Keys to the Kingdom - Praise

The Judah Company

I'm a little over whelmed as I write this.  It is an amazing season in God and I am praising Him with all my heart.

Because I teach a Bible study, I can't remember if I shared a dream with you that I had or I just shared it with my Bible study/prayer partners - so I will share it again.

I dreamed I was handed a bunch of ancient keys.  I saw them be put into my hands.  Then I saw myself put one of the keys into an ancient, heavy wooden door.  The key slid into the hole in the lock and then the dream ended.

Last week, I felt the Lord impress upon me to talk with my Bible study group about 'praise.'  I was surprised, I guess, because praise has always been my favorite thing and anyone who knows me, knows that.  I feel like over the years I had really talked about it a lot.  But I obeyed the Lord and defined 'praise.'

The following is a note I posted on my Facebook page several years ago and usually include in any Bible study I teach.  As you can see, we've lost a lot in translation and with every type of praise that is mentioned, praise is an 'action!'  And God is very specific about how He wants to be praise.

Seven Hebrew Words for Praise

1.YADAH - yaw-daw - to worship with the extended hand. The giving of oneself in worship and adoration. To lift your hands unto the Lord. It carries the meaning of absoulute surrender as a young child does to a parent - "pick me up, I'm all yours". Scriptures: Gen. 29:35, 2 Chron. 7:6, 20:21, Psalms 9:1, 28:7, Psalms 33:2, 42:5,11, 49:18, Isaiah 12:1 

3034 yadah (yaw-daw'); a primitive root; used only as denominative from 3027; literally, to use (i.e. hold out) the hand; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands):
KJV-- cast (out), (make) confess (-ion), praise, shoot, (give) thank (-ful, -s, -sgiving).
to throw, to shoot, to cast
a) (Qal) to shoot (arrows)
b) (Piel) to cast, to cast down, to throw down
c) (Hiphil)
1) to give thanks, to laud, praise
2) to confess, to confess (the name of God)
d) (Hithpael)
1) to confess (sin)
2) to give thanks
Yadah in practice - Lift my hands to Him and say how I am surrendering myself to Him. List the ways that I am surrendering to Him. Be diligent. Be disciplined. Be specific. Take the discipline and SAY to the Lord how I am surrendering to Him. With my hands uplifted - surrender unto my God - spirit, soul & body. Totally commit myself to my father.

2.TEHILLAH -teh-hil-law- to sing, to laud. A spontaneous new song. Singing from a melody in your heart by adding words to it. This refers to a special kind of singing-it is singing unprepared, unrehearsed songs. Brings tremendous unity to the body of Christ. Singing straight to God. Can move into tehilah anytime. Singing it the second time would be ZAMAR. It is the praise that God inhabits (sits enthroned on)(Psalm 22:3) God manifests Himself in the mids of exuberant singing.
Scripture: Psalms 22:3, 34:1, 40:3, 66:2, 2 Chronicles 20:22
8416 tehillah (teh-hil-law'); from 1984; laudation; specifically (concretely) a hymn: KJV-- praise.
praise, a song or a hymn of praise
a) praise, adoration, thanksgiving (paid to God)
b) the act of general or public praise
c) a praise-song (as a Hebrew title)
d) praise (demanded by qualities or deeds or attributes of God)
e) renown, fame, glory
1) used of Damascus , God
2) an object of praise, a possessor of renown (figurative)

3.BARAK - baw-rak - To kneel or to bow. To give reverence to God as an act of adoration. It implies to continual conscious giving place to God. Blessing the Lord, extolling virtue. There is a sense of kneeling and blessing God as an act of adoration in the word BARAK. Physical application - To bow, kneel or to do this with the intent in my heart that He is my KING and I yield to HIM. I am acknowledging Him as KING and GOD. SONG: BLESS THE LORD Scripture: Psalm 103 tells us how to bless the Lord and then goes on to enumerate those blessings: loving kindness, satisfaction redemption, honor, renewal. We bless the Lord by remembering all of these things.
1288 barak (baw-rak'); a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):
KJV-- X abundantly, X altogether, X at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, X greatly, X indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, X still, thank.
1) to bless, to kneel
a) (Qal)
1) to kneel
2) to bless
b) (Niphal) to be blessed, to bless oneself
c) (Piel) to bless
d) (Pual) to be blessed, to be adored
e) (Hiphil) to cause to kneel
f) (Hithpael) to bless oneself
2) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: to praise, to salute, to curse

