​March 20, 2022
Tomorrow is the first day of spring!!!!:) I know, we are supposed to have a huge snowstorm. That is our spring showers that will bring beautiful new life to our world. Spring is such an exciting time of year for me. Here where we live not much turns very green until May and even June. But knowing winter is behind us for a few more months and everything that has rested and been dormmate is waking up brings new energy and hope. I love the seasons. Each play an important part in nature and in our lives. Winter, I enjoy too. It’s a time of slowing down, resting, and preparing for the next 3 seasons that will bring new life from sowing, lots of sunshine, busy times and then a time of harvest. Seasons work in the physical world and in our hearts. Each season is vital in our relationship with our Lord.
 
This last year was different with the things that happened. There has been a heaviness since last May but we decided it would not win. I knew then and continue to stand firm on that we cannot afford to get down, depressed, discouraged, overwhelmed, in pity, sorrow, confusion, distress, anger or any other ploy of the enemy to keep us from walking through this last year of loss and grief in victory. The enemy stole many things from us last year including the life of one of my precious grandchildren but we will stand strong against his ploys to destroy our family and other relationships. We have to continue to stay strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and let Him guide us through this. There have been broken hearts of loss but our precious Jesus cradles the hurting hearts in His hands. Our heavenly Father hears our cries and holds us close. New life will spring forth in ways we cannot not imagine from the many tragedies of this last year. The secret is that we must remain close to His heart and guard our hearts.
 
This week the Lord reminded me of having His full armor on. In the last couple years, the Lord has enlightened my eyes to see these verses different than I ever did before. They are about my identity and knowing who I am in Him. I am sharing these verses in Ephesians 6: 10-20 from the Passion Translation… You can also look them up in other translations.
“Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important truths for last: Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you.
Just these verses alone can change your whole life!
 
Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!  Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms.  For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage. Because of this, you must wear all the armor that God provides so you’re protected as you confront the slanderer, for you are destined for all things and will rise victorious.
 
Put on truth as a belt to strengthen you to stand in triumph. Put on holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart. Stand on your feet alert, then you’ll always be ready to share the blessings of peace.
 
In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one!  Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken Word of God.”
 
Pray passionately in the Spirit, (vitally important part that gets ignored a lot) as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all his believers. And pray also that God’s revelation would be released through me every time I preach the wonderful mystery of the hope-filled gospel. Yes, pray that I may preach the wonderful news of God’s kingdom with bold freedom at every opportunity. Even though I am chained as a prisoner, I am his ambassador.”
 
The belt of truth isn’t as much about not being a liar and not being truthful even though that is vital, it’s about speaking the truth of who I am in Him. Speaking words of life and not choosing to speak words of death, hopelessness, condemnation, quitting, discouraged, depressed and being useless. What has He said about me – you? These are the words I am to speak. “Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life..” Proverbs 18:21 – Passion
 
The Breastplate of Righteousness protects my heart from those words and feelings of condemnation, pain, confusion that I speak, think and own at times. When I know I am righteous in Him I can do all things in Him and be who He has called me to be. I don’t have to protect my own heart with a wall that shuts His Life out but I can guard my heart and minister His love. “So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
 
Then there is having your feet shod with the Gospel of peace. When I walk in conflict and stress in my life, in my mind and heart there is no peace. His peace is not ruling my life. I have chosen to choose peace over stress. It’s a daily choice and sometimes minute by minute but the greatest choice I can make every day. I can share His love with others going through hard times and they don’t know He is the answer. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:15
 
The Shield of Faith saves our lives. I can get exhausted from trying to fight through deception, lies, offenses, hurts and cares of this world on my own. When I let down my shield of faith things can seem almost impossible. Walking in His faith protects my heart from the lies of the evil one and I go forward knowing who I am in Him and knowing in His faith I am “able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one! “ 
 
Put on the Helmet of salvation. This isn’t just receiving the Lord as your Savior but we have to protect our thoughts and remember who we became when He became our Lord and Savior. “So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” Philippians 4:8
 
The Sword of the Spirit is His Word. My intimate time with Him and in His Word is one of the most powerful times of my day. His Word is alive and Truth. As I hide His Word in my heart, I am able to go forward in what He has called me to do knowing I am everything He says I am.
 
We don’t have time to drop our guard. This week I had times of anxiousness and I wasn’t sure from what. He reminded me to guard my heart with peace and joy so the enemy doesn’t weave hurt and offenses into my heart. The enemy hasn’t stopped trying to bring deathly deceptions into our minds. He won’t win and in this new season of life we will be tending to the new sprouts that will spring up. There are too many lives that need to know Him and His love. I am thankful He never leaves me but keeps whispering, keeps loving, keeps showing me the way. I’m praying the Lord will show us ways to minister to other hurting people that are sometimes harder to reach. The time is crucial to go forward preaching His Love and Good News. The enemy wants to keep us disillusioned and wavering. There is no time for that!  Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!   Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you. AMEN
 

​March 13, 2022
The Lord has been showing me so many awesome things lately that I don’t know which direction to go😊. My heart has been around block after block with healing, revelation, learning and living what I have seen from Him. It’s a good place to be for me. Just so thankful that He never gives up on us and that His mercies are new every morning. Today I’m going to share some vital truths I’m learning to walk by faith in. His Truths. Some I may have shared many times in the last 9-10 months but His truths and all He has done for me and my family are worth saying again.
 
