Who Knows...

When it comes to decision making, I'm generally pretty quick to decide. I use my logical brain to quickly weigh the pros and cons, considering how the effects of my decision may possibly change my daily routine or my relationship or whatever the decision pertains to. And I believe that God created us with brains so we could use common sense to make decisions. But I also believe there is a flip side to that sentiment, that sometimes there are choices to be made that require us to not be logical in our earthly minds but to operate in a mindset of faith.

I have heard story after story in the last couple of months of people who had the choice to follow the leading of the Lord. Some allowed fear to keep them from following through and some let their faith lead the way. And there is a common theme that keeps coming up when they share: "WHO KNOWS what will come out of it?", "WHO KNOWS what obedience will produce?" You see, the Lord doesn't ask us to understand what the outcome may be, He just asks us to obey.

I think of the stories in the Bible where ordinary men said yes to extra-ordinary tasks because, even if they didn't understand or couldn't see the outcome, they trusted that God's ways are higher than our ways. I think of David, Joseph, Moses, and Paul... saying yes and probably in the back of their minds wondering what would come of it all. I look at their example to trust and walk in faith, which is not as easy to do as it is to say. 

So tonight, I am encouraged! I am encouraged to think ANYTHING is possible. I am encouraged to say more yeses and to step out in faith and obedience often. I am encouraged to trust the Lord with my path and to think often: "Who knows what could be?!?!"

Because of of this decision, tonight I get to step out and share with you that the Lord has plans for me! So many opened doors being flung wide! One that I am especially excited to share is coming in October of this year! I will be venturing back to South Africa with the wonderful McGregors. The Lord has confirmed time and time again that this trip is something He has for me to step in to, and who knows, the bigger picture could be even greater than I can imagine.

Please partner with me in prayer over this trip and season in my life. And if you happened to be inclined to give or would like to find out more information, please visit the link below. 

Could you imagine what the Lord could do if we all could just put ourselves aside and trust Him enough to say yes? Who knows?!!? ;) 

Click Here For More Info On South Africa 2017

Walking Down a Road Less Traveled

On August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., an infamous moment in history took place. This moment is not only known by every American, but by people around the world. A man, humbled and filled with love, spoke words that would penetrate the very core of our country. They went like this:

"I have a dream today ... I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted , hill and mountain shall be made low. 'l'he rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able  to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will he able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day." ~ Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. 

(See whole speech at: https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf)

A man that exuded justice from his veins, his very heartbeat being that of love,  and humility encasing him led a generation (and many more to follow) down a road less traveled. Knowing that pain would be around every corner, that others may try to soil his name and reputation, he chose to move forward without looking back. Things have never been and will never be the same because of it.

Well, MLK, today I have a dream.I have a dream of a world filled with love and purity. I dream of a world where children live in homes with both of their parents. Where parents lead there homes in wisdom and love. That our homes would become places where the presence of the Lord dwells, and thus true freedom reigns. I dream of this world being turned upside down simply because men and women fight for righteous and pure marriages... a holy and sacred union. That easy road that says "give up", "things will never change" or "I can't fix it" would be erased from the mouths of people around the world. It is a hard road to fight for what is right, in love and yet hold the standards high. But, I believe to see change it must start here... placing our Heavenly Father in the center of home and marriage.

You see, I believe that if a child is brought up in love that they will walk in love. Proverbs 22:6 tells us that if we train our children in the way they should go, when they are old they will not veer from it. And I cling to that! If we want to see all the horrible things in this world end, we need to train our children. Not only in word but even more so in action.

I am not oblivious to the fact that this world will never be perfect, because I have read the end of my Bible. What I do stand on though, if we want to see change it has to start with us, in our homes, in our families. We cannot preach one thing to the world and then idly sit by as our homes are torn apart with greed, slander, impurities, bitterness and the list could go on.

So Dr. King, I follow your lead, and I will continue to walk that road less traveled. To stand for what I hold to be true. The road where one must seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). The road where I may not be favored by man, but honored by God. The road that can at times seem lonely but knowing that every step is ordained. Letting the love of God so penetrate me that my words are bright and my mind is slow to anger because anger only brings folly (Proverbs 14:29). I cannot bring this solution myself, but I can pray. I can stand on the word. And I can be there to pray and encourage those around me... one step at a time!

I pray that my life can be one bringing glory to the Lord in word and in deed. I don't want to just write these things down, I want to live them. And as I reflect today on your life, MLK, I see a man not of perfection but with a heart for the things of God. That is an example I can run with... even if the road gets bumpy.

A Journey None the Less

For those of you who have been following my journey with some health issues, the end of this blog will serve as an update for you. But first, for those who don't know what's been going on, a little bit of back story...

Around two and a half years ago I started having some issues with cramping in my left side. I shrugged it off because it was annoying but not detrimental to my life. Six months later I was sent by my employer to get a physical and the doctor informed me that she could feel some swelling and a lump in what she thought could be my ovary. Of course no body wants to hear that especially someone without insurance at the time. Within a month of that appointment pain started increasing  and the frequency of how often I was cramping grew. It was no longer annoying, it was beginning to keep me from functioning normally. I knew I needed to figure out some insurance, and so I started on that journey about a year in and let me tell you it was not easy. After a long and quite obnoxious trail of paperwork and circles of conversations with people, I was finally approved for insurance in April of 2015 that would kick in starting a few months after that.

All during this time of waiting and praying my symptoms got worse and some others were even added to the list. I was overwhelmed, worn out and just wanting to be healthy. I met with my doctor and explained all the things that had been happening (cramping, fevers, menstrual issues, headaches, nausea, etc) and he scheduled me with a Women's Specialist pretty quickly. I was excited to see the specialist because to me that meant answers were coming... little did I know.

