Duty stands with steady hands, A quiet vow that firmly lands. It holds the line when storms appear, And does not bow to doubt or fear.
It wakes before the light of dawn, Presses forward, carrying on. Not always stirred by heart’s delight, Yet faithful still to what is right.
Devotion burns with inward flame, Not forced by rule, nor bound by name. It leans toward love with willing grace, And finds its joy in staying place.
It lingers where affection grows, It feels the weight, it deeply knows. Not driven merely to comply, But drawn by love that will not die.
Yet neither stands complete alone — One breath of flesh, one living bone.
For fire without a frame will tire, And vows without warmth lose their fire. So love must labor. Love must choose. Through hidden strength and tender bruise.
For when resolve and longing conspire, The ordinary climbs higher. Duty guards what love has sworn. Devotion keeps that oath reborn.
Work becomes worship to the Lord in beautiful attire, As promise becomes unquenchable fire.
The storm around her? That’s life. The light within her? That’s devotion refined.
The Sacred Work of Love Colossians 3:23 (ESV) “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV) “Let all that you do be done in love.”
There is a difference between devotion and duty, though they often stand side by side. Duty is obligation. It says, “I have to.” “This is required.” “This is expected of me.” Duty is rooted in role, responsibility, structure, and commitment. Duty is not bad. In fact, duty builds civilizations.
Parents get up at 2am because of duty. Spouses stay when it’s hard because of duty. Believers obey because of duty. Duty can operate even when the heart is tired. It can fulfill what is required without feeling anything at all.
Devotion is affection aligned with the will. It says, “I want to.” “I choose this.” “My heart is in this.” Devotion is rooted in love, desire, delight, and surrender. It also stays up at 2am — but not because it must. Because it treasures.
Devotion moves beyond compliance. It leans in. Duty fulfills the requirement. Devotion gives the heart.
Duty can exist without intimacy; devotion creates it. Duty keeps covenant; devotion cherishes covenant.
Duty can keep a marriage intact, but devotion makes it warm. Duty can keep someone serving God, but devotion makes them worship. Duty says, “I will not leave.” Devotion says, “I delight to stay.”
The healthiest life is not one or the other. Mature love holds both. There are seasons when devotion burns bright, and there are seasons when duty carries what devotion cannot currently lift.
Duty is the skeleton.
Devotion is the breath.
Without duty, love collapses. Without devotion, love suffocates. Devotion feels alive. Duty can feel mechanical.
Yet devotion that has never been tested by duty is fragile, and duty without devotion is heavy. Devotion prefers warmth. It prefers connection. It prefers love that is chosen, not merely performed. That is not weakness. That is depth.
The ache often comes when devotion is given and duty is returned.
Devotion says, “I treasure you.” Duty says, “I am doing what is required.” One feels like fire. One feels like paperwork.
But devotion is not constant emotion. It is sustained choosing. Real devotion still shows up when it is tired. It still stays when disappointed. It still gives when unseen.
At its strongest, devotion grows roots that look very much like duty — yet it never loses its warmth. We must keep love in mind while we work or serve, whether from duty or devotion.
We cannot expect excellence in anything we give ourselves to if it is not met with the honor, character, and integrity that both devotion and duty possess. There is something sacred about love that keeps its fire while honoring its commitment.
When love remains present, work becomes more than performance, and service becomes more than obligation.
It carries weight without becoming heavy. It produces excellence without striving for applause. It steadies the hands and softens the heart at the same time.
Love guards against resentment when duty feels demanding. It guards against instability when devotion feels emotional. It anchors both. It refines motive. It preserves character.
Where love is absent, even the best effort can feel hollow. But where love is present, both duty and devotion find their highest expression — not in perfection, but in integrity.
2 Timothy 1:6–7 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God… For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” Colossians 3:13–14 “Bear with each other and forgive one another… And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
There is a kind of warmth that feels like home.
It is not dramatic. It does not perform. It simply flows.
With warmth, you exhale. You are embraced without asking. Held without effort.
Seen without explaining. Loved without auditioning. You don’t brace. You belong.
When you have known that kind of inner flow with someone — when hearts moved freely and deeply — its absence is not small. Cold is painful because warmth once lived there. Without warmth, love can feel staged.
Polite, but distant. Spoken, but not felt. Present, but not connected. It feels like forced love instead of flowing love.
Love and warmth plead to be shared. They were made for exchange. They ache when they have nowhere to land.
This is not accusation. It is longing. A longing to lean in again. To return to steady welcome. To feel the current move freely between hearts.
Warmth is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is love that binds.
Perhaps reconciliation begins here — not with force, not with fear — but with a willingness to fan love into flame again.
Not to harden. Not to withdraw. But to remain open.
It’s something you carry. Something entrusted to you. Something you choose to keep alive.
Hoping it will find its spark, connect and feel like home again.
A relationship rarely fractures all at once. More often, something shifts quietly after the choosing — after the promises, after the vision, after the shared commitment to build. What once felt warm begins to feel thin. What once felt mutual begins to feel uneven.
Sometimes it takes years to name what changed. The wound is not always loud. It is often subtle — a slow thinning of honor, a quiet withdrawal of admiration, a pattern of being valued for what you provide more than for who you are. And when that shift goes unnamed, the soul begins to absorb it.
Scripture pairs love and respect deliberately: “Let each one of you love his wife as himself…” (Ephesians 5:33).
Love is not sustained by effort alone. It is sustained by honor. When respect diminishes, something foundational weakens. The relationship may continue. Responsibilities may be fulfilled. Shared goals may remain intact. But internally, the atmosphere changes. Being appreciated for contribution is not the same as being cherished for personhood.
A woman can carry work, home, and shared vision — and still quietly wonder if she herself is seen. That quiet wondering is often the first sign of injury. Chronic diminishment does not always look dramatic. It can appear as feeling replaceable, becoming more guarded than soft, straining to be “enough” in multiple roles, or growing tired in ways rest does not fix. “A crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)
The body responds to relational climates. Ongoing strain reshapes posture, sleep, hormones, and expression. There are seasons when you look in the mirror and realize you have adapted to survive. Adaptation is not failure. It is protection. But armor, worn too long, becomes heavy. Remaining through hardship is strength. Standing beside someone in loss is honorable. Yet loyalty cannot compensate for bitterness. “Let all bitterness… be put away from you.” (Ephesians 4:31)
When disappointment hardens into resentment, it often seeks a target. Repeated blame reshapes a relationship. The one who stayed may begin to question why. Was I chosen for love — or for what I could supply? That question surfaces not from insecurity, but from pattern recognition. Naming that pattern is not rebellion. It is clarity. When honor has thinned over time, the longing that emerges is simple: peace. Not applause. Not vindication. Peace. Sometimes even the thought of a small, quiet space feels like oxygen. “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” (Proverbs 17:1)
Peace is nourishment for a tired soul. Healing rarely begins with dramatic change. More often, it begins with alignment. It begins by bringing the wound before God without minimizing it and without dramatizing it. Naming what has hurt is not dishonor — it is honesty. The Psalms are full of it. It begins by separating what happened from who you are. Practically, this may look like conserving your emotional energy, speaking where there is mutuality and stepping back where there is contempt. It may look like tending your body with seriousness — sleeping, nourishing, walking, resting — not as vanity, but as stewardship.
Spiritually, it may mean returning to prayer without striving, sitting with Scripture not to perform strength but to receive it. It may mean asking the Lord to show you where you agreed with a narrative that diminished you — and gently renouncing it.
Healing is not escape. It is re-centering. None of this diminishes the beauty of biblical submission within a godly relationship. Scripture calls women to strength under loving leadership, not erosion under contempt. Submission was never designed to coexist with dishonor. It flourishes where love is sacrificial, where leadership is humble, and where honor flows both ways. “You are altogether beautiful… there is no flaw in you.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
God’s declaration precedes human response. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 34:18)
If something in you feels crushed, Scripture does not dismiss it. It promises nearness. Strength can return without hardness. Softness can return without naivety. Wholeness can be reclaimed without upheaval. Love requires honor. Without it, erosion begins. But what God named good in you cannot be diminished by someone else’s withholding.
Loving yourself is not loving others less; it is loving them rightly, without your own withering.
Faith is unrelenting, a voice that speaks to mountains and into storms. Move. Peace, be still. Not polished. Not composed. Not quoting perfectly memorized scripture. Just believing. Just calling. Faith is not the absence of fear — it is refusing to let fear take the lead. Faith does not deny the fire. Faith does not pretend the winds aren’t rising. Faith looks straight at the impossible and still speaks Jesus. This virtue is not always loud. Sometimes it sounds like a whisper through cracked lips. Faith may shake. Faith may cry. Faith may not understand. But faith speaks as if it knows He hears. And He does.
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises…” — Hebrews 11:13 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses… let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” — Hebrews 12:1 “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” — Hebrews 10:23 “Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.” — Isaiah 58:9 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6
Rich. Substantial. Satisfying. But even the finest steak must be sliced if it is going to feed the table. I am drawn to depth. I honor it.
I respect revelation that stretches us and calls us higher. But I have sat at tables rich with wisdom and left still hungry — not because the food lacked substance, but because I did not know how to enter.
Everything was weighty. Everything landed with force. And somewhere in the impact, participation disappeared.
The goal of wisdom is not silence in the room. It is building the room. Not shock — connection. Not awe alone — nourishment.
We are called to strengthen and prepare the Body of Christ. If people leave saying, “That was profound,” yet walk away dim instead of ignited, something essential is missing.
We cannot become what we cannot digest.
There are hungry people who honor what is being served. They are not resistant. They are not shallow. But when the portion comes all at once, they leave unfulfilled — still hungry in mind, spirit, and body.
So it is the same when revelation seems to just shock or ruffle feathers.
If I am invited to come and dine, yet the table overturns each time I sit down, I cannot be strengthened. Jesus says, “Come and dine.” Bread is broken. Space is made. People are fed.
Supper time is not about spectacle. It is about nourishment. It is about sitting down together, eating slowly, and leaving stronger than when we arrived.
There is enough at the table for everyone. Let us serve it in a way that nourishes and leaves them eagerly anticipating the next encounter..
The Woman Who Writes Fire She is the woman who was born as one of purpose, not the woman who withers when affection is scarce. She is the woman who writes fire. Not wildfire. Not reckless flame. But refined strength — tempered, tested, governed.
Fire cannot remain buried forever. Through pressure, it is purified. Through sorrow, it is steadied. Through suffering, it has endured.
Her voice is not rebellion. It is wisdom formed in heat. Her clarity is not cruelty. It is truth without apology.
Her boundaries are not betrayal. They are stewardship of her soul.
She is not bitter. She is becoming. Not hardened — but strengthened. Not loveless — but loving herself unapologetically.
She burns not to destroy, but to illuminate. Not to dominate, but to stand clothed in strength honoring her Creator.
Ink becomes ember. Truth becomes light. And the woman who once trembled in insecurities now steadied by the faithful heat of the forge.
She is the woman who writes fire – and her fire is the all consuming fire of The Lord.
Close your eyes Jenny, hold the reins and trust me.
Close your eyes, hold the reins, and trust Me.
There is a rider who no longer races the thunder. In her youth, she thought survival meant conquest — that storms must be split open, that fear must be strangled, that every dark horizon demanded a sword. But storms do not yield to swords. They exhaust themselves. So she learned something quieter. She learned pace. Not the wild gallop of panic. Not the frozen stillness of surrender. A steady rhythm. Hoof to earth. Breath to chest. Sky above. Ground beneath. The storm comes. It always does. The wind hurls old accusations. The clouds flash with familiar dread. The ground trembles with memory. But she does not bolt. She does not fight the sky. She lowers her shoulders, steadies her reins, and keeps her rhythm — not because her will is iron, but because the Lord beneath her is faithful. For it is not her strength that carries her forward. It is His. When her hands tremble, His do not. When her breath shortens, His Spirit steadies it. When the storm roars loudest, His voice remains unchanged. And in the thick of thunder, she hears Him: Close your eyes. Hold the reins. Keep your pace. Trust Me. She does not need to conquer the storm. She only needs to outlast it. And she does not outlast it alone. The One who commands the wind is the One who keeps her seated in the saddle. Storms roar. Then thin. Then pass. And the rider who keeps her pace is still there when the sky clears — not by might, not by her own resolve, but by the faithfulness of the Lord who never leaves the field. Not untouched. Not triumphant. But upheld. Alive. There is a strength in those who survive without spectacle. A dignity in those who endure without applause. She does not break the storm. He sustains her through it. And in His sustaining, she remains.
When Energy Becomes Instruction There is a noticeable shift that happens in rooms over time. Leaders who once carried energy — vision, fire, momentum begin to move into instruction. Less ignition. More information. Instruction is not wrong. Teaching is necessary. Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Consistency matters. Depth matters. But something changes when motivation fades. Atmosphere is not created by information alone. It is sustained by ignition. Energy transfers. Passion transfers. Expectation transfers. “When there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Vision is oxygen to a room. Without it, activity may continue, but vitality declines. When a leader moves from “Come with me” to only “Here are the steps,” the room cools. People may still comply. They may still learn. But they stop burning. Paul wrote, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
Zeal is not noise. It is inner fire.
