Happy 90th to MY PAPAW!

I had the privilege to travel to Texarkana, AR for a most special occasion.  My sweet, sweet Papaw Jack Roberts turned 90 this year.  We had a little shin-dig in celebration of this precious man!  His birthday was on Sunday, which seemed very fitting, since that is his most favorite place to be.  Our family was given the opportunity to take the majority of the service on this special day.  His son, daughter, grand-children, & great-grand-children led the congregation in some worship songs. His daughter sang a special, his son delivered the message, and I... I was able to read the words I wrote about how much this man has impacted my life & the example he has been to me (along with the rest of his family).  Here are the words I used to express my feelings, but be warned.... what is being said here is not at all adequate for the true man he is - he is so much more than I could ever put into words!!! 


MY PAPAW
They say a good man is hard to find,
But this one here is one-of-a-kind.
The dearest man you'll ever meet,
A smile he gives to all he greets.
He has lived his life serving the Lord,
His daily routine includes reading God's Word.
An encouraging word he always offers,
In his walk with the Lord, he does not falter.
His love for his family is undeniable,
You can never accuse him of being unreliable.
A perfect husband to his one true love,
And she, his angel sent from above.
Knowledgeable and wise is this man indeed,
He doesn't hesitate giving to those in need.
He can find the good in anyone,
Not a single person would he ever shun.
He has been blessed with things here on earth,
But all that you see is not all that he's worth.
The riches in Glory he has waiting on him
Can not even be held by a Seraphim.
A lifetime of trials he's had to endure,
But his heart has remained flawless and pure.
A living example of God's perfect love,
This man is OUR angel sent from above.
If I picked him myself, I couldn't have picked better
For all of my problems, he has the answer.
He'll say "keep looking up baby, trust in the Lord.
You'll find what you need by reading the Word".
He has led us by example, his family -
We are all proud to be branches on this family tree!
This one-of-a-kind man from Arkansas,
He is the greatest! He is the finest! And he is MY Papaw!!!


Papaw - you are my absolute heart!!  I love you so very much and was proud to have the opportunity to spend your 90th birthday with you.  I'll never be able to express how much you mean to me with words - but I hope my actions have given you some idea.  You will forever be my NUMBER ONE!!!  I love you THE MOST!! 

Trust Your Struggle

The struggle is real, the struggle is now,
It doesn’t ease up, right over you it plows,
The struggle is hard, the struggle is tough,
It takes you to the point where you’ve had quite enough.
The struggle won’t cease, the struggle you bear,
It will carry on until your life it ensnares.
The struggle is rugged, the struggle is mighty,
It’s overtaking and quite frankly appalling.
The struggle is daunting, the struggle intimidates,
It makes you feel like you’re wearing weights.
The struggle terrifies, the struggle disheartens,
It knocks you down and your heart it bludgeons.
The struggle is fear, the struggle is frustration,
It causes anxiety and unceasing trepidation.
The struggle agitates, the struggle alarms,
It renders you helpless and your will it disarms.
But… the struggle is vital, the struggle is needed,
It strips you down until you’re no longer impeded.
The struggle has meaning, the struggle has purpose,
It will keep you grounded so as not to get pompous.
The struggle has significance, the struggle has reason,
It strikes up a fire and ignites a new passion.
The struggle brings spirit, the struggle brings spunk,
It will remind you of these when you get in a funk.
The struggle brings guts, the struggle brings grit,
It gives you a boldness that you can’t counterfeit.
The struggle brings power, the struggle brings fortitude,
It is etched in your mind and on your heart it’s tattooed.
The struggle brings nerve, the struggle brings endurance,
And although it seems so, it’s not such a hindrance.
The struggle brings openness, the struggle brings honesty,
It gives you a strength and overwhelming tenacity.
The struggle brings security, the struggle brings determination,
All of your will, your desire, and your purpose it beckons.
The struggle, you see, is a difficult journey,
But it brings from the ashes a new kind of beauty.
Out of the struggle your character will build,
And the lessons you learn will be carefully instilled.
So where ever you’re going and where ever you’ve been,
You must trust your struggle to the very end.

It Is Well

"It is well", that's all she said,
It mattered not her son was dead.
She closed the door and believed with faith,
Her son would live, not just his wraith.
"Take me to the man of God"
She mounted her horse and traveled the sod.
Elisha was found and she did explain.
He comforted her, he did not disdain.
Back to her home they traveled again,
Their prayers not yet allowing an amen.
He went upstairs where the body lay,
Elisha again began to pray.
He laid himself upon the boy
And prayers again he did employ.
Elisha paced the room around
But the boys life was still unfound.
He laid upon him one more time,
As if the first were a paradigm.
Life retuned, the boy did breathe,
His life, from death, it was unsheathed.
This mother, on death, she did not dwell -
All she said was "It is well".

My life experienced a form of death.
At times I couldn't even catch my breath.
A woman of God, she came to me -
She told me things I could not see.
"Pick up your head and look above
That is where you'll find true love.
Have faith my dear, do not despair,
Temptations in life, you must forbear.
The Lord, your God, will lead the way -
You must take it day by day".
Although I listened, I may not have heard
And clear-cut lines I sometimes blurred.
This life is hard and the things unseen
We often ridicule and even demean.
Our faith, it tends to fade with time
When life proves itself less than sublime.
Life's not always easy, more often it's not,
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do what we ought.
Find faith again and live by that!
Teach it to the ones whom you begat.
The future, of course, we can't foretell,
But we can live life knowing that "It is well"!

2 Kings 4:8-37 NASB

Who Am I?

It’s a question many people struggle with.  Life is all about the journey, the adventure, of finding out “Who Am I?”  I think, very often, most people never really arrive at an answer that “suits” them.  We live life as the child of our parents, then we might become “the friend of so & so”, the spouse of such & such, then the parent of our children.  We are never just “us”.  It’s never really been just “Angela – you know her, right?”  It’s been more like “Angela, you know Mason & Marleigh’s mom”.  Our identity almost always falls to our association with another.  As I have gotten older, now on my own, searching for my true identity, it occurs to me that no one really ever said “you know, Angela, that Christian lady”.  I haven’t always been associated with Christ.  And, why not?  Since I am, indeed, His child! 

I have been working on that now for quite some time.  I want people to look at me & see Christ in me!  So, who am I?  I am a daughter of the Most High King!  I am His chosen!  I am loved & adored by the One who created the universe.  He knows me by name!  He doesn’t refer to me as Otis & Joanne’s daughter or Mason & Marleigh’s mother – He calls me beloved!  He calls me SPECIAL!!!  He knows me personally, inside & out.  He loves me & accepts me just the way I am, with all of my shortcomings & failures – with all of my stubbornness!  He still knocks at my door, asking to come in & visit al while.  He is all knowing, yet He wants me to tell Him about myself – He wants to get to know me better by listening to me.  Who am I?  I am loved, forgiven, blessed, anointed.  I am Angela, a special child of Christ!! 