4.HALAL
Scripture: 1 Chron. 16:4, 23:5,30, 25:3, 29:13, Neh. 12:24 (this word appears over 110 times in the OT)
1984 halal (haw-lal'); a primitive root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify:
KJV-- (make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool (-ish, -ly), glory, give [light], be (make, feignself) mad (against), give in marriage, [sing, be worthy of] praise, rage, renowned, shine.
1) to shine
a) (Qal) to shine (figurative of God's favor)
b) (Hiphil) to flash forth light
2) to praise, to boast, to be boastful
a) (Qal)
1) to be boastful
2) boastful ones, boasters (participle)
b) (Piel)
1) to praise
2) to boast, to make a boast
c) (Pual) to be praised, to be made praiseworthy, to be commended, to be worthy of praise
d) (Hithpael) to boast, to glory, to make one's boast
e) (Poel) to make a fool of, to make into a fool
f) (Hithpoel) to act madly, to act like a madman

5.TOWDAH -to-daw -To give worship by the extension of the hand in adoration or agreeing with what has been done or will be. This word is common- ly found in connection with sacrifice-applying the giving of thanks or praise as a sacrifice before reception or manifestation. Thanking God for something that I don't have in the natural. Agreeing with His Word - faith in His Word. This form of praise goes in operation just because His Word is true. "Father, I thank YOU that YOUR WORD is TRUE. As we raise our hearts and hands in praise to the Lord, it involves a sacrifice, especially if one is very sick in body. The carnal mind would fight and ridicule this particular action, but there is great faith in TOWDAH as praise. The lifting of the hand symbolizes agreement. The right hand symbolizes my covenant with my my Father. As I go through the scriptures, God is seen extending His Right Hand to me. That's the covenant. When He extends His right hand to me, He's saying to me - ALL THAT I AM IS YOURS, and when I extend my right hand to Him, I am saying "All that I am is yours and I agree with what You're saying. It is the sacrifice that God honors by His performing of miracles.
The ATTITUDE for TOWDAH is: I'm thanking God. I'm agreeing with God that it is as He says. I don't care what it looks like. I'm agreeing with what His Word says. Example: Father, I thank You that I am healed.
Scripture: Psalm 42:4, 50:23, Jer. 17:26
8426 towdah (to-daw'); from 3034; properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, a choir of worshippers: KJV-- confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks (-giving, offering).
confession, praise, thanksgiving
a) give praise to God
b) thanksgiving in songs of liturgical worship, a hymn of praise
c) a thanksgiving choir or a procession or a line or a company
d) a thank-offering, a sacrifice of thanksgiving
e) confession

6.ZAMAR - zaw-mar - To sing with instruments. To make music accompanied by the voice. One of the musical verbs for praise in the book of psalms. It carries the idea of making music in praise to God as in Psalm 92:1. The word ZAMAR also means to touch the strings, and refers to praise that involves instrumental worship as in Psalm 150. The one word is usually translated "sing praises".
2167 zamar (zaw-mar'); a primitive root [perhaps ident. with 2168 through the idea of striking with the fingers]; properly, to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument, i.e. play upon it; to make music, accompanied by the voice; hence to celebrate in song and music: KJV-- give praise, sing forth praises, psalms.
to sing, to sing praise, to make music; (Piel)
1) to make music, to sing
2) to play a musical instrument

7.SHABACH - shaw-bakh - to address in a loud tone, a loud adoration, a shout! Proclaim with a loud voice, unashamed, the GLORY, TRIUMPH, POWER, MERCY, LOVE OF GOD. This word implies that testimony is praise. The phrase "shout unto the Lord" can be understood as the action of SHABACH. It is not just being loud. You should have the attitude of putting your whole being into it, an attitude of being totally uninhibited. Scripture: Psalm 117:1, 63:3-4
7623 shabach (shaw-bakh'); a primitive root; properly, to address in a loud tone, i.e. (specifically) loud; figuratively, to pacify (as if by words): KJV-- commend, glory, keep in, praise, still, triumph.
1) to soothe, to still, to stroke
a) (Piel) to soothe, to still
b) (Hiphil) stilling (participle)
2) to laud, to praise, to commend
a) (Piel)
1) to laud, to praise (God)
2) to commend, to congratulate (the dead)
b) (Hithpael) to boast

This morning, I was continuing to read, "Ladies of Gold - volume one" and was so blessed that Frances Metcalf began to talk about praise.  I learned new things I had not known and was so blessed to hear her revelation on 'praise.'