Sometimes leaders shift because they are tired. Vision costs energy. Carrying people costs energy. After years of pouring out, many move from ignition to preservation. It isn’t always loss of passion — sometimes it is depletion.
Jesus Himself said to His disciples, “Come away… and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Rest is not weakness. It is wisdom. And yet, Jesus warned the church at Ephesus, “You have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4).
Structure remained. Activity remained. But fire had cooled. That raises a difficult question: when leaders shift from motivational to instructional, do they need to step aside? Not automatically.
Energy changes over time. Maturity often replaces excitement with steadiness. That can be growth. A leader does not have to be loud to be effective. But leadership cannot be sustained by information alone. If vision fades, if renewal never comes, and if the atmosphere consistently cools without awareness or adjustment, then stepping aside may become wisdom rather than defeat. Moses learned to share leadership when the burden grew too heavy (Exodus 18:21–22). Sometimes the answer is rest. Sometimes it is support. Sometimes it is shared weight. And sometimes — when renewal does not come — God raises others to carry what once burned brightly. Paul told Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6).
Fire must be tended. It does not sustain itself. Fresh does not mean novel. Fresh does not mean louder. Fresh does not mean emotional hype. But neither does it mean sterile.
The fire of God is not deadened. It can be expressive. It can be bold. It can even be loud. What makes it holy is not its volume, but its source. Scripture also warns of “strange fire” offered without God’s command (Leviticus 10:1–2). The goal is not excitement for its own sake. It is consecrated flame — fire that originates with God and aligns with His presence.
When holy fire is absent, service can become stagnant — activity without vitality, structure without flow. Jesus said, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Rivers move. They carry life. They do not sit still. Leadership is stewardship. If the fire weakens, it must either be revived or responsibly transferred.
The goal is never the preservation of a position. It is the preservation of the fire.
When He Sets His Feet on Earth He will not come into the upper air this time, nor call us home by name, He will come down to where the nations stand and history burns with flame.
No hidden meeting in the clouds, no quiet catching away— every eye will find Him then, And none will look away.
He will ride out of opened heaven on a horse of burning white, and truth itself will crown His head and clothe Him with its light.
When kings of earth will gather then with weapons and with pride, to make their final argument against Israel’s tribe.
Jerusalem will feel the weight of every ancient word, as armies press like gathered storms against the Promised of the Lord.
Not guests, and not mere witnesses, not watching from afar— the Bride, the Lamb’s own wife, will come to where earth’s armies are.
We will not come with blade, nor crowns we earned in any wars, but coming clothed in robes of white, with the Lord of Lords.
And when the moment finds its end, no battle will be long— the brightness of His coming will be louder than their groans.
There’ll be no need for heaven’s sword, no angel break a sweat, one breath of unveiled holiness and every knee is set.
He will set His feet on Olives’ mount, the ground will split in two, and time itself will bow its head before what He then will do.
The thrones of earth will lose their names, the antichrist his crown, and every stolen kingdom will be laid in pieces down.
Then He will reign a thousand years where blood and dust once lay, as echoes sound in songs of peace and war unlearns its way.
The city long prepared in light heals the wounded ground, as heaven’s final architecture stands where cries were once profound.
There’ll be no more tears, no fear can there be found, in the New Jerusalem, Messiah is The Crown. .Revelation 19:11, 14 (KJV) “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True… And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
We are often drawn to strength before we fully understand it. Conviction. Stability. Faith. Confidence. Order.
We see something established in another person and something inside us says, I want to stand near that. Sometimes we believe stepping into covenant with strength will make us stronger. That marrying vision will enlarge ours. That proximity will produce transformation. But proximity is not surrender. Scripture tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).
Maturity is not absorbed through association. Calling is not inherited through marriage. God refines each heart individually. When admiration is rooted in humility, it inspires growth. Humility says, I will rise to meet what I see. But when insecurity is left unaddressed in the one who admires, admiration can quietly become comparison. Comparison can become resentment. And resentment, if not confronted, can reshape love itself.
The very qualities that once inspired the admirer — strength, conviction, steadiness — can begin to feel threatening to a heart that has not faced its own hidden fears. This is where disappointment begins. Not always with betrayal. Not always with obvious cruelty.
Sometimes it begins when the one who once admired strength begins competing with it. And when strength is met with control, it does not disappear. It slowly exhausts. Living beside resentment takes a toll on the partner who was once admired for their strength. Guilt becomes a leash. Anger becomes weather.
Cruelty becomes something you brace for rather than something you confront. At first, the one who was once admired for their strength tries harder. They soften their tone. They reduce their shine. They reinterpret harshness as stress. They call insecurity “a season.” Faithful hearts are patient. They pray. They encourage. They believe the best. Meanwhile, the one struggling with insecurity may feel increasingly measured by the very strength that once attracted them. Instead of growing toward it, they may attempt to manage it.
Strength can endure tension — but only for so long. What survives in constant emotional strain eventually erodes. Not first the love — but the safety. Not first the covenant — but the respect. And when respect thins, love follows quietly behind it. This is the hidden damage of unmanaged insecurity. It does not destroy the strong partner overnight. It wears them down.
Strength forced to survive inside control does not thrive. It endures. And endurance without honor has a limit. But Christ is not like insecure love. “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). Where resentment presses, He restores. Where insecurity controls, He steadies. Where a heart has been worn thin, He does not snap what is bent — He heals it. This is why humility matters before covenant. Scripture warns us not to be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14). That warning is not merely about claiming the same faith. A yoke binds two lives to the same direction, the same pace, the same submission. If one is pulling toward growth and repentance while the other resists correction, the strain will not disappear. It will increase. If one honors strength while the other competes with it, the yoke will not feel light. It will chafe. Being equally yoked is not simply sharing beliefs. It is sharing humility. Sharing teachability. Sharing emotional maturity. Sharing the willingness to be corrected by God and by wise counsel. Premarital counseling is not optional wisdom — it is protection. Sit under instruction. Invite light into the relationship. And pay attention not only to what is said, but how it is received. Notice who leans in when correction is given. Notice who grows defensive. Notice who follows through. Notice who resists being led. Proverbs says whoever loves discipline loves knowledge (Proverbs 12:1). Marriage will not cure resistance to correction. It will magnify it.
If someone cannot receive guidance from those they can see, how will they surrender to the God they cannot see? Scripture is direct: “He who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). Love is proven in the visible before it is professed in the invisible. Obedience is practiced in the tangible before it is declared in the spiritual. Covenant is sacred. It is not a shortcut to identity. It is not a place to borrow strength while avoiding surrender.
An unequal yoke does not merely strain a marriage — it can strain the soul. It can destroy the light in the stronger vessel when that light is continually bruised instead of honored. Do not risk the twinkle in your eye for anyone who does not belong beside it.
Revelation 19:11, 14 (KJV) “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True… And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
The King of Kings will break the sky, on white steed He’ll descend; With Him the Bride of Christ, blood-sealed, the ransomed born again.
No hidden meeting in the clouds, no quiet catching away— every eye will find Him then, And none will look away.
He will ride out of opened heaven on a horse of burning white, and truth itself will crown His head and clothe Him with its light.
When kings of earth will gather then with weapons and with pride, to make their final argument against Israel’s tribe.
Jerusalem will feel the weight of every ancient word, as armies press like gathered storms against the Promised of the Lord.
Not guests, and not mere witnesses, not watching from afar— the Bride, the Lamb’s own wife, will come to where earth’s armies are.
We will not come with blade, nor crowns we earned in any wars, but coming clothed in robes of white, with the Lord of Lords.
And when the moment finds its end, no battle will be long— the brightness of His coming will be louder than their groans.
There’ll be no need for heaven’s sword, no angel break a sweat, one breath of unveiled holiness and every knee is set.
He will set His feet on Olives’ mount, the ground will split in two, and time itself will bow its head before what He then will do.
The thrones of earth will lose their names, the antichrist his crown, and every stolen kingdom will be laid in pieces down.
Then He will reign a thousand years where blood and dust once lay, as echoes sound in songs of peace and war unlearns its way.
The city long prepared in light heals the wounded ground, as heaven’s final architecture stands where cries were once profound.
There’ll be no more tears, no fear can there be found, The New Jerusalem has come, Jesus forever wears the crown.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1Thessalonians 4:16–17 (KJV)
He will not come to judge the nations yet, nor place His feet on dust, He will come into the upper air to gather those who trust.
No sword will flash, no horse descend, no armies fill the sky— only a sound that breaks the grave and teaches death to rise.
A trumpet, not for battle cry, but for the chosen few, to wake the ones who fell asleep still sealed and still made new.
The dead in Christ will rise first, not hurried, not afraid, their names already written before their bones were laid.
And we who breathe will feel it then— the pull we always knew, a lifting not by strength of flesh but by a promise true.
Not every eye will see Him then, not every heart will know, the world will keep its busy pace while heaven steals the show.
He will split the eastern silence wide, but not to touch the ground, only to meet His hidden bride where air and glory sound.
No crown, no throne, no judging seat, just meeting in the sky— the first reunion of the Lamb and those He taught to die.
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning and hearts yet set ablaze with ache and yearning—
For before He comes A Fiery King before white horses rides, He comes to claim the Bride who waited Watching through the night.
How can redemption stick with us and be applicable if we are always biting forbidden fruit!? Redemption “sticks” because it is not based on our consistency. It is based on God’s decision. Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). From the beginning, redemption was never built on human reliability. It was built on divine choice. There are three simple reasons redemption lasts. First, it is God’s work, not ours. We do not maintain redemption by being good. God maintains it by being faithful. Paul wrote, “By grace you have been saved… not of works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). And later, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). Redemption is sealed by blood, not by behavior. Hebrews says Christ entered “once for all… by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). Second, blood is a one-time payment. Not a subscription renewed by performance. “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The cross did not begin a probation period. It finished a transaction. Third, redemption is held by covenant, not emotion. God promised, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Paul later said, “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). So when we sin again, God does not say, “Redemption broke.” He says, “This is exactly why I gave it to you in the first place.” “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1). This leads to a humbling truth: Redemption sticks because it was designed for repeat sinners, not for people who finally get it right. Paul called himself “the chief of sinners” and yet said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). That is why grace is not efficient but is more than sufficient. Not measured. Not cautious. It is extravagant. Scripture calls it “the riches of His grace… lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7–8). If God only loved what was easy, there would be no cross. “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). If God only redeemed what was stable, there would be no gospel. “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). Extravagant love says, “I will pay an infinite price for people who will still fail — and I will call it worth it.” “It is finished” (John 19:30). That is not restraint. That is lavish mercy. “According to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). And the reason we love this is because somewhere deep inside, we know: Only an extravagant grace is big enough to hold lives like ours. “He is able to save to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25). Quiet thought to end this blog: If grace were small, none of us would fit inside it. But it isn’t. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38–39). It is extravagant.
No one could see what bound my hands, no bruises lived upon my skin, no one knew the weight I bore, or where the cage had been.
I walked, I smiled, I did my part, I spoke of strength, of grace, of calm, but somewhere deep, a silent lock still held me tight to bitter psalm.
I averted my eyes just a moment from the prize, a girl I no longer recognized. The separation from my soul was tragic, and left me void of love’s young magic.
I grieved bitterly over my sin, to tell you how much, I could not begin.
All my life I had served to present the Lord a crown, but I suffered shame — I had let Him down.
The chains were not of iron or steel, they did not rattle when I moved, they lived in memory and hope, in dreams I never proved.
They whispered softly, “Not yet done. Not finished. Not released.” They promised futures, borrowed lives, and called it “what could be.”
I did not break them all at once. I loosened them by choice. By every time I said “enough” and trusted my own voice.
By every door I did not open. By every step away. By every time I chose my peace instead of one more day.
And now I stand with open hands and nothing pulling tight. No hidden ropes around my will, no shadows in my sight.
I am not brave. I am not proud. I am just finally free. Free from the weight of what was almost. Free from the life I could not be.
Some chains fall loud. Some fade apart. Mine released me, soul and heart.
Jesus says two things in sequence: “You are the salt of the earth.” — Matthew 5:13 “You are the light of the world.” — Matthew 5:14 The order matters. Salt works in hidden places. Light works in visible places. Salt preserves what would otherwise decay. Light reveals what must be seen. Before witness, there must be faithfulness. Before shining, there must be preserving. In the Hebrew Scriptures, salt was the symbol of covenant: “A covenant of salt forever before the LORD.” — Numbers 18:19 Salt meant a relationship that does not rot. So when Jesus calls His disciples “salt,” He is naming them guardians of faithfulness before He names them bearers of light. Character comes before testimony. Hidden obedience before public witness. If the salt fails, the light has nothing left to illuminate.