Who are you?  Exactly the same – a child of Christ!  If you have never met him personally – now is your chance!!  It’s simple, all you have to do is say this “Hi Lord, it’s me, _________________.”  Yes, He already knows your name & who you are, but it’s great to introduce yourself in a new way to Him & talk to Him just as you would anyone else!  “I have sinned & fallen short of Your glory, but I am totally ready to change!  I want to be known as a child of the King.  I want people to associate me with You.  So, I would be so grateful if You’d come into my heart to stay.  i want to live my life for You, starting right now!!  Thank you, sweet Jesus!!”  That’s it!  Now you are saved!  Your part is to start living like it!  Consult God about everything!!  Be constantly aware of His presence in your life.  he will lead & guide you!!

Who are we?  Family!!!  With an AMAZING FATHER!!!!!!! 

Click here:  Who Am I? Casting Crowns

God With Skin On - An Update!

If you haven't had a chance to read God With Skin On, I encourage you to go read it now.  Click here.  I was convinced that Regina was really an angel sent from heaven above for me that particular night!  I had been back to Wal-Mart on several occassions & never saw her again.  I even told my mother that I didn't believe she was a "real person"!  Well, just in the good old fashioned "God Way", something simply amazing happened to me the other day - or should I say, it happened to US!!! 

I was getting up to get ready for my daughter's birthday party, when my phone rang.  I didn't recognize the number, but I answered it anyway, just in case it was somebody inquiring about the party.  When I answered the voice on the other end says "Well, good morning!"  I replied with a sleepy "good morning".  The voice was not one I recognized.  She began to talk & tell me her story - she said "My name is Regina & I work at Wal-Mart."  I immediately perked up!!  I felt like the M&M from the commercial with Santa Clause - you know, the one where they all faint saying "He does exist, They do exist"!  Ha!!  Regina does exist & she is talking to me from the other end of this phone line.  She proceeded to tell me about how someone read my blog & printed a copy of it, took it to her supervisors at Wal-Mart & how they called her into the office to tell her all about it!  She said they were all in tears as they read the letter to her & gave her a copy of it.  She too was in tears because she realized that her prayers had been answered.  She didn't feel like she was really making an impact for the kingdom of God & wasn't sure that God was hearing her.  After she read the blog, she understood that God had indeed heard her & that, just as she prayed for Him to work through her, He had done just that!  She said "this letter is not about me at all, but it's about God working through me!"  She just rejoiced on the phone that day because just as God had used Regina to let ME know He heard ME, God turned right around & used ME to let REGINA know that He heard HER as well!!!  How amazing is that?!? 

Now, if that wasn't miracle enough - I was certainly wondering how in the world she knew my phone number!  As she was telling about how good God is & the story of how we first met, a customer recognized the story - she told Regina that it sounded familiar & pulled a book out of her purse & said "here you go, this is Angela's phone number."  Man - what an amazing God we have!!  To put all of this together & get us in touch again... it's absolutely astounding!  Nothing but God could have worked that out!!  It was a good 3 months from the night we met until the day she called me - so remember....

He DOES hear you when you pray!!  He DOES listen when you pray!!  Just because you don't see the results you may be looking for right now, does not mean HE doesn't hear & HE isn't listening!  He is just working things out behind the scenes!!!  When it happens, you will KNOW IT WAS GOD!!!

Be blessed today!!  I sure am!!!!

Faith or Fault

Being open minded is really harder than one might think.  I feel like I have a pretty open mind about most things & a tolerance for things people around “these parts” don’t always have.  However, I have learned that having an open mind to the promises of God is sometimes a really hard thing to do.  Maybe it’s because God doesn’t always fulfill those promises “right now”; or maybe it’s because we can’t see God &, therefore, have trouble believing what He says.  We are mostly a skeptical people who need to see with human eyes & feel with human feelings – which is reasonable since we are indeed human.  But, we must also realize that we are spiritual beings as well – God created us with a spirit that lives inside & as the Bible tells us, we are to walk by FAITH & not by SIGHT.  (2 Corinthians 5:7)  We really are a faithless people when you think about it.  We say “I have faith in God”, but when it comes to the fulfillment of a promise He has given, we tend to question Him.  When God?  How God?  How long will it be God? Why not now God?  If the fulfillment doesn’t happen when we think it should or how we think it should, we want to give up on God.  We want to throw up our hands & say “whatever, God!” 

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in doing what He promised, the way some people understand slowness.  But God is being patient with you.  He does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts & lives.”  (NLT)

This verse speaks to me on so many levels today!  1st of all “The Lord is not slow in doing what He promised, the way some people understand slowness…” When God says it, it’s done… period!  Just because we can’t see it with our human eyes does NOT mean it hasn’t been completed!  In God’s eyes – it has been done!!  The way we understand it, it’s slow… but not to our God!!

Secondly, “But God is being patient with you.”  Uh-humm…. excuse me??  God is being patient with ME??  But I am the one down here WAITING!!  Patiently!!!  Well, kind of patiently… At least, I thought I was the one being patient – what does this mean?  God is being patient with me?  Matthew 6:2, 5, 16 talks about when you give, when you pray, when you fast.  Are we doing all of these things which God has commanded us to do?  Are we giving to the needs necessary – to needy people?  We don’t have to wait for God to tell us to give – HE ALREADY DID!!  Are we praying & reading the Word with diligence?  Are we fasting like we should?  If you have a specific need you are praying for, are you also fasting for that need?  Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross for us!  He suffered persecution & humiliation to save our lives that we might have eternal life with Him!  Can we not “sacrifice” a meal?  Can we not “sacrifice” Facebook for even a week?  Can we not “sacrifice” television?  Can we not “sacrifice” giving of our time?  Can we not “sacrifice” some money for someone in need?  How much “sacrifice” is it really??  What would you really miss by “sacrificing” any of these things?

Third, “He does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts & lives.”  God wants us to become repentant.  Repentance does not mean we ask God for forgiveness & then continue in the same way… doing things we shouldn’t do – or, dare I say, NOT doing things we SHOULD do!  Repentance means we ask God to forgive us & then turn from our old ways.  You change your heart and your life!!!  God wants us to put our trust in him, to change our way of living & our way of thinking.  To have FAITH that He is doing (has already done) what He has promised He would do & for us to do as He commanded.  TO GIVE, TO PRAY, TO FAST.  When we do our part, He has more liberty to do His part.  We are the ones slowing up the process!  God is being patient with us!  I think it’s time we get serious & get busy!!!  So, search yourself today – are you living with FAITH or FAULT??

Lord, I thank you today for being so patient with me!  Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross & thank you for not giving up on me when I don’t do my part.  Father, place in me a desire to do what you commanded – to give, to pray, to fast.  Help me understand that the promises you have given me are already done in your eyes & I must continue to praise you for them.  Lord, I want to be found faithful in Your sight… not at fault.  I want to do my part!  My sacrifice is nothing compared to what You have done for me.  Thank you for Your promises & thank you for being faithful to me!!  You are an awesome God!!

