Thursday 28 April 2011

moving on...

Today has been an emotional day for me and many other people.  I have to say that my emotions were a little wild for selfish reasons, I will elaborate in a moment.  Friends of mine will be leaving island for good a Lot sooner than originally planned.  This made me oh so sad to think that I will have to say good bye to yet another amazing family!   hence my emotions going NUTS!  I cant even begin to explain in words how different my life is today than the day we landed on this island!  and it is in large part to the amazing people that God has put in my path.  Iron truly sharpens iron!  God has truly blessed me with rich friendships here that will last a lifetime!  these people God has placed in my life have literally become family.  you see them and you just click!  they get you, you get them, its a beautiful thing called Fellowship!  I learn something new, and grow from nearly every conversation with these people.  ALL of them.  This island has been such a blessing to me in my life, it has shown me that people are really good.  people really will jump in and help out all the time!  God has taught me a lot through many things I have experienced on this island all the while placing amazing people in my path every step of the way!  as we near the end of this chapter of life and move on into the next I just sit in AWE of all that God has done. so VERY thankful for the friendships and bonds formed here that will NEVER be broken.  In many ways I am thankful for every wrong turn I have taken here, because God was there waiting for me with a lesson every single time!  sometimes they were painful and sometimes they weren't as bad as I thought, but every time I learned something new about God and his love.  As I am typing this I am reminded of a scripture...
Romans 8: 38-39

38 And I am convinced that nothing can separate us from his Love.  Death cant, and Life cant.  The Angels cant and the demons cant.  Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell cant keep Gods Love away.  38  Whether we are high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the Love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our lord.

No mater what I do God is still going to Love me!  no matter how many times I fall flat on my face he is there to pick me up and dust me off.  I am so thankful for is Abounding Love and for him showing me his love so often through other believers!   I know that it is NOT the island of Guam that has Changed me, it has been Jesus Christ that has changed me!  and he will be with me wherever I go!

Wednesday 20 April 2011

prayer

So, Why is prayer so important?  and I am not talking about a simple night time prayer (there is NOTHING wrong with these prayers!) I am talking about the prayer throughout the day kind of prayer...  I find that the more I pray about the day ahead the smoother that day flows.  If I pray about EVERYTHING throughout my day things just flow.  Today for example, I did NOT pray last night for focus and help with my frustration and anger for today, and I noticed that today I was a bit on edge...  probably had something to do with the fact that I was up with B MOST of the night but, still THAT IS NO EXCUSE!  anyways after I met with a friend this morning I said a prayer and wow did my mood change!   I simply let go of my "ugly" and let God in!  and throughout our running around this afternoon with Daddy and the out processing I prayed to myself before we walked into each place, and the TB check was AWESOME the guy had a wonderful attitude (not usually the case!)  then to the dreaded post office (again a little prayer to myself)  and E was in and out in less than 2 minutes!  and that NEVER happens!  then putting B down for a nap...  no fight just straight to sleep!  after the night she had I was expecting world war 3!  God just helps everything flow.  I could have gotten irritated at the clinic because B was fussy, and A was all over the place, but God helped me stay relaxed.  and FYI I have found that when I stay relaxed A listens SOOO much better!  and I could have gotten mad at the post office because there were NO parking spots but na God again helped me stay calm.  I know that Day has a lot more in store for me but I also know that if I am in constant prayer God will help me with all that I need!  As I have said before God seriously rocks my socks off! 

Monday 18 April 2011

His yoke is light!

  Matthew 11:27-30

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

God gave me this Verse this evening Partly for a friend and partly for myself I think!  As I think and meditate on these verses, I am overcome with Excitement (I know... WEIRD!!!)  but I do!  I cant help but be a little giddy about the fact that God WANTS to take all my cares and worries away from me!  and all I have to do is ask...  however, in the same way, I get a little sad and yet in awe at the same time (if that makes any sense)  because Jesus came and he died for ME and ALL of my sins...  He died for MY ANGER, for MY UNTAMED TONGUE, for my pride, for my Vanity, he died for all the thing that NONE of us like to talk about and yet we all do.  I get sad because I know that I can control all of these things and yet I find myself daily almost hourly falling right back into them...  I cant quite find the right words to describe how amazing it feels to know that Jesus Christ died for me and for you too!  Anything you struggle with, HE DIED FOR IT!  What an amazing gift salvation is!  and best of all is that ITS FREE!!  I cant even begin to tell you how amazing I felt when I FINALLY let go and gave God his throne back in my life.  I felt like a 9000 lb elephant had been lifted off my shoulders, that's not to say that I don't still struggle, I do daily, however, I know in my heart that God has this under control! all I have to do is stop what I am doing and PRAY "God please help me with my (fill in with what ever your struggling with!)"...  as soon as you stop and pray its like God can jump into the drivers seat and save you from hitting the giant cedar tree you were aiming for!  I want to share this amazing gift that God has given me with you...  YES YOU!!!  So if you are not a Christian this is all you have to do!  

