Grace What Have You Done?

Oh Grace, what have you done?!

As I have mentioned previously,

Grace is not a verb-unmerited favor.

Instead it is a noun-a person,

and that person is Jesus.

I know that this year has been a year of revelation for me.

A year of enlightenment.

A year of unveiling.

A year of freedom.

A year of becoming fearless.

A year of the revelation of Grace...

of Jesus,

and what He truly accomplished when He died on the cross.

In the Old Testament,

God took his finger and carved on stone the 10 commandments,

the law.

Galatians says the law was given,

"alongside the promise to show people their sins.  

But the law was designed to last only until the 

coming of a child who was promised...."

5:19

So until this point in time in the Old Testament,

man was not fully aware of their sins.

The law came to show them how to live sinless.

Between this time and the time Jesus was born,

there were over 600 laws in place.

Could you imagine having to live under that?!

Do you try to abide by these commandments and laws now?

It is simply impossible.

It is impossible to live by the 10 commandments alone,

much less adding 600 more to it!

If you think you keep the law,

let's do a self check....

Do you keep the Sabbath?

Do you stay home from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday

and do no work? No mowing your yard.  No going out to eat.

No cleaning or laundry.

Probably not!

Have you ever taken anything from work?

A pen, a pack of post its, made copies on the company's dime?

Well there goes thou shall not steal.

Have you ever really not liked someone?

Like hated them?!

And now you have thrown murder out the window.

I could keep on going but let's take a moment to talk about 

the Good News!

When Jesus was born,

He was born into law.

And He preached law,

but in preaching law He also pointed out

how we cannot keep it.

2 Corinthians 3:7 calls the law the ministry of death and condemnation.

"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones,

was so glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the 

face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was 

passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?

For is the ministry of condemnation had glory,

the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory."

So Jesus took that which was impossible for us upon Himself

and with His body He crucified it on the cross so we could be free from it!

We are no longer bound by the law or commandments.

We are free!

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone 

who believes."

Romans 10:4

Jesus was that promised child that was mentioned in Galatians.

With Him and his death, burial and resurrection came Grace.

Jesus is Grace.

He brought a New Covenant for us when He poured out

His life on that tree.

"I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.

For if keeping the law could make us right with God,

then there was no need for Christ to die."

Galatians 2:21

He died for this,

to reconcile us to our Father,

for us to be healthy, free and prosperous.

To live fully in His Grace.

Isn't it just beautiful?!!!

There is so much revelation in this message of Grace and I pray 

I can share it with all of you eloquently and with the honor and beauty 

it deserves.

This has completely transformed my life and my relationship with the Lord.

I am not the same person I was when I first started blogging again 

8 months ago.

Once you have tasted of the freedom that is in this message,

there is no way you can go back to law or what most churches are now-

a mix of law and grace.

I am so full of Him and of joy, hope and expectancy.

I feel like I have been completely reborn,

I've been given a new life.

A life of Grace!!!

A Reformation of Grace

For the past few weeks there has been one word that has

been in my spirit so loudly.

Reformation.

Reformation is from the Latin word reformato,
which means restoration, renewal.

We are in such a pivotal, amazing time in history.

We are at the beginning of a reformation.
A reformation in our homes.
A reformation in our churches.
A reformation in our country.
A reformation in our world.
A reformation of Grace.

I dare to say this is the third reformation of the church.
The first was in Acts.
The second in 1517 when Martin Luther hung his thesis on the doors.
And the third is now.

With the reformation of the church in 1517 these things happened,
-it triggered wars.
-there were persecutions.
-and the Catholic Church of Counter Reformation was birthed;
which grew more spiritual,
more literate,
and more educated.
(Kinda sounds like the present condition of believers.)

On October 31, 2017 it will be the 500th anniversary
of the reformation of the church.
What I thought was interesting is the meaning of 500.
-Anointed One.
-Superb Jubilee
-The 500th book in the Bible is Psalms 22 which is the
foreshadowing of Christ's crucifixion.
-and it also means Grace.

There are so many signs and prophetic words that point to what we are
entering into now both as believers and as a country....
and time after time I see the word reformation or restoration.

2,000 years ago, Jesus took the law-death upon Himself
and with His body he nailed the law to a tree...
the cross.

1,500 years later, God poured out the revelation of Grace into a man,
Martin Luther, and then Grace was nailed to a tree....
a door.