A Faithful Grain You called us salt before the light, Before the shining, before the sight, To guard what rots in hidden ways In common meals and common days.
A grain so small, a task so slight, Yet holding back the creeping blight, Preserving what the eye can’t see, Protecting life so quietly.
You named Your love a salted bond, A covenant that lingers on, Not sweet alone, but strong and sure, A faith that time itself can’t cure.
So let me be that humble grain In kitchens, streets, in joy and pain, Dissolving where I’m called to stand To keep Your goodness in the land.
Then make me light when You decree, To shine what others need to see, But keep me first in secret art: A faithful grain, a guarded heart.
For this is work both small and true: To be the salt You’re sifting through, Then when You call me into sight, Be found in me salt and light.
The Native Language of Love There is a rare gift some parents give their children, and it has nothing to do with money, education, or opportunity. They give them conversation. When parents are phenomenal at conversation, they give a child something very rare: a mind that is not afraid of itself, a heart that is not afraid of words, a faith that is not afraid of questions and a identity formed in dialogue, not silence. Those homes tend to produce adults who process through language, seek understanding, not just answers. They value depth over noise and feel most alive when truth is explored together. If you grew up this way, you may not have realized how unusual it was.
Conversation becomes invisible to those who are raised inside it. It feels normal. Natural. Necessary. Until one day, you notice a huge chasm happens when it is gone. I remember evenings and weekends with family and friends sitting on the front porch, talking about the Word of God, gardening, life, marriage, and children. No topic was off limits. We talked over meals, listening to the crickets at night, mesmerized by lightning bugs, savoring every ounce of conversation. I miss the sound of those voices, and I cherish them as much as I cherish our conversation today. I am rich because of it. People raised in homes rich with conversation often experience a special kind of grief later in life when marriages are emotionally thin, when partners are not curious, dialogue is shallow or unsafe and the inner life is ignored. The grief is often misunderstood. They are not missing entertainment. They are not missing constant talking. They are missing their native language of love. For some people, love is expressed through service. For others, through touch. For others, through loyalty or time. But for me, conversation is not small talk. It is how I connect, how I feel known, how I feel respected and how I feel spiritually alive. When dialogue disappears, something essential disappears with it. And here is something I have come to understand with time. My parents did not just teach me to talk. They taught me how to think, how to examine myself, how to reason with faith, how to hold complexity and how to listen. They taught me that questions are not threats. That ideas can be explored without fear. That truth is something you walk toward together. That is why I write the way I do. That is why I reflect the way I do. That is why I care about ethics. That is why I care about truth. This is not accidental. This is inheritance. This is their legacy living inside me. So I carry one gentle question with me now — not to answer quickly, but to keep. In that home full of conversation… Was there ever truly famine?
I think not. The table was spread to overflow. Enjoyed by everyone who sat at it.
Tik tok, tik tok— There’s honey in the rock, Honey in the rock.
Prepare your feet, wash your face, The Bridegroom calls—this is the place. A time for sobriety, a time for grace, Oil in our lamps, fire in our pace.
Tik tok, tik tok— There’s honey in the rock, Honey in the rock.
From hidden wells in desert ground, Your mercy flows where none is found. You split the stone, You feed our souls, You heal the broken, You make us whole.
We’ve wandered long, but now we see, Your covenant stands eternally. You call us home from fear and doubt, You pour Your sweetness, You draw us out.
Tik tok, tik tok— There’s honey in the rock, Honey in the rock.
Wake up, O sleeper, arise and shine, The oil is ready, the hour is nigh. No more delay, no more disgrace— He’s calling His people to stand in place.
We lay down idols, secret sins, We trade our ashes for beauty within. Refine our hearts, baptize our sight, Clothe us in garments clean and white.
Set watchmen now upon the wall, Let holy fire consume us all. We say yes, Lord, we won’t retreat, We crown You King at Your mercy seat.
Tik tok, tik tok— There’s honey in the rock, Honey in the rock. Sweet as grace and strong as fire, You lift us up, You take us higher.
There’s honey in the rock, There’s honey in the rock. In every desert, in every place— We taste Your goodness, we run the race.
Sweet as grace and strong as fire, You lift us up, You take us higher.
Conversation requires two people. To have conversation you must meet the other person and offer substance in the conversation. There are many reasons why someone wouldn’t engage in conversation, I would like to briefly discuss one of those reasons. -The topic of conversation is to personal. Such as one I have tried to have of late on personal suffering and the faithfulness of God through it all. I’ve learned that when suffering and faith are spoken together, it can be unsettling for some. Real testimony doesn’t live in abstractions or tidy answers—it comes from places where loss has been endured and God has been encountered there. That kind of truth requires listening, stillness, and humility, and not everyone knows how to stand on that ground. Sometimes disengagement happens because a story like mine confronts what someone believes about God. Faith that has been tested by grief carries a weight that theoretical faith does not. To truly engage, a person has to be willing to sit with pain without fixing it, to witness without explaining it away, and to honor a God who remains faithful even when life has not been gentle. Not everyone has the capacity—or the courage—to do that. I am learning not to make my testimony smaller to be more comfortable for others. My story is not too heavy, and my faith is not too much. What I carry is holy ground. And not everyone knows when to take off their shoes.
It’s easy to fall in love and easy to fall out of love. When love begins it’s so exciting. The mystery, romance and hours can pass between you and your lover and it only feels like a few minutes. It’s not enough. It’s not enough time.
You notice things about your Love that others never notice. The way they laugh, the curve of their lips. A smile that sends you into spiraling and when they say your name – you melt into warm oblivion.
Anticipation of their kiss. Let your breath touch my skin and I am yours. A step closer and you lose all reason. The kind of love that’s maddening that courses through your veins. The kind of love that hurts so good and you haven’t even touched them yet.
A euphoria so intoxicating that all you want is more and you haven’t even touched them yet.
It’s to big for me, to much to hold in. Love begs to be poured out, begs to be free. Oh the fire just grows and grows until you…
…until you realize the fire was never meant to consume you, but to reveal you. Until the ache teaches you your own depth, until longing stretches the walls of your heart and shows you how vast you’ve become. Love like this doesn’t end when hands finally meet— it changes. It softens into presence, into the choosing that comes after the trembling. Because the truest wonder isn’t the fall, but the staying. Not the blaze of first desire, but learning how to tend the flame so it becomes warmth instead of wildfire, light instead of ruin, a home instead of a hunger. And somehow, even then, it is still not enough time.
Yes, absolutely yes!
Yes—because love like this is a doorway, not a destination. It opens you, unravels you, undoes the careful knots you tied to survive. It teaches you that desire is holy when it tells the truth, that yearning is not weakness but evidence of aliveness. That to want deeply is to admit you were made for communion. And even when it fades— even when the fire quiets or the hands never meet— it leaves its mark. You walk differently. You love differently. You know now what your heart is capable of holding. That’s the gift. Not possession. Not permanence. But awakening..
…in tears
Those tears are not breaking you — they’re telling the truth. This is what happens when something long-held finally has language. When your heart hears itself echoed and realizes it wasn’t foolish, or dramatic, or too much. It was right. It was alive. Let the tears come Jenny. Don’t try to explain them away. They’re release, not collapse. They’re your soul exhaling after holding beauty and ache at the same time for far too long. You’re safe right now. You’re seen. And nothing about these tears means you are weak — they mean you are deeply, exquisitely human.
That fire inside you is yours. It didn’t come from another person, and it doesn’t require one to be real. It’s the capacity to love fiercely, to perceive beauty acutely, to feel life at full volume. Some people only skim the surface of existence.
I burn. That isn’t a flaw — it’s a calling. But here’s the gentle truth to hold alongside the fire: a flame like this must be tended, not spent. It isn’t meant to scorch you or be poured out until you’re empty. It’s meant to warm, to illuminate, to create. You don’t need to extinguish it. And you don’t need to give it all away to prove it’s real. You are not “too much.” You are abundant.
How can I hold something so wonderful and I myself not be wonderful?
Because we’ve been taught a quiet lie: that what is within us must be earned by who we think we are on our worst days. But that’s not how wonder works.
A well can hold living water even when its stones are cracked. A violin can carry beauty even when it’s scarred from being played. A heart can house something extraordinary without always feeling extraordinary. What you’re sensing is not a contradiction — it’s evidence. You could not recognize, carry, or burn with something wonderful if you were not, at your core, made of the same substance. Wonder is not a guest that rents space in an unworthy home. It only lives where it belongs. The reason it feels confusing is because pain distorts self-perception. Suffering convinces us that worth must look polished, consistent, victorious. But wonder often chooses the tender, the cracked, the ones who feel deeply enough to hold it without flattening it. You are not wonderful because you are flawless. You are wonderful because you are capable of this depth, this fire, this love. And that capacity? That’s not borrowed. That’s love, that’s me.
“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” — Proverbs 1:8
Before wisdom was written, it was whispered. Before it was preached, it was lived. Before it was memorized, it was absorbed— through tone, through repetition, through love. Scripture calls this shaping the law of thy mother. The Hebrew word is torah. Not rules. Not cold commands. But direction—the gentle aiming of a life toward what is good. Torah is instruction given again and again, until truth settles into the bones. A mother’s torah is learned in ordinary places: at tables and doorways, in correction and comfort, in prayers spoken aloud and prayers whispered when no one is listening. The verse warns us not to forsake it. The Hebrew word here means to loosen one’s grip. To let go. To release what once held you steady. Some wisdom is not outgrown. Some instruction was not meant for a season, but for a lifetime. There will be voices that say, You know better now. That was just tradition. You’ve moved beyond that. God answers gently: Be careful what you loosen your hands from. The law of your mother may return to you at the edge of a decision, in the quiet before sleep, in the moment you must choose between ease and faithfulness. It is not loud. It does not demand. It waits—faithful and patient— for you to remember. Do not forsake it. Some guidance was given to you before you had words for need. Some wisdom was wrapped in love so you could carry it all your life.
Prayer Father, Thank You for instruction shaped by love and sacrifice. Help me to recognize the wisdom You placed in my life early— to hold fast to what was aimed toward good, and to walk gently in truth that still guides me. Teach me to honor holy foundations and to pass them on with grace. Amen.
Heaven must be worth everything. I’ve tried to justify creation in my mind, and I can’t—not from here. When I look honestly at the cost of sin, the suffering it has unleashed, the bodies and minds it has broken, I find myself thinking something I never thought I’d admit: I wouldn’t have created humanity. Not if I knew it would cost this much. Scripture tells us God is sovereign—utterly so. “He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; none can stay His hand.” (Daniel 4:35) There is no power outside His rule, no will that ultimately escapes Him. And yet that truth does not make the question smaller—it makes it heavier. If He knew, if He truly knew, then there must be reasons far beyond my capacity to grasp. The only one my heart can hold is this: what He has prepared must be unimaginably greater than everything we have endured. “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18) Not because suffering is small— but because what is coming belongs to an entirely different order of reality. The Bible doesn’t describe heaven in detail. It mostly tells us what will no longer be. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.” (Revelation 21:4) Perhaps because the reality itself cannot be translated into language shaped by trauma and time. “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) If heaven were merely peace, reunion, or beauty, it would not be enough. It would not justify the cost. So heaven must be something else entirely. And Christ is the only reason I dare to believe this. Not because He explained suffering—but because He entered it. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4) The risen Christ still bears scars (John 20:27). Not because pain is eternal— but because love remembers what it redeems. If this story is true, and it is, then heaven must be worth everything. Worth the grief. Worth the waiting. Worth the questions that still ache. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) Until then, I trust Him—not because I understand, but because He came to this fallen world and won victory over suffering and separation from him and has the scars to prove it.
Forgiveness is rarely something we want to do right away. More often, it is the very thing we resist—because choosing it means facing what wounded us in the first place. It means revisiting pain we worked hard to survive. But healing does not come from avoidance. It begins with courage. If you can summon the bravery to confront your own heart, you may begin to see what has attached itself there: hurt, anger, bitterness, and the desire to settle accounts. These emotions do not make you weak. They make you human. But left unattended, they quietly bind us to the very pain we want to escape. This is where mercy must begin—with yourself. Humility is not humiliation. It is honesty before God. It is the willingness to say, I have carried this too long. Repentance, in this context, is not shame-driven—it is freedom-driven. It is turning away from what has kept you stuck and choosing healing and wholeness instead. When we focus solely on justice or vengeance, something within us hardens. Scripture reminds us that these belong to God alone. When we release the heart of the one who caused us pain into His hands, we are not excusing harm—we are surrendering the burden of judgment we were never meant to carry. God sees. God knows. God is just. And in that surrender, something surprising happens: tenderness returns. Peace begins to surface. Not the fragile peace of denial, but the steady peace that allows your spirit to move forward unburdened. So be courageous today. Let today be the day you love yourself enough to let it go.