Romans 10:9-13 

9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[b] 12 Jew and Gentile[c] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[d]

So if you confess right now with your mouth and believe in your heart that God died for YOU, thats it!  so you can say something like this :

"God, I come to you and confess that I am a sinner, I believe that Jesus came to this earth and died for my sins.  I pray that you would wash me clean.  I thank you for this free gift God,  and I pray that you would help me on my path." 

simple as that!  doesn't matter where you do it, in your cubical at work, making dinner, sitting at the computer, anywhere!  God already knows you intimately and he wants you to come to him.  its amazing how your life changes!  It has taken me about a year to see any real growth and I only saw it by looking at old home movies and hearing how I spoke to my child, then and NOW...  WOW!  God has done a number on me!!!!!  let him do one on you too!   after you do, TELL SOMEONE!  preferably another christian so they can help you grow!  people say it all the time that "I can be a christian and not go to church"  yes you can BUT God created Fellowship for a reason!  it keeps us accountable and it helps us grow!  Iron truly does sharpen Iron!  sometimes its uncomfortable and it may hurt your ego from time to time, but at the end of the day, God is GOOD all the time! 

when you hurt in your walk with him HE IS GROWING YOU!  yes IT HURTS!!  I will share with you one simple reason for me, that I know that God is real and WORKING in me!  Last February My husband and I found out we were pregnant.  soon after finding out, I lost the baby.  my husband was not yet a christian, but I was.  I prayed so hard after we left the hospital for God to allow me to understand WHY this happened...  as I fell asleep sobbing to myself in my bed all alone, I had a dream (this was the first time God spoke to me in a dream) I was sitting at a Table with God, he leaned over to me, took my hand and said " I allowed you to loose this baby for your husbands salvation"  I woke up with those words ringing in my ears.  Right then and there I gave this loss to God and moved on as best I could.  there were many times I would see all my pregnant friends (there were 5 of us all preggo at the same time) and wonder if I made up the dream to make myself feel better... (I did not) the very next month God allowed me to get Pregnant again and we now have our little Bug!  anyways, a WHOLE YEAR passed and in that year I just held onto those words that God spoke to me.  Then randomly we had a marriage retreat here where we live, I asked my husband if he would like to go and was kind of shocked when he agreed to attend.  the evening of the retreat we were lying in bed talking and My husband Gave his life To Christ!!  I was so happy.   but what was even more awesome for me (I didn't put 2 and 2 together for about a week) was that He Gave his life to Christ 1 year to the day that we found out we were pregnant with the first baby (our little Blueberry!)  I was sooo excited I could have climbed out of my own skin!   God uses every situation for his glory!  and this was just amazing to watch!  so, even now, I am thankful for how it all worked out, yes loosing our blueberry was painful, yes it was hard to pick up and move on, all I did was cast all of my pain and worry onto God and he took it all. when God is with you WHO (or what) can stand against you?  Ok I am off my soap box now, please just take it seriously the commitment you just made but also take it day by day!  we all fall down but God helps us back up! 

Sunday 17 April 2011

Struggle...