And so began the reformation of the church.

Martin Luther said, "...salvation and subsequently, eternal life are not earned
by good deeds but are received ONLY as the FREE gift of
God's GRACE....."

Every since then we have tried to keep the law and do good works
thinking it is what keeps us in right relationship with our Father.
And we have completely taken back on the whole reason Christ died.

This Grace brings freedom, fullness, and new life.
This Grace rids you from striving, from performance,
from guilt and shame.

This Grace abolishes fear!!!
There is no room for fear in Grace!!!

This Grace crucified the law!!
That which was meant to kill us by trying to put us into bondage
by keeping it, was taken care of once and for all on the cross!

This Grace cannot be contained or measured!

This Grace is Jesus!!

This Grace is at the helm of this reformation that we are entering!!
Like I said above,
We are in such a pivotal, amazing time in history.
Lift your eyes,
Be encouraged.
Oh, Grace.

An End to the Spirit of Fear

As I have mentioned in a previous post,

I have been going through such a process in the past year

of stepping out of fear.

I was able to break through the debilitating hold of fear

about two months after it surfaced,

but since then,

the remains and residue of a lifetime of fear has been

falling off and washing away.

You know, God sometimes performs healings instantly and miraculously.

But oftentimes, its a process.

It's standing and believing and declaring what He accomplished 

on the cross over our lives until the healing-

body, mind and spirit,

is manifested.

That's how it was with me.

Every time that particle of fear residue would be uncovered,

I would have to make a choice.

I could choose to succumb to the fear or 

I could choose to stand a little longer in Him

and know that freedom was at hand.

Also, once we realize just how small and powerless the enemy

really is, we wont be no where near as 

moved and affected by his tactics to destroy us.

But that is a subject for another time!

As long as I can remember, I have had fear in my life.

I remember at a young age watching about the Gulf War on tv.

That is when the "outside" fear first came in.

From there it progressed into Saddam Hussein, 

the Oklahoma City Bombing, the first mentions of Osama bin Laden,

Y2K, September 11, 2001, the War on Terror.....

and everything up until now.

There was this deep rooted fear of things of this world that 

were completely out of my control.

And unfortunately, at 6 years old, 

I did not know how to find peace in the midst of it.

So I carried all of that buried deep down in my soul for 24 years.

Right now, 

in our nation,

the spirit of fear is running rampant.

It is controlling everything.

Mainstream media, the election, 

the hearts of the people in EVERY circumstance.

Recently I listened to an interview with Hank Kunneman on

Sid Roth's show, "It's Supernatural" and what he said about

our nation and fear revealed to me why and how this spirit 

has hung around and bred among the American people for so long.

Hank says,

"There are many that are prophesying according to the spirit of fear.

You know fear is a very powerful spirit. It is a spirit. And it's what the enemy is using to push 

back The Glory."

"When we got into agreement with the spirit of fear, 

it unleashed the spirit of fear."

"We have to be wise because prophecy and tapping into the prophetic

is like a radio, it has frequencies.

And Moses had to go above the dark cloud where God was to get a 

different perspective or a higher perspective.

There is a realm, that if we're careful, 

we as prophets can hear the secrets of God.

We can also hear the plans of the enemy.

And if we're not careful,

we can prophesy the plans of the enemy as if it's the 

Spirit of God....

So God is saying we need to come up higher."

We know that if two or more agree with the Spirit of God

then it will happen.

We, as a nation, have been prophesying the plans of the enemy

instead of what God is saying about this season that we are in.

We have to be so careful with what we declare and prophesy.

The Bible says life and death are in the power of the tongue.

I love what a good friend of mine said to me.

He said,

"I use one filter and one filter only when I read or prophesy or

think about the Lord and my relationship with Him, is

"God is Love."
Everything I hear, every word I say.

If something bad happens in my life I say,

"Does this declare God's love or not?

Does this declare God loves me or not?

Does this declare God loves my family or not?"

and if I can't match God's number one characteristic, that He is love,

then I need to change my belief about that situation."

-Benn James

How powerful are his words??

I love it so much because even though it challenges us to

be more intentional and aware of how we think, see and speak

into the things of this life, 

it also challenges us to make God's goodness and love

to be our solid foundation from which we process 

EVERYTHING!

It keeps us from speaking doom and gloom.

It keeps us from focusing on what is not.

