meeting needs not wants. Is this a need or a want." and she said "Mom, a need. I

have no shoes that I can wear with a dress or dress pants." I said then let's go! God said he would provide all of our needs, so we are going to get shoes. This was going to need to be a pretty good miracle because I wear a 10 or so and she wears an 11 and I can't tell you how difficult those sizes are to find period, let alone reasonably priced.

We went into a store that I never think to go into because a friend has just reminded me of it recently. Long story short....Grace and I both found a pair of shoes, it was buy one get one half off...so two pair of shoes for $50. That was the first blessing! Here's the part of the story I really like....

The girl who had helped us, and was checking us out, had a partial tatoo showing and I noticed it had the word "fear". So I asked her what the tat was. She showed me, and it said

"Fear ends where Faith begins" It was almost like she was trying to apologize for it not making sense. She said, "I know most people don't understand", and I said, "Oh no, I understand perfectly!" And explained to her what it meant to me...especially me having fought fear and understanding, that faith and belief and the Word are powerful in fighting fear! You must Trust God more than you fear anything.

She then just began to keep talking and say, I need this every night, and I place my hand over

my heart and I keep repeating it, and it helps. I just need it. So I was able to share with her the TRUST acronym.... To Rest Unconcerned with Storms or Trials. TRUST God like never before and you will be able to sleep, to rest like never before, because truly when we allow our faith in His promises to end, that is where fear begins. When you step into faith on a thing, that where fear ends.

I wrote the acronym down for her and she was so thankful. I left with two nice pair of shoes, one for me, one for Grace, and who knows how much God will work in this other young ladies life. She just kept thanking us as we left, and then she said, "You have a blessed day!" and I smiled and said, "You too." All of this happened because God promised to provide everything I need, and I dared to believe Him.

If I had chosen to walk in fear, fear of not having enough for the electric, or insurance, or whatever, by taking out the money to pay for the shoes, Grace and I would have both missed

out on shoes that were nice and actually fit us, and we would have missed out on the blessing of the young lady at the shoe store, and she would have missed out on being

encouraged in her fight.

Fear tries to rob us of so much.....but God....He's the wonderful provider of all we need.

I've got so far to go in trusting Him more and waiting for that provision sometimes, but I must tell you, I know that I know that I know...that my God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory...and that He will do the same for you!

Buy the shoes! He'll provide, and believe me, the shoes

will only be a small part of the blessing!

"If you need something from God, determine right now that you’re going to do what that widow did. Determine that you’re going to meditate the Word until you get a revelation like that. Keep that Word before you until you receive a revelation of Jesus as your healer or your deliverer or your financier – whatever you need Him to be.- Copeland, Faith to Faith"

USA = God's Country!

On 9/11/11 I decided to share with you a little devotional I recently read called God's Country. It's taken from a little book I love called "Faith to Faith" by the Copelands.

I really love this viewpoint and I hope on this day, you will like this as well.

"Right now you and I are standing face-to-face with situations in our nation that need to be changed. Some of those situations look totally impossible. But they're not. Because this country belongs to God.

He's the One Who brought the United States of America into existence. He had a special purpose for it. He needed a country where the gospel could be preached freely and not suppressed.

It was God Himself Who stirred the heart and mind of Christopher Columbus and planted within him the dream of charting a new course to the West. Columbus said so in his own journals.

He wrote: "It was the Lord Who put into my mind--I could feel His hand upon me--the fact that I could sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There's no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures."

Who brought Christopher Columbus to America? God brought him. This is God's nation. He raised it up, and it's not going to be taken away from Him.

The next time you're tempted to look at situations in this country as impossible, remember Who it belongs to. Then you can discover America just like Christopher Columbus did--by faith. "

Enough said....I'm so thankful to be in God's Country! Thankful for the freedoms that we have here, and I will not take them for granted!

Tail lights in the Storm

So, I was headed home from

work a couple weeks ago...right after the earthquake, right before the Hurricane...and came into one of THE worst storms I have ever been in. EVER.

Rain was literally coming sideways, the wind

was so strong, I had to grip the steering wheel with both hands...tightly. It was so bad, that I literally could not see anything...I could not even see to try and pull off the road.

I seriously thought I was in the middle of a tornado.

