No matter where we are, who we are or what we are doing there are those days and times where we find ourselves a bit stressed.

As we were doing our Thursday night study, one of the questions was what causes stress in your life? It said the 4 most common stress factors are money, family relationships, work and health issues. Those things can bring stress but they are not what I worry about the most. I have been praying and seeking the Lord on this and He is showing me some life patterns that can cause me to have negative reactions and thus stress. Many times it’s a build-up of things undealt with that I’ve not let go of that weigh me down and then there is the last straw on top that causes me to fall – load and all. Then condemnation tries to get me because I let myself react negatively but as I go to the Lord He never fails to comfort me with His words of love.

         He is faithful and unchanging even when I change or situations change. When I am in Him I know that I cannot disappoint Him even when I fail. His promises are true and His name is powerful and full of life. His Word is the answer. I am wrapped in His presence and love always but I sometimes let life blind me to who I am. In Him nothing can harm me – not even myself. He remains faithful. His hope keeps me going. I can say, “It is well, It is well with my soul”.

“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in Me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in Me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world.” John 16:33 Passion Bible
“”Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities and not the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life and now your true life is hidden away in God as you live within the Anointed One. And every time Christ Himself is seen for Who He really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one in His glory.” Colossians 3:2-4 Passion Bible

Wow! His Word is so powerful and gives us the answers we need for all of life. And every time Christ Himself is seen for Who He really is, who you really are will also be revealed.

As I see Him in His glory, as I spend time in His presence just knowing how much He loves, then I will see who I am because I am in Him. In His presence there can be no stress, no strife, no failure, no doubt, no fear. In His presence is the fullness of joy.
 
This is all I will write this week but these verses are enough to meditate on and put into our hearts. In Him I have peace that passes all understanding and it is well, it is well with my soul. You can also meditate on Psalm 103 written on the back.
 
 
Psalm 103 
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.[a]
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
 
 

​January 21, 2017
          Yesterday I celebrated another year of life. This year when someone asks me how old I am I am able to say, “One year from Medicare”J. That in itself is scary and unbelievable but I will live each year to its fullest and know that each day is the day the Lord has made and I will enjoy it. I have no complaints about my life even though there have been some very rough roads but I am thankful the Lord was with me, gave me a testimony and I can continue praising Him and rejoicing in Him for many, many years to come.
          As I prayed yesterday the Lord asked me what I wanted this year. That’s a fun question to think about when the Lord asks you. First, I told the Lord thank You for all You’ve given me. Thank You that I can say I have fulfilled so many dreams. I really don’t have much of a bucket list because He has already given me everything! My family is beautiful, wonderful and amazing. I have the greatest husband there is who loves me forever and I get to spend quality, precious time with my Mom once a month or so. The dreams I dreamt as a little girl to go the nations and be a Pastor’s wife have come true. I have had the awesome privilege of helping to pastor this church full of wonderful people for 24 years. To be able to be in the same church with the same lovely people that long is a gift in itself. I traveled to my first foreign country 22 years ago and started to work with building homes for children 20 years ago. Ed and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage in April. We love ministering and traveling together. That’s a huge dream come true. We have never moved but have lived in the same home for 40 years and raised our children here. It is the home I grew up in and now my grandchildren get to come and play on the same mountains, caves and rocks that I did 50 years ago. When I think about it what else could I want more! My children are amazing and have married wonderful, amazing spouses and given me 22 of the most beautiful, loving grandchildren. All my grandchildren are being brought up in the Lord which has always been one of my prayers. That doesn’t mean some of them won’t take a detour now and then, which some have tried, but I believe in my heart they will come back because I know the promises the Lord has given me for these precious ones that are my heritage and inheritance. I also have siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins that are so close and make my life desires complete.
          My life is full of wonderful people. I have such wonderful friends that have stuck with me through thick and thin. Many have had to slap me down a time or two when I get to thinking wrong. They have loved me enough to do that. This church family is so amazing. You are all the greatest and I am so thankful for you, we are so thankful and grateful for such loving, precious people. You make pastoring delightful and a joy. The greatest ministry we can do is to come be with you each week and learn to walk this divine destiny the Lord has given together, helping each other in our individual walks and as a church family. My joy is full and my bucket runneth over with blessings!!
          As I pondered the next 30+ years of my life I knew there was something I still wanted in my life. First, I will quote from a devotion I read yesterday on my birthday, “Nothing matters more to Jesus than the condition of your heart. Your life is a vineyard; a precious garden where He meets with you to share secrets, stories and love. Garden walks – these moments of devotion, worship, prayer and simply resting in His presence- aren’t only enjoyable, but they’re a vital part of your relationship with the Lord. Taking care of your vineyard means nurturing your personal relationship with the Lord.”  By Brian Simmons – Divine Romance. What I want this year is more understanding of my relationship with the Lord. I long to hear Him more clearly with a listening heart. I want to rest in Him with no stress. I desire to speak words of love and encouragement to everyone around me. I want to be a voice that brings life – purpose – hope – love – encouragement – joy to my family, my church family and to the world. The Lord told me I am to be a missionary of hope. He wants to train me to hear His voice clearly and transform me into a different person, one who listens and is His instrument. I desire that the greatest joy of my life is my relationship with Him. As I grow and mature in Him the rest of my life will just flow and fall into place. There will be no wants or unfulfilled desires. I want to be wrapped in His arms and be in His presence. I want my life to be one that brings joy and hope to others.
That others will be able to see Jesus in me and know it is only Him who can make the difference. I want Him to guide me through every day and show me daily who I can minister to and show His love to.
          The Lord told me that the heavens are open over my heart and my home. I have access to His glory as I come before Him with an open, tender heart. He hears my cries for my wayward grandchildren and hurting family. He asks me, “Have I ever failed you?” This is the day, the year of might and power as I trust the Lord with my life, my voice, my family, my ministry, my church family, my health and my finances. Others may tell me to walk away from some things or just quit. Actually, the enemy will try to get me to quit but the Lord will just pull me closer to Him in those moments. I expect to see great and mighty things. I expect to see my family grow closer to Him as they enter into His presence. I expect to see unity and peace in my family and church family. I expect to see His love demonstrated in my life daily. I expect to see Him work out the troubles and difficult things I will face. I know He will never leave me. I will rest in His love, expect His love and abide in His love. I desire to be a healer of hearts and to listen and abide in Him. I have a strong desire to see lives and families healed because they have come to know the Lord and His ways as I am learning to. There is no problem that cannot be resolved and no sickness that cannot be healed when in His presence. In His presence there is no sickness, sadness, depression, strife, confusion, discord, failure and all the other troubles this world deals with. In His presence – as we are in His arms and in His presence all we know is the fullness of His joy.