It keeps us from allowing the obvious-about our nation or life-

to control our emotions and let fear in to 

run rampant in our hearts.

It instills hope.

It births expectancy.

It keeps our hearts and minds pure.

It is us intentionally choosing to look to Him in all circumstances.

I am so full of hope for whats to come.

The Glory of the Lord is going to cover the Earth!

How exciting?!!!

We are stepping into the most amazing time to be believers

that the church has ever seen!

I leave you with this,

one of my favorite quotes,

"If it does not look good then it's not the end."

-Kris Vallotton

Lord,

I just thank you for each and every one of the readers.

I thank you for their love and support towards me on this journey of 

sharing my heart and the things you reveal to me.

Lord, I thank you that you are Good and Love and Light and 

You are for us and not against us.

I thank you that there is no fear found in You, 

no matter what we may feel in the flesh or what the natural looks like.

Fear does not come from You.

Now I pray peace over all.  I pray that each person can rest

in the plans that You have and the finished work of the cross.

I pray for our nation and this season we are in.

I pray that the people will be led by you and not by their emotions.

You go before us and nothing catches You by surprise and 

I hope we can remember that in the days to come.

I love you so so much, Father,

and I set my heart upon You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

******************************************************

Here is the link to the Hank Kunneman interview with Sid Roth,

I highly recommend it!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olVdtLhJb9E&t=2409s

My Country Tis of Thee

As we all know, it's the election year.

I honestly do not care for the elections personally.

I understand we need them and their purpose

but every single time it comes around, 

it is 24 months of people trying to bash, degrade, and 

beat another person into the ground.

This election season though by far seems to exceed all of that

compared to any that I have had the privilege of voting in in the past.

I don't know if it is because I am older and understand more now

or if it is because of ALL of the media outlets-social and mainstream.

But to me it seems that this go around the bashing and degrading 

and beating is hitting everyone, individually.

It isn't exclusive to the two or three candidates that may be running.

Everyday I see people beating other people up for their beliefs and convictions.

I am SO over it!!!

(and this just may end up being a little bit of a rant post

but I will be back on my game soon!! ;)

Name calling, dogging each other out, talking negatively about this 

candidate or that one, living in absolutes.....

What has infuriated me the most is people leave

NO ROOM FOR GRACE!!!

No room for Jesus!!!

No room for Love!!!

And I can't help but to feel like we are all missing the point.

While majority of Americans are exercising their freedom of speech

(as I am doing now!)

it is not in a way that reflects the heart of God at all.

Can we just take a time out for a minute?!

We have less than a month left.

I doubt very seriously that there are too many undecided voters 

left out there.

So chill out!!!!!

Also, 

if you are undecided (or even decided)

pray!!!  Ask the Holy Spirit who He would have you to choose!!

AND GO VOTE!!!!

I hear people saying,

"I'm just not going to vote this year."

#thereispartoftheproblem

If you don't vote this year,

then I don't want to hear any complaining from you in the next 4 years!!!

#wasthattooharsh?!

#itoldyouiwasoverit

Don't vote emotionally.

Don't vote on how a candidate makes you feel.

Don't vote because this "way" seems right to you.

Just ask Him and He will tell you what to do.

It's that easy!!

Push yourself out of the picture and let Him guide you.

I'm not here to tell you who to vote for,

only TO vote.

I'm sorry believers,

I do not believe Jesus is going to rescue you from

having to make the choice between Trump or Clinton or Johnson or Stein.

#juststop

But I do believe that He is wanting to bring much revelation (and peace) to the 

American people right now 

and we are all too preoccupied with this election 

to even hear from Him.

Also, 

just stop with the whole "America is going to hell in a hand basket" bologna.

God is not going to wipe out America for her sins 

because He sent His Son over 2000 years ago to die for 

THE SINS OF THE WORLD!!

That includes AMERICA!!!!

America will have to suffer the consequences of her 

bad decisions but so does my 7 year old daughter.

Alas,

I love you all!!

I really do!

I love Jesus!

And He is still going to be the same Jesus after this 

election is over!

 I love this country that we get to live in....

this FREE country!

(Don't trash talk it!

Go to Haiti and come back and then 

tell me how bad it is!!)

I love that we get to vote..

and have a voice...

and a choice...

and all I ask is for you to show love too.

We don't always have to react and throw some harsh 

statement towards someone when they don't agree with

our own beliefs and convictions.