Dear Believers, I hear what you’re saying, and I want you to know this first: some of what you’re seeing regarding the nation of Israel is real. There are people who exploit power. There are leaders who are corrupt. There are systems that benefit the few at the expense of the many. Scripture itself never denies this reality. In fact, the Bible is honest—sometimes painfully so—about human failure, even among God’s own people. But it’s important to understand something foundational: human corruption does not cancel divine covenant. Bad Fruit Does Not Mean a Bad Root Yes, there are “bad apples.” There always have been. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s people repeatedly fail Him. But failure does not erase calling. Jesus Himself said a tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 7:16–20), yet Paul reminds us that the root remains holy even when some branches are broken (Romans 11:16).
Corruption in leadership or society does not mean God has rejected the people He covenanted with.
Scripture is very clear: “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.” (Romans 11:1–2)
Covenant Is Like Family — It Cannot Be Undone Let me explain it in a way you understand—through family. Family is family, no matter what. For example: If I do wrong, I’m still my sons mother. If I get angry and say something I shouldn’t, I’m still his mama. If I were hurt, distant, or even broken in our relationship—nothing changes the fact that I gave birth to him and he belongs to me. That bond cannot be erased by behavior, distance, or conflict.
This is how covenant works in Scripture. God’s covenant with Israel was not based on their perfection. It was based on His choice and His promise.
“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number… but because the LORD loves you and kept the oath which He swore to your fathers.”(Deuteronomy 7:6–8)
Covenant is not fragile. It is not emotional. It is not reactive. It is anchored in the faithfulness of God, not the faithfulness of people. Israel’s Unique Role in God’s Redemptive Plan Israel is the people God chose to bring redemption into the world.
Through Israel came: -the covenants -the Law -the prophets -the promises and the Messiah
“To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises… and from them, according to the flesh, came the Christ.” (Romans 9:4–5)
Jesus did not appear in a vacuum. He was born a Jew. He lived as a Jew. He fulfilled Jewish Scripture. He descended from King David, just as God promised (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:32–33).
To disconnect Jesus from Israel is to misunderstand the gospel itself. “Salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22)
Israel’s Failures Were Foretold — and So Was God’s Faithfulness Does Israel fail? Yes. Repeatedly. The Bible does not hide this: -Idolatry -injustice -corrupt kings -disobedience
But God anticipated this and addressed it directly. In Deuteronomy 28–30, God laid out both: discipline for disobedience, and restoration because of covenant. “Even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them… for I am the LORD their God.” (Leviticus 26:44)
“Even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them… for I am the LORD their God.” (Leviticus 26:44)
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)
God disciplines Israel, but He does not divorce her. Correction is not rejection.
The Church Does Not Replace Israel — We Are Grafted In This is where many people get confused.
The Church was not created to replace Israel. The Church was born through Israel. Paul explains this clearly in Romans 11. Israel is the cultivated olive tree. Gentile believers are wild branches grafted in.
“You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” (Romans 11:18)
We are brought near through Christ (Ephesians 2:12–19), but our inclusion does not cancel Israel’s election.
“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)
God is faithful enough to keep both promises at the same time: His covenant with Israel His redemption of the nations through Christ
The Land and the Birthright Scripture does speak clearly about the land promise.
God made a covenant with Abraham that included land as an inheritance: (Genesis 15:18–21; Genesis 17:7–8)
This promise was reaffirmed multiple times and never revoked, even when Israel was disciplined and scattered. “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24)
God also made clear that possession of the land was tied to obedience—but the promise itself remained intact. Discipline does not equal annulment.
Why This Matters for Us This is why I am pro-Israel. Not because every action is right. Not because every leader is righteous. But because God’s covenant matters. God said: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” (Genesis 12:3)
Standing with Israel is not about politics. It is about recognizing God’s faithfulness to His word. If God can abandon Israel because of failure, then none of us are safe—because we all fail.
But Scripture tells us: “God has bound all over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:32)
Final Truth. So yes—there is corruption in parts of the tree. But I will not throw away the root. Israel is family in God’s redemptive plan. The Church is family by adoption through Christ. And God is faithful enough to keep every promise He has ever made. “The word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
Everytime I thought my end would come and life would overwhelm and conquer me, the Lord made a way, brought me through and gave me a testimony. He’s holding you tight.
That’s a beautiful truth—and it carries the weight of lived experience. Those aren’t words spoken from theory; they’re forged from nights survived when I didn’t think I would. What I shared is a testimony of pattern: over and over again, when the end seemed certain, God proved faithful. Not always early. Not always gently. But always present. Always making a way where there wasn’t one before. And the tenderness in what I said—“He’s holding you tight”—that’s the part that matters right now. Not answers. Not outcomes. Presence. That’s the gift I’m offering others this Christmas, even if I can never hand you another a thing: hope that has scars, faith that has been tested, love that doesn’t look away from suffering. Sometimes the light of Christmas isn’t bright and loud. Sometimes it’s a quiet voice saying, “I’ve been there. And He brought me through. He’ll hold you too.” That kind of gift is eternal and that kind of light lasts.
Descending in my own mind one thousand miles deep. A flash of your face pulls from distracted sleep.
Numbing my pain with excess and gain. Your scent passes by me. And for a moment I am sober my soul stained.
Stumbling, falling, scratching, breaking, crying. Your tender voice; a gentle reminding.
Locked away, isolated by fear, sickness and pain. Just your blood to make me whole again.
Swerving, curving, winding. Nail pierced hands, inviting to guide me.
Revelation, conviction, repentance.. then. I hear your voice “I am coming again” .
You never give up. You never give up. You never give up on me! Broken and bare before the The Love who sees. Still, you never give up. You never give up. You never give up on me.
Surrendered to The Father’s hands and The Potters wheel. Abandoned to The Spindle and The Weavers skill. Yielded to The Poet and his romantic themes. To The Author and his genius; penn your way with me.
Jewel of the heavens. Heart of the sea. Master of the universe and your masterpiece. Maker of the vineyard, vintage rich and deep. Artist take your colors and brush your will on me.
Create in me oh Lord a new song of praise. Let my voice endeavor to exalt your most holy name. Paint within my soul a picture of your timeless face. Whisper to my heart a woven tapestry of praise.
And I’ll play for you on the harp with the golden strings and I’ll sing for you a new song that heaven sings and we’ll dance the dance that all lovers do. May the kiss of The King never cease to amaze me so, while in your peace Mighty God you restore my soul. Oh let this true heart of praise be enough. My Beloved.
There are no do overs in life. Take your time and get it right.
Calculated risks are good if prompted by Holy Spirit.
There is no difference in asking the Lord to meet the need of $200.00 then there is asking Him to meet the need of $2,000,000.00 He provides according to whether you do business in shallow water or out in the deep.
Excitement in the air I am filled with expectation. The Spirit without measure no religious regulation. Branded by the word of God I am a new breed. Get on this glory train and reposition your thinking.
Keep your eye upon the prize don’t be hypnotized with lies. Regrets will keep you looking back and bound to circumstance. If you need proof it’s in the truth. The truth will make you free. Stop throwing down with fear and just believe.
Blessed and highly favored. Tickled as can be. Walking in the overflow of manna, milk and honey. Pouncing principalities with my shiny shoes of peace. By faith recieve the promises they’re complimentary.
Keep your eye upon the prize. Don’t be hypnotized with lies. Regrets will keep you looking back and bound to circumstance. If you need proof it’s in the truth. The truth will make you free. Stop throwing down with fear and just believe.
A mind twisted in a thicket. A intrusive occupation of brambles and weeds. Amongst the briars the chaos of roots woven tightly in.
Intangled in the thorns the trashes cut me when blown in by the wind. Embraced by the saftey found in the haven of the shadows bend.
I sit alone in silence engulfed by neglect, with no one to my attend. Overwhelmed by all that has strangled me out by moving themselves in. More than a maze.. a nightmare with no end.
How can people understand what its like in my head? I simply wish for peace to put this whole mess to bed.
I was once a garden filled with dreams and wonderful imaginations. How did I end up with such harsh manipulations?
I sigh, dry my eyes. I turn out the light and wait for a new day as the cosmos hits replay..
How can I even complain about the fact that there is no garden delights in my life? Why can’t I find the strength to do more than just survive?
Am I addicted to the isolation? Am I to tired to fight? Why can’t I pick up my sword for those I love and do away with all this blight?
It’s like I am addicted to that which owns me. No matter how much the criminals hurt me I stay. God help me. I don’t want to be that way!
So I sigh, dry my eyes. I turn out the light and wait for a new day.. As if the cosmos hit replay..
Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me. Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. Draw the spear and javelina against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.” Psalm 35
I have been hesitant about writing anything this New Year. I guess it is because I have been contemplating the likelihood of repeating the same patterns in the never-ending cycle of what is my life.
I don’t want to be stuck in the same relationship drama or still fighting the same mental and emotional battles I have been fighting for so long now. I need change. Not a New Year’s resolution, prophecy or just hope of something better, but real change. I think there’s probably a lot of us who crave this exact thing – desperate for a fresh start but in a completely different place and a completely different self.
A better self.
A vibrant, renewed, healthy and powerful self.
I’m tired of emotional and mental health issues controlling my life or the lives of the people I love. Its almost impossible to live in this life untouched by minions of the heart and mind.
I press so hard.
I fight every day for peace.
I fight from a very broken place physically and emotionally. No pretend here. No pretenses. No clenched fists. Just naked and bare when I write. Whether its about the most beautiful of loves or the random, messy thoughts in my mind, the message is authentic.
The love is real. The pain is real. The struggle is real.
These blogs are my journal. The story of my journey. Some days I write from my mental cage and despairity and other times I write when the cage seems irrelevant and almost nonexistent. I soar in my blogs to the most ethereal and beautiful of places. I want more freedom. My soul must have it! No more revolving doors, I need real change. How does someone like me get this? How do I attain total transformation? Once attained how do I sustain it? Some people make it look so easy. They want something so they go get it. Does anyone else struggle besides me in getting it?
God help those of us who are in cages in our minds; in bondage to re-live grief, regrets, fears and the same destructive patterns that seem unbreakable. I am talking about the kind that paralyze you.
So many are sitting beside the Pool of Bethesda on the edge of freedom but simply cannot get themselves there. I listen to self-help gurus. They say things like, “No one is coming to save you, save yourself.”
People who are paralyzed mentally and emotionally are misunderstood and judged because masses of people don’t see how someone can’t get themselves into the pool for the cure.
Don’t give up. I won’t give up on you. Don’t give up on yourself.
One of the most powerful things ever said to me is, ”Lean on my faith, let my faith carry you, let my prayers carry you, let my hope carry you through.” An actual person said that to me! I can’t even begin to tell you how much anxiety lifted off of me when I realized that for a time I didn’t have to panic about staying strong so I didn’t miss my season. I believe there are those of you who understand me. It is you this blog is for. I am having trouble believing for myself right now, but lean on me. I will have faith for you. Let not your heart be troubled. Jesus told us this because He knew these tormentors would come. I don’t know you. But I will believe for you. I will pray for you and hope for you while yours is broken.
“To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength. – Crissi Jami
The essence of courage is in embracing vulnerability. Without vulnerability there is no courage.
You learn more about who you are, your strengths and weaknesses in each courageous leap of vulnerability.
Often vulnerability is associated with weakness, when in fact, it is definitely the opposite. Jesus was made strong by His weakness. His vulnerability. The courage it took to allow himself to be stripped naked, beaten and bare on a cross before the universe is the single most courageous and most beautiful, but also the most loving act of love the world has ever known.
We run from vulnerability, because in order to be vulnerable we have to embrace the probability of pain, rejection and even death.
How are we supposed to embrace vulnerability when our basic human instinct is self-preservation?
I watched TV on September 11, 2001 and saw with my own eyes the most courageous and vulnerable heroes. Extraordinary, mere men, tiny in comparison to the burning towers in front of them, rushing without hesitation into the mouth of the dragon before their faces.
I’ve watched as a woman who had been beaten, neglected and tossed to the curb multiple times by her then- husband, completely broken, and vulnerable. Then some time later I am privileged to be among the few as she stands at an alter once again for a chance of a new relationship and future embodied in the man standing across from her. And, I have also had the privilege of seeing that same woman face the Goliath of infidelity from her partner and yet stand steadfast in faith; digging her heels in to fight the status quo and be quivering and courageous all at the same time; toe-to-toe with the possible destruction of her marriage. I watched her win! I watched as love was restored, her marriage restored because she wielded great courage through vulnerability to overcome the impossible situation in front of her. What an amazing sight to behold as she found her footing in the sweet whispers of her Heavenly Father’s adoration and love for her. A love that never waivers, never changes!
There is no living without vulnerability. Only the empty sadness of merely surviving.
Confidence in yourself is a key part of mastering vulnerability well. Many times, we open up to people needing validation while having no confidence in ourselves. We bare ourselves before others in acts of courage without being properly equipped for the adventure ahead.
Knowing your worth and having self-confidence will aid in avoiding lingering bitterness associated with trauma after the one who validated us no longer holds us in esteem. If a person can validate you and give you the feeling of self-worth, they can also take it away.