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 AMP
 
“Then with a deep longing you will seek Me and require Me as a vital necessity and you will find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 – Amplified
 
“For in Him we live and move and exist, that is, in Him we actually have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Acts 17:28
 
Each of you are so special. My desire and prayer is that you will seek Him in all you do and say. My desire is to learn from you and your relationship with Him. My desire is for this next year of my life to be one of expectations and intimacy like I have never seen or experienced before. I am excited and I pray this is your desire too. This is a walk we can walk together in unity and see the Lord do mighty things like we have never thought possible.
 
Thank you for the birthday wishes and cards and thank you for being such awesome friends. We love you and thank the Lord daily that we can serve Him together!!!
 

          I usually take a day or two at the beginning of a year to reflect on last year and pray and seek the Lord for the coming year. As I was doing that a couple weeks ago the Lord showed me that He wanted me to do my devotional a bit different, at least for now. Many, many years ago I felt the Lord was telling me to write a devotional book. I always have big plans to get it done and the fact that I write every week does help me have something to put in a book. But……. Famous last words. This past year I spent most of my quiet times in a few different books and devotionals that have changed my heart. They brought me closer to the Lord in an intimate way which was a bit scary to me. However, they changed the way I pray and even think. I feel the Lord is wanting me to share some of what I have written and what I write almost daily. This week I have a few prayers to share. Each one may be in a different tense – some 1st person, some to me/you from the Lord and some to the Lord from me/you. I am going to type them as I wrote them and as time goes on I hope to get better at this. This is a different journey for me to write like this but I absolutely love writing about His love. In the last year speaking the words of His intimate love for me has helped truly begin to believe just how much I am loved. Some people just know this in their hearts already and many don’t. I am establishing this truth in my heart each day I pray about His love for me. It is the foundation of receiving everything else in the Word. The most important thing is to know what the most important thing is and it is to know who I am in Him – loved, accepted, righteous, holy, forgiven, worthy and much more.
 