Lessons Learned From the Pier

I had a friend who was going through a really hard time in her family.  Specifically, her marriage.  Her husband had not been saved & she had been praying for a really long time for him.  Through some extremely traumatic events in their lives, he got saved!  (Give God a shout!!)  The thing is, although he was now saved, they were still facing circumstances in their lives that were unspeakable!!  He needed a minute away – so, he drove down to the Pier & just sat, by himself.  As he was sitting there a man approached him – a pastor of a local church.  The pastor let him know that he came out there from time to time just to see if the Lord would lead him to someone that he could share the gospel with.  This pastor felt drawn to my friend’s husband.  Without hesitation, he opened up to this pastor & bore his soul to him.  Before departing, the pastor prayed with him & reassured him that God was in control!  Praise the Lord!  He is in control!! 

I had to work out of town a few weekends back.  I thought about that experience this man had out on the Pier.  I thought, I think I will go out there myself.  The breeze will be nice, it was a magnificent day.  The sun was shining.  All seems right with the world when you get out there, looking at the beach, listening to the waves crash on the shore, feeling the warmth of the sun kiss your face.  So surreal, so relaxing, so inviting.  I walked up to the entrance of that Pier & thought – “Lord, if you can send someone to speak to my friend – surely You can find someone to speak to me also”.  So, off I went… the Lord surprised me a little that day.  He didn’t send a person to speak to me, for Him – He spoke to me Himself!! (grin)  Here are the lessons I learned that day.

First of all, God gives us blessings from the very beginning!  He doesn’t have to wait for something to happen in our lives to start the flow of blessings.  You see, as I walked up to the entrance of the Pier, I realized there is now a charge to get onto the Pier.  I didn’t have any cash with me that day – so I was going to leave.  I did have my debit card, but didn’t want to use that for just a couple of dollars.  The gentleman behind the window asked if he could help me – I explained that all I had was a debit card.  He said, “no problem, go ahead”.  He allowed me to enter – God knew He had a Word for me that day & used the gentleman behind the window to bless me from the very beginning! 

Next, as I was entering the gate, asking God to send someone to me, He let me know that He is a Unique God.  He doesn’t speak to everyone in the same way.  He reminded me that His people are in need of very different things.  If I would open my heart, my eyes, & my ears – He would indeed speak to me.  But He would do it in a way that was unique to me!  AWESOME!!

Now, the Pier has a very special meaning to me.  It is a very sentimental place for me.  As I stepped out, I realized how far it was to get to the end of it.  (As you can see in the picture, of the Pier, above– it’s a long way  – you can’t even see the end from this picture.  What you see that looks like the end is actually only the half way point.)  What God said to me next determined my trek to the very end of that thing – He said sometimes you must reach the end before you can get to the beginning.  It took some questioning & answering for me to grasp the total meaning of that – in a nutshell – we must reach the end of ourselves for God to begin the work in us that He has planned!  Get self out of the way & He will take it from there!  This doesn’t just happen because we want it to – it is a leap of faith.  Faith requires some effort & the next thing He said to me was that we will encounter obstacles along our journey of faith! 

Just as I set out to reach the end of that Pier, I noticed along both sides there were people fishing from the sides.  There were fishing poles, tackle boxes, ice chests – all sorts of things for me to walk around, step over, dodge, to get to my destination.  I was determined to reach it.  That determination is what got me through it – through the vast array of obstacles that were right in front of me.  There were obvious obstacles, but then there were some not-so-obvious ones also.  Hooks!  That’s right, people were casting their baited hooks into the water – I had to be careful not to walk by when one was getting ready to cast it out.  I didn’t want to get hooked by this obstacle, after all! We must be aware of what is going on around us, so as not to get hooked by Satan & the things he puts right in front of us – that may not be so obvious! 

As beautiful as the day was, the wind from the Pier was insane!  I had my hair down that day & whew… by the time I left that place, I was a sight to behold!  NOT!!!  I was so windblown.  Not a very attractive look at all.  Sometimes what we are called to do may not be exactly what the world sees as attractive or becoming – but if God calls you to it, He will help you through it!  Obviously, life is not an easy journey to follow.  There are things that are very ugly about it, but God is the brush through our windblown hair!  He will be the one to smooth things out for us – when we turn it over to Him & allow Him to do what He does best!!! You see, I was there by myself that day – God also reminded me that sometimes it is our duty to get alone with Him.  We must ask before we can receive!  Getting alone with God is a necessity!!!

Last, but not least – God reminded me that we can’t stay where we are forever.  Eventually I had to leave the Pier.  When we find ourselves in the midst of a storm, battle, fire, trial – whatever you want to call it – He said “Angela, you won’t be here forever!”  Sometimes when we are facing circumstances that look hopeless, we find ourselves in a pit – a pit of despair & self-pity.  God does not want us to stay there!  He wants us to look up to Him & keep on moving!!  Which leads me to the very final point – He said PUSH!!!  PUSH!!!  PUSH!!! Pray Until Something Happens!

I read a quote the other day that just hit home with me.  I don’t know who actually said it, but it came from Kirk Franklin’s twitter.  It said this: “The biggest enemy to your faith will always be what you see & what your feel.  Trust yourself or trust God.  You choose!”

Taking A Risk In Worship *2nd Posting*

**I am posting this message again.  The first time something went wrong with the links & I tried to post another message with all of the appropriate links… anyway, not sure it came across like it should have.  So, I am posting it again & hopefully everything will work properly this time. :)  **

The following is the the message the Lord gave me for Common Grounds on Thursday, February 16, 2012:

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord & He will give you the desires of your heart.” When I think about this verse I think that if I will read my Bible, if I will pray & live a life that is mostly pleasing to God then in turn He will grant the things I desire in my life – peace, happiness, perfect children, perfect spouse, perfect marriage. What about a new car, new house, shoes, clothes, bags, etc, etc? The peace & happiness sound ok – maybe not perfect kids & spouse & marriage – I would settle for just almost perfect. (grin) But when we start adding in the material things it starts to seem a little selfish. However, these things are what we consider when we ask God to grant the desires of our heart. These are the things we feel are the desires of our heart, & to an extent, they really are. We all desire to have these things – especially peace & love & happiness, right?! But what if we really considered GOD to be the desire of our heart? What if HE was all that really mattered to us & our relationship with Him? Then when we go back to look at Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord & He will give you the desires of your heart” – then when we delighted in the Lord, in essence, that would be the same as receiving the desire of our heart – which is God! After we delight in Him & we receive Him – the rest of it falls into place. We receive peace – because God grants peace. We receive happiness – because God doesn’t wish for us to be sad. We receive love – because God IS love! We start being faithful to Him in everything we do – the way we think, act, speak & in turn, God blesses us far beyond our wildest imagination! He wants so much to just pour out blessings that we can’t even contain! Obviously, this is not to say that life won’t be life. We have all been born into sin & with a sin nature. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God”. We must still live out the consequences of our life in sin. Sometimes they are great & carry a great weight with them. Sometimes not. Nevertheless, God wishes for us to become totally dependant on Him & the provision He can make in our life. Joyce Meyer says in her book Woman to Woman that “there is potential for greatness in us. But having potential isn’t enough unless we are willing to take a risk, to step out & let God go to work in our life. When God becomes the complete desire of our heart then we can develop the gifts He has placed within us. It takes some time, determination & hard work to develop potential into the manifestation of that potential.” 