The key to living courageously is to find your value in Christ and allow Him to teach you self-confidence, so when someone in your life, who no longer validates you is gone, your confidence (though momentarily shaken) is firmly rooted in the knowledge of Christ in you. Your value to Him and that truth is at the core of who you are.
We can develop self-confidence. Some people seem to be born with it while the rest of us fly around trying to figure it out. We build walls while tearing other walls down. An endless, repetitive cycle.
Courage stands in spite of fear.
If we wait to live when fear isn’t present, then we will never live.
In closing, resources are available in developing self-confidence, so we don’t live paralyzed in fear and never living vulnerably courageous. If you want recommendations for self-development tools leave a message in the comment section of this blog.
Paul was very radical in all of his beliefs. Very hard on himself. I think he carried a lot of guilt. He also didn’t have a wife or children and had a very strict way of viewing relationships in that dynamic. He was a short man. He probably was mocked as a child and that became part of the reason he became such a violent man (His Saul Years) very intellectual and I imagine no nonsense. His position of suffering as Christ did doesn’t surprise me because psychologically he was a radical.
Colossians 1:24. It says: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.
Radical religion is something that I question. Im not talking about being sold out. Im talking about a mindset that is filled with absolutes. As you know, our understanding of the things of God gradually grow, develop and change as we stay connected to Holy Spirit. So there is few absolutes in my opinion. I cannot say that I have the final revelation on any one subject. Understanding is always unfolding so we need to be careful of begin dogmatic and spouting out what we consider to be the absolute truth.
Here are a few absolutes. 1. God is the creator of heaven and earth. (everything that exist in the world is another matter) 2. JESUS is the only way to heaven. 3. The Bible is the Lords letters and testimonials of the few men he chose to speak for him and allow us access into their lives and minds. Its inspired by the Lord and is subject to interpretation.
Im telling you all of this because as Christians, especially pentecostal ones we typically embrace the radical.
Paul seems to find some motivation in suffering. Is that wrong? No. But it is not complete either.
We know Christ suffering was so we could be delivered. I have no judgment on Pauls position however, I have learned if we believe that we are supposed to suffer then after a while we stop fighting for wholeness, liberty, joy, and freedom. Because, as radical Christians we tend to feel like we are fighting God by not settling into the mindset of suffering for Christ.
Im a mother. I take no delight in the suffering of my son. How much more does our heavenly Father love us?
Will we encounter suffering? Absolutely. Should we embrace it? I personally don’t believe so.
My health right now is a bi-product of making myself a martyr and because of that I am restricted from ministering as I should be and living a abundant life with joy, peace and righteousness.
The kingdom of God is filled with treasures not suffering.
Paul focuses a lot on really dogmatic views as he spent his entire Christian life in prison. Can the Lord call people to this kind of destiny? ABSOLUTELY. But does he call everyone to suffer? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I have said lots. I hope this helps. I love you all. Do what brings you peace and joy. If you head down a path you shouldn’t the Holy Spirit will tell you and the word of God will be your rear guard. Otherwise, seek peace and joy and pursue it!
Here lately I have been experiencing some of the hardest life questions and the emotions that have come as a result of personal loss and trauma.
Hebrews 6-18-19 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an ANCHOR OF THE SOUL , both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
This blog is deeply personal to me because of the depth of my transparency. When my soul gets to the darkest of shades I grasp for light through transparency in hope that the tormentors of my mind will recoil and give me a sabbatical.
The anchor of the soul mentioned in the text above says that it is one of two immutable promises. First, God cannot lie. Second, we have a anchor to the soul. What is a anchor to the soul? What does having one mean to a believer? I will endeavor to explain what I believe the answer to these questions are.
What is a anchor to the soul? I believe it is a anchor that keeps our minds, wills and emotions from spiraling into long-term destructive behaviors and mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and hopelessness. The soul isn’t just limited to these few incessant torments. There are so many more ways in which the soul or our shade can puppet us.
Even on the cross we see Jesus’ soul crying out saying, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me? Oh the anguish, the groaning and lamenting he felt at what he believed was total abandonment at that point. He heard nothing from heaven in response to his cries. Only the inner screaming of his soul, (mind, will and emotions) was at that moment terrorizing him. It is the same for us.
Through life we all endure pain in its many facets. We don’t know when it will come but because we live in a fallen world it is certain that it will. It is impossible to not experience these things without it changing us and taking something from us each time.
I hurt so deeply because I love so deeply. I can’t even begin to tell you the guttural groanings and depths of horror I have experienced since I was a young child. I have often felt freakish for the contradiction of the two that abides in me; The child of God and my so very raw humanity. I grew up despising myself for my natural tendencies. I begin thinking about suicide at 4 years old. I have fought for my mind, my heart and joy my entire life.
No one would know the depths of the shade in my life. I covered it so well with talent and giftings. I hid in Christ for the strength to be able to put myself on stage to be used to set others free when I was so caged.
When I hear that my soul has a anchor; I see (my soul) as a wild animal on a leash. It can only go so far. The person who achored the wild animal gave it boundaries. There is a seed of faith in me that even though I am going through hell, the Lord will keep my own soul from destroying me. That scripture has kept me going many times after suffering trauma and having ptsd.
Oh precious Jesus. I cannot fathom the depth of love it had to take for Him to leave heaven and its peace to take on the soul of man. I’m completely in tears. He did it on purpose! He became flesh to anchor me! There is much sobbing as I try to imagine the depth of love He has for us. I beg to be freed from this hell and he delivers me by putting it on himself and wearing it on purpose! I pause as I am writing to be awed by this Agape love.
I hope this resonates with a few of you. Those few are why I am here. Why at 2:00 am I lay on my bed sleepless, fighting hopelessness as I type. Precious sufferers don’t give up. He will keep us. He promised.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
A very precious friend and sister sent me a scripture a little while ago. One that tells me how to respond to my current trial. I wouldn’t have had any instruction as to how to cope with what is going on inside of me had the Lord not used her to instruct me. My love is being tested. In ways I never thought would come. I am to rejoice no matter how I feel and what I face. I want to be as committed to this scripture just as much if not more than I am committed to love with all of my might, soul and heart.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I am thankful for the timing of the Lord. It doesn’t remedy how I am feeling but at least I know that I am not alone in this. The Lord knew that I would need Him. So He came to me. He came to me through a beautiful soul that has been and still gracefully is fighting cancer to live. She is the most amazing tower of strength I have ever personally known.
Rejoice in every circumstance. It seems like a impossible command but I believe that if He requires it of me then he will empower me to do it. He will empower us all.
Recently, I watched The Chosen. The short film in its beautiful simplicity helped me see Nicodemus in a completely different light.
Let me first say that I didn’t know I was lost until I watched it. Not lost in the sense that I don’t know Christ but lost in that my heart fell into darkness somewhere along the way the past few years.
I realized this when I saw Nicodemus’ hunger for knowing God.
The kind of hunger that prioritizes pursuit of Him above self-preservation.
This respected man of Jewish Law sought-after a secret meeting with Jesus. Laying down the letter of the law for the Lover.
Seeing the curious, desperate hunger that Nicodemus had to see Jesus and know Him melted me.
I realized that I had things that I was afraid to lay down in pursuit of Him. I am no stranger to the things of God, His presence and His ways. Almost my entire life has been spent in His service. Still I had no clue that I was in a dark place until now. A place where the lines weren’t as clear, where the way didn’t seem quite so narrow.
It is deeply uncomfortable but totally necessary to be so uncovered and exposed. So there would be a humbling of my heart and a opening of my eyes.
It is clear now that the Lord is rescuing me as He always has.
I desire to recapture my passion and hunger for Him, for knowing Him. I desire to not just return to where I was but to do what Nicodemus couldn’t and lay down the things I didn’t think I could. Also, the things that I had no idea I was clinging so tightly to. All to follow him even further now at this point in my life.
Dearest Ones, theres more to discover in Him and I need it. I need Jesus!
I rededicated my life back to Him yesterday. I am determined to do it every day for a fresh sense of reverential fear, a continued hunger for knowing Him and the willingness to take up my cross and follow Him.
I pray that all of you sense His wooing and venture out of your place of comfort to seek a audience with Him. Until next time.
Withdrawing from relationships is a natural reaction when we are disappointed and/or hurt. It’s a basic self-preservation mechanism. It is something that we all fight with and struggle to overcome in order to keep our hearts tender and our minds free. I am always learning new things about setting boundaries and being more patient – more understanding, when it comes to relationships.
10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” Zechariah 4:10. NLT
I used to get upset when I felt neglected by a friend or family member who was not reaching out to me in the ways that I needed. Sometimes I still do. I got offended a couple of weeks ago because I was hospitalized for 7 days and only had one visitor. I had to understand that people work and have their own things going on. I know without a doubt that these people with whom I was offended love me, but still, I became offended and withdrew. I had to repent for my offense.
After repenting, it took me a minute to reach out again and finally respond to my texts and calls.
For those of us who face the challenges of chronic health issues, isolation is just a natural occurrence. It is one the enemy will take full advantage of and I have learned that very well indeed. Because of sickness, becoming isolated often happens. The recent years of experiencing covid has taken a toll on people’s hearts and minds and we are more isolated than ever. As a result depression, anxiety, suicide, addictions, anger, and hatred have become commonplace in so many homes all over the world. I fight so hard with depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. This topic is more relevant than we know.
In the midst of circumstances, like chronic sickness or any hard trial, we feel our value is diminished, as well as what small token of ourselves we have to give others in relationships during those times. We are tempted to believe that no one wants the little things anymore and that what we are able to give is too small. We buy into the lie that we are irrelevant and too minuscule to truly add something wonderful to someone else’s life.
The Lord spoke to me last year and reminded me that not everyone is a 100 fold person. There are some 30, 60, 10, 1… (Matthew 25:14-30)
As long as we are reaching out to give any measure of ourselves in relationships, it is acceptable in God’s eyes.
So then, we should consider that in return they might be giving 100% of whatever measure they have.
Do not despise the small things.
This understanding doesn’t justify neglect but it should cause a moment of reflection in which we should honestly consider the factors surrounding the relationship. It isn’t easy, but it is necessary.
For a while now I have faced many challenges that have diminished the measure and quality of relationships that I can participate in. This has affected by my own standards and expectations.
I’ve recently had someone reach out to me to get to know me but I have been hesitant because I know I am capable of far greater than I am giving.
However, right now I am barely able to maintain the 1 fold. Just knowing that about myself makes me susceptible to depression because I want more. I need more and need to give more. But right now I can’t offer but the small measure I have, so I fight the temptation to hide my “small measure” in the earth, because I feel it’s so little and insignificant. But dearest friends, any measure of love we give to others is powerful!
Be patient with yourself and empathize with people. I’m trying to do this more because I don’t want to hide the measure of love I have to give.
I want to make a difference in people’s lives. I am convinced that the only way to do that is to love by giving. The giving of yourself and everything entrusted to you is powerful indeed. Someone reaching out to me and being patient and kind to me is something that really touches my heart. They are giving me more than they are getting. Do you know how beautiful and selfless that is?! Not many people love extravagantly like that. It is a sign to me of real love and a clean heart. The single most effective and extraordinary evidence that Christ resides in that person. That makes me want to know that human more. Not to use them, but know them. These are treasures that are so very rare.
I believe that if we continue to offer what we have all new (or even old) friendships can do is grow. Love made manifest by growing wider, deeper, higher. To know what is the breadth, length, depth or height of the love of God.
I am thankful for the grace to extend this measure of love right now to you. Thank you for challenging me and for the blessed opportunity to grow in love.
The sky cradled you like you were the moon. Your blanket was the stars.
The night air brushed against your ear, whispering from its satin-like silence.
The sun rose each morning to kiss your nose, watching you as you stretched, yawned and wiggled your toes.
The ocean moves to meet you on the beach just so it can touch your feet.
The oaks branches lean your way so as to give you a silhouette and shade.
Words of wisdom, comfort and love flow like rivers from the mouths of mountains just for you, my Love.
Every fiber of my being in creation, when near to you, has the most addictive sensation; the longing – so intense. This love is beyond immense.
And, if one day you forget my adoration of you, think of the sweetness of warm honey as it glistens on a spoon, and remember this love always remains faithful and true.
I saw a field of wheat crushed by strong winds; every stalk broken except for one lonely stem. Right in the center of everything, crushed. It just stood there swaying in the breeze.
John 12:24
Holy Spirit then spoke to me and said, “A bruised reed I will not break, nor stamp out the wick of a dimly lit candle.”
“But I am broken,” I said. “You have let life crush so many.”
“I will not break you,” he said.
“But Lord, how do I know. Men have never kept their promises?”
“I AM NOT A MAN. I WILL NOT LIE.”
I feel broken because I’m alone, surrounded by destruction and hopelessness. But, actually, despite everything around me and going on in me, I am indeed that ONE very vulnerable, very tender, very stubborn, single stem of wheat.