And the Lord spoke to me and told me that the first key - the key I saw go into the door - was PRAISE!

love and blessings~

"Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious." Psalm 66:2

Super Heroes

Our sweet grandson, Levi, turns five today.  He is so excited and it's a joy to see what simple things make a child happy.

He has talked about nothing but his upcoming birthday for weeks and was up early this morning, eating his birthday breakfast dressed as Iron Man.  

His room has been decorated in pirates since he was a baby but he has fallen in love with Super Heroes lately and wanted his room to reflect his new love.

His party today is also a Super Hero theme and all the children are coming over in costumes.  This is even more fun as my daughter doesn't celebrate Halloween. (I am going as "GLAMMA!!")  ha!

And I got thinking...

Every little child loves super heroes.  Could it be something in our DNA that draws us to the idea of having super powers?  Could it be that we were supposed to have super powers?

Could it be that we were never supposed to be sick?  Could it be that deep down in our memory is that feeling of being invincible?  Of destroying every evil thing that comes against us?  Could it be that God put a warrior spirit in us at creation when He commanded, "Be fruitful and multiply and take dominion over the earth"?

God created us to live forever.  God intended that Adam and Eve and their descendants would live forever in perfect, intimate fellowship with Him.  And we will live forever - but because of sin, some of us will live eternally separated from our loving God.

I believe in de-evolution.  In other words, I believe that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God and most likely had super powers.  Sin destroys and corrupts and I believe that when the Glory of God left them and they realized they were naked, it was even more than that.  I think that their super powers were gone also.

But I also believe that Jesus restored us to our original intent and being.  I believe that we are truly a 'new creature' in Christ and our super powers have been restored.  I believe that we are to lay hands on the sick and they will be healed.  I believe that we have authority over the demonic through the name of Jesus Christ.  I believe that through the power of the blood of Jesus, we raise the dead.

I believe that "greater is HE that's in me than he that's in the world."  I believe that I'll do even greater things in His Name than He did, because HE said it!  And I know that my faith is the key that opens the door.  I want to be all that He has called me to be and see His Power on the earth!

The other day at breakfast, Levi told his sister, Rhynn, (who's 3) that his foot hurt.  Rhynn asked him if she could pray for it.  My daughter was standing at the sink rinsing dishes and she said she stayed quiet and just listened.  Rhynn prayed for Levi's foot.  Then she paused and asked, "Does it still hurt?"  He said "Yes,"...

and she prayed again.

I think they're both going to be super heroes - in Jesus' Name!

Happy birthday, Levi!!

love and blessings~

Distractions

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a distraction as:

: something that makes it difficult to think or pay   attention

: something that amuses or entertains you so that   you do not think about   problems, work, etc.

: a state in which you are very annoyed or upset

The Lord talked to me about distractions many years ago. We may tend to think of a distraction as a minor thing. But what if we spend our entire life...distracted; distracted from the things of God.

God has set before us a 'things-to-do' list.  Each one of us has a calling on our lives to fulfill.  We each have a role to fill in this war against evil.  

I read a wonderful revelation recently in "The Dancing Hand of God."  I've loaned the book to another one of my prayer partners so I'm going to have to paraphrase.

There is no 'time' with God. God is omnipresent and is not confined to 'time.'  He knows the end of the story and lives in that place even while He's bringing things to that end.  He knows the end of the story even as He is setting things in motion in our lives to bring us to His victory. Our gifts and callings are without repentance and our place in the story is set. God will not change this.  He knew our place in His-story even before He created us. He has created us to fill that place in His-story.

The enemy wants to keep us distracted.  He doesn't want us to pay attention to the important things in life.  He wants to keep us entertained and not let us focus on the important things - the things of God. And the saddest thing is that we can spend our entire lives being distracted.

We are about half way through our 40 day Word fast.  The amazing thing to me is that I did this 40 day Word fast almost 30 years ago  - to the day!  The sad thing to me is...I have wanted to do it again for 30 years...and didn't.

