Words have power. Written words provide proof. You can read them, and reread them whenever you want. They can speak life to someone who needs encouragement. They can speak death to someone who is being deceived. The choice lies within you. How is it that you want people to remember you? Encourager...that is the gift that God has laid on my heart. To use my written, spoken, and/or sung words to lift people up. To be one link in their road to healing, restoration, joy. I have been without those things, and I claim them to be mine again. If you want me to seek God on a prayer for a specific situation...that is why I am here. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to pray God's Word of Life over you.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

And then we have emotions...

Emotions. They can be a helpful tool for ministering...and they can be my worst enemy. People respond, people open up when they can see how much your heart aches for them. I know that God designed me. I know that my emotions can be used for His glory and His purpose. I also know that the enemy can use what God meant for good...and put his own ugly spin on it. Ugh...what a brat huh? ;)
Here is a visual for some of the emotions I am about to list. =)

Below are some of the emotions that I associate with some of my times of great pain.
Sadness.
Anger.
Sorrow.
Joylessness.
Resentment.
Lack of zeal.
Darkness.
Frustration.
Weeping.
Envy.
Depression.
Despair.
Lost.
Lifeless.
Alone.
Awkward.
Unwanted.
Left-out.
Without hope.
Thoughts of death.
Fear.

But how great is my God...that he conquered each and every one of those emotions. He brought me through them victoriously. He had me look satan in the face and say..."I always win! You will not defeat me! Get behind me. Stop tormenting me though _____________ (fill in the blank with whatever emotion you are feeling that is not of God)!"

Pure joy! Innocence. Happiness. Love. Trust. Faith like a child...untainted and complete!


One of my favorite new songs is Our God by Chris Tomlin. Make it personal. Read these words about your God...outloud. Feel the power that they hold!

My God is Greater!
My God is Stronger!
My God You are Higher than any other!
My God is Healer!
Awesome in Power! My God!

Don't let your emotions run your life. Speak to your mountain. Command it to move in the Power of Jesus name. Don't settle for emotions that are not from Christ.

You should not feel shame. You should feel forgiven In Jesus' name.
You should not feel broken. You should feel whole in Jesus' name.
You should not feel depressed. You should feel joyful in Jesus' name.
You should not feel resentment. You should feel compassion in Jesus' name.
You should not feel lifeless. You should feel blessed to live another day with Jesus in your heart.

Have a blessed day all! I am so blessed and so excited to be using my gifts for the glory of my powerful God! He alone is worthy to be praised!!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Change YOUR view

Whoo hoo...here I am again. Two days in a row. Praise God!! I am so excited to write to you all today. I know a lot of people in my small group of friends and family that have gone through some painful life experiences lately. So I am honored that God may use me to help aid some of you overcome your distored view of Him. He hasn't changed. The same God that formed you, is the same God that protects you. We all have heard the passage that says God will not give you more than you can handle. I am not sure about you...but sometimes I wonder if God thinks I am stronger than I think I am. Haha! I would normally have given up way before I got through some of my toughest times. And I would not be the powerful woman of Christ if He had let me. I trust His strategy. Do you?

Right now...think about God. Do you feel as though your view of His goodness and provision changed at some point? Do you feel as if He doesn't always hear your cries? Do you feel like he blesses others around you...and yet leaves you to fight for yourself? If you answered yes to any of these...I have great news for you! Your view is distorted right now...but God absolutely will restore it. He will bring you back to your first love of Him. To the days where you trusted Him whole-heartedly! He will destroy the enemies lies. Expose them to you, so that you will recognize them for what they are. Lies.

So, how do you change a distorted view? Here is what God gave me when asked this question...

1. Admit that it is your view that is distorted. Know, trust, take comfort in the fact that God is the same yesterday, today and forever!

2. Acknowledge that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. Trust Him!

3. Seek healing. Don't waste another day with a heart full of pain that you can leave at the foot of the cross.

4. Find someone that you trust to keep you accountable and to hold you up in prayer. All of these steps are important...but this one is key. The enemy longs to seek you out, to destroy you, and ultimately to kill you. So prayer warriors are absolutely vital in your life. (Also, don't take the opportunity lightly, to hold someone else up in prayer. If someone has entrusted their circumstances to you...pray as if they were your own. Seek God on their behalf. Spiritual warfare really happens. Do your part in it.)

5. Wake up and meet with God. If you look in the scriptures of when Jesus lived as a man, you will see that often He went out early in the morning while it was still dark, to pray. What better example do you need? Jesus...it doesn't get better than that! =)

6. Sing His praise. I am sure that you  have days like me. Days that you wake up and just don't feel like
praising. Praise Him anyway. Turn the worship music up loud. Dance if you have to. Do what it takes to change the desires of your heart. Unwanted allowance to be sad and sorrowful...to the desire to be joyful and compassionate.

7. Be God's cheerleader. Talk about Him often. Tell everyone about His faithfulness. Speak of Him as if you are in love.

8. Encourage others. There is something amazing about being used by God to change someone else's outlook. Whether it be their outlook on just that day...or on their eternity. When you can speak life into your friends and family...you will be amazed at how it fills your heart with the joy of the Lord.

9. Be a servant. Again, take your cues from Christ. He didn't need to serve others, He chose to. He did the will of His Father without question. He didn't ask why serving was so important. He trusted that God knew exactly what He was doing.

10. Be passionate about what God has placed in you. Whatever that is. For me it is writing, singing, encouraging and being a prayer warrior. I want to use those whenever God asks me. I want to write with a purpose. I want to sing with passion for my first love. I want to encourage when someone is struggling. And I want to pray whatever God lays on my heart!