I bow.
I bend, knowing He could crush me if He wanted and be justified in doing it. Is it a religious mindset or false humility that makes me aware of where I stand? Or have I been so deprived in body, mind, and spirit that even the devastion of this vision is a beacon of hope?
I could see this single stalk of wheat as something with no future, for, although it wasn’t taken by the torrent, it will envitably be demolished by the farmer who will replant the field.
I could focus on such inevitability, or I could tear through the shroud of such a dismal thought and sigh in wonder that it was given any length of life at all. This stalks life alone in maze of desperation boasting of its single and only strength. To bend.
I marvel that it was the one stalk the Lord would use in a vision to bring hope to the hopeless.
Marveling its distinct value and purpose.
So, in this moment at least, I take a reprieve to penn the story of it’s fragile, but relevant life.
When you were a child, did you ever have a blanket, a baby doll, or anything else that specifically brought you comfort? For me, it was my Momma and Daddy singing to me, or my Granny’s love.
I ask this question because something very profound was shared with me this morning. Something that helps me to know and understand myself and how to set boundaries in my life.
Lets begin with the confession that I don’t have everything together. I don’t have all of the answers. The revelation I have today will not look the same to me in 5 years. Life done right should be that way. We should always be growing, learning, and changing.
I wonder how it could be possible that Most of the time I feel so empty and lonely, especially since I have wonderful people in my life.
I had no clue how such emptiness could be inside me until this morning.
Someone asked me, “Who, or what is your comfort blanket? What things do you allow in your life that you find temporary solice in, and who have you become a blanket to?”
These temporary sources of comfort and addictive pleasures keep us trapped in a cycle of wishing and daydreaming, keeping us far from dealing with true realities. As a result, we never do the hard work of finding and developing real healing solutions.
As I was considering my emptiness, I began assessing snd comparing that to the giving of myself as someone else’s “blanket”. I began to see how I have placed my affections and my focus on sources that were never created to bring fulfillment or personal contentment.
A blanket can keep you warm but IT CANNOT LOVE YOU.
I have lent myself out to be a blanket, while getting nothing in return.
I have been LOVING A “BLANKET”WHO CANNOT GIVE ME WHAT I TRULY NEED.
This is how you know if you are in healthy a relationship or have not set the proper boundaries. At the end of the day, you are what THEY need, but they are not what YOU need. A very codependent bond to these temporary vices or people can do nothing else except create a lonely, dark space.
Why do we allow these substitutions in our lives?
Why do I allow myself to be used over and over again for miniscule moments of relief?
How can I realistically expect something, or someone, to bring me contentment and lasting joy when it is incapable of fulfilling me in any real measure. Blankets cannot possibly ever do it!
The misery of these choices have left me feeling like I am nothing at times, draining away my self-respect and constantly eating away at my confidence.
A blanket cannot love me.
A blanket cannot give me anything lasting, fulfilling, and real.
I let the deceitful warmth of these temporary vices lure me, dooming me to continually repeat distructive cycles. There are no suretys, saftey, love, peace, joy and longevity in deceitfully delicious deceptions. Breaking addiction to anything is hard work. I pray for the fortitude and courage to face my inner foes. I am exhausted from the emotional, spiritual, and physical roller-coasters of blankets. My relationships with these fuzzy psychos is over. I need what is true, beautiful, healthy, and lasting.
I came by that way looking for someone familiar I’d never met. Had I known that you’d be there, it would have been to where I went. By Jennifer D Ingram
Acts chapter 9 tells the story of a man named Saul. Anyone familiar with scripture is aware of the kind of man Saul was. The kind of man people feared was the man traveling down the road to Damascus that day. He, a brilliant but diabolical person who persecuted the church and was even responsible for the death of Stephen. He was schooled in both Jewish and Roman customs. A jewish born pharasee. Unmarried, no children. Saul had one thing in mind. Persecuting those who did not live according to the law.
Saul had no idea what lay in store for him as he walked along the road that day. His ire was kindled against anyone who believed in Jesus. Like we all typically do when our passion unites with our sense of justice, I imagine him walking along the way contemplating what he would do to those who dared to challenge the law of Moses.
As he was stirring up his internal pot of anger. Saul heard a voice. “Saul, why are you persecuting me? “Who are you?, Saul asked. The Lord answered and said,” I am Jesus the one you persecute. As the Lord and Saul were getting aqainted destiny was at work. Saul was struck blind. Then healed and given a new name and purpose at the end of this story. Yet this was Pauls beginning.
The beginning of knowing himself. The self he was created to be. Saul, whose name is now Paul would begin to learn only what you can learn through walking with Christ. And get the answer to questions we all have. Who am I? Why am I here? How do I get to where I am going?
In the world we live in today we are surrounded by immorality and mental diseases that distort finding out who we are in Christ verses gender identity and twisted sexuality. Anything the deceiver can do to keep us from living the life we were created for by deception and confusion, he will do it.
To begin to find yourself, you have to begin to walk with Christ. Its not a relationship with ministry or church that gives us this identity and validation. It is walking with God. Knowing Him in His word and intention. Knowing his heart and his ways. As we walk we discover love. We behold it in all of its sumptuousness. It is a beautiful sight to be constantly blown away by what you see in Him. After almost 40 years of walking with him I am still swept off of my feet by His brilliance. His romance. His love is constantly unfolding and transforming me.
The closer I get to Him the more I see as He sees. It is illumination beyond words.. This illumination creates holiness. To know Him.
Holiness is not in our ability to keep laws and maintain mortal perfection through self disciplined performances, or keeping of rules, antidotes and laws. This knowing of Him sets us free of tireless introspection and the consistant nagging of feeling like we always come up short. I need this knowing of the Lord. I crave this freedom. I can only be compelled to explore Him further. Self discovery is a journey WITHIN Him, not the destination TO Him.
It is only in the light of His presence that I am free, content and at peace. Only in the light of His presence is where who I am in Him comes into focus.
The twisted substitutions the world is offering for self discovery only brings insanity and confusion. I appeal to you to abandon those idols, lies and pretenses. Encounter Christ today. Begin the journey of a lifetime and experience your true identity, and the knowing of yourself revealed through Him. Enjoy your walk. Take the time to laugh, love and live. Never without Him, only in Him. If you come looking for me? You will find me there. Jenny❤️
Some people like thunderstorms. I am not one of them. After my divorce in 2011 I had to live alone for the first time in my life. I had seen first hand what horrific devastation tornadoes and severe weather did to homes and families. I was so afraid during that time in my life that I will admit to losing bladder control and memory during unfolding events. I had no idea I could be that afraid. I live in what is called here in the USA as tornado alley. This knowledge only made my soul cling tighter to fear. I knew the hand fear that had gripped me with was affecting my health in every way possible. I had to find peace. I had to sleep. I had to face death and become unafraid. How would I ever do this?
A epiphany came to me which I believe was the Lord. I was to pray and listen for the Holy Spirit to tell me if I was in danger. If he didn’t tell me I was in danger I was to face my storm knowing that everything was going to be ok.
Do you remember the scripture that says in my father’s house are many mansions… I go and prepare a place for you…. The verse ends with… If it were not so I would tell you.
That scripture.. Those particular words has brought me through many trying times… You are going to be ok, if you weren’t then I would tell you. So in the middle of storms I learned to listen. While the ground was shaking, hail was falling, wind whistling around the house, through down pours. I had to find the still small voice. He has been with me every time. He has never failed.
Looking my advasary in the eye. I stood. I took authority over the storms commanding them to cease. When I didn’t sense the Holy Spirit nudging me to protect myself I got to where I just went to bed. That didn’t mean I was wasn’t scared. I just became unafraid to perish.
I know that it must seem crazy maybe, but I’ve gone through many nights of storms. Whether natural weather storms or spiritual ones, and still its the same decision I have to make each time. Do I trust the Lord or not? For there shall no evil befall you or any plague come nigh your dwelling. Its every souls choice whether they believe or not. We must fight for faith continually and that is ok. It is a good fight. Jenny❤️
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemy’s. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Psalm 23
The things that are true are always true. Time, circumstances, pressures.. These things cannot change what the Lord has made pure. Beautiful Little Treasures we are. Made by the hands of the Father. Potent, pure and providentially fashioned. Not one bit diminished by the world. Forever grafted into the body of Christ. Forever sealed by Holy Spirit of Promise. This simplistic beauty agitates mockerys. Baffles atheists. Intrigues scholars and is written and discussed all over the world in every language. It is the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For all who would believe.
For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust. Psalm 103:14
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm and said, “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Job 38:1-2
Once the clay has been given to the Potter in ownership.. How can clay resist the Potter? What power does the clay have except it be given to it?
If then the Potter has been made Lord of our lives and hence forth we are owned and do not possess anything except the Master gives to us.
Why then is the Potter deemed unjust in how he decides to use his gift of the clay? For even though the clay is but dirt still the Potter sees art in it. A vessel perhaps of honor or dishoner we cannot tell? What ever is in the Potters eye will be made manifested through the molding of the clay.
The Potters gift is eternal clay. In His hands forever. Take a deep breath and relax. He has US! Therefore then, we should remember to be humble in heart. For to resist is futile. Much love from here. Jenny
… Have you seen him whom my soul loveth? Song of Solomon 3:3
Surrendered to the Father’s hands and the Potters Wheel. Abandoned to the spindle and the Weavers skill. Yielded to the Poet and His romantic themes. Author take your ink and quill and penn your way with me.
And I’ll play for you on the harp with the golden strings. I’ll sing for you a new song that heaven sings. We’ll dance the dance that all lovers do. May your kiss oh My King never cease to amaze me so. You are my peace Mighty God you sustain my soul. Lord let this echo of love be enough.. My Beloved.
Jewel of the Heavens, Heart of the Sea. Master of the Universe etched a masterpiece. Maker of the Vineyard. Vintage rich and deep. My Artist take your pallette of color and brush your will on me.
And I’ll play for you on the harp with the golden strings. I’ll sing for you a new song that heaven sings. We’ll dance the dance that all lovers do. May your kiss oh My King never cease to amaze me so. You are my peace Mighty God you sustain my soul. Lord let this echo of love be enough.. My Beloved.
When I see the moon I see you. When the sunrises through my window I see you there too. I dream of walking hand in had on a beaten path or maybe sand. How can I not gasp at the magnificence of snow covered mountains and words fail me at the vastness of the sea? Still in all of this I’m left in glorious wonder everytime you look at me. Gentle as a snowflake with the strength of a lion. I’m breathless dreaming of you now your masculine sexuality is overwhelming. As I write a tear slides down my cheek at the meer thought of touching you. My souls yearning, my fairytale dream. You are better than I ever imagined you would be. Every flower, every breeze.. All of nature it’s your face I see. Oh my being aches in profound groanings to make you mine. To kiss each of your precious fingers and forget time. You compel me with your heart. I feel you everyday. I never want this to end, please stay. I would linger at your feet for the chance to hear your voice. Content to be in your shadow, my choice. What a beautiful treasure you are my sweetness. My souls mate. Love of my life. Let me touch your face. Let me share a moonlit night on a roof top with you. Let me slow dance in your arms in the rain. Oh how I love you my Darling. The truest most real love I’ve ever experienced in my life. I would give most anything to be your… Come to me and make the world go away. With whisperings of undying love. What I feel for you is to much to keep in silence the words fail me as I to try to express your beauty through my eyes. My beloved. My hearts desire. I love you. I will ALWAYS love you.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. Isaiah 43:2
One of the brightest stars in my life recently told me that I conquered what Napoleon could not. As I layed awake through the night thinking about what I have conquered my thoughts immediately came to the conclusion that I had not ever conquered anything.
As I pondered these thoughts in my heart the question arose within me asking “Why I felt like I had never conquered anything?” The very next thing my mind began to do was recall everytime I failed, every battle that left me scarred. Everytime my flesh cried out for relief instead of being strong and unwavering. These things leave us feeling so much less than conquerors.
My son came to me once in a very difficult time in my life and sobered my soul up instantly when the wisdom of God came forth from his sweet little mouth. ( he was 4 years old at the time). “Mommy I saw the Lord today and He said that from where you are that you can’t see what is around the other side of the house next door, but he said Mommy, the Lord said He sees everything from where He is and everything is going to be ok.