Because it's too hard to turn the television off.

My parents both worked full time when I was a child.  I was raised by babysitters who put me in front of a TV. When I was twelve years old, I refused to go to the babysitter anymore.  I came home alone every day after school. And watched TV.  

The Lord brought to mind yesterday a tree that grows around a pole. It becomes almost impossible to separate the tree from the pole. The only way would be to cut the tree down and hope the roots are strong enough for the tree to grow again.

I was ashamed to confess this weakness to others and I've found that the more I did, the more I found out that others live this way too.

Something in me began to cry out to God. I began to realize that I did not want to die and not fulfill what God has called me to do. And I am getting older and time is running out. And I am living my life distracted.

I called Monday and turned off our cable. We no longer have television in our home. My husband has been fully supportive of this change. We moved the TV out of our bedroom - it's no longer attached to anything. Our TV in our family room will still have Netflix.

And here's the honest truth:

I have these moments of utter joy and such freedom - like I've broken loose of something that has held me down my whole life.  I can see the wonderful light at the end of the tunnel and know I'm on the right track.

And then I have these moments of darkness - thoughts of endless evenings that stretch ahead of me with no entertainment.  Endless days of a silent house while I'm home alone.   

I never knew my house could be so quiet.  The quiet is almost heavy.

And I am sleeping like a baby at night.  My mind is so quiet and peaceful and it's so easy to connect with God the moment I wake up in the morning.  And I lie down at night in the quiet and talk to God.

  

The thoughts that are running through my mind are not replays of the last show I watched but instead I hear worship songs and scripture and most precious of all, God's voice.

When I have the bad moments, I remember the 30 years I couldn't do this.  I remember how a distraction can have such a hold on you that you can waste your whole life.  And I declare to God that I will learn to live the way He wants me to live.  I will learn to be a tree without that pole.  

love and blessings~

We Don't Know What We Don't Know

Over the years, the Lord has led me down an amazing journey of knowledge. My friends chuckle at all the books I've read, but I believe the Lord is leading me to the things He wants me to know. "Without knowledge, the people perish." Hosea 4:6

Our God is infinite. We will be in His Presence for all eternity and still not know all of Him!  The more I study, the more I am compelled to study. One glimpse of knowledge opens another door - a door I didn't even know existed!

I dreamed the other night that I was handed a whole bunch of rusty, ancient keys and in the dream, I put one of the keys into a heavy, wooden door.  Then the dream ended.

I want to open that door.




Recently God lead me to an amazing book called, "The Dancing Hand of God," by James Maloney. This book is an inspiring account of James' life, from poverty and abuse to the 'dancing hand of God.'

James had had some life-changing encounters with God but his life really changed when he was chosen by a group called "The Golden Candlesticks."  Sound a little weird, right?  I thought so too but after reading his account, I was fascinated and ordered the book, "Ladies of Gold."

This book is a compilation of writings by Frances Metcalfe, the leader of The Golden Candlesticks and as I read her writings, I recognized My God.  She has gone to Glory but in her lifetime she  had encounters with Jesus that most of us will never have and she has touched the heart of God in ways that stretch my imagination.

The Golden Candlesticks was a group that varied in number over the years.  There were between 30 and 80 people, mostly women, that met 6 nights a week.  They worshiped and prayed from 6pm until 3am in the morning!  They built a special house to meet in - in James Maloney's home town.

They gave up all opportunities for public ministry to minister nightly to the Lord but they asked one thing of God - that they would be allowed one person to pour all their hopes and anointing into.  That person was James Maloney!

And the miracles and healings and encounters that James has experienced are mind-boggling!  The Lord released him a couple of years ago to share all these things and I am so thankful that I read this book.  Dear Lord, please stretch me to reach for Your Presence, to KNOW You and the power of Your resurrection!

I have spent hours (days) reading these books and asking God to teach me and let me know Him more. And surprisingly (ha!) "Golden Ladies" led me to another book!  God willing, I'll share on that later!

love and blessings~

"Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;" Genesis 1:14

Changes to the Master Bedroom

Hi All!

Hope you're all having a wonderful new year!  Winter has come roaring into Michigan and we are now living in a winter wonderland.  It's beautiful!  And cold.

And I just try to stay indoors!  lol

I'm taking advantage of being snowed-in and have been working on a new project!