So, in the last few days I have really begun to feel the affects of this move.  As I have previously mentioned in my blog, a big stronghold in my life is Anger.  well, it seems that Stress has become Angers best friend!  and for me this equals DISASTER!!  Between, Appts for the girls, appts for me (that I have to find sitters for during this time= BIG STRESSER because I HATE asking for help!) Out Processing Appts for Eddie (that automatically TRUMP ANYTHING I have going on that day EVEN my appts) and purging the house...  its been a serious mess!  Eddie and I have both been on edge which makes one remark turn into world war 3...  I have found in the last few days that when stress and Anger get together there is just the tiniest sliver of hope that I will pray my way out of it...  I KNOW what I need to do, and yet once my blood begins to boil its like an instant inferno!  talk about 0-900 in 1 second flat...  well, if you are reading this please kindly keep me and my family in your prayers as the stress of moving is ONLY going to get worse as the days count down.  I know God has brought me a VERY long way from where I started, however, I know I have a VERY LONG way to go!  its so hard to just LET GO and know that getting Angry is really only going to make matters worse.  so, Today I am going to try my best to do just that.  I am right now stepping off the throne of my life and giving it back to God.  I cant possibly control all that is coming my way anyways.  God really does have everything under control, its my job to allow him the room to work! 

Thursday 14 April 2011

If God is with us then WHO can stand against us??

Friend I am so thankful for your forgiveness!  Thank you for your kind heart and abounding Love!

This is not to say that we wont have bad days and or encounter hard times and mean people, BUT With Gods help all things are possible!  This afternoon is proof of just that!  God is amazing!  I went to my friend and asked for forgiveness, the whole meeting went well.  I cant even begin to describe how terrified I was to actually see her, mostly because I was afraid to hear how much damage I had caused.  I Pushed away an amazing person and over what?  NOTHING!  I cant believe I ever even was that person.   well, I can now say from experience that when you feel one way ODDS ARE the other person feels THE SAME WAY!!!  Just talk about it...  all this junk that happened between us all came about because of mis-communication and or just NOT talking at all.  well the leading up did anyways, and then I took matters into my own hands...  anyways, that is all in the past and I am looking forward to maybe starting fresh with this friend.  I only wish is had not taken me an entire year to get over myself!  Thank you God for the push I needed to do JUST THAT!  These last 4 years have been very interesting I have had up moments and down moments, hit rock bottom,  Found God and here I am.  Looking forward to the next chapter in life, just wishing this one didn't have to be over quite so soon!

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Forgiveness

well, This week started out amazing and it just keeps getting better, HOWEVER, God Spoke early this week of something that I KNOW in my heart needs to be done so I will step out in Blind faith and do it.  At PWOC on monday night I got a Vision Of an estranged friend and I was on her door step speaking to her.  I prayed that is God really wanted me to go to her that he would tell me exactly what to say.  that night I had a dream and I heard every word I was supposed to say.  I am to ask for forgiveness for all of the hurt I inflicted in my early walk with Christ.  (I didnt know how to appropriately remove myself form certain situations so, I just rudely and hurtfully pushed her out of my life.)  I think at the time I was one of VERY FEW Christians in her life so for her to see such a poor display of actions by a christian  must have messed with her view of WHO God is.  I hope I dont sound vein while I am writing this, its just an honest assessment of what happened on my end and how I feel.  anyhow God showed me in this vision that I am to ask for forgiveness, NOT say I am sorry, and as I thought about this it made me feel even more nervous to approach her and for no other reason that I didnt want my ego to be hurt by her saying "no"  or her freaking out on me.  anyways in my vision God also showed me reading this to her:


God Loves you
God already knows you intimately
God Loves you
God wants you to talk to him
God Loves you
God created you in his image
God Loves you
You were made perfectly by Gods hands
God Loves you
God wants to overflow you with Love and joy
God Loves you
God wants a relationship with you
God Loves you
God has put you here for a reason
God Loves you
God wants to comfort you in your times of trial and hurt
God Loves you
God wants to fill you up with LOVE
God Loves you
God wants to help you grow
God Loves you
God wants to help you up when you fall, and WE ALL FALL
God Loves you
God wants to give you immeasurable peace
God Loves you
God wants you to let go
God Loves you
God wants you to come to him
God Loves you
God wants you to surrender
God Loves you
God wants you to come to him like a child, we are ALL his children
God Loves you
God wants to bless you
God Loves you
God wants to forgive you
God Loves you
God wants to heal your hurts
God Loves you
God wants you to open up
God LOVES YOU!