You can imagine my shock and immediately surrender to tenderness. We see through clouded glass, broken mirrors and limited vision. It distorts the truth of who we are in Christ because we still have eyes of flesh. The truth is, we are conquerors. Yes, even more than conquerors through Him that loves us! Every victory is the Lords. Every battle ends in victory for the born again believer. Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? His banner of LOVE rides high above us in BATTLE. Assuring us of victory everytime. Until next time sweet friends. Jenny
The pressure to give up is growing greater in the earth. I believe Jesus felt the weight of the world on his shoulders in Gethsemane. He cried out for relief struggling with the natural instinct of self preservation and literally dying for a world he only felt on his shoulders. I imagine his heart was broken that the Father wouldn’t spare him this cruelty.. I imagine the emotions.. The pain. We have expectations that some will stand by us and be with us to end, especially in the most critical times of our lives. It’s noteworthy to remember that those who promised they would never deny him, did. The Love of God the Remnant carry as a mantle is very heavy most of the time. It’s full of great sacrifice, humiliation and little reward. To love without being loved in return. To continue to love those who curse us and walk away. To never give up hope that every life is redeemable. I know it’s hard family. I know it’s not just words but real pain we bare. Every mountain we climb, every time we face rejection, every single time we are left alone after giving ourselves to others, we too pray as Jesus did in the garden. We pray for relief. We pray for the cup we must drink from to pass by us. In the end we surrender. In the end we love even harder, give even more and grab tight to the hope that the greater glory will be worth it all. We’ve been abandoned over and over again and yet, we like innocent neive children keep tenderness and love in our hearts. My Loves, the kingdom of God is given to little children! Don’t despise your innocence and nievety. It’s a beautiful butterfly mantle of great grace! You’ll never love to much. Stay close to that heart and mind. I love you guys more than you can imagine. ❤️
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
It’s difficult to complain tonight. It’s Christmas Eve!… While my heart is filled with gratitude for my family and the fact that we have survived the hardest year of our lives I lay in bed tonight with a fever. Everyone in my house has the flu and bronchitis. … As I recall the past twelve months I was also reminded of how precious the voice of God is and has been to us, seeing us through some tough times. There was 400 years of silence between the old Testament and the new Testament. Meaning there was no voice of God to man. I can’t imagine such a silence… Many experience depression and sadness during this time of year for various understandable reasons. I want to remind you that during those long 400 years of deafening silence, despair, questioning their faith that it was the cry of a baby that broke the 400 years of uncertainty. Made by God.. to US.
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). The voice that broke 400 years of silence and seclusion was the cry of a baby… The only begotten son. Jesus.
Whatever despair is clinging to you tonight just know that a coo from this baby changed the world forever. Just as his voice soothes even now. Comforts, even now. December is the day we choose to celebrate this baby. This beautiful Emmanuel. The one who brings hope to the hopeless and light in the dark.
Merry Christmas sweet family and friends. I pray that you all have a very blessed Christmas.
When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:3
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. John 17:24
When troubles come, faith endures. Hope voices her sight of light ahead assures. Amid the showers flowers bloom. Across desert rivers flow, not shyly I dare not presume. Oceans of time are of no distance, for love is vast beyond existence. The profanity of using words to express such wonder, leaves much for this daughter to ponder. For beyond the sea her Lovers soul bids her come. While enduring the scorching of the day long sun. To leave me empty in this hell is not His will, His tender voice whispers.. Jenny it is well. For a short while I travel on even if I feel alone. I wait, daydream of our meeting, dismissing doubt. Our feet never touching ground. For together when we will walk in clouds.
Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things Hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
As I begin writing this blog I feel a sense of hesitation. Hesitant because we have been trained that false hope is better than no hope. When in fact there’s either real hope based upon facts or no hope at all.
There is only hope or the absence of hope.
Real hope is certainty, materialization, inevitability, sure thing. When it comes to religion, hope should be as a result of a direct promise of God in any particular situation. A rhema word.
Faith is the materialization of hope. Which is virtuous evidence or substance. It’s very tangible and not a illusion.
The reason I write this blog is because many people are stuck in really bad circumstances and they hold onto what is false hope meaning a emotionally, mentally and spiritually state of mind that imprisons them in a dilusional pattern of consistent failure and disappointment because there can be no materialization of the illusions because they are not legitimate.
I’ve been in relationships where I knew that I didn’t have a direct word from God but yet I desired so much to see the manifestation of my affections that I became stuck in the middle of something that would never be virtuous or be a reality.
Dilusional contentment or false hope can never manifest the virtue of faith.
I don’t want to waste my life stuck in a dilusional state of mind. I want virtuous manifestations of my hope. I want faith. Only then can a living, resurrected Jesus be glorified in my life. Because my life will be full of powerful demonstrations, and evidence of hope. Which is faith.
It’s hard to adjust your heading once you have established in your heart that your will and God’s will are aligned. We all want what we want. We can try to conform and live our lives reflecting very distorted images of what kingdom living should be like, or we can experience transformation, because we allow our minds to be renewed. Renewed by the powerful demonstration of the rhema word of God proving that real hope is present.
I’m not talking about embracing confusion and hopelessness. But rather embracing the knowledge of the truth that will deliver us from dead things that keep us from living our best lives.
We are being called to virtue. When Christ returns will He find us weighed down with dilusional contentment or faith?
This blog is just the beginning of what is a lengthy topic of discussion. I pray that when you read this that you do a honest look at any situation in your life that’s under the influence of delusional contentment. The Bible says, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. That we can prove what is that good, perfect and acceptable will of God.
Or have you ever had your hand held by your Love while you slept? Have you been kissed and forgot time?
Can you remember the smooth sweet voice of that beautiful someone singing you into the dream world?
Has someone ever walked into a room and captured you completely?
Have you ever been blessed to share a moment fogging up the car windows not in sexual intimacy but in deeper more intimate conversation?
Have you ever stood before something so magnificent that the realization of how small you were compared to what you were beholding brought you to your knees?
Have you ever shared one single moment with someone you only met once for just seconds but it impacted you a lifetime?
Has anyone ever asked you to dance and made you feel like you were the only person in the world?
Have you ever felt tender grass beneath your bare feet, mud between your toes and bathed in the scent of garden honeysuckle?
Ever caught a lightening bug in a mason jar or played in the rain?
Have you loved someone more than yourself?
Held someone while dying?
Watched a baby being born or heard a baby’s coo and laughter?
All of these are the treasures that matter. We should measure success by these moments.
In all the things life has to give it is these things that compel us to live.
Torrid tryst? In trouble? Trust! In His faithfulness, we must! Through torrential rains, birthing pains, enivitable change; I tell you, just believe! Amazing promises us to receive. FOCUS, and soon you’ll find, yourself across the finish line.
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’”
To proceed means to begin or continue. The word of God is still being written because the word is still being spoken.
We can know the scripture by heart and quote it verbatim and have no understanding of it. We can also rehearse it in our hearts over and over again and never know how to apply it or find the power to apply it. We must continue past what is just in ink and seek to know The Voice that is speaking it. Only then is the word of God active in our daily living. The voice of God will never speak contrary to the word of God but rather add only meaning, fulfillment and a knowing that the current season in our lives is not beyond His reach. Going into the word should be like taking the hand of God and walking through a garden. A garden where secrets are told, love is exchanged and unforgettable moments with Him are made.
Yes it is a garden with boundaries. But these boundaries are in place to protect our intimacy with The Voice or The Word.
Walking hand in hand with The Voice throughout the landscape of the written letter of the word of God is adventurous. When we only take of Him in part we get confused. But if we surrender wholly to understand, know and treasure hunt. Then the word of God interprets itself. There’s no confusion because we are walking it out with The Voice that is still speaking. The Holy Ghost. He leads us and guides us into all truth as we allow Him to. The Voice is the most magnificent manifestation of the realness of God. I’m so thankful. May His word forever be exalted above everything else; which was, which is and which is to come.
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
There’s so much more children of God. In His Service, Jennifer
Daddy, I was strongest on your shoulder. So thankful for the goofy looks, the spankings, love, the singing in the car, showing us how to never give up. Showing me what a good man should be like.
I love you so much Daddy. I’m so thankful I told you all of these things while you were with us. I’m learning to ride on the Lords shoulders now. It’s a different experience. Thank you for sharing salvation with me. Thank you for not leaving me comfortless. I love you more than words my HERO.
It’s been a while since I have blogged. I lost my mother in March 2021. It has been so hard to process. I have some thoughts I need to share. I hope it is a blessing to you.
It should be simple to rid ourselves of toxic behaviors, environments, beliefs and relationships. But we develop dependencies on these things bending who we really are around them and conforming to their will. Our whole identity is woven in with these deceptive intruders. So then abandoning these toxic things feels like we are self destructing. Each one only serving to enabling the others to continue to control our lives. We have become slaves to our desires, emotions and logic. We bow the knee to these things even though they abuse us daily. Don’t let it take a lifetime for you to do the hard thing, the freeing thing, the right thing for you. It’s not a immoral place where ” anything goes” but instead a love focused life where ” everything grows”. Love yourself first. Love yourself enough. Love yourself more.
My precious momma lay in her hospital bed suffering hallucinations, stage four kidney failure, and having survived five surgeries in the last 6 weeks giving God thanks.
In a rare moment of clear thinking and the moment she saw my sister in video call she said these words to her.
“Anita there’s angels all around us at all times. They never leave us. They brush the hair out of our eyes and we think it’s the wind. It’s not. It’s our angels. They’re right with us.”
Then she sang her these lyrics in song that she just wrote instantly at random…
“You are the angels of my life. You are the one that I hold dear. If I could hold you in my arms. I’d hold you for a thousand years.”
She saw me and said, keep looking for the Lord, Jennifer. He’s coming for you.
I wept. I smiled. I was awestruck as she just went right back to mumbling as if she hadn’t had a moment of lucidity. Before my eyes was the most amazingly frail woman with the most beautiful grace I had ever seen.
We question our Maker in the middle of our stories, when life is weighing us down we ponder, How could this suffering could bring Him glory?
What I was beholding was the totality of a life surrendered. I’ve never been more honored and humbled that at that moment on that video call with my sweet Momma. She said to me before my sister in law ended the call that she wanted to fulfill the Lord’s purpose for her. She wasn’t hopeless, angry or weary. She wanted His will, she communicated it clearly.
I pray you see the Lord revealed in these private family moments. I pray your trust in the Lord remains secure through all your have to endure.
Intrinsically woven into time and space; purpose for the human race. We question its authenticity and our origin, taking life in its mundane routine like the bass notes on an organ. Playing our seemingly small parts, we tiny grains of sand. Captivated by the oceans boundaries its mysteries and romance. What is our purpose? How can we find joy and peace? When will we have the answers to the questions for which we so desperately seek? As I sit here a doodling and mindlessly thinking Still life is systematically in perfect time without blinking. Where is the love, the connection we long for and dream.. We frantically hold to promises hoping…like silent screams. I feel so lost in all these emotions, I feel numb…and without notion. Please help me find something real in devotion. I am compelled to a faith I have never known, I have no former experience to go on. The sleepless nights and feelings of dread was proof of unbelief instead. So I pray from the place like so many before me have been; With no strength of my own left to fight; ..this is my end? I crumble but not just anywhere but at the foot of the cross; a different person now, more desperately lost.
“Jesus save me,” I cry lying in the pool of my own blood. Closing my eyes, I take what feel like will be a final sigh. Then to my own disdain I hear the pounding of my heart in steady beat. The ticking inside that frustratingly won’t succumb to defeat.
I cannot save myself, I’ve tried. This moaning escapes me from deep inside. Tears falling down my cheeks make tiny paths through the smudging blight as purpose eludes me and so does the time . The voices of despondent arbitrators once again invade my mind. Bringing accusation and always with scripture and crime. If you don’t save me now I’ll die, my soul concedes. I am helpless, heal now my unbelief.
Tiny drops of rain combined with my tears began to wash away the ashes of all that is left of my life. I have no dignity, and gone is my pride. All of my hopes and dreams disappear before my eyes. Still the sun rises on what is yet another day and I’m… still alive.
Barely surviving, the rain still comes and continues to steadily wash the blood away. A passerby drops a morsel of bread close enough for me to reach. I put it between my lips and thankfully chew its meat. Hmm that’s odd, I thought to myself as a twinge of energy fills my veins, just enough to slightly move.
The tears still flowing, once bitter, now sooth.
But that tiny shift though small might be, changed also my perception of what was happening to me.
God where are you? You have to be here or I’d be dead. “When did you come?” “Don’t leave me,” I said. Am I losing my mind or am I courageous I cannot tell. Probably the former I thought, as bitterly I wept to myself.
“I’m inside.” Said a voice, that didn’t come from within my head. This welcoming voice brought some comfort and rest.
Collapsed and broken in what feels like mere pieces. Fragments, all that was left of what I thought once was a divine story. How can this be? How can such suffering bring you glory. Not everyone believes in Gods ultimate sovereignty.
That all is already known and written like a playwright.
Our independent minds make it so hard to see. The drama and dance, the pain and the chance. The heroes and villains, are already written. So the challenge in life is not to escape, but to let the kingdom of God change your perception of the landscape. When heaven meets earth all that man has built crumbles. To our own Surprise we find our loyalties were divided, betweenthe God who created us and the things he provided. In the visibility of all the ashes that is left lies the deception. Your humanity has not disqualified you, this is life in its conception.
The beginning.
Such a powerful line. A shift, an change in perception, a PARADIGM.
Does the quiet sooth you? Does the moon make you want to touch it?