Our master bedroom and bathroom are both upstairs.  I had mentioned during the summer that we were wanting to re-do our bathroom.  Well, we've made no progress at all.

Not even an estimate.

Not that we haven't tried. *sigh*  I still have hope!

But in the meantime, I decided I would like to change our bedroom.  I redecorated it a few years ago when I was transitioning out of my reds and golds but I went too 'contemporary' and not enough French Country and I haven't liked it.

I made the drapes and the dust ruffle in this room and they are going to my daughter.  She and her husband bought a house last year so she's been a great person to 'donate' to! I will repurpose the dust ruffle into a matching valance and she's planning on using these in her home school/play room.

We've also given her this rug and put another in our room since this photo.  I am hoping to find some new chairs for our bedroom and give her these since I slipcovered them to match.

 But here's the awful truth...

 We've lived in our house for twelve years now and all of our bedrooms have popcorn ceilings.

 If you look closely at these pictures, you can tell.  I'm just embarrassed to confess this.

 And I decided that before I did another thing, I was going to remove them.

If you read my other blog, Summits of Rubies, you know that I have been on a 40 day Word fast.  So when my mind starts to overflow with all the reading I'm doing, I'm scraping my ceilings!

I don't want to say it's the worst job I've ever done, but I honestly think it's the messiest!  But I have a goal.

These are my inspiration pictures.

Babs Watkins

I've bought new bedding in a neutral instead of pure white and some beautiful faux silk in 'Bluestone' to make new drapes. The color and texture is very similar to the above picture. The walls are also going to a neutral and then....

Eleanor Cummings/Cote de Texas

...my husband said we can some rustic 'boards to emphasize the slope of the ceiling.  That's the part I'm really excited about!

Cote de Texas

I've cleared about two-thirds of the ceiling and will try to get it finished tomorrow.  Then I plan on painting the ceiling and walls and sewing the drapes.  Then I need my sweet husband to help me with the boards.

So, stay tuned and stay warm!  I'll keep you updated as I go!

love and blessings~

 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,Or loose the cords of Orion? "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season,And guide the Bear with her satellites ? "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,Or fix their rule over the earth? "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,So that an abundance of water will cover you? "Can you send forth lightnings that they may goAnd say to you, 'Here we are'? "Who has put wisdom in the innermost beingOr given understanding to the mind ? "Who can count the clouds by wisdom,Or tip the water jars of the heavens..." Job 38:31-17

Dear Anonymous

I recently received a comment from an anonymous person on my post, "He Saves, He Heals."

This is their comment - "Please do more research on this topic.  Implying someone is sick simply because of sin is not Biblical.  There are examples of Jesus not healing.  John 5 is a good example. There was a crowd at the pool but Jesus chose to only heal one and slipped away unnoticed.  Nowhere does it say or even imply Jesus healed every sick individual he came into contact with.  Plus, Jesus' healing ministry was part of prophecy fulfillment as a sign of who He was.

The issue of Job also has to dealt with.  God ALLOWED him to be sick and to suffer.  It is very clearly laid out that it was not at all because of his sin.

There are several words from the original text that translate to 'heal' in English but some refer only to spiritual healing and not physical.  This is a deeply complicated topic and simply saying someone's in has made them sick is not Biblically correct and can do more harm than good."

Dear Anonymous;

I understand that this is taught in the churches. I understand that it is very painful to see people we love sick and there are many who have faith in God who have prayed and not received healing. And so we try to explain it away and say that it's just not God's will.  Please also know that I am not answering you with a desire to prove you wrong - but a desire that we might all find the truth.

We know that sickness came into the world because of sin and we know that all of us have sinned.  It is not condemning a person to say that all of our sickness is tied to our sin.  

In the passage in John 5 that you mentioned, it does not say that Jesus only healed the one man and slipped away. It tells the story of this man and then stops. It does say that there were others at this well and does not tell of their healing.  But in so many other passages of scripture it makes it clear that Jesus healed every single person who came to Him in faith. 

Their faith was the key.

Matthew 9:2  "And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven."" 

Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven" and this healed the paralytic.  This clearly shows us a tie between our sin and sickness.  

Matthew 9:22  "But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well." 

Matthew 9:29  "Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith." 

Matthew 15:28  "Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once. "

Matthew 13:58  "He did not do many miracles there because of a lack of their faith."