The Lord has been speaking to me very clearly about my potential in Him; about my potential in the way I worship Him & what my worship actually looks like. Usually when we say or hear the word ‘worship’ we automatically think about corporate worship, such as our song service at church or maybe praying. The fact of the matter is that there are so many other forms of worship. Think about when you maybe felt led by the Spirit to write a note or card to a friend that you had on your heart or you felt prompted to give away one of your favorite devotional books or pick up the phone & call. Maybe cooking a meal for someone who lost a loved one or said an encouraging word to a co-worker. All of these things are forms of worship… I will give some definitions of worship in just a minute, but for right now, think about these statements. I found this on a blog by Bob Kauflin all about worship. He says this:

“By the third song, I was really worshipping.” (Who or what were you worshipping before the third song?)

“Worship gets me to the place where I don’t have to think about anything.” (Worshipping God actually requires thinking very clearly about the Word, works & worthiness of God)

“Will there be worship at the meeting?” (Definitely. The question is of who or what.)

“With only 20 minutes, we really didn’t have time to worship.” (As though we “warm up” to worship God, rather than seek to honor him with our every thought & action.)

“Fred is doing the worship this morning” (Hopefully, everyone else will join in)

“I really love your worship” (This is a comment I sometimes get after leading God’s praise in song. I usually respond by saying, “I hope you worshipped too!”)

“Susie’s a real worshipper!” (This probably means that Susie is physically expressive when she sings songs of praise to God. Whether that means she’s a worshipper of God or not requires a little more information.)

Bob continues with this:

Harold Best, in his book Music Through the Eyes of Faith defines worship like this “acknowledging that someone or something else is greater – worth more - & by consequence, to be obeyed, feared & adored… Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone or something, I want to be mastered by it.” Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship says it like this “worship is the believers response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body- to what God is & says & does.” Bob finishes by saying “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of these gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable & therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin & the source of all actual sin.”

Worship through prayer is a way that we all know we can stay connected to God. But when you actually think about prayer what are your views on prayer? This is what I am really asking… when you think about praying, do you think of it as you going to God or God coming to you? (We usually say “let’s go to the  Lord in prayer”) But consider for a minute that is God beckoning you! Cynthia Heald in her book Becoming a Woman of Prayer starts it off like this:

What if God does not demand prayer as much as gives prayer? What if God wants prayer in order to satisfy us? What if prayer is a means of God nourishing, restoring, healing, converting us? Suppose prayer is primarily allowing ourselves to be loved, addressed & claimed by God. What if praying means opening ourselves to the gift of God’s own self & presence? What if our part in prayer is primarily letting God be giver? Suppose prayer is not a duty but the opportunity to experience healing & transforming love? – Martin Smith

In this first chapter Cynthia also says “it is not our prayer which moves the Lord Jesus. It is Jesus who moves us to pray… Desiring intimacy with God ought to be the delight of my life & a choice gladly

made.” I would like to show you a video now that explains how much God loves us & really desires to be with us. To be intimate with us. The video is about 10 minutes long, but I would really like you to hear about the vision she had & imagine yourself in her place! This is Kim Walker Smith of the band Jesus Culture. I will be telling you a little more about Kim after the video. 

As I said, Kim sings with the band Jesus Culture & is also the worship leader for Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Having said that, I would like to talk a little bit about our worship through song. This might just be the type of worship most familiar to us – except for prayer – of course. Our praise & worship time at church – I love this time! It is such a special time for me, personally. Most of you know how much I love to sing & this is my way to express myself & glorify God & worship Him. Jesus Culture has an amazing ability to be free in worship when they are ministering in other places (I don’t want to use the word ‘concert’, it is so much more that that!) I actually watched another interview with Kim that talked about how she developed her ‘spontaneous worship’. She said when she finally got to the place where she realized she needed to seek God to be able to feel His presence at all times around her was when things started to change. (check out this video) When she wasn’t working or in school or running errands she would come home & immediately spend time with God. She didn’t let anything get in her way… she just shut herself in with HIM. Seeking Him at every moment possible. She says that her spontaneous worship is an overflow of her private time of worship. You can’t be overflowing unless you have first been filled to the brim… the filling comes when you are seeking God in your private time of worship. Then when corporate worship time comes, you are already full & out comes the overflow of that worship. We must be careful not to allow our ‘self’ to come into play – even during the corporate worship. We must be totally focused on God & the Spirit He wants to reveal through us.

A couple of weeks ago God asked me a series of questions. Questions like “how free are you willing to be?” “How much are you willing to let go of?” “What is the worst that can happen?” “What does your daily worship look like?” “What are you afraid of?” He then says to me “I am only as present as you will allow me to be!” WHAT??!! So I asked myself a series of questions. They sounded a little like “what will others think of me? What will my husband think of me? My pastor? My friends? How do I just let it all go & worship spontaneously? What does my intimate time with God look like? Am I allowing every fiber of my being to be wrapped up in the arms of Christ?” Thinking about my answers to these questions… I wanted to just cry!! I want it to be that way. I don’t want to worry about what others think of me, I want to allow myself to just be completely engulfed in the arms of Christ. I want to worship spontaneously when I feel the Spirit move me. I want to be so full during my private worship that it can’t help but spill out & overflow! But I must be willing to move my ‘self’ out of the way & let God take over. As Joyce Meyer said – we must be willing to take that risk. Psalm 40:3 (AMP) reads “And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see & fear (revere & worship) & put their trust & confident reliance in the Lord.” This says to me that when others see my confidence in my worship to the Lord, they too will put their trust & confidence in Him. Instead of judging me for the “way I worship” they, in turn, will begin to worship maybe in a similar fashion. With confidence! It’s contagious!! It has to come straight from our hearts. John 4:24 (AMP) “God is a Spirit (a spiritual being) & those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit & in truth (reality)”. This is not to be taken lightly. Let’s give Him our ALL!!! Everything we have – let’s surrender ourselves – not part of ourselves, but our whole selves – to Him. Listen to this song by Kim Walker Smith– I surrender – don’t just listen, but worship right along with her. Let God pour His love on you. Lay everything down at the feet of Jesus & offer up your heart, mind, body & spirit. Surrender to Him & worship Him now.