In 3 John 2 it says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. He’s spoken this verse over and over to my heart for the last 3 or 4 weeks. I know this verse but until recently haven’t taken it to heart like I am now. The Healing University classes have been so packed full of His Word and truth that I can say without a doubt that God wants me well. God wants you well. It’s like we know that truth and believe that but don’t make the choice in our lives to let it be a real part of us. I’m going to share a bit of a testimony.
 
My main physical issues, or at least those that have my attention a lot, have been a hip, knee, and sciatic. I do more physical work than I probably should do and have abused my body so I guess when these aches and pains come I pray and go on the best I can. The first huge attack came 2 ½ years ago when my rolfer (deep tissue massage+) hit something that caused deep pain in my sciatic. At first I thought maybe she went too deep but then the Lord brought to my mind that this was just days after my cousin, who I was helping take care of, we found passed away in her sleep. She was 56. This is a LONG story but I was carrying some emotional stuff with her before she passed – some guilt and anger. So I crippled around in pain a year or so seeking answers and help and dealing with my heart issues. Then one day just like that my chiropractor adjusted me just right and the pain was almost gone, but my inner hurts had been getting healed too.
 
I fell really hard on my right knee a couple times and had some slight knee issues but I kept going. I was going through extreme emotional heaviness with Mom’s husband not doing well with his cancer treatments and she was with us off and on during his hospital stays. I was getting an adjustment from my chiropractor and something happened to my knee that left me in so much pain for almost 2 years. Then just like that after some healing in my heart, my rolfer hit just the right spot on my knee and I can walk up and down stairs now without holding on to the rail! It was so exciting and amazing to me. I used to watch people on TV shows run up and down stairs and wondered if I would ever do that again. I’m not running but getting close. But I had dealt with some of the issues of my heart that I was taken on myself and released so much of that heaviness.
 
Then is September, just days after Ed’s cousin had passed away I was getting rolfed and it triggered something in my lower back and side that has kept me from being able to bend, twist, turn or sit without so much pain. Even though I know I’m hard on my body all these happened when I was going through extreme emotionally painful times. And I am just starting to catch on to 2 John 3, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” To me this verse is saying that the well-being and the health of my mind, will and emotions effect my health and everything else in my life. The problem is I don’t usually pay attention to my hurting soul at that time because the physical is so overwhelming. It’s basically a lie from the enemy that keeps our focus on what will bring healing and that is renewing our minds to His truths and promises. Every issue we have has to go through our mind, will and emotions and we have the choice of believing His Ways or doubting the truths.
 
I’ve shared much of my hurts in weekly writings and how the Lord continues to minister to my heart. It’s been 10 months since Caleb’s death and 9 months since Mom was left with us. I can lookback and see the depth of my broken, trampled heart. I justified anger in my heart. The Word says to be angry and sin not. I was sinning because I wanted vengeance. I justified speaking words that were not life giving. I definitely wasn’t keeping a guard on my heart.
 
I knew that I knew that I knew that Mom was to be here. On the Tuesday after she was left here I was standing at the kitchen window and I heard so clearly, “You saved her life”. Have I doubted those words? No. Have I doubted my ability to care for her? Yes. My Mom has always been a wonderful, God loving, praying Mom. As a child I was raised in religion and legalism. I always heard about what I couldn’t do – don’t dance, don’t play cards, don’t go to a movie, don’t wear certain clothes or listen to certain music. It was a works salvation. Do good, be good, do it right and you might get to heaven. After my Dad died when I was 10 Mom remarried and that Dad believed all work, no play, no church, no fun. This is actually when we moved to Conifer and we went to Mountain High Chapel for a season. Now that Mom has come to be with us,  I am finding that I am having some childhood heart issues popping up, mostly that I am not being good enough or doing enough. Even though I do know the truth of my identity in Christ, I let the religious spirit creep back in. I was fighting it with His Word and by faith daily but somehow the burdens, the words and expectations of others on top of the pain just wore me down. A day of not breaking down in tears was unusual.
 