We can just be silent and keep on loving.

It's so much easier.

Plus, we only have less than a month left of this 

political circus that has consumed our lives!!

;)

#thecountdownison

A Woman Who Fears The Lord {OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!!}

Recently I began working out again.

I use to go to the gym several times a week.

I was improving my endurance with running

and making some baby gains in the muscle department.

Burning off the cares and worries of life 

and just enjoying pushing myself physically.

Then two years ago,

I started working again.

And between working, doctors and therapy appointments,

kids and the everyday responsibilities of life,

I let it go.

A few times I would start again but I just could not

find the time to fit it in without it 

taking away from somewhere else.

All of my children started school full time this year

and my husband told me to take a little time for myself 

before going back to work if that's what I chose to do.

I was so excited about this!!....

well not initially, it was quite uncomfortable knowing

I would be home....alone....

without any kids for the first time ever.

I thought to myself, 

"I'm going to start working out again!

I'm going to get back to me and take care 

of myself like I use to!"

One day after a good morning workout,

I was just thinking about where I may be in a few weeks.

What will I be lifting by then?

Will I see some of those little baby muscles growing?!!

I had this image in my head of what I may look like

or where I would like to get to.

Then I heard the Holy Spirit say,

"Will you truly be happy if you look like that?"

..........I immediately stopped what I was doing and pondered

the depth of His question.

We, as women, are our biggest critics.

We critique every square inch of our bodies.

We assess every wrinkle or line.

We fight every stray gray that emerges in our mane-

which by the way is not what we want-

the curlies want straight and the straight envies the curlies.

We stare in dismay at our abundance of curves or lack there of.

We do not see ourselves as others see us.

We don't have that ability.

But we surely don't see ourselves as He sees us.

The Bible gives us a glimpse into this.

He sees us as

BEAUTIFUL,

COURAGEOUS,

RIGHTEOUS,

VIRTUOUS,

STRONG,

FAVORED,

ANOINTED,

GENTLE,

POWERFUL......

I could go on.

But what I realized is not one of these is speaking of physical qualities.

They are speaking about the heart.

He sees our hearts.

Please do not misunderstand me,

I completely believe that we have to be 

good stewards of our bodies.

We have to eat well and build endurance 

and take care of ourselves so we can run this

race with tremendous strength and grace!

But our happiness and value cannot rest in this 

ideal of obtaining a certain physical look or condition.

It is all temporal and fading.

Proverbs 31:30 says,

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;

but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised."

When I thought about the Lord's question,

I evaluated my heart.

I know that anything I try to do in my own strength without Him

will not bear fruit or bring me happiness.

So I instantly answered no.

Our value or worth is not found in something we do not have.

It's not found in something someone else may possess.

We do not have to have these feelings of envy or jealousy!

I love what Lisa Bevere wrote in her new book,

"Without Rival",

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

-Theodore Roosevelt

Psalms 139:13-14 says,

"For you formed my inward parts,

you covered me in my mother's womb.

I will praise you, 

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are your works 

and that my soul knows very well."

You were fearfully and wonderfully

and purposefully made to be 

His righteous daughter!!!

Let your value, happiness and identity

to wholly and completely be in what He 

thinks and says about you!!

********************************************************

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

This month marks 6 months since beginning this journey of blogging!!

I want to celebrate by giving away Lisa Bevere's new book

"Without Rival"!!!!

All you have to do is go on Facebook,

Like Love of Poppys page,

comment on the post,

share the blog,

and wait for the winner to be announced on 

October 15th!!!

You have a chance to be put in the drawing with each blog post from now 

until October 14th!!!

But be sure to follow the instructions to be qualified!!!

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support over the last 6 months!!

Bullied By Fear

Satan can be sneaky.

He can tip toe into our thoughts,

plant a tiny seed of worry,

water it with unhealthy emotions

and watch it grow into a creeping, thorny vine of fear.

That fear,

if well fed,

will then grow up the walls of our mind

and then take root into our heart

and tighten its reign of control over the 

garden of our life until its suffocated every other

living, pure and fruitful growth

that we had once living within us.

Meet anxiety.

Worry, fear, anxiety and depression are not our portion

from The Lord.

They are tactics from the enemy to control us

and to take our focus off of the Deliverer and Healer

of our body, mind and soul.