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Emphasis mine)

God With Skin On

I don’t ever remember God physically giving me a hug.  I mean, a real – live – tangible hug that you can actually FEEL.  If He ever did, I didn’t realize it was HIM.  But, the other night, HE did  just that & I KNEW it was Him!!  Her name is Regina, she is a cashier at Wal-Mart.  I only had about 3 or 4 items to purchase.  Typically I would go through the self check-out lane – I usually do.  This night, I wanted a candy bar, a particular kind, I went to a couple of the registers up front looking for it.  I couldn’t find it, but I happened to be right there at Regina’s register, so I just put my items on the belt.  She said “Hello, how are you?”  I responded with my typical answer, to stranger & acquaintance alike, “Fine, thanks”.  She looked at me in the face, I was getting a pack of gum, she said “are you ok?”  “Yes ma’am, thank you”, I replied.   She said “God bless you”, “thank you & God bless you as well.”  By this time she had finished ringing up my items, I was paying with my card & when I turned around, there she was, on my side of the counter.  She handed my bags to me & said “You don’t know me, but my name is Regina”  she held out her arms & gave me a tight hug – I hugged back & began to cry.  “Thank you”, I said through my tears.  She said “it’s all going to be ok.  I could just sense that you needed a hug today.”  Again, I thanked her & she blessed me in the name of the Lord once again.  I blessed her in return & walked out of the store.  Now, if that wasn’t God Himself wrapping HIS arms around me through this precious, obedient soul then I don’t know what it was!  HE wanted to let me know that HE hasn’t forgotten me.  HE knows right where I am & HE LOVES ME!!!  I grow so weary on this journey.  I am exhausted, I am sad, I question things – GOD.  I really just want to curl up somewhere & hide most of the time – God knows all of this.  He hasn’t gone anywhere.  His Word tells me in Deuteronomy 31:6 “… I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is still right there, watching out for me & that night He even physically hugged me!  All I know to say is THANK YOU JESUS!!  Thank you for hugging me – I needed it!!!

Have you ever experience God with skin on??  Tell me about it. 

Felt Forgotten

I know by those I have come in contact with that I am not alone in the feeling that seems so prevalent in my life these days.  The feeling of being forgotten!  Now, I have some amazing friends who keep a check on me.  Did I say they were a.m.a.z.i.n.g.?!  They are great about sending me a text or email or phone call just to say they are praying for me, they are thinking about me, etc.  It is awesome to have friends like that.  Really awesome!  But the feeling remains.... lonely & forgotten.  The circumstances I am facing today are too much to bare, it seems.  But then again, I tend to wake up the very next morning, after spending a night where I thought I couldn't, I wouldn't - turns out I could, I did.  Sometimes, I don't want to though... I feel like I am in the fight of my life.  Spiritually speaking, I am in a fight for my life, for the life of my family.  Satan is no respecter of persons - do you hear me when I say that??  None of us are exempt from the darts the enemy wants to through our way.  When he starts throwing them it matters not who or what he hits with them.  Young.  Old.  In between.  Really doesn't matter - he is here but to steal, kill, & destroy (John 10:10).  Let me tell you, folks, he is roaring about!!!  Hear what I am saying to you!  You must be prepared at all times - put on the armour, the Good Lord has given you, to be able to fight (Ephesians 6)  I am not the best at putting on my armour.  I slack in that area sometimes.  I know some people who will literally "put on their armour".  They will go through the verses literally doing the motions as if they were putting on a real armour suit.  I don't think that is such a bad idea.  It shows Satan that you.mean.business!!  I think I should start doing that myself!  You know, going back to John 10:10 - the remainder of that verse tells us that HE is here to give us life & give it ABUNDANTLY!  When you are in a situation where you feel forgotten, kind of like the road I am walking right now, you don't feel like you have much of a life at all, much less an abundant life.  (I know this post kind of sounds like I am throwing myself a pity party &, whether you wanted to come or not, you were invited.  HA!)  That is really not what it is all about at all - sometimes it takes me just working out my feelings to get me to where I need to be - reminded of God's love for me! (John 3:16) Reminded of God's promises to me!  Just look up the word 'promise' in your Bible concordance or go to biblegateway.com & search that word - see how many show up - see all of those people God made promises to in the Bible.  He kept them, every one!!!  Who am I to think HE won't keep the one's He has given me?  I know He will - His Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).  Man - He is one awesome God!  Even though sometimes I can't see His hand at work, my circumstances seem to be inevitably devastating, He is always there - ALWAYS!!!!  Even when I've felt forgotten!

Edits from Previous Post

Please allow me to apologize for the links not working in the previous post.  I had it scheduled to post & did not do it "live" & my program was not working properly.  So, please find the necessary links here from the post "Taking A Risk in Worship".  I want to make sure credit is given where credit is due & it is vital that you watch the video of Kim Walker's testimony to really get the full impact of what I was talking about. 

Here are your links now.  Joyce Meyer, Woman to Woman; Bob Kauflin; Cynthia Heald, Becoming a Woman of Prayer; Jesus Culture, Kim Walker Smith - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nRKt8cPO1k

Her Testimony (this is about a 10 minute video... please don't skip this part!!)

I really am so sorry these didn't post to the previous blog.  Please check out the links if you wish... but please make sure you watch the video!! 

God bless.... Thanks for joining me! :)

Taking a Risk in Worship

The following is the the message the Lord gave me for Common Grounds on Thursday, February 16, 2012:

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord & He will give you the desires of your heart.” When I think about this verse I think that if I will read my Bible, if I will pray & live a life that is mostly pleasing to God then in turn He will grant the things I desire in my life – peace, happiness, perfect children, perfect spouse, perfect marriage. What about a new car, new house, shoes, clothes, bags, etc, etc? The peace & happiness sound ok – maybe not perfect kids & spouse & marriage – I would settle for just almost perfect. (grin) But when we start adding in the material things it starts to seem a little selfish. However, these things are what we consider when we ask God to grant the desires of our heart. These are the things we feel are the desires of our heart, & to an extent, they really are. We all desire to have these things – especially peace & love & happiness, right?! But what if we really considered GOD to be the desire of our heart? What if HE was all that really mattered to us & our relationship with Him? Then when we go back to look at Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord & He will give you the desires of your heart” – then when we delighted in the Lord, in essence, that would be the same as receiving the desire of our heart – which is God! After we delight in Him & we receive Him – the rest of it falls into place. We receive peace – because God grants peace. We receive happiness – because God doesn’t wish for us to be sad. We receive love – because God IS love! We start being faithful to Him in everything we do – the way we think, act, speak & in turn, God blesses us far beyond our wildest imagination! He wants so much to just pour out blessings that we can’t even contain! Obviously, this is not to say that life won’t be life. We have all been born into sin & with a sin nature. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God”. We must still live out the consequences of our life in sin. Sometimes they are great & carry a great weight with them. Sometimes not. Nevertheless, God wishes for us to become totally dependant on Him & the provision He can make in our life. Joyce Meyer says in her book Woman to Woman that “there is potential for greatness in us. But having potential isn’t enough unless we are willing to take a risk, to step out & let God go to work in our life. When God becomes the complete desire of our heart then we can develop the gifts He has placed within us. It takes some time, determination & hard work to develop potential into the manifestation of that potential.”


The Lord has been speaking to me very clearly about my potential in Him; about my potential in the way I worship Him & what my worship actually looks like. Usually when we say or hear the word ‘worship’ we automatically think about corporate worship, such as our song service at church or maybe praying. The fact of the matter is that there are so many other forms of worship. Think about when you maybe felt led by the Spirit to write a note or card to a friend that you had on your heart or you felt prompted to give away one of your favorite devotional books or pick up the phone & call. Maybe cooking a meal for someone who lost a loved one or said an encouraging word to a co-worker. All of these things are forms of worship… I will give some definitions of worship in just a minute, but for right now, think about these statements. I found this on a blog by Bob Kauflin all about worship. He says this:



“By the third song, I was really worshipping.” (Who or what were you worshipping before the third song?)