I know that God has this in the bag however, I cant help but feel terrified to face her and ask for forgiveness and what if she says no?  then what?  do I still read the above mentioned message?  so many things running through my mind but I WILL do this task that God has asked of me.   even if I do end up being "that crazy person who came to my house and read me a God poem"  I am putting my pride and my Ego aside and stepping out in BLIND faith and just trusting that God has all my steps mapped out.  I am thankful for the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and clear the air.  God is amazing in how he works in and through us.  I will keep you all posted as events unfold!

Monday 11 April 2011

Did you hear that?? IT WAS GOD!!

So tongiht was our April PWOC fellowship.  I was speaking, and just before I spoke I had to lay a little smack down on Satan...  he thought he was going to get the best of me, but God had it all under control!  I took a deep breathe and all I remember is Talking, I heard some laughter, (with me not at me!) and off we went!  God really showed up this evening!  I am including my lesson from tonight in this blog,  God is good!!


Good evening Ladies!  I want to begin with a prayer this evening,  Let us pray.

Ladies I have an exercise that I would like to do with you all,  if I could ask you all to bow your head and close your eyes. Just listen to the words that I am speaking to you, let them just flow through you. 

God Loves you
God already knows you intimately
God Loves you
God wants you to talk to him
God Loves you
God created you in his image
God Loves you
You were made perfectly by Gods hands
God Loves you
God wants to overflow you with Love and joy
God Loves you
God wants a relationship with you
God Loves you
God has put you here for a reason
God Loves you
God wants to comfort you in your times of trial and hurt
God Loves you
God wants to fill you up with LOVE
God Loves you
God wants to help you grow
God Loves you
God wants to help you up when you fall, and WE ALL FALL
God Loves you
God wants to give you immeasurable peace
God Loves you
God wants you to let go
God Loves you
God wants you to come to him
God Loves you
God wants you to surrender
God Loves you
God wants you to come to him like a child, we are ALL his children
God Loves you
God wants to bless you
God Loves you
God wants to forgive you
God Loves you
God wants to heal your hurts
God Loves you
God wants you to open up
God LOVES YOU!

Ok ladies you can open your eyes, there is tissue on the table if you need it.  Let me tell you now, if you are here looking for a one size fits all answer on how to hear from God that IS NOT what this is!  I am not perfect and I DO NOT have all the answers, but God has allowed me this wonderful gift of being able to hear him and know it’s him without question. Right now I would like to share with you now an amazing illustration of US as Beings.  Go with me here ladies! 




CIRCLE 1(mere man “non-Christian”)
Ok so these circles represent us in different stages of life again go with me here ladies!   Before we come to know Christ this is how we look.  We are seated on the throne of our life and God is on the outside.   We try and deal with life with our own understanding and we fail time and time again we get lost in this wide web we have created of trying to deal with things like
Gossip, lying, stealing, pornography, jealousy, lust, pride, adultery, addiction,
When we try and deal with these things on our own we become worn out and tired, our anger and irritability becomes magnified. 
The further we are from the word of God, the more things fall apart!

1 Corinthians 2
Paul’s Message of Wisdom
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.[b] 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God[c]—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
      and no mind has imagined
   what God has prepared
      for those who love him.”[
d]
10 But[e] it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.[f] 14 But people who aren’t spiritual[g] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
      Who knows enough to teach him?”[
h]
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

BUT…
Romans 10:9-17
  9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[e] 12 Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[g]
 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”[h]
 16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[i] 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Circle 2 (a Christian)
When we accept Christ into our hearts he starts to grow in us what are called the fruits of the spirit. 
Galatians 5:22-23
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