John 10:10 says,

"The thief does not come except to kill, and to steal

and to destroy.

I have come that they may have life, and that they 

may have it more abundantly."

One year ago, I walked through a season of crippling fear and anxiety.

I wanted to curl up somewhere away from it all and just fade away.

I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, and 

I had no hope.

That thorny vine of fear had almost completely killed all that 

I had grown in my garden of Life.

How could someone so passionate about The Lord become so 

debilitated by the enemy's fiery arrow?

I loss sight of who I am in Him and 

the authority and power that has been bestowed upon us.

Initially when the first sign of fear crept in,

I didn't turn from it.

I did not access the power that we have been so freely given.

I did not call on the name of Jesus.

I didn't rebuke the enemy and his attack on my mind.

I didn't surrender that area of weakness and the control

that I wanted to have over the situation immediately.

I could list one hundred things I didn't do...

But, in my time of walking through the valley of the shadow of death, 

He NEVER left me.

He was there every step of the way.

This season of my life was ONLY a shadow.

What is a shadow?!

It is darkness that forms when someone or something 

comes between a surface and The Light.

Once I chose to step out of that shadow and let His pure and radiant

Light shine in,

my crippling fear that had bullied me for months turned into

a holy righteous fear.

I went from wanting to let that shadow swallow me up to 

fearing that I would allow such lies to keep me from fulfilling

His great purpose for my life.

I didn't want to miss God!!!!

Anytime that nasty Satan would come and poke to see if he could 

plant a seed again, I would stop and I would pray,

"God, make my thoughts Your thoughts."

Then I would worship.

For me, I would play worship music and turn my heart and affection

completely towards Him.

I would think about the promises that have yet to be fulfilled

and thank Him for what He had promised me He would do.

Our greatest weapon is worship and praise!

Many times it was hard to do this because my emotions

weren't in alignment with my spirit.

But He is faithful and through this act of faith,

victory swept in and took hold of the root and ripped its 

shallow shoots out of my heart and left in its place

seeds of hope, peace and expectancy.

"For God does not give us the spirit of fear but of power and 

of love and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff comfort me."

Psalms 23:$

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God

for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every

high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,

bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Finding Me In A World Full of Mommy Guilt

If you're a mom, then you've done it.

You've had that inevitable case of Mommy Guilt.

My husband had planned this amazing trip for us for my birthday this year.

Sadly, getting a sitter and everything set up for our children

as well as other circumstances hindered us from being able to go.

And I.WAS.CRUSHED!!!

My heart was broken.

See, I had just spent all summer....

ALL EXCRUCIATINGLY HOT summer with my three kids at home.

No trips to the beach, very few play dates,

and on top of it all my daughter had to have her tonsils taken 

out.

Also, before summer even started, 

I quit my job to stay home and home school

Kaleb, our little boy who has autism.

So I was craving and NEEDING this break away.

I don't feel like needing is a strong enough word.

I believe I told my husband something along the lines of

"If I do not get to get away for some sort of break,

then I am going to be the one breaking."

Dramatic....

....maybe...

Say what you want.

I have only had that feeling twice in my life and they have both been 

this year.

First, when I knew preschool was not working out for Kaleb

back in February and I (along with everyone else) was

just worn out from trying to make it work.

And then this instance where beautifully laid plans were made 

and fell through.

My wonderful husband responded by saying,

"You go somewhere. Go alone.  I will keep the kids.

Just go and relax and regroup and we will be here when you come home."

In case you didn't know this already,

I adore my husband.

He is the most considerate, giving,

compassionate man I know.

He knows what I need before I even do most of the time.

Then he waits ever so patiently while I get to the place 

of realizing that he is exactly right.

So I did.

I left.

BY MYSELF!!!

For the first time ever.

And let me just stop here and say,

I will be doing it again!!!

I had no idea how much I needed to get away,

to go and sit, alone, in the quiet.

To go to a restaurant and look at a menu and 

choose what *I* want to eat without having to think about 

ordering for three other people.

To sit and read and pray and spend time with God

without having to "squeeze" it in between

preparing meals and doing laundry and 

shuttling from one appointment to another.

Time stood still for one day....

for me.

And it was exactly what I needed.

You see,

we live in a world SATURATED with guilt and shame.

Especially us moms.

The past couple of years, 

I have struggled with so much Mommy Guilt.

Feeling like all of my energy gets poured into the one with 

special needs while the other two float by the wayside.