I could see only one thing...the tail lights in front of me. How in the world they were able to see how to continue, I still have no idea. I was praying hard, leaning up almost on the steering wheel trying to see....the car in front of me stopped fairly abruptly, so of course so did I.

I thought ok, well at least we'll wait this thing out

together, only that wind was so strong and the trees near us were looking like a serious problem...that's when I was able to see why they stopped. There

WAS a tree in the road in front of us. I think they too, must have discerned that this was not the place to stop, so they went around, and I wasn't about to lose the

only thing I could see, so of course I followed those tail lights. I just can't tell you how thankful I was for that person in front of me.

They may not have noticed that I am following them, but they are quite seriously leading me through this storm. God caused a wonderful song to come on for me at just the right time, and one of the lines said I will not fear the storm...and I said "Thank you God, I know you will bring me through this."...more trees down, stop lights out, and water that moved my car on the road, but I made it home safely....tense but safe.

I have no idea who the person was in front of me,

nor will they ever know how much they helped me through the storm.

It was this experience that helped me realize...how many times are we making our way through a storm in life...maybe we feel like we are making little or very slow progress, yet we've dodged

a few trees, we've stayed on the road, and we made it through the storm. What we may not know is how many others we actually helped lead through the storm. Our job is to just keep going and do our best...no matter how slow our progress, we just may have someone else behind us

that couldn't make it through if it were not for our tail lights.

Sometimes it could just be

our kids, seeing how we go through things, and sometimes, people are watching that you may never know.

So for those of you who are seeming to be in an unending storm, and you feel like you are making little or slow progress...keep your tail lights shining. Someone behind you is counting on you to help them through. You'll get through, and so will others, because you never gave up!

Moonlight

I love the moon.

I'm sure this is a phrase you don't hear very often, and I guess one I don't say very often, but it's true. I was driving home tonight and the sun was just setting. The sky wasn't black yet, but it was getting

dark, and I rounded a curve, and smiled as a saw an almost full moon. Something about seeing it just made me happy..made me smile. I literally said "thanks God." To see this big beautiful object in the sky, just confirms the existence of God to me.

There's also something so amazing about seeing the moon especially when

it is full, reflecting on the ocean..Beautiful!

Here's the really cool thing.

The moon....it has no light of it's own. That's so hard to believe, especially when it's so dark outside and there's a full moon, many

times, it's actually bright enough outside that I don't have to search for the keyhole, it's light enough for me to see it well and just slip the key in. So how can something that actually has no light of its own, shine so brightly? Well it simply reflects the light of the sun. Isn't that interesting...the brightest light in darkness, is something that has no light of it's own...it simply reflects THE brightest light.

So of course, you know the parallels I'm drawing here....I clearly know that I am nothing on my

own, but my sincerest hope is that I will be a reflection of God's love and character, and quite

literally, bring light to someone's darkness. Help them find their way a little easier. Simply spending time with God, and soaking up more of Him to reflect and mirror if you will, who He is, is to shine brightly in a dark world.

There's something about being a light that draws people...Listen I hate leaving the porch light on, just because of all of the bugs that I have to beat my way through to get in...but the very fact that they are drawn to the light proves the point. If you become a light, people will be drawn to you. You have a chance to make a

difference. It doesn't matter if you think you have nothing to offer, because it's not your light anyway...it's just a matter of believing that He can shine through you, by you simply mirroring Christ more and more...you might be a sliver of a moon right now, but you are light! And you know how it is...one night you see a sliver of a moon, but not too many days from now, the moon is full and beautiful and shining brightly.

If God can take a mass whose surface is very similar to coal, and cause it to reflect the sun's light so brightly to the earth, can He not use us to shine brightly in this earth?

I thank God for the moon. I love the moon. It stands as a reminder to me, of all I want to be....a mirror reflection of the greatest light ever!

I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark;

he will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Don't weep for me...