On top of that add not feeling good, the grief of friends passing away, financial issues, Helping Mom through her time and divorce, well, it was hard because the squeaky wheel got the oil. I never gave up or gave in and so thankful I knew His truths. His mercies are new every morning. Joy comes in the morning! Ed and I stayed strong and together in Him. Ed’s patience was amazing. Yet, to add to this equation Ed’s hurts, anger and wanting to stand for what was right with Caleb. His grief in losing his cousin and all that came with that was a tough place to be. He is the one that has to preach the services of friends that have died. Only through the power of the Lord can he do that. Then Mom’s hurts, rejection hopelessness, feeling lost, unwanted, useless and very condemning of herself – well this little house was filed with pain and hurt. BUT NONE of us were about to give in to the enemy. We learned patience, endurance, perseverance, faith, abundant love, hope-filled future, total healing ad health. As we continue to let the Lord work in our mind, will and emotions, we continue to know we are healed.
 
I’m ready for spring😊. I’m ready for winter to be over and to see the new life of all the seeds we have sown for months and didn’t even realize we were sowing. Through all the hard times we prayed together in this home almost daily. We encouraged one another, stood on His promises, submitting to Him, resisting the enemy and knowing the enemy had to flee. The burdens we have carried sometimes on our own are being lifted as we cast our cares on Him. We are receiving our healings and as we are healing, prosperity in every area of our lives is happening. We are choosing to renew our minds daily in His Word, His promises and His truths. Compared to what is now happening in the world , the last 2 years seem like light affliction. We definitely have no time to be sick, beaten down, in self-pity, strife, anger, vengeance, have doubt or worry, or pain. We must know in our hearts Who our Lord and Savior is, who we are in Him without a shadow of doubt. We are to be overflowing in the Holy Spirit Who is our teacher, comforter and will guide us in all truth. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit when He ascended into heaven. Without the power of the Holy Spirit in me, in us – we may not have known that we can do all through Christ and that we can rise above all the circumstances of life.
 
We walk by faith not by sight. We have made up our minds, we have made up our will and we have made up our emotions and we choose this day Whom we will serve! We praise Him and rejoice daily that He is always with us. First thing each morning Mom and I tell each other, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!!” Choose today the Lord!

​March 6, 2022
Today as I struggle with what to share, I know one thing for sure, I must keep my eyes on Him and resist the enemy and the enemy has to flee! Life is full of ups and downs, miscommunications, misunderstandings, trials, heartaches, disappointments and you could probably add more. It would be easy to sit here today and write about each of these situations in life but that is not resisting the enemy.
 
 “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
 
This week was such a beautiful week with lots of sunshine and sneak preview of spring. It was good to open up doors, air things out. The Lord was working overtime in my heart😊 speaking words of wisdom, encouragement, love, hope and a future. I’m so thankful for His unconditional love! There’s so much happening in our world. We have not seen so many hurting lives as we do right now. Our pastor’s hearts break for what our family and friends are going through right now. It’s just so important to encourage one another, pray for one another, help one another and rejoice in Him! That’s what He is showing me – REJOICE!!!!
 
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
 
As I was reading this verse, I realized the power of His living Word. This says to rejoice and then he says it again – REJOICE! Be anxious for nothing, pray, let Him know what’s going on in your heart, thank Him and through all this you will know a peace that you can’t even explain. This peace is the guard of your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. This peace keeps the enemy from getting in and speaking lies about who you are in Him. This is how you resist Him. And it is of upmost importance in these uncertain hours and days.
 
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13
 
Sometimes I think we are surprised by the trials that come our way. I know I have been there. Trials come. It is what we do with the trials that makes the difference. We cannot let the trials become a battle in our mind that we dwell on. We must make the decision to rejoice at this time. Never before in my life has it been so vital that I know my identity in Christ. That is to know who I am because of what He did for me at the cross. There’s a war raging in the physical world, war raging between people and ideas, war raging between Believers, war raging against families, war raging in marriages, war raging in churches, and a war raging in our minds. We MUST know His Truths and stand firm on these to persevere in Him. Doubting Him and His Word is not an option for overcoming Believers.
 
“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance. And then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace. Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable.  Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you’re in that condition?” James 1:2-8
 
All the verses I am sharing today are powerful verses that I must continue to meditate on and ponder so I don’t give into the wiles and lies of the enemy about who I am. The enemy wants me to believe that I am a failure, that I can’t stand. That I have no worth or value and not healed. I know these are lies but if I do not keep my mind on heart on Him I could be deceived into thinking on these kind of thoughts.
 
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,” Isaiah 54:17-18
 
These are some of my favorite verses. Weapons will be formed against us but we cannot let them prosper and ruin us! They can only ruin us if we let them. If we don’t doubt His Word and let Him guide us through renewing our minds and speaking life the enemy CANT’ win. Rejoicing in Him is one of the greatest weapons we have to resist the devil, to defeat the enemy, to conqueror our thoughts. It’s important right now today, tomorrow, this hour. Many people don’t know the truth. Let’s be more than conquerors and overcomers so we can encourage them and help them know the truths. It’s time. There’s not time to put this off. This is vital and is what the Lord has called us to do as the Church body.
 
Thoughts may be a bit scattered but my heart is for you to be healed and whole. As a church Body let’s go forward together in power and victory and be a bright light shining on this mountain!