And in John 20:30 we are told, "The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs which are not recorded in this book."  The Bible says over and over again that 'Jesus healed them all.'  He healed EVERY SINGLE PERSON that came to Him in faith.

Anonymous, you stated that " Jesus' healing ministry was part of prophecy fulfillment as a sign of who He was. "  Yes, it was.  

Jesus was/is God, who laid down His divinity and came to the earth as a man. He was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, as an example to us of how we should live after being born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. Romans Chapter 8, makes it clear that He was the first son and we are also children of God, just like He was.

Not only is it God's will that we be healed but God desires above all things that we walk in good health! "Beloved I desire above all things that you be in good health and prosper, even as your soul prospers." (III John 2) 

God not only wants us to walk in good health, He wants us to heal others, in His Name.

"And (Jesus) said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved, but he who has disbelief shall be condemned.  These signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they will cast out demons, they speak with new tongues, they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  Mark 16:15.

And in John 14:12, Jesus tells us, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father."

The story of Job supports my belief.  The Bible tells us that Job was a righteous man.  He believed in God and was serving God.  His faith in God was credited to Him as righteousness.  

But in Job 3:25, Job states, "The thing I fear has come upon me."  Job's sin was fear. Sin opens the door in our lives for the enemy's attack.  God's law has to permit the enemy to attack us if there is sin in our lives. We could argue then that it is God's will for us to suffer but I think the heart of God is shown more when He restores everything to Job in double portion.  

But we now live in a more perfect covenant because of the blood of Jesus! Jesus paid the price for our sin. When He died on the cross He restored us to right relationship with Our Father God so that we might become 'sons of God.' And He bore our guilt and shame and our sickness on the cross so that we might be healed.  Salvation and healing mean the same thing.  You mentioned soul-healing.  Read III John 2 again.  Our physical healing is directly related to our soul healing.

When the enemy comes before God and wants to attack us, Jesus steps up and declares, "This one's mine! This one is covered in the Blood and MY righteousness and it is therefore illegal for you to attack them."  Once we get a revelation of this, we can fight back.  We can use our faith and the Sword of the Word to defeat the enemy.

My purpose in writing about healing is never to do "more harm than good."  My purpose is that we would realize the tie between sin and sickness and repent of sin. I have sin in my life. And the first thing I do when I become sick is seek God to find out why. Then I repent.  

I got very discouraged a couple of months ago and I got sick and could not get well. I had congestion, a sore throat and an ear ache that lasted for about 6 weeks. I knew, by the Holy Spirit, that it was tied to my discouragement but I did not know how to come out of it. I repented and cried out to God.

The next day a friend invited me to a weekend women's conference in another town. We went. Long story short, at that conference, God touched me in a mighty way and healed my discouragement. When the conference was over, I was also physically healed. And even more that that, I was completely refreshed and filled with new hope.

My sin was discouragement; a lack of faith and hope in God.  There could have been others there that did not receive the same touch of God. Our faith and need for God cause Him to act in our behalf.

Anonymous, I would encourage you to listen to the teachings at ibethel.org.  Bill Johnson's church in Redding, CA has been experiencing miracles and healings for many years now. Their sister ministry, IRIS Global, experiences miracles on a regular basis and when I found out about them about 10 years ago, had raised over 70 people from the dead. I'm sure the number is higher now.  

I listened to a teaching of Heidi Baker, the leader of Iris Global, several years ago.  She asked the group of African pastors she was speaking to, "How many of them had raised someone from the dead?" and every one of them raised their hand.  

Here in the United States, we have put our trust in money, insurance, doctors and our own knowledge. We are not desperate for God. We have not been in the position of having nothing but our faith in God to trust in. We have become luke warm.  And God tells us in Revelation that He will spit us out.

We get to choose. 

My hope is that you will seek GOD.  Not church.  Not someone else.  But GOD. My hope is that you will cry out to God for truth and earnestly seek Him.  He is a rewarder to those who seek Him.

love and blessings~

photo credit jonasclark.com

Goals for the New Year and Perseverance

photo credit pqhobbit.wordpress

Happy New Year! 


I am unreasonably excited over this new year which is not my usual attitude. 


Most years I think, "It's just another day," but this year I'm really feeling a change in the air and I am full of hope...