I just want to say I've started this thing 5 different times.....let's see if I keep this one....5 years ago today, I experienced something I pray none of you ever have to, but know some of you already have. I got the call that said my husband had been in an accident and had died instantly. Not a call you ever expect nor want to hear. I guess I'm writing tonight for a couple of reasons...first of all to say, "Don't weep for me." God has brought me so far over the last 5 years. I've been able to see so many blessings in the midst of the pain. So much healing, so much hope even still for my future. In fact, only a couple weeks after John's death, Dr. Mark Chironna was at our church, and was singing a song that was something like "your latter will be greater than your past"....all things are possible...possible,....well at that time I was thinking it was going to be IMpossible to continue on...yeah God gave me great grace and strength, even to speak at John's funeral, and I do hope that there were people who were blessed even at his funeral,...but to believe that the best was still to come, so soon after John had died?! I could hardly believe that....but I felt a very urgent pressing "Do you believe the best is yet to come?" again, "Do you believe it?", and me just saying how can I say that...I just buried my husband?! and the third time, so strongly..."NOW! DO you believe that the best is yet to come?" and I remember falling to my knees crying and making myself say "Yes. I believe the best is yet to come!" Immediately I heard God say to me, "Good. Because if you didn't, you would be calling me a liar. I have told you that 'I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future', if you didn't believe that you'd be calling me a liar". Something happened right then...a freedom from despair.

Yes I grieved. Yes I missed John.

Yes I longed for him on so many occasions, but there was hope for my future. God knew I would need that to

continue on. If I believed that the best was behind me, there was no real reason to press on toward the future, nothing really to look forward to. Although I did not know exactly what that phrase meant,

I knew I had to hold on to it. God has been so faithful through this entire journey. He has provided for me...even when I wasn't sure how we would make it at times, God always provides...He has been there to help my kids adjust and get over losing their daddy....and He has allowed me to "comfort others with the comfort He's given me". Two of my very close friends each lost their husbands...one a year ago and one in January. I could not have walked with them down this road, the way that I have, had I not already been there. I have spoken at women's conferences and been able to relate now to single moms, divorcees, widows, widowers....done jail ministry and ministered to men and sharing things from John's past and what he learned and would want them to know...sharing hope and God's love and how God can take all things and work them for our good, for those of us who love him. You see....if I could have stopped the accident and had my husband with me forever, of course I would have done that. BUT...I can't. Now my responsibility is to find the good that is, and that could come, in the midst of all of this. John never has to fight battles he fought, he's totally free. He's the real winner here, because of Jesus Christ. You see I was grieving over all the things he didn't get to do but I literally heard John laugh, and say, "don't grieve for me! Nothing I ever wanted to do on earth can compare with what I have now!" So don't grieve for us....rejoice that we know a God who gives us life after death....John...well he's living the good life. His life here made a huge difference...it had many long hard roads in it, and it was not fun for either one of us to walk those roads...but he also chose the road of the cross...the road we enjoyed so much together. I still have hope for my future, and a passion to help others find the blessing in the midst of the pain. A wise man once said don't curse your crisis...What the devil meant for evil God will turn for good, and the very thing meant to trip you up, and crush you, will be the very thing that will springboard you into your destiny. I am taking what I learned through life with John, and what he learned and taught me about Christ and us being righteous, and God's grace and mercy, and even what I've learned through death, and sharing it with as many as possible to help make their journey easier. There is no way, that this is the end. I purpose to believe God and allow so much good to come from this, and to believe God when he says...The Best Is Yet To Come!

God Calling.....

Today, I am simply posting something I read this morning in a little book called "God Calling".

First of all, after some conversations that I had this week, let me be clear that I am talking about Jehovah God, whose son is Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus Christ, we can have a relationship with God. In this relationship He speaks to us....this I believe is a message from Him today to so many of us.......

"I am with you to guide you and help you..... Your petty fears are groundless. What of a man walking through a glorious glade who fretted because ahead there lay a river and he might not be able to cross it, when all the time, that river was spanned by a bridge? And what if that man had a Friend who knew the way-had planned it-and assured him that at no part of the journey would any unforeseen contingency arise, and that all was well? So leave your foolish fears, and follow Me, your Guide, and determinedly refuse to consider the problems of tomorrow. My message to you is, trust and wait. ~ God."

FREE from fear

Ok...this is a warning at the beginning of the blog..."Some language may not be suitable for some religious people, or the easily offended. Read at your own risk."

Here we go...Fear has pissed me off. Yes, you heard right. I

have seen it imprison people,paralyze them, rob them of joy, peace, hope....The Bible says in 2Tim 1:7 that "God does not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, and love and a sound mind!"