How maybe I should be more active in one's school activities

yet I was working and trying to get two other's settled in their own schools.

Or what if all of this time and research and fight for my beloved Kaleb

has been in vain.

Tons and tons of Mommy Guilt.

But I've also received Mommy shame from others:

"If you know he is like this then why wont you medicate? 

What will it take for you to finally medicate him?"

"Well I bet she would like to do girly things,

she does have two brothers, you know.

She needs a break"

"All he needs is a good butt whoopin'. 

I bet he would straighten up then."

How unfair is it to judge someone's situation when you 

are not the one walking in it.

But you know what,

we all do that as well.

What has brought me great freedom is the verse that says,

"There is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus,

who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit."

Romans 8:1

How amazing is that?!

We, who believe, are all placed in Jesus so

there is no condemnation in Him.

He is not condemning me for my shortcomings.

He is not shaming me for the choices that I make.

But when we walk in the flesh,

we lose sight of the amazing freedom and grace we have been 

given by being placed in Him.

When we walk in the Spirit,

we access that freedom and grace fully and

there is absolutely NO condemnation.

How awesome!!

All guilt and shame melts away in His Presence.

Because in His Presence is freedom, peace, hope and joy

to overcome all!!

So I will do me,

without guilt,

and ignoring any shame.

I will take a break,

so I can re-energize and give my children

the best of me.

I will take care of myself without constantly

pushing myself to the back burner when things 

get crazy.

I will not allow all of the "demands" and pressure to be a perfect mom

to cloud my perspective on what I am doing right.

I will allow my weaknesses to be seen

because in my weakness,

He makes me strong.

We, as moms, have been given such
an incredible privilege.
I am so excited about what our children are going to walk in.
So much freedom and authority in Him.
It is absolutely mind blowing!!

But we have to realize that it is okay to take
time for ourselves.
It's not selfish.
It's not rude.
It's not inconvenient.

It is wise.
It is needed.
And it will bring good to you and
your children!!!

NO CONDEMNATION IN HIM!!!!

Fruit Is Not Born Out Of Obligation

This is a season of change for me

as I mentioned in last week's post .

I honestly feel like this entire year has been a year of change,

a year of letting go.

And it has been SO heartbreaking for me.

I laid my job down to take care of my special needs son 

(as i mentioned here),

I have let go of any control that I thought I may have had

(who am I kidding?!, control?!!! really?!!),

and I have stepped down from the ministries that I was involved in.

For the past 10 months,

there has been one word that has resonated so loudly in my spirit,

SURRENDER.

Oh, to get to that place of total and complete surrender in Him.

It requires us to let go of everything!!!! 

Especially our desire to control and expect things.

Our expectancy should lie in Him and Him alone,

not in our power or ability to make things turn out a certain way.

Oftentimes, expectations are put upon us....

as we also put expectations on others.

And we put on this backpack of expectations and continue to walk through life,

and each day, more expectations are added into that backpack until eventually

we cannot carry it.

Unnecessary expectations turn into obligations.

And fruit is not born out of obligation.

Love is not born out of obligation.

Joy is not born out of obligation.

Peace is not born out of obligation.

Long-suffering is not born out of obligation.

Kindness is not born out of obligation.

Goodness, Faithfulness, and Gentleness 

is not born out of obligation.

Self control is not born out of obligation.

We hold on so tightly thinking we are doing what's honorable and right

when in reality,

it is not what God is requiring of us 

and we are stunting our own growth.

But fulfilling what He is wanting to do and where He wants us to go

should flow out of us naturally.

There is a time and a season to let go and walk away.

Because He can't do anything new if we are holding on to the old.

The biggest thing standing between you and your purpose and destiny is

YOU!!

It's not the wrongs that have been done against you.
It's not the pain you've experienced.
And it's not other people.

We are the biggest obstacle standing in God's way of fulfilling His plans for our lives.

Fruit is not born out of obligation

but it is born out of complete surrender to Him

and total dependency on the Holy Spirit.

As uncomfortable as this has been for me,

I KNOW He is faithful.

I KNOW He won't leave me.

I KNOW He has good in store.

And I CHOOSE to hold on to the promises

that He has spoken over my life.

This is not the end,

quite the opposite.

He is beginning a new thing.

Once we let go,

then He has full reign to move, shake, align

and so perfectly put together exactly what 

He has in store for this next season.