As he grows these fruits in our lives he starts dealing with all the sin in our lives one by one.  While this transformation is happening, we are changing gradually on the outside, suddenly our language isn’t so foul, our attitude isn’t so nasty, our whole person just changes.   And he also makes it possible for you to know more quickly when you have sinned…  While we are here we will have an open communication with God.  I pray about EVERYTHING!  I mean EVERYTHING!  Ok, when I wake up, my first thing I do is to eat, I struggle with over eating, so my first prayer ISNT “God what cereal should I eat today?”  My prayer would be “God please help me to keep my portions under control.”  Then I would get dressed, my prayer here wouldn’t be, “God what should I wear today?”  It would be “Please help me to not dress in an inappropriate manner, God help me to choose clothing that is tasteful”    one thing we DON’T want to do is to cause anyone else to stumble and fall.  I pray often that God would help me bite my tongue and control my anger.  In this SELF AWARNESS, I have to be EXTREAMLY picky about who and what I spend my time around.  For me something that I have personally struggled with a LOT in my life is Alcohol, this is something that I just CAN NOT be around.  There is nothing wrong with a glass of wine, but I am an all or nothing kind of girl.  This makes it VERY hard for me to be around anyone drinking.  Also I have the tendency to become like what I am around….  Anyone else out there like me?  If I am around someone who is cussing a lot, I start to do the same, God has worked this out of my life so much that I can’t even watch TV shows with Cussing in them…  well there goes 90% of Cable TV, so we cut off the cable in our home.  Doesn’t mean you have to, my struggle isn’t your struggle.  I have to be very picky about who I hang out with; I pick up bad habits QUICK!  Joyce Meyer puts it like this:  “If you are going to hang around people of this world, you better make sure you are affecting them and they aren’t INFECTING you!”  I loved that because that’s exactly what happens to me.  I let myself become infected with the JUNK of the world. 

---à Leading me to the last circle…




Circle 3 (a fallen Christian)
When we sin we take Christ OFF the throne of our lives and we take control again.  The longer we stay here the more and more we look like a mere man without Christ on the outside. 

When I really gave my life to Christ I was not hanging out with the best group of people.  Anytime one would call, I would get very nervous and literally sick to my stomach.  When Christ got ahold of my heart, he began to show me what was not ok.  I would be around these people and they would begin to gossip…  and I would join right in and when I would get home at night God would replay the entire conversation in my head and show me JUST how ugly it was and just how UGLY I was being.  This only happened one or 2 times before I got it and I realized that God was talking to me through images or “moving pictures” or “visions” if you will.  I was able to pray through this and Ask God to lead me to what his will was.  I was afraid that he was going to tell me to cut ties and that is EXACTLY what he had asked me to do.  This was NOT easy to just pull away and let myself grow in Christ.  If I had stayed around these people I would have stunted my own growth, I would have fallen into old sin and pushed God to the back burner.  Instead I asked God to help me out and help me let go of what I couldn’t control anyways.  This was the beginning of God growing me!    Now its not like God just takes everything away and that’s the end of it….  NO you have to work for it.  You did nothing for forgiveness HOWEVER when we are growing in Christ, we are constantly changing, learning, we will slip and fall and when we do its important that we Confess the sin ( which is our attitude) and we Repent for what we did (ask for forgiveness, this is our action) Sin stunts our growth and the sooner we deal with it the sooner we can move forward with God and learn more… 

How God Actually speaks!
Now onto the HOW God actually speaks to us… 
Visual- visions
Auditory- words in your head… 
Kinesthetic- sense (like you just know you have to call someone!)

How to DISCERN the voice of God
#1 Does what I have seen, sensed or heard line up with the Bible. Does it fit the demeanor of God
*The BIBLE is your filter.

#2 Does it produce the fruit of the spirit?  Galatians 5:23
#3 All truth have the ability of setting people free?
Releasing you from the power suffering has over you…  you may have to still suffer, BUT the power it has over you will be let up. 



God has unlimited ways of speaking to us.  Because of that, I polled about 20 women who in my eyes are strong women of faith and these are some of the answers I got back! 

Through Music-music speaks when words can not
Reading-I can hear God speak to me through them by a single sentence stopping me in my tracks like I want to read on but I can't
through song, music and times of praise and worship
unexpected kindness shown to me, a quiet moment in my day where he reveals facts, sometimes hard lessons that I am resistant to learn
you have to be seeking Him to hear Him. You have to know Him -(studying the Bible) to recognize Him voice.
Through our children
Gut instinct- there is NO SUCH thing as a gut instinct….  THAT’S GOD!!
A whisper- almost like a thought but you know you didn’t think it.
Dreams or visions
Still small voice
Through other people.
One lady said that when God wants her to be quiet she shows her a picture of SHHHH  in her head!  Wish I had that!

God cant drive a parked car ladies, its up to us to put it in drive and he will guide us once we do this!

Thursday 7 April 2011

No Pay.... GODS GOT THIS!!