You all have spiritual gifts. It is a promise from God. He has placed certain things in your heart that He desires you to use for Him. They are uniquely yours. Unlike any other! Have you been listening? Can you name them if asked? If you feel you have nothing to give back to God...let me pray for you. Comment or message me...and I would love to be your prayer warrior. You may be being deceived right now...because God does have plans for you. Specific plans. Plans that no one else can complete. You are not made to just coast through. He wants to use you...to bless you. To make you stronger. To increase your faith.

Commit to change your view...and change your life. Change the generations to come. Teach your children that we serve a God that is always faithful. Always!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Have I lost you all?

Hey there blogger world. I really and sincerely hope that I haven't lost you all because of my lack of posting. I have been unable to get on the internet at my house in weeks! I can access facebook and email from my phone...but I am not about to type out a whole blog post from there. Too annoying. =) It is a miracle that I am on now..so I want to type this as quickly as possible so I don't loose it. And my computer is going to die soon...because of course I left it on and unplugged. Ugh!

God has been teaching my sooo much through my quiet times lately. It has been so awesome. This is why journaling is so vital to me...now I can share it with you! =) The first thing I want to share is about a shattered view of Christ. I was doing a devotional by Max Lucado a few weeks ago. It was so awesome...because
#1. He is my favorite author
#2. I was really excited to be writing and hearing from God
#3. I had done this devotional in the past...and my view is sooo different now!

Let me explain. In this devotional Max talks about seeing God through a window. When you first become saved, your view is clear. Untainted by life and all that comes with it. Then, something happens that shatters your glass. Now you can still see God, but he is distorted by your pain. It is as if you blame Him for it. (This summary is in my words...but if you want the completed version I can surely get it to you. Just ask!)

Next the devotional asked me..."What kinds of circumstances cause such pain in our lives that our perception of God is altered?" Here is where it gets good. This was my response...
"I have answered this question before. I am sure then that I said going through each miscarriage my anger and resentment towards God grew stronger. When I began to have complications with my 5th pregnancy and my son Aiden prayed for me...I was filled with doubt.
Circumstances that seem to bring no good and have no explanation...those are the ones that try to shove me into that pit of despair. To make me feel as if I have no hope. But I know better! I thank my God He always reminds me...I know better."

You see...I had had a distorted view of God in the past. I saw him through my shattered glass. Through pain-filled eyes. I knew that I blamed Him at one time. I knew that He had miraculously healed me of all that. What I had never thought of was that I didn't see Him the same as I once did. He was my Healer again. He was my Father again. He was my Restorer again. He was my Comfort again. He was my Savior again. He was my Compassion again. He was my Mercy again. My view was restored...my view was strengthened. I now see Him through a much more powerful set of eyes. Christ's! I am a daughter of the Most High.

Want to know how to fix a pain-distorted view of God? Tune in tomorrow. ;)

Love ya all!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Clean up this mess

If you have children....I am sure you have yelled/screamed those words before. I couldn't even get them out of my mouth the other day without laughing. I turned to see my son Levi...who turned one on the 9th of August....dumping an almost full bag of chips on the floor of my kitchen. My solution..."MOOSE!"

You've met Moose. He is our great dane puppy. I say the word 'puppy' loosely. He is....as I type this...eating leftover cheerios off the kitchen table while sitting on the floor. He is a puppy in awkwardness. He is a puppy in energy. He is a puppy in bladder size. He is a puppy in excitement for new people to arrive. He is a puppy to see the opportunity to run out the door when left open just one second longer than needed. But in size...he is...well...he fits his name well. He is a Moose. =) He cleaned up the mess pretty well. Just a light sweep will do. As soon as I am done here I will get right on that. ;)

So, how about life. How messy does your life get? How do you handle it? Do you freak out? Do you start screaming at every living thing that gets in your path? Do you calmly assess the situation and plan step by step how you are going to fix it? (Show off! Haha!) Do you ignore it until it become so large you put yourself into a pit you can't crawl out of? Or do you sometimes just laugh and let the dog clean it?

Sometimes I take my life...and my problems way too seriously. I have mini pity-parties for myself...thankfully they are parties in my head that no one else knows about. (I realize that I just made myself sound a bit crazy. Deal with it, I have. Lol!) I allow myself to focus on my circumstance...instead of praising God through my storm. I freak out way before it is neccessary. I have no plan. I ignore the whispers of God telling me what I should be doing. I fall into the pit the have dug for myself. And that stinkin' dog is eating my chips again. Sounds like a lot of grumbling to me. Sound familiar?

While there are times when laughing off something that would normally be frustrating is appropriate...we do need to deal with life as it comes our way. We do need to somewhat plan how we are going to react to some of those crazy scenerios...because sometimes when you look back at the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach...it isn't really going so well, is it? Yeah...it isn't for me either. I don't want to live in regret. I don't want to live wishing I didn't yell so much. I don't want to live wondering what life would be like IF...

Start picturing how you want to be. Start praying Godly characteristics over yourself. Your husband. Your children. Start thinking BEFORE you speak. Hold your tongue. Don't say every cotton pickin' think that comes into that pretty little head of yours. If the author of your words doesn't appear to be God...who do you think it might be? Ouch! I know. I am not saying anything I don't need to hear myself. I am ticking myself right off too. Haha! But I love you too much to let you settle for how you treat people. Watch their reaction. Do you see the sparkle in their eye fade? Do you see the smile start to fall?

Let's be people that affect those around us. I don't want to infect anymore. I am tired of that game. I have been a part of that one already. I want to spread light where there is none. I want joy to radiate from me! Join me won't you?