That means that fear is never from God...EVER! God gives us peace of mind...a sound mind.

Here is what has really pissed me off....again, I'm sorry for the language, but I just don't know of

another way to say it. Fear crept in gradually, quietly, underhandedly...invited some of it's friends to distract from it's real name. Let me tell you some friends of fear....they're actually very closely related, except sometimes you just don't realize how close.

Enemy #1 FRUSTRATION: Doesn't really sound like fear does it? Well it is. Frustration is fear

that all of your hopes, or efforts aren't going to pan out. What are you frustrated with? Who are

you frustrated with? Isn't is usually because you are "afraid" that situation isn't going to change or change quickly enough, so you are frustrated. So carefully decide, are you really frustrated, or actually has a little bit of "fear it's not going to work out, it's not going to change, it'll take too long" crept in?

Enemy #2 WORRY: Here's a definition for you..."worry" is a disquieted uneasiness of mind

(ding ding ding...1st clue), and anxious apprehension (ding ding ding...2nd clue) concerning an impending or anticipated situation; fretting about a foreboding misfortune or failure of yours or one you love. Come on disquieted uneasiness of mind?! Sounds like the opposite of a sound mind to me...must be "fear" that something negative is going to happen or something positive isn't going to happen.

Enemy #3 ANXIETY: Another definition for you..."anxiety" is abnormal, overwhelming

apprehension; anguished uncertainty and self doubt about ones ability to cope with the

situation, to the point of becoming distressed, distraught, panicky or tormented. Hmmm...that doesn't sound like peace of mind or a sound mind to me. Sounds more like "fear" of not being able to take it, fear of not being able to get through something or even fear of losing your mind.

Enemy #4 DOUBT: Did I just say doubt? Related to fear? Yes. Don't let doubt fool you. Fear is the exact opposite of Faith. When you doubt, you question whether the promise applies to you. You "fear" it's too good to be true. You "fear" the promise won't be kept. You "doubt" it.

You cannot walk in faith and in doubt. That is because doubt's father is fear.

I'm sure I could go on....but here's my point. I had NO idea I had let fear creep in. That is what makes me so mad, and why I'm bent on exposing that ugly devil. "God does not give us a spirit of fear". and "His perfect love casts out all fear". I

knew that...so had fear come in a very recognizable way, I would have had the "aha!" moment, and fought it. But...instead 2 Emergency room visits with Blood pressure at critical levels....194/114 was one of the lower BP....being put on Xanax...and then finding out I was having panic/anxiety attacks?! Since when? I've been through hell in my life...been through all sorts of things prior to my husband

dying, then his death, having to be a single mom, financial pressures, now raising two teenagers....but I've always given my cares and worries to God....or so I thought.

So when I realize what's happening...that's when I'm pissed off!! Definitely mad at fear, but also at myself for the inroads I opened up to fear. Another blog at another time I will go in depth about how guilt also opens the door to fear. Not spending enough time casting my cares on God, not spending enough time in His presence, not spending enough in the Word of God, which is the very way we build our faith and fight our battles.

I always "fear" being too long winded and losing you before the end...see how easily fear can slip

in...so let me rephrase that...I hope I don't lose you before the end. I've got something to say here and I hope it helps you!

Well, thank God, I knew and know that there is great power in the Word of God. If you don't know it, it is Powerful, and Living and is a weapon! I began declaring scriptures about Peace, and Healing, and Soundness of Mind! Fear was trying to torment me...Fear of Death was causing me to panic. I didn't even know what was happening.

Here's what I do know...that after dealing with these things for a month or so...I had been in

church all the time, and once I realized what was happening, I started asking and believing for God to free me. In one POWERFUL service, during an amazing time of worship, God healed me.

I'm determined to stay free, by standing on every word that God has regarding Peace, and soundess of mind. I'm also very aware now too look for the little things...stressing over things I shouldn't, worry, doubt, anxiety, frustration. I choose, Joy, Peace, Strength, Hope and Love!

HOPE comes from God. PEACE comes from God. JOY comes from God. Love comes from God. Strength comes from God. Soundness of Mind comes from God. All that I need comes from Him, and being with Him.