“Worship gets me to the place where I don’t have to think about anything.” (Worshipping God actually requires thinking very clearly about the Word, works & worthiness of God)



“Will there be worship at the meeting?” (Definitely. The question is of who or what.)



“With only 20 minutes, we really didn’t have time to worship.” (As though we “warm up” to worship God, rather than seek to honor him with our every thought & action.)



“Fred is doing the worship this morning” (Hopefully, everyone else will join in)



“I really love your worship” (This is a comment I sometimes get after leading God’s praise in song. I usually respond by saying, “I hope you worshipped too!”)



“Susie’s a real worshipper!” (This probably means that Susie is physically expressive when she sings songs of praise to God. Whether that means she’s a worshipper of God or not requires a little more information.)



Bob continues with this:



Harold Best, in his book Music Through the Eyes of Faith defines worship like this “acknowledging that someone or something else is greater – worth more - & by consequence, to be obeyed, feared & adored… Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone or something, I want to be mastered by it.” Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship says it like this “worship is the believers response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body- to what God is & says & does.” Bob finishes by saying “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of these gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable & therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin & the source of all actual sin.”



Worship through prayer is a way that we all know we can stay connected to God. But when you actually think about prayer what are your views on prayer? This is what I am really asking… when you think about praying, do you think of it as you going to God or God coming to you? (We usually say “let’s go to the Lord in prayer”) But consider for a minute that is God beckoning you! Cynthia Heald in her book Becoming a Woman of Prayer starts it off like this:



What if God does not demand prayer as much as gives prayer? What if God wants prayer in order to satisfy us? What if prayer is a means of God nourishing, restoring, healing, converting us? Suppose prayer is primarily allowing ourselves to be loved, addressed & claimed by God. What if praying means opening ourselves to the gift of God’s own self & presence? What if our part in prayer is primarily letting God be giver? Suppose prayer is not a duty but the opportunity to experience healing & transforming love? – Martin Smith





In this first chapter Cynthia also says “it is not our prayer which moves the Lord Jesus. It is Jesus who moves us to pray… Desiring intimacy with God ought to be the delight of my life & a choice gladly



made.” I would like to show you a video now that explains how much God loves us & really desires to be with us. To be intimate with us. The video is about 10 minutes long, but I would really like you to hear about the vision she had & imagine yourself in her place! This is Kim Walker Smith of the band Jesus Culture. I will be telling you a little more about Kim after the video.

As I said, Kim sings with the band Jesus Culture & is also the worship leader for Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Having said that, I would like to talk a little bit about our worship through song. This might just be the type of worship most familiar to us – except for prayer – of course. Our praise & worship time at church – I love this time! It is such a special time for me, personally. Most of you know how much I love to sing & this is my way to express myself & glorify God & worship Him. Jesus Culture has an amazing ability to be free in worship when they are ministering in other places (I don’t want to use the word ‘concert’, it is so much more that that!) I actually watched another interview with Kim that talked about how she developed her ‘spontaneous worship’. She said when she finally got to the place where she realized she needed to seek God to be able to feel His presence at all times around her was when things started to change. (check out this video) When she wasn’t working or in school or running errands she would come home & immediately spend time with God. She didn’t let anything get in her way… she just shut herself in with HIM. Seeking Him at every moment possible. She says that her spontaneous worship is an overflow of her private time of worship. You can’t be overflowing unless you have first been filled to the brim… the filling comes when you are seeking God in your private time of worship. Then when corporate worship time comes, you are already full & out comes the overflow of that worship. We must be careful not to allow our ‘self’ to come into play – even during the corporate worship. We must be totally focused on God & the Spirit He wants to reveal through us.



A couple of weeks ago God asked me a series of questions. Questions like “how free are you willing to be?” “How much are you willing to let go of?” “What is the worst that can happen?” “What does your daily worship look like?” “What are you afraid of?” He then says to me “I am only as present as you will allow me to be!” WHAT??!! So I asked myself a series of questions. They sounded a little like “what will others think of me? What will my husband think of me? My pastor? My friends? How do I just let it all go & worship spontaneously? What does my intimate time with God look like? Am I allowing every fiber of my being to be wrapped up in the arms of Christ?” Thinking about my answers to these questions… I wanted to just cry!! I want it to be that way. I don’t want to worry about what others think of me, I want to allow myself to just be completely engulfed in the arms of Christ. I want to worship spontaneously when I feel the Spirit move me. I want to be so full during my private worship that it can’t help but spill out & overflow! But I must be willing to move my ‘self’ out of the way & let God take over. As Joyce Meyer said – we must be willing to take that risk. Psalm 40:3 (AMP) reads “And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see & fear (revere & worship) & put their trust & confident reliance in the Lord.” This says to me that when others see my confidence in my worship to the Lord, they too will put their trust & confidence in Him. Instead of judging me for the “way I worship” they, in turn, will begin to worship maybe in a similar fashion. With confidence! It’s contagious!! It has to come straight from our hearts. John 4:24 (AMP) “God is a Spirit (a spiritual being) & those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit & in truth (reality)”. This is not to be taken lightly. Let’s give Him our ALL!!! Everything we have – let’s surrender ourselves – not part of ourselves, but our whole selves – to Him. Listen to this song by Kim Walker Smith– I surrender – don’t just listen, but worship right along with her. Let God pour His love on you. Lay everything down at the feet of Jesus & offer up your heart, mind, body & spirit. Surrender to Him & worship Him now.



Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Emphasis mine)

Common Grounds

First I would like to say thanks to any of you who are actually joining me in the effort to memorize Proverbs 31:10-31.  I am now on the 2nd week & have done well in the memorization, thanks to the Good Lord above!!  He is faithful!  He has helped me to retain it. PTL!  I do want to know how you are doing as well… please keep me posted.  (see original post here)

I will take this opportunity to invite you to Common Grounds this Thursday, February 16th at 6:00 p.m.  We will be at Vanessa’s house this month & probably for the next little while.  If you want to come but don’t know how to get in touch with me, please leave a comment on this post & I will get in touch with you.    For those who do not know, Common Grounds is a time of devotion & prayer for ladies of any age.  Angie Knight, Vanessa Perkins & yours truly felt the Lord brought us together last year for this purpose & HE has proven faithful & has done amazing things during our meetings.  We meet once a month, on the 3rd Thursday at 6:00 p.m.  The Word comes from many different places… sometimes Angie will speak, Vanessa, a guest speaker, or in the case of this month… again, yours truly.  God, however, has been the common thread.  He truly has been the speaker every month… just using a different vessel each time.  He is astounding!  He is awesome! 

This week, we will be talking about “Worship & Taking a Risk”.  I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord has given me a word for the night.  I hope to post it here, after Thursday night, for those of you who are unable to come or who might not be in our area.  I am praying God’s Will to be done Thursday night & hope you will agree with me in prayer. 

I can’t wait to share it with my readers as well!  :)  Be blessed today!!!