Trust Me

The most common phrase I hear from the Holy Spirit is 

"Trust Me".

This happens often as I get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle,

find myself overly concerned about something,

or when my focus gets off of Him and on my

own vain attempt at doing it myself.

Sometimes its a firm

"Trust Me"

and sometimes its the gentle blowing of the sweet words

"Trust Me".

But each time it's a reminder that I don't have to go at anything alone!!!

What does trust really mean?

Merriam-Webster defines trust as the belief that someone

or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc.

There are quite a few Hebrew words that translate to trust.
Here are the ones that stuck out to me the most.

*Chasah-to lean on someone or something,.

*Betach-to cling,

*Yachal-to hope (as in to "know" something will

happen in the future)

and

*Aman-to be firm.

When I saw these Hebrew words and their definitions,

it completely changed my perspective of trusting Him.

It's so much more than saying "I trust You, Lord.',

which I do often.

But it is an action as well.

When the Holy Spirit says, "Trust Me",

I am to lean on Him,

To cling to Him,

To put my hope in Him,

and to stand firm in Him.

It means I will actively choose to lean, cling, 

hope and stand firm in Him.

So the next time that you hear the Holy Spirit whispering those two words to you,

or when you declare "I trust You, Lord.",

know that it is so much more!!!

It's an action!!!

I'm Letting Go.....

Have you ever struggled letting go?

You knew what you were holding onto wasn't healthy or edifying.

Or God just had something better for you if only you would

take that first step.

Change is painful

Change is uncomfortable.

Change is inevitable.

But there is One who never changes!

Who is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Who is steadfast and passionate in His love 

and affection for us.

Amen!!!

When I feel in my spirit that change is coming,

I do three things.

1-I take a step back and ask the Holy Spirit to let me 

see things differently.

"What does God want to do here?"

"What are His promises over my life?"

"How can I allow Him to prepare my heart for this

next season?"

2-Pray.  

I give thanks over where I am and where I am 

about to go.

3.I remind myself,

"Whatever You have for me Lord,

I choose."

I want to intentionally choose to follow what He 

has brought me to each and every day.

None of this catches Him by surprise.

He knew about this long before I was ever born.

And by Him knowing, 

means He has already prepared a way through it!!!

So let it go and trust Him!

Living Life in a Fish Bowl

In life we go through times where we think,

"Oh I wasn't good enough to do this."

"If only I had more money then I would be accepted by them."

"My name never gets called, I just have really bad luck."

Don't we all, at some point, 

find ourselves thinking that we are just the luck of the draw?

Even in our walk with Christ, 

we look around and see people stepping into their 

purpose and destiny.

Yet,

we are sitting.....

waiting.....

wondering,

"God, when will it be my turn?

When will you draw my name out of the 

big fish bowl in Heaven and let me step 

into what you have for me?"

Well....

for 1-

God does not have a big fish bowl in Heaven...

randomly drawing out who will be the next great

megaphone to declare the Good News all over the world.

That doesn't sound like a very loving God to me.

And 2-

Romans 8:29 says,

"For God knew His people in advance,

and He chose them to become like His Son."

verse 30 goes on to say,

"and having chosen them, he called them,

he called them to come to him.

And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself.

And having given them right standing,

he gave them his glory." (NLT)

There is so much we could unfold from those two verses alone.

But what I want to focus on right now is in verse 29

it says,

"For God knew His people in advance."

I have read some translations that say 

"He predestined."

He predestined us;

you and I,

to be like Jesus.

Before the foundation of the world,

Before He separated light from the darkness,

Before He created night and day,

Before He created the land and seas,

the grass and the trees,

Before He made the sun and the moon and the stars,

Before He created living creatures to inhabit the Earth,

Before He created Adam.....

He knew us and predestined us to be like Jesus!!!

Jeremiah 1:5 says,

"I knew you before I formed you in your 

mother's womb."

How amazing is that?!

I remember when I had each one of my children,

I would just sit and stare at them endlessly.

There was something about knowing they had been

in such a pure, living, breathing, 

unhindered and untainted by this world

relationship with God just days or months before

they were born.

They were with Him face to face!!

They heard Him laugh!!

They heard His declarations and promises 

for their lives before they were even revealed to me!!!

God didn't do this with just my children.

This happened to each and every one of you.

He knew you!!!