By the way...God works all things together for our Good! He healed me and changed me and while I thought it was a blood pressure issue, I have eliminated as much sodium as possible. That is apparently the one key I've been missing for years for being able to reduce calories and lose weight. So...with my new eating habits and lifestyle, I'm now on my way to places of victory I've never had before. Oh how I love God. If you let religious people, and religious rules keep you from a relationship with God, you are missing out on more than you know.

The giver of Hope, wants to give you HOPE that drowns out every fear. HOPE that keeps you looking forward with positive expectation, not dread. HOPE lets you know that it won't always be this way...it WILL get better...in fact The Best Is Yet To Come!!!

Don't let fear keep you in torment....enjoy the peace that Jesus paid for you to have. There is nothing like it! You cannot put a price on Peace!

Some verses for you...Philippians 4:7 that "The Peace of God, that defies all your reasoning and understanding, will stand guard around your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus!" In 1 Peter 5:7, God says to “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” In Philippians 4:6 He says “Do not be anxious [do not worry] about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (and then trust that He'll take care of it). AND God will keep you in perfect peace when your mind is stayed on Him, because you trust in Him.

Just an old lump of clay?

Well, I've not blogged in quite awhile.

There are many reasons for that.

My hope and goal in this new year is to post something at the very minimum monthly.

For tonight, I happened to be listening to

Joel Osteen and heard him tell a "tea cup" story.

I've heard it before, but it was so good.

It was filled with so many good reminders for me that I want to share with you.

Sometimes we go through things that make us say to God "I can't take it anymore, what are you doing...can't you see this is too much?!" or "I know I could be used...how long before someone sees what's inside of me, other than just a lump of clay?!"

~ Oh but if we could just see what he's making out of us...we would be encouraged and amazed!

A couple walks into an antique shop looking for something exquisite to purchase and bring home. Their eyes immediately fall on the most delicate and lovely teacup they have ever seen.

They told the shop owner, "We must have this tea cup. It is so unique and so beautiful. We've never seen another like this!"

As they were admiring the teacup, they could almost here her story.

“I haven’t always been like this,” the teacup said.

“There was a time when I was a hard, ugly lump of gray clay. No one wanted me….except the Master Potter. One day, He picked me up and began to work me in His strong hands, molding me, pounding me, and rolling me in His grip.

I cried out, ‘Stop that! It hurts! It is too painful! Leave me alone!’

The Master Potter smiled gently and simply said, ‘Not yet.’

Then He put me on a wheel where I began to spin and spin and spin. I felt sick. I felt dizzy. I wanted to slow down. I wanted to get off! All the while as He spun me, He continued to shape me and mold me. I screamed, ‘Let me get off! Stop! Stop!”

But, the Master Potter just smiled and said, ‘Not yet.’

Finally, He took me off of the wheel. As I was admiring my new shape, the Master Potter scooped me up and put me in a large furnace. This oven was hotter than I could have ever imagined. I began screaming!

Help me! I am going to die! I can’t take it! Don’t you love me? I can’t survive this! Get me out!’

But, the Potter just watched through the glass. I saw Him kindly say, ‘Not yet.’

Just when I thought I would be destroyed from the heat, the Master Potter took me out of the furnace. I was relieved until He began to paint me. The paint was horrible. I began to choke on the terrible smelling fumes.

I cried out to the Master, ‘Please, please, please stop!’

He smiled gently and said, ‘Not yet.”

“Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited ——- and waited, wondering "what will happen to me next?" I happened to see my reflection and as I did, I said, ‘That’s not me; that couldn’t be me. It’s beautiful. I’m beautiful!’

Quietly he spoke: ‘I want you to remember, then,’ he said, ‘I know it hurt to be shaped and molded, but had I just left you alone, you’d have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around in circles on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if you had not been there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have been strengthened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn’t put you back in that second oven, you wouldn’t have survived for long because the strength would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.”
Author Unknown

I keep hearing in songs, and different places the encouragement that if God started the work in you, then it's a sure sign He has plans to complete it. He hasn't given up on you so don't give up on yourself. He sees something wonderful in you and He will help bring it out. Philippians 1:6 says this..."I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Another blog will be coming soon based upon this one verse...it's just really been on my heart lately.

I can't wait to share more with you later!

Thanks for reading!!