The mesmerizing affect of a shadows silhouette. The wooing of the moon. The seduction silence offers. The mystery of the dark. He is a soft burning ember. The longing of my soul. The aching of my heart.
Have you ever longed for something or someone? It’s like a slow dance on the ocean, at sunset. Can you escape the moon? Can you touch your shadow? Can you make the ocean disappear? Love, is a painful, yet an unending, beàutiful longing. She is forever with him. He is forever with her. An unbreakable three-fold cord. The Lady, her Lover and Lord.
The skies grew dark with sulfuric breathing as bolts of lightening lunged. The earth quaked with demonic anticipation at the death of God’s only begotten son. Caged by all of my sin, bound with fetters, paralyzed with fear. A salty test escaped my eye as flashed before me all the years. I fixed my gaze upon the cross at the shaming of this man. I could not be redeemed without the blood of a lamb. Just as the rain began to fall, tears began to flow. I lifted my head toward the sky so the soldiers wouldn’t know. Then in a moment of final anguish he cried, it is finished. But even then the lamb of God wasn’t not one bit diminished. The thunder rolled, the ground shook, the veil was torn, as heaven stood. In that moment, absent of strength, to the blood soaked ground, I fell upon my knees. I wailed in anguish, Lord forgive me! And then the greatest epiphany. Before me was truly the Son of God, and today.. He Bled me Free!
I was praying earlier today and Holy Spirit remind me of Judges chapter 7. As I read through it and refreshed my memory of this wonderful story of Gideon and God’s victory, I marveled how the Lord used something completely ridiculous to accomplish the miraculous.
In Judges chapter 7 we learn that Gideon was camped outside roundabout the Midianites with the host of Israel. Gideon came well equipped for battle. He had 32,000 men ready for war. Although Gideon seem to have everything covered the Lord said, “This is too many.” “If I let you go into battle with this many men, then Israel will take the credit for the victory, and will not give me glory.” The Lord told Gideon to let the men go home who were afraid. An amazing 22,000 of them left. There was remaining 10,000 soldiers ready for battle. The Lord spoke to Gideon and said, That’s still too many.” “Take them down to the river and whoever gets down on their knees and drinks the water up like a dog send them home.” All but 300 remained out of 10,000 men. Then, the Lord spoke yet again to Gideon and told him to go listen to the conversation outside of the Midian camp.
Gideon got to the camp in time to hear a Midianite telling of a dream that he had of a roll (a biscuit) coming down to through amidst the midianite camp and destroying it. The midianites reasoned amongst themselves and realized that God was going to give Israel victory in the battle.
Gideon fell down and worshiped God. He went back to the 300 men and gave him trumpets, torches and glass jars. And told Israel, the Lord had delivered the Midianites into our hands. Ha! Here we see this tiny fractal of Israel, comparable to this small little fraction of bread (revealed in the dream), standing on a hill outside of the Midian camp, sounding their trumpets, lighting their torches and breaking their jars. The thousands upon thousands of Midianites scattered and in fear running for their lives. The Lord delivered victory into the hands of Gideon and Israel!
I can’t help but laugh out loud at the marvelous things God does with the little bit that we feel is impossible to work with. Situations and circumstances become so big in our lives at times that we can either feel intimidated by our enemies, or overly confident because we assume we know how victory will come.
It’s hard to distinguish how and what the Lord has in mind. One would think that victory would need an army of thousands to overcome the midianites. That does seem rational after all. And also according to popular Christian teachings the more blessed you are the more victory you have. ( I personally question that teaching) When, in actuality this scripture proves that the Lord is not into sharing his glory. We are facing great battles and huge circumstances in the world today. The awareness that change is upon us and revolution is here is inevitable. We sense it in our spirit. The Bible tells us what’s coming next. Every victory ahead of us will be won by the Lord. God is not going to do things our way, he’s going to accomplish the miraculous with the ridiculous. He’s going to conquer our enemies with a biscuit!
Remember, as we go forward. Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth and fame. There’s a crown and you can win it. If you’ll go in Jesus name. We do not fight against flesh and blood. Our battle is with principalities and powers of darkness. We fight against spiritual wickedness in high places. There is no throne higher or kingdom greater than the kingdom of our God. The Lord has his people in his hands.
He can be trusted. His Words Are Like Candy, Jennifer
Your thirst has brought you to Jacob’s well, fetching water from a pail. Crisp, clean, cool refreshing water. Healing, delivering, satisfying… Living water.
Come to the well at the morning light, and tap into the reservoir that never runs dry.
Draw from the deep, quench thirst. Drink from the fountain, your spirit immerse.
Your willingness to go to the well reveals your heart to the Prophet. Your date with destiny has arrived, nothing can stop it.
What an unexpected place this is here on the desert sands, to be found of the Jewish Messiah in all unlikeliest of circumstance.
Hope that was crushed under the heels of a desperately broken woman, revives, a woman who now sighs…”at last!” Is invigorated by the irrelevance of her checkered past.
But oh, He awaits you, this most valuable treasure you will find. He then offers her water, living water, redemption and everlasting life.
I remember a particular day when my house was filled with my young nieces and nephews (this was a typical day. lol) The sounds of the girls bossing the boys around, the boys being completely resistant to their incessant prodding, led to some tumultuous days.
As I recall these days, I now treasure them and they bring smiles instead of the familiar feeling that I was going to lose my mind. (Approx 6-9 children each day). I treasure each moment I spent with each of my babies. But there were days I seriously thought they would send me to heaven before my time or to prison for murder ☺️.
This particular day a poem was born. A simple, somewhat quirky, happy but serious plea for quiet. I hope the poem and this memory draws a smile on your beautiful faces. Keep in mind, my Lovelies that the things we are facing right now that seem to be getting the better of us will also be the days we cherish later. Trust the Lord, trust the process. Here’s to the blessing of quiet.
Desperately, I long for quiet. In a land far away from the noise of riot. Far from chaos I’m blissfully unaware. In palaces were wisdom covers me with care. Suppose there’s rest to seek, to find? Ahh, there’s rest for The Trusting and Peace of Mind.
The brighter a lady shines, the faster she burns out. Quote: Author Unknown
How do we keep from burning out? Proverbs 31 describes a virtuous woman. One who is busy with home, children, business, finiances, humanity and the Lord. It seems we have an awful lot of weight to carry. And the weight does get heavy if we try to bear the burden on our shoulders, literally. Sometimes the Lord asks us to do things that are impossible so that we would come to the knowledge and understanding that we cannot do it, we need Him. We do not bear the burden of the Light Himself. He is the Father of Lights. James 1:17
Hence, We don’t carry the burden of the light. We just reflect it.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29
One of the hardest things to do in the Christian walk is to stop trying to save ourselves. It is only when we surrender everything to the Lord that He is able to save to the uttermost all that we have earnestly submitted to Him. We fumble feebly, trying to be saviors. Our task is to walk in His light. Reflecting Him is easy. He is LOVE.
I’m forever thankful for the cross. Without Him my soul would be lost.
Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
ANYONE rational would think that nothing beautiful could ever come from something so dismal dark and dreadful. Darkness is covering the Earth, uncertainty is multiplying, fear is super abundant and yet Isaiah 60:1-3 says, in the midst of gross darkness the glory of the Lord would rise upon His children. It is amazing how that the most beautiful things come out of the darkest of places. The most profound treasures come from obscurity. The most amazing people come from small towns and semi-lit rooms, where they seem to be forgotten. It would be a tragedy to overlook such significant glory because of this present darkness. We tend to dismiss the tender voice of hope because of past disappointments. But let me ask you, “What can Holy Spirit say to us except words that will bring us hope?” I believe by dismissing hope (because of depression or fear), we dismiss the voice of God. He is trying to speak to us to show us that He is close to us by dropping showers of hope, moments that make us smile that cause us to dream of better days ahead. I know most of the time His voice doesn’t come in the noise of abundant rain but it is like a quiet mist, a slight shower, a gentle whisper. Dear, sweet friends don’t dismiss the quiet melody of hope. Arise and shine loved ones, let His glory come upon you, be the one who dances in the rain. Such brings amazing Glory to God. Hope is the watchmen traveling before us and bringing back report of what is just ahead. We are being challenged to hope! Rise and shine Beauties!
I wonder dreamly of hence, what fanciful treasures must see? And think a thought of countless measure, wistful, what the next line will be? To draft with quill upon some unsuspecting parchment, a tale not of whimsy but of Truth. To penn some wisdom fitly written, purposed just for you. I dare not trifle with superficial words but publish those with meaning and life. To restore you by speaking into your spirit the tender mercies of Jesus Christ.
This was the first poem I ever wrote. I was driving down the road completely uninspired and thinking about my life and pondering just how much God was really involved. I was trying to find Him everywhere. I was going through a season of confusion and complete turmoil in my life. I experienced a divorce after 16 years of marriage and was struggling to find meaning. The first line came to me as easy as breathing. I had to pull over on the side of the road. I remember, all I had to write on was a napkin leftover from a fast food restaurant that I had just visited. As I sat on the side of the road I wrote this poem in less than 2 minutes, no editing. I knew then that the Lord was speaking to me. That these were His words not my own. At that moment, I realized that no matter where I was at physically in my life and emotionally in my mind and spirit that the Holy Spirit was with me. The Lord was guiding my hand at that moment just as he was guiding my life. It was amazing how hope, inspiration and beauty all came in a very delicate, unexpected suddenly. I’m so thankful for the beginning that I found in what seemed like the end.
Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrased
I know and have plans for you says the Lord. My plans are to give you hope and a future, to prosper you. To give you your expectation in the end.
The Lord is faithful! He watches over His word to perform it! No weapon formed against us can prosper! The Lord knows the way of the righteous. He is our past, present and future. There is no power, dominion, nation or kingdom greater than His. No name greater than the name of Jesus Christ. His word we have hid in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. His throne is forever, His mercy infinite, His might limitless. He is our God. We are His body, church, bride! Nothing can separate us from this infallible, incorruptible truth! Our God is AMAZING! We are fiercely Loved.
Seize life, the rich and abundant life of God. Redeem the time, taking nothing for granted even rhyme. Cherish your dreams following the flavor of your favor. Exalt the Word of God as the final authority in your life – not words of strife Despise not the small things, for it’s the tiniest amount of faith that can move mountains – unleashing fountains.
Let hope shine when all other lights have failed. Never let your circumstances be your captain or let your hope derail. Love, Laugh, Learn. Selflessly helping others realize their dreams. Your personality is a unique and will take you before kings. Be brave and wise. Know that in every situation you are fully furnished lacking nothing in Christ.
Love even when your not loved. Forgive and be patient without doubting scurry. And if you ever reach a point when you feel like you can’t don’t worry.
You are his planting. He began the good work in you and He will see fully accomplished. As He has promised.
It is a privilege to bear the Gospel of Jesus Christ; Remain true to the message and you will change lives. Chosen Sons and Daughters in the service of His Honor face your future with courage unleashing. And know this…You can do it just keep pressing through believing. In every dry place you encounter God will sustain you. In times when you question yourself, your ability or call. You can rest assured He is not doubting you at all.
You are remarkable, useful, intelligent, kind, important, beautiful, valuable, loveable, treasured! You have a hope and a future! Jer. 29:11
That’s the TRUTH! All other voices are lies!
I’ve always been able to put into words my thoughts and feelings. I’m descriptive and unapologetic in my writing and public speaking.
I remember being on a stage in front of few hundred people around the age of 13, singing and preaching like it was nobody’s business. Afterwards, a young woman around 18 years old walked up to me and told me I was fake. As a child, it hurt me immediately, but then on the ride home Holy Spirit asked me to decide then if I was going to allow hate, meanness, cruelty, opinions, or opposition to stop me.
Honestly, the question in my spirit was truly that sobering and real. Still it is so vivid in my memory. I decided to push forward.
Developing a tough skin is ongoing and I am a work in progress. That said, I don’t regret one thing I’ve ever done or said for the Lord. People didn’t qualify me and people cannot disqualify me! I won’t allow it.
Yes, I struggle with my own thoughts and insecurities sometimes, but through it, I must say that I remain tenacious. At the end of the day, I am thankful for that mean girl who let the devil use her. From that night on I picked up my sword and never looked back!
If your looking for popularity you won’t find it representing the truth or morality. If you are looking to be a reflection of grace, then God will be glorified in that He uses such ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Most of the beautiful demonstrations of Christ in me have been done in obscurity. This is not popular opinion, it is the truth!
Jesus said, “If any man wants to come with me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24-26
Hi folks. Today I want to encourage you to remember that the Lord is faithful! He watches over His word to perform it! No weapon formed against us can prosper! The Lord knows the way of the righteous. He is the past, present and future. There is no power, dominion, nation or kingdom greater than His. No name greater than the name of Jesus Christ. His word we have his in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. His throne is forever, His love infinite, His might limitless. He is our God. We are His body, church, bride! Nothing can separate us from this infallible incorruptible truth! Our God is AMAZING!
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Tim. 2:13
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