Today, all over Face Book I am seeing all this talk of military possibly not getting paid.  On one hand I am sickened by the fact that we voted these people into office, so in essence we have done this to ourselves.  not to re ignite the political war but really??  Obama wasn't the best choice and contrary to popular belief it had nothing to do with his heritage or the color of his skin...  he is just Bad for the US.  I am not super "schooled" in politics but I am annoyed that we as a nation cant get our stuff together!  OK, back to my point here...  We as military families may not get paid due to the senates decision.  so, what can we do?  we can pray!  God will take care of me and my family, and I CLAIM that in Jesus name RIGHT NOW!  we will be fine...  but why don't we take it a step further, we all know of families that are hurting already and the loss of pay is only going to devastate them and their situations even more, why not reach out and lend a helping hand.  The Bible Tells us in
Matthew 25:35-40
For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you invited me into your home.  I was naked and you gave me clothing.  I was sick and you cared for me.  I was in Prison and you visited me.  The the righteous ones will reply 'lord when were you ever hungry and feed you?  Or thirsty and give you something to drink?    Or a stranger and showed you hospitality? or naked and gave you clothing?  when did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  The the king will reply "when you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters you were doing it to me!'


God wants us to give.  I have a deep desire to give!  in any way that I can help anyone that is hurting I WANT to help!  God has already given each of us a "measure of faith"  so why not step out in it.  BLIND faith is a beautiful thing!  you don't have to agree with me or my point of view but this is after all, MY blog! 

Wednesday 6 April 2011

This Just in!!

God answers prayers!  I have prayed (as has the prayer group here) for my brother who is currently deployed with his Marine unit.  I have personally prayed for his salvation and for his safety.  I just talked with my mom who just talked to him ( I know he said she said!) and apparently God has placed him in a position of leadership and he is in an office type environment...  He may not LOVE that but I do because it means that God heard little old me and has been protecting my baby brother!   Apparently he has been wanting to talk to me about "church stuff" which makes me amped because I KNOW this means he either has received salvation OR is on his way!  WOO HOO!!  more and more people added each day to Gods wonderful kingdom!  I am just so thankful that God hears and cares about the smallest things!  another prayer I have been praying on is what church to attend while we are visiting Eddies family (mid move) and my family (mid move) both in different parts of Texas.  He has opened that door WIDE open with a friend from one town who attends a church and has invited us!  CANT WAIT to go!  God is working overtime even when I have my fleshly moments its hard to stay in those places for long!  God has sent me a wonderful friend here we will call her "Lady A"  she is FANTASTIC!  anytime I am being bull headed this woman of God holds NO PUNCHES BACK!!  and God already knew that is exactly what kind of friend I needed!  I am telling you This afternoon after talking to her I felt like I have a spiritual body slam!  in a good way!  God opened my eyes to a situation that I was seeing ONE WAY and he was trying all along to make me see this other area that I NEED to be focusing on...  in an effort to keep myself transparent I will share:  I tend to, when things get rough with friends, PULL AWAY!  Its not even a conscious thing anymore I just DO IT...  and with this one friend I have been resisting the urge to pull away because I keep feeling God putting her back in my life and all the while I thought it was for me to help her (HOW VEIN) but NOPE its was her to help me (unknowingly) get over myself and get on with life!  I cant just pull away from people every-time they say something that hurts my feelings, sometimes you just need to suck it up and get over yourself!  now don't get me wrong there definitely are times that we do need to pull away like when an influence is hindering your walk with God OF COURSE don't just walk but RUN!  however in this situation God has peeled back the layers of my making and showed me what he was wanting me to see all along!  its me that needs to change NOT HER!!  Thank you lord for your subtle and NOT so subtle smack downs!  (in this case courtesy of lady A!!)  Thank you God for this amazing gift you have given me in this friend and for constantly pursuing me whether I like it or not! 

in the flesh...

So, Joyce Meyer calls days that you want to do nothing but be disobedient "flesh days"  I am having on right now!  it started out subtle last night, and now today it is FULL BLOWN!  I am trying my best to stay positive and not get Angry but this thing is just in the back of my head and I cant let it go.  so through out my day I can feel myself getting snippy with everyone around me when really if I would just get over this all would be well...  its so lame but at the same time its SOOO FRUSTRATING!  I cant and wont go into details but lets just say not everyone is considerate all the time and because f that I TRY to be OVERLY considerate with this issue and the 1 time this issue was on the edge of consideration it was thrown in my face like a grenade.  more of an annoyance than anything but, honestly its just rude to assume...  I am just frustrated and I need to give it to God and be done with it.  sulking does nothing except make me more mad!  so here you go God please take this ridiculous situation out of my mind and help to think of the things of Philippians 4:8  whatever is true, whatever is Nobel, whatever is right, whatever is pure whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, anything that is excellent of praiseworthy HELP ME GOD to think in these things!  Thank you Lord for your mercy and Grace!