More Precious Than Rubies

Just this past Sunday, in Sunday School we (the ladies of the class) were offered up a challenge!  The subject of our lesson that day was “Are You Letting Your Light Shine”.  Well, maybe in the world… but what about at home?  What kind of character do we display in front of the ones who mean the most to us?  Our spouse, our children?  What do they see on a daily basis?  Are you letting your light shine in front of them?  Are you a wife/mother of noble character that is talked about in Proverbs 31?  I am pretty sure I am not that person!  The challenge, you ask?  To memorize the chapter of Proverbs 31… whoa!!!  What???  Of course, this won’t happen all at one time, this will have to take place about 3 verses at a time.  After I read the chapter, I realized… now, THAT is what noble character means.  I so much want to possess those character traits!  She was one amazing woman & those were some blessed people… her husband & children, I am referring to. :)  Not to mention all of the others who knew her outside of her home.  Just the first 3 verses alone are enough to inspire one to be a better person! 

I must tell you,  there is 1 woman on this earth, living today, that I would even dare to compare to the Proverbs 31 woman.  Her name… Bonnie Roberts!  Her relation to me… my grandmother.  She is something special!  I can’t even begin to tell you the impact she has made on my life, not to mention the life of the rest of my family.  She is one to be esteemed!  I don’t just say these things because she IS my grandmother… I just so happened to be blessed in that way.  Just ask anyone who knows her, they would say the same… related or not!  When I grow up, I want to be just like her!!!  That sweet Bonnie Roberts. :)

Now… I am wrapping this thing up, but I hope I have given you something to think about.  I have posted the chapter (vs. 10-31) below.  This is in the New Living Translation… I just love the way it talks about her.  It’s not hard to memorize either.  I challenge YOU, now.  Read the chapter, take some index cards & split the chapter into 2 or 3 verses at a time & memorize that sucker!!  I am going to & I am sure that hiding this Word in my heart is sure to change my character.  If you are up for the challenge, let me know.  Post a comment on this blog & we can come together every week to see how it’s going. 

 

A Wife of Noble Character

^{10 [b]}Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
      She is more precious than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband can trust her,
      and she will greatly enrich his life.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
      all the days of her life.

¹³ She finds wool and flax
      and busily spins it.
¹⁴ She is like a merchant’s ship,
      bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
      and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

¹⁶ She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
      with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She is energetic and strong,
      a hard worker.
¹⁸ She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
      her lamp burns late into the night.

¹⁹ Her hands are busy spinning thread,
      her fingers twisting fiber.
²⁰ She extends a helping hand to the poor
      and opens her arms to the needy.
²¹ She has no fear of winter for her household,
      for everyone has warm^[c] clothes.

²² She makes her own bedspreads.
      She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
²³ Her husband is well known at the city gates,
      where he sits with the other civic leaders.
²⁴ She makes belted linen garments
      and sashes to sell to the merchants.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity,
      and she laughs without fear of the future.
²⁶ When she speaks, her words are wise,
      and she gives instructions with kindness.
²⁷ She carefully watches everything in her household
      and suffers nothing from laziness.

²⁸ Her children stand and bless her.
      Her husband praises her:
²⁹ “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
      but you surpass them all!”

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
      but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.
³¹ Reward her for all she has done.
      Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Sister Seat-Saver

A little over a week ago I attended a Women’s Pentecostal Camp Meeting at Carmel Assembly.  This is #11 for them.  I have attended all but 2 of the 11 years and each one has been absolutely amazing.  Every year I think “This has been the best one yet, it can’t get any better than this” and every year proves to be even better than the year before.  If you have never been, I encourage you to make arrangements to attend next year!  God shows up in a mighty way and miracles are in the making.  This year the theme was Restoration.  Powerful words, mighty messages, an amazing move of the Holy Spirit.  When you look at the pictures, you will wish you’d have been there too!  Check out this website to purchase CD’s or DVD’s of the services.  You won’t regret it! 

Ok… the reason I am telling you this is because….. Sis. Rese Moore (Pastor’s wife, extraordinaire) made a comment at some point during the weekend about (not) being afraid to get up from your place and move… to the altar or slide over for another lady to have a seat, etc, etc… She said “Ok, now, stop being sister seat-saver”. (I wish you could hear that said in the voice I hear as I type it.)  Well, of course that struck me! :)  Sister Seat-Saver… Now there is a poem in there somewhere.  You guessed it… there certainly was!!!  Here she goes….  “Sister Seat-Saver”

I went to church & walked to a pew
I wanted to sit down;
The lady there just glared at me,
She had an ugly frown.
I asked her if she would mind
If I slid in right there.
She said “Not here, I’m sorry, no
This seat is saved for Claire.”
I said “Ok, thanks anyway,”
And moved on to the next;
The lady there just looked at me,
Her face seemed so perplexed.
I asked if I could sit right there
On the pew right next to her;
She said “I’m sorry, not today
This seat is saved for sure.”
So on I went to the next & the next,
No one would let me in.
I dropped my head & left that church -
Back to a world of sin.
Accepted there I knew I’d be
By those with flair & flavor;
Never to go back to that church
To look at sister seat-saver.
© Copyright 2011 Angela M. Jackson

Take a look at yourselves… how are you treating visitors that come to your church?  Are you welcoming them with open arms, sliding over so they can sit down or moving to a different pew if necessary?  Or is it your 4 and no more?  Yes, the church is there for feeding our Christian souls, but it is also for the lost to come and be saved, a place of refuge not of condemnation because of the way they may look, act, or smell.  It is not up to us to decide who should or shouldn’t be there. (Matthew 7:1-3) Let’s leave that up to the ultimate Judge!!  We are called to win souls for Christ… not push them away!!!  Are you being a “sister seat-saver”? 

Choose Today

Choose you this day whom you will serve.
Will it be God or will you swerve?
He wants your all - your full attention,
And when you speak, His name to mention.
Loyalty is what it all comes down to,
Will it be to Him or what you want to do?
Time alone will be required.
Sacrifices made - you'll be inspired.
God will speak if you'll just listen
People will wonder why your face glistens.
Full of Christ now, what more could there be?
A world full of people who need to see.
They're watching you! Every move you make,
Tell them about God and what’s at stake.
Every one of us - we have our story.
Hopefully it ends with God's grace and glory!
He died for us - that we didn't deserve -
Now choose you this day whom you will serve!
© copyright Angela M. Jackson 2011

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Soar

Soar like a bird, seek to go higher;
Possibilities are endless when it’s God you desire.
You must leave the nest to reach full potential;
Step from your comfort zone, don’t be so doubtful.
The Lord will show you just where to land;
Then you must listen & take your stand.
God will never, ever let you fall.
He even holds the sparrow, so dainty & small.
So, soar like a bird – don’t be afraid;
The Lord will protect you, He’ll come to your aid.
He’s there as your guide, to lead & direct;
Just stop, look & listen, don’t be circumspect.
Like the bird, He has given us a natural instinct;
To draw nigh to Him, through our prayers we are linked.
We are His children – we are His treasure;
God’s love for us is way beyond measure.
So, soar like a bird, go higher & higher;
Possibilities are endless when it’s God you desire!
© Angela M. Jackson 2011

Patient Endurance

Hebrews 10:36 (NLT) “Patient endurance is what you need now so you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that He has promised.”