...hope to see some things I've been praying for come into fruition!
...hope to see some things I've wanted to change in my own life happen!
...hope to see God show Himself in a big way in the area where we live!

I've been getting together with my prayer partners on Mondays and praying and we have been SO blessed! We have been touching God. God has been touching us.  We've been having 'church!'

We've been receiving insights from the Holy Spirit and words of knowledge as we've prayed and have been so encouraged to pray these Words over our loved ones. We have become very excited over praying together and I believe it's been the catalyst for all the other good things.  

As 2015 came to an end, we each made a goal list - spiritual goals, personal health goals, family goals, home improvement goals, financial goals - and shared them each other and prayed over them. We met with our husbands to make these goal lists. And we have each been delighted that our husbands were very excited over this! We are going to update each other as we go into the new year.  

One of my goals was to do a 40 day Word fast again.  And someone said, "Let's start now!"  I honestly hesitated. And then I realized that I could put it off forever and just never do it again. Because very honestly, I've thought about doing it again for years. And maybe I need to do it permanently.

So on Monday, we started our 40 day Word fast. No television, no secular books, no secular radio, no news, no Facebook except messages, etc.  Nothing but the Word of God and things that teach about God.  None of us needed to do much about our iphones - I never usually know where mine is! lol

This is the morning of day three and I want to tell you that I can honestly feel the difference. Ephesians 2:2 makes reference to Satan as the Prince of the power of the air.  I've often wondered what that means. But I want to say that there's a lot of scientific evidence that the electrical waves in our world, that we're exposed to so much, have a negative effect on our health and brain.

I don't know about that but I want to say that taking the television out of my life has caused my brain to 'quiet.'  I feel like the buzzing is gone. I'm always careful not to watch any occult, violence or immorality on television but I also want to confess that I've been a fan of some shows that I knew I shouldn't watch. Very honestly, there's really not much on TV that does not promote immorality and violence and the worst, demonic activity.  

And I want to take all of that out of my life.  But I even think it's more than that. I heard a wonderful man named Henry Gruver speak a few years ago and he said something that I really witnessed to.  He said that there are demonic spirits attached to television shows and even commercials that have assignments to attach themselves to us.  

I always knew that things like Harry Potter, The Twilight Series and such had a demonic assignment but he also told us that all the Pokeman characters were actually oriental gods!  It makes so much sense when you see children and ADULTS become crazed over some of these things that there's something going on!  I pay attention whenever there's something that sweeps our world.

But now I'm thinking that even if you only watched Christian television that the actual TV affects you negatively; changes the electrical impulses in your brain, causes you not to be able to hear God clearly. I want to hear God clearly.  I want to be in His Presence continually.  I need His Wisdom for every minute of my life.  I want to be His voice on this earth and I can't do that if I'm not continually in intercourse with Him.

Luke 18:8b keeps coming to my mind. "... when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"  

Are we as Christians really any different than others?  When people meet you, is it quickly apparent that you're a believer in Christ.  If they visited our homes, would they notice the difference?  Some Christians believe that healing and miracles and the gifts are not for today.  I know that they are and we are not manifesting the Holy Spirit because of the impurity in our lives.

I can say that I am different in a lot of ways. But I don't just want to be slightly different.  I want Smith Wigglesworth different!  I want to impact the world around me for Christ.  I don't want to fit in.  I want to be Jesus-peculiar! 

I have received a Word from the Lord that I will lay hands on the sick and they will be healed, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will rise to life.  I will heal mental illness and ADHD and autism and I want to see that Word come to pass!  I have experienced this in my walk with Christ but I want more - so much more! Mary, the mother of Jesus, said, "Let it be done to me accordingly to your Word."  We have a choice to make; to yield ourselves totally to His will or to just keep living our lives in mediocrity.  I don't want to do that anymore.

So in the next 37 days, I am praying to be radically cleansed, radically changed, radically transformed!  

God said two things to me for this new year:  Radical obedience and a pure heart.  Those are my primary goals for 2016!

I saw some bloggers choose a 'word' for this year.  Mine is PERSEVERANCE! I think it's going to take some perseverance to reach my goals.  The new year's joke is that we always start the new year with goals and we quit around January 12th.  I am blessed to have some prayer partners, and you!, to keep me accountable!

love and blessings for a glorious 2016~