Tuesday 5 April 2011

God.... you ROCK my socks off!

So, a while back, I had to get some dental work done...  its got VERY pricey!  so when I had to go see a different dentist because mine was off island and I had a tooth emergency I was not happy when I had to pay ANOTHER $100 for a useless X-Ray!   one thing I have learned about myself in the last year is that I have a hard time praying when I am Angry...  SO in this situation I called a dear friend and she prayed with me and in that prayer we prayed that any further work would be discounted or free....  (YES my teeth are JACKED UP!) anyways, after going back and forth to my dentist a few times trying different things to resolve the issue and none of them working, it turned into needing a root canal... Earlier in the day I was praying about this appt and not knowing how to approach the issue of money with this dentist (who I am sure doesn't care a thing about my finances or the fact that we are about to make a BIG move.)  anyways, when I was praying, God told me to just lay it out on the table.  now in my mind, that means being vulnerable and bold, 2 things I am NOT good at being...  so when push came to shove and he delivered the blow of me needing to get a root canal, I just said it "I really cant afford more work!"  (after all this wouldn't be an issue 'right now' if the tooth was just left alone in the first place) I tried bargaining, "is there anyway since I have already paid for the crown to be put on that we can just trade that for this??"  he giggled and said "no.  I cant let you walk around with a temporary crown for an extended amount of time"  then he looked at me and said "OK here is what I am going to do...  I am doing the root canal today because you are in pain and it needs to be done, you pay me what you can pay me."  In that moment God had answered our prayer!  I was so excited...  for 1) I was going to be out of pain, for 2) I wasn't going to have to break the bank, and for 3) GOD heard our little prayer and ANSWERED IT!  so as this is titled....  God... you ROCK my socks off!  Thank you fro your many blessings!

Monday 4 April 2011

Overflowing...

The last few evenings I have had little Jam sessions in my living room with Praise and Worship music!  It has been fantastic.  I don't know if the rest of my family thinks so, but I have been loving it.  I get this overwhelming sense of JOY, when I am praising God!  I find myself looking rather silly at times and you know what...  I DON'T CARE!!  I have been so overcome with peace and Joy the last few days I KNOW someone has to be praying for me because I can SOOO feel it!  If you are said person...  THANK YOU!  Even today at the grocery store my little one wasn't being so awesome and I didn't loose my cool, I got frustrated, yes but I did not get angry!  if felt nice to be able to just go with it and not get crazy!  I can literally feel my body in a calm state all the time!  its amazing!  anyways, that's all I have for now.  Just thought I would share!

Sunday 3 April 2011

finding my way...

I am so excited about the lesson God has laid on my heart.  I feel like every time I turn around these days As an ever growing woman of faith, I am so looking forward to the PWOC (protestant women of the chapel), God is revealing more to me about what needs to be said.  Normally I am NOT a public speaker, but, it seems that God has taken all fear for speaking away!  He is simply amazing!  The lesson is on hearing from God and I can not wait to hear the lesson myself!  I am working on it very hard and I just know God is going to use this lesson to add many women to his ever growing kingdom!   I am so thankful to him for allowing me this opportunity to speak and see his amazing works for myself!  Just really looking forward to all of it!  

God has blessed me and my family so much here in Guam its hard to leave, I know God is everywhere but since this is where he REALLY got a hold of me, its hard to say good bye.  for me when I leave here I wont miss the beaches, or the weather, I will miss the growth God has done in me.  I know that sounds weird but, to see the change for myself is just amazing to see what God has done in me.  I cant even begin to try and explain how grateful I am to be so blessed.  He really has been changing me from the inside out!  I still struggle in many areas, but I know that I haven't arrived, and I wont until I meet my maker!  Its just amazing to See God working all around me, not just in my life but in the lives of those I am close to!