He predestined you to be like His Son!!!

How do we be like Jesus?!

-We totally and completely rely on God

and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us every single day.

The Bible says Jesus only did what He saw the Father do.

He would only say what He heard Him speak.

That is being completely reliant on our Father.

-We must love.

There is all kind of mess going on in the world 

right now.

Terrorist acts, political agendas and the election year,

things that we may not agree with and that are super

confusing being forced upon us.

But in the midst of all of the chaos and hate,

we are called to love!

Mark 12:30-31 says,

"And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,

all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

The second is equally important;

'Love your neighbor as yourself.''

We are not called to conform--not at all.

But we are called to love.

Know that God did not create you randomly

or without thought and care.

Know He didn't pick you randomly out of a bowl of others.

He was so intentional in creating you,

in placing the perfect purpose for your life within you.

He is a God of such detail when it comes to 

His sons and daughters. 

He knew you and predestined you to be like His Son

before this world was ever formed!!!

So step out of your fish bowl

and go show the world Jesus!!!

-Amen!!

Your Sins Are Forgiven You

Over the past few weeks, my Pastor has been doing a series called

"Exposing Myths Heard in the Church".

He is going through many myths that we have heard for years

and showing how they are not found in the Bible and 

what Jesus did when He came.

It has been SO amazing at the freedom and revelation 

that has been brought to light

and the years of such misleading, wrong doctrine being broken down.

I am not going to write about what he is teaching us, verbatim, 

but about one bit of revelation that has just sparked

something inside of my heart.

In Luke 5 we read about a story of a 

paralytic man who is healed by Jesus.

Read with me:

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

This paralytic man had friends with great faith!!

These men believed that if they could just get their friend to Jesus then

He would heal him.

They come to the building where Jesus is but it is so crowded that 

there is no way they can get their friend on his bed through to the Healer.

So instead these men improvised.

I love how they didn't give up!!

They just KNEW the power Jesus had.

The men went to the roof and started removing some 

of the tiles to make a hole.

Then they lowered their friend down to Jesus.

Now I would have loved to have seen this first hand.

I mean really!!

Think about it,

you are in the middle of listening to the Messiah speaking

and you start to hear banging and dust and rubble starts falling from the 

ceiling and all of a sudden a man is being lowered from above down

to Jesus.

There is no telling what was running through the minds of every person

there when this was happening.

Ok,

back on track. ;)

It says,

"When He saw their faith, He said to him, 

"Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Isn't it interesting how Jesus didn't ask him what the problem was.

He didn't ask them what they wanted Him to do.

In fact,

Jesus didn't even address the elephant in the room!!!!,

that this man was paralyzed.

No!!!

The first thing He did was say to the paralytic man,

"Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Immediately the scribes and Pharisees get their panties in a wad.

Isn't that like the modern day church?!

When God does something that doesn't fit into the "norm"

they start speaking against it and declaring "This can't be God!"

But Jesus, perceiving their hearts, says,

"Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier to say,

'Your sins are forgiven you?' or 'Rise up and walk?'

In the Old Covenant, 

forgiveness came once a year and it was by the 

shedding of blood from a pure spotless animal.

These teachers of the law could not

understand how a "man" could forgive another 

of their sins.

But they did not know or recognize in whom's presence they 

were standing!!!

They were in front of the One who is pure and spotless

that would shed his blood once and 

for all for the sins of the world.

Jesus continues to say,

"But that you may know the Son of Man has power on Earth to forgive sins"-

He said to the man who was paralyzed,

"I say to you, arise, take up your bed and go to your house."

Immediately, he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on,

and departed to his own house glorifying God."

Jesus came and paid the ultimate price for our unrighteousness.

When He poured out His blood on that cross over 2,000 years ago,

He paid for our past, our present and our future sins.

Over 2,000 years ago when He did this, 

every one of our sins were future sins!!!

Know that your identity is no longer a sinner once you have 

put your trust in Him!!

You are a saint!

You are His beloved!

You are His righteousness!!!

No sin you may commit can separate you from His love.

The only thing that can separate you from Him is choosing 

not to believe.....

THAT'S IT!

To each saint and each sinner,

know that 

YOUR SINS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN YOU!!!!

2,000 years ago He forgave you for what you would do!!

You have been forgiven!!!

All you have to do is accept this amazing gift of Grace that 

He poured out for all of us!

-Amen!!!