In Children’s Church we are also learning what is important. First, we need to always know and believe that God is in a good mood. Our view of God greatly affects our lives and our relationship with Him. Our relationship with Him is based on His goodness and His pleasure with His children. Then that His blood already paid for all my sins so I don’t have to. This is the reason He is in a good mood. We don’t get the punishment we deserve because we have sinned. He received what I deserved so I can receive what He deserved. Next, is how important I am to Him. We are all more important than we think. When we know these truths and they are established deep into our hearts we come into His presence with praise and thanksgiving knowing how deep and wide His love is.  As we do this our hearts and lives are transformed in ways we never knew possible. There’s a little room after each prayer to write your thoughts and what you hear.
 
Prayer: A new year is a point of contact to revisit our goals – dreams – desires – visions and change what we want to change. This can be done anytime throughout a year but it’s an exciting time to step back and look at where we are and where we want to go. It’s a time we make promises that could soon be broken. They may be promises to our self or others. Taking the time to meditate on who Jesus says we are is the most important place we need to go in our hearts. Without you knowing His words – His desires – His love for you, everything you do is a waste of time and waste of dreaming. He has a divine destiny for each of us. There’s a journey into His presence for our hearts to embark on. It’s a place like nowhere else that brings life changes and heart changes like we’ve never imagined. Take a minute to shut out everything and go to a place with Him. Dance with Him. Look into His eyes. Receive His love – peace – joy and hope as you look into His gaze that is only for you. Now you are ready for a day that will keep you smiling. You’ll stay in peace as you carry His gaze with you. You’ll love as He loves.
“We have the privilege of worshipping the Lord, our God. For He is our Creator and now we belong to Him! We are the people of His pleasure.” Psalm 100:3 Passion Bible
 
 
 
 
Prayer: As you come into My presence today tune out all the stuff, the cares of the world and have ears to hear and eyes to see. Choose to hear Me with clarity and clearness. Let My words go through your ears and to your heart. The world is a messy place to be. But through My eyes you will see healed bodies and hearts. You will see relationships healed and made whole when you see through My heart of love. Take time to see others the way I see them and let Me teach you how to love even the most unlovable. See yourself as I see you and created you to be. Don’t listen to the world’s view and opinion of yourself but get into My Word and see beyond the natural into a place of grace, mercy, beauty, radiance and where the impossible is possible. Today know Me as your Friend, the One Who loves you and relentlessly pursues you. I will never give up on you fulfilling your divine destiny. I will continue to breathe My life into you and every cell of your body will be alive with Me. Don’t close your ears and eyes because of fear, shame, doubt, sin, unworthiness. Only My Life, My Love, My Presence can heal and take away what you don’t want to see and hear. But you can only see it as I see it – GONE – when you gaze into My eyes of love and embrace all I have for you.
“Gaze upon Him, join your life with His, and joy will come. Your faces will glisten with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again.” Psalm 34:5 Passion Bible
 
 
 
 
Prayer: Your love, Lord, it’s so deep, so much greater than I can imagine. I was created for the purpose of loving You and being loved by You. Your love created me! That’s so difficult to comprehend in my natural world but as I let down the walls I’ve put up to protect myself from hurt I will be able to hear the whispers of Your passion for me. The breathe of God created me and the breathe of Life is the essence of my relationship with You. I long to know You deeply but that is such a divine destiny that cannot be experienced unless I let go of all that holds me back and fall into Your arms of love waiting to catch me. Then those arms hold me so close to Your heart that I can feel the love beat of Your heart. You have treasures in a treasure box for me to open and receive. Treasures that will change my life and let others see Your love in me. A love so full of passion, a love so sweet that I will be drawn to it like a bee to honey. I will wake every morning longing for nothing more than to dwell in Your love and fall asleep every night knowing that Your passionate love is protecting and watching over me. Your kiss every morning and night will touch the depths of my heart and reveal Your heart of love.
 “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning. He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.” Isaiah 50:4 NKJ
 
 
 
 
Prayer: Today is a day of courage. A day to stop holding onto your fears and judgments and let go. Give the things that weigh you down to Me. Step out in boldness – free of the bondages that hold you back and see, hear, feel what your situation is like without the fear. It will be an experience of joy and freedom! It will be something you will long for and desire in every area of your life. It will take courage to know that I am right here with you, guiding you and holding you close. The joy in your heart will be undeniable and everyone will see Me in you and notice you are different, free – full of the Spirit and My love. Courage brings hope. Hope is expecting My goodness to flow abundantly in all you do. My peace will radiant from your heart and others will long for what you have. This world is full of trouble, sorrow and fear. My peace will bring rest in a troubled world. You must be courageous, though. Be strong in Me. I have conquered the world. Be saturated with Me in My peace. You are my vessel full of peace and courage.
“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in Me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in Me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I conquered the world!” John 16:33 Passion Bible