This has been a recurring theme in my life over the last few weeks – almost a month now.  Such a hard lesson to learn, but so important to realize.  This is what the Lord gave me yesterday while dwelling on this verse.

Patient endurance is what it takes
For you to find strength to run the race.
This life is full of ups and downs,
But in life with Me you’ll wear a crown.
Focus on Me, give Me your attention.
It’s only My Name that you need to mention.
I’m all you need to make it through,
Just trust in Me for I am the Truth;
I am the Way and I am the Life,
Living with Me does not bring strife
This doesn’t mean you won’t climb a hill -
But I’m always with you – just be still.
Know that I’m God and I’ll carry you through
Whatever storm is attacking you
You must be in My will to receive
The promises I have – simply believe.
You have the strength to run this race,
But patient endurance is what it takes!
© Copyright Angela M. Jackson, 2011

I did a devotional on a call this morning on this very subject.  The call is an amazing time to hear the Word and deliver any prayer requests you might have.  I urge and encourage you to check it out when you get a chance.  If you are unable to call in to participate you can always call in on a playback number and listen to the devotional.  It is called “It’s a New Thing” based on the scripture Isaiah 43:18-19.  The hours for participation are 6 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday of each week.  The number for participation is 209.647.1000 the pin will be 355106#.  The playback number is 209.647.1999 pin 355106#.  For today’s call (June 29, 2011) you can enter reference #35 at the prompting.  Again, I encourage you to listen to any of the calls, but if you are dealing with things in your life that call for endurance and perseverance, today is for YOU!! 

I pray God’s blessings on you all!  :)

Technorati Tags: Patience,Endurance,It's a New Thing

Two-Faced Christian

My daughter said “Mom, will you pray with me?”
I said, “I will, just wait and see!”
”I have a test that’s hard, today”
”I’ll be there in just a minute, okay?”
Off to school to start the day…
”Oh, we almost forgot to pray,
Just give me your hand, we’ll do it real quick.
’Thank you, Jesus, make all knowledge stick’”
”There you go, my sweet little girl.
Now get in there and give it a whirl”

My son comes home and says “Hey Mom,
I don’t feel so good, something is wrong.
Will you pray for me to take it away?”
I said “Of course, but in a minute, okay?”
Off to the Doctor – why is it happening this way?
Once again, we forgot to pray.
”Give me your hand, lets say a quick prayer.
I know the Lord can meet us there.
’Lord, help my son, don’t let him be sick
And thank You for hearing my prayer, real quick’”

My husband comes home and says “bad day.
Would you mind – let’s just pray?”
I said “No problem!  You know I will;
But in a minute, I’m busy still.”
So, we wait to pray and along goes the day
An argument comes and I don’t know what to say.
”Where did this come from?  Why so mad?”
”Because you’re always too busy… it makes me sad”
I realize now, we forgot to pray
And ask the Lord for a better day.
”Give me your hand, we’ll do it real quick”
Then, maybe the anger won’t stick.

Off to church now as a family
To sing praise and worship to our King.
I lift my hands and begin to pray.
How am I doing?  Is this the right way?
My husband and children look and see
The preacher preach and they look at me.
What is she doing when he asks her to pray?
She gets up and does it…. right away!
But what about us?  Can’t she do that at home?
Why do we have to plead and moan?
A TWO-FACED CHRISTIAN – she is just that!
Out there she can… but at home, she can’t.

Dear Lord,  help me today to be what you have called me to be.  A Godly wife and mother.  I don’t ever want to be too busy that I don’t show my husband and children that church is the only place to pray with fervency or that the world’s problems are more important than theirs.  I want them to see me as a woman who seeks after YOU at all times and is never too busy to stop what I am doing to pray for a need they have, right now!  Lord, let me be the light that shines for YOU – not just in the world or at church, but to my family first and foremost.  Don’t let them view me as a “Christian” out there, but not at home.  Don’t let me be a TWO-FACED CHRISTIAN. 

Now, please do NOT misunderstand what I am saying about “quick” prayers.  Those are definitely necessary at times.  This is all about the business of life… we, I, do not take the time at home I should to minister to my family first… God, husband, children…. others.  This is how HE called us to prioritize our relationships.  When this is in the right order, things fall into place as they should and your family doesn't feel you are too busy to see and hear them.  BUSY = Being Under Satan's Yoke

"TWO-FACED CHRISTIAN" is a poem by Angela M. Jackson, owner of this blog.  All rights reserved.

Do Not Worry! Be Joyful in trials. :)

Let me help you through this day.  The challenges you face are far too great for you to handle alone.  You are keenly aware of your helplessness in the scheme of events you face.  This awareness opens up a choice:  to doggedly go it alone or to walk with Me in humble steps of dependence.  Actually, this choice is continually before you, but difficulties highlight the decision making process.  So consider it all joy whenever you are enveloped in various trials.  These are gifts from Me, reminding you to rely on Me alone. 
Psalm 63:7-8; James 1:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
(This passage is from the book Jesus Calling)
After the question, “who or what shall separate us from the love of God” & several suggestions of hardships & difficulties were listed – Paul says Romans 8:37-39 this:  “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced – persuaded – am not backing up from, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons – or anyone on this earth in between, neither the present nor the future – or worrying about either one, nor ANY powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us – deter us – make our thinking sway – or stop us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (I added words for emphasis so that we clearly know how deep our commitment must be for Him and His love for us!  He makes us “super victors” in all things – helping us overcome all obstacles as we hand them off to Him – realizing that the perfecting of another ones faith is NOT IN OUR POWER!!!)
(This is from ANGIE KNIGHT, giving my Word for the day)
(The following is from Tiffany Stuart, precious soul!  From Tea with Tiffany… a word given to her a few days before now… Actually on March 3rd)
The Stop, Look and Listen Girl is at it again. For those of you who don’t know that’s my nickname. God speaks to me through what I see and hear, if and when I look and listen. I often capture a picture of His message and share it online. This week’s message was loud and clear.
On Tuesday while I ran errands, I felt compelled to turn around and drove a mile in the opposite direction to find this semi truck. I needed a picture of this rocking chair because God was speaking.
First I remembered this quote: “Worry is like a rocking chair–it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Back n’ forth. Back n’ forth. Back n’ forth.
My worry wasn’t getting me anyway, except more stressed.
Then God gently reminded me of His Word.
Do not worry…

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

To read more of this post from Tiffany click here
(The following was a text from my dear friend, Vanessa… sent to my cell phone on March 3rd… sound familiar??)
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)
Has God ever spoken to you through various sources all at the same time?  Maybe HE was trying to get your attention… I certainly know he was getting mine!!  I have never had a tendency toward worry… but God showed me differently!  He pointed it out to me over & over & over & over again.  I am learning, slowly but surely, that I can’t depend on anyone or anything but HIM!!!!  He will always take care of me, no matter what the situation. 
How about you??  Are you putting your full faith and trust in HIM?  Or are you spending your days rocking with worry??