My first meeting with the specialist was one of THE MOST horrific days of my life. Sounds dramatic? It was! I will spare you the details, but let's just say while she was examining me we found that my body parts just didn't want to cooperate and that led to a LOT of pain!!!! I don't even have words for the pain. Not only was it painful but it didn't bring any answers AND the Women's Specialist was rude and communicated with me like I was some moron. You know what I'm talking about, right? When someone talks down to you and makes you feel like your questions are unimportant... whew, some forgiveness had to happen there, let me tell you!

From there we began with blood test and urine tests and then some more blood tests... it seemed to be a never ending cycle. I was getting no answers and just felt like a hamster on a wheel going round and round and round. In the midst of all this testing I started getting migraines. Can I just tell you, I was done. Literally over it. My extrovert personality and love for ministry suffered... I did nothing but go to work and come home and sleep. I wore sunglasses all the time because my eyes were so sensitive to light that it would immediately trigger a migraine. I was running a low grade fever pretty much everyday and still, there were no answers. I couldn't laugh because it hurt my head, I couldn't read because it hurt my head and I couldn't sing because... well, it hurt my head. And I was NOT happy about it!

At this point the migraines became a priority to figure out, but I was sent for an ultrasound of my pelvic where they found that there were many cysts forming and several cysts that had burst in my ovaries. So I had an answer, without a solution. They put me on pain meds to try to manage the cramping and then we began the cycle of testing all over again but now for the migraines. All my blood work came back normal except my vitamin d, which was pretty much non existent. I was started on a prescription high dose of vitamin d to get that number right. They did eye tests on me, had me keep a journal of my day to see if anything out of the norm was affecting me and finally I was sent to get a CAT Scan of my head. The day of the scan I had a pretty normal (for me at the time) migraine, but when we got the results there were no abnormalities in my brain. Even on the right side where I was feeling a ton of constant pressure. Back to square one and feeling more frustrated and overwhelmed as ever my doctor put me on a new med to try to ease some of the migraines.

It was here that I had this random thought about going to see the dentist. I mean, I hadn't been in a long time and I was now covered by insurance so why not add to the eight million doctor appointments I already had every week. :)

I knew going in to the dentist that the first thing they would say to me was that I needed to get my wisdom teeth out asap. I had heard that the last time I went to the dentist but was not covered for it so it didn't happen. And sure enough, as soon as they took the first X-rays the dental assistant said "oh my, those things need to come out!" But guess what, my insurance still wouldn't cover it. In that same dental appointment the dentist said to me that there was a lot going on with my teeth and asked if I had been having headaches. I almost cried because it seemed too easy that it could be my teeth causing these issues in my head. So I took to my doctor the information that the dentist had given to see if there would be a way to have my health insurance cover the extraction of my wisdom teeth and the root canals that needed to take place. My doctor said he would contact the insurance company.

So that brings us to the most recent part of this journey of mine. About a month and a half ago I was laying on the couch feeling terrible of course, when I bit down and had a harsh pain. When I opened my mouth I had half of a tooth that had broken off. I could have cried. I should have cried lol, but instead I just added it to the list. I had to deal with it, because I couldn't eat. So that Monday I went to work, told my wonderful boss that I was going to have to see the emergency oral surgeon at Highland Hospital and I wasn't sure what was going to happen or when I'd be back to work. Bless her heart.

Highland got me in fast and said all that I suspected they would say, "these have to go". They had to remove my broken molar and the wisdom tooth that was right next to it. Due to the roots of my teeth being SUPER crooked and big they had to break the teeth up using a drill. Because of this, my jaw was fractured. Are you cry laughing yet? Try living this real life story! Oye!

I couldn't talk, couldn't eat, was in a ton of pain in my head from the pain in my mouth and jaw. If I never was a mess before, I was certainly one now. The surgeon said the other 3 wisdom teeth had to come out too but they couldn't do them all that day so they scheduled me to come back 3 weeks later. I missed almost 2 weeks of work trying to recoup and getting myself to the place I could talk again... but I made it through.

When it came time for my second surgery I was convinced of two things: 1) I hated teeth problems lol and 2) this WAS going to help my head. I mean I was convinced. I had people praying with me that this "problem" would become the solution and I would be able to move forward with life. I went in with HIGH expectations and I wasn't budging from that position.

The surgeon said to me at the beginning of the surgery that he wasn't sure he'd be able to get all three teeth out that day and he may only be able to do 2... in my head I cancelled out that plan of the enemy and said NOPE! All 3 are coming out today. lol I told you I was DE-TERM-INED! He began with the top right tooth and pulls it out whole. As soon as it came out I felt this pop of relief from pressure that was being caused by the tooth hitting the nerve. That was one hallelujah! Two more to go. He moved to the bottom right and of course, just as the previous surgery on the bottom opposite side, they had to drill it because my root was too dang crooked and the tooth was the largest he'd ever seen. What comes with drilling my teeth into bits? Another fracture to my jaw.

When he finished dealing with that part of my mouth he said to me, "well, would you like me to try for the third one? or do you want to come back?" If only he could have read my mind right then... again I say Oye! lol

I told him go ahead (in the most non-understable way you can while you have a numb mouth and dental tools in there). He got the tooth prepared to pull out whole and warned me that it was going to hurt in my cheek because the roots were so on top of the nerve (or something like that) and he couldn't numb that close to my ear. So I braced for impact! He started pulling and I immediately knew what he meant... it hurt, a freaking lot! I clenched my fists but the more he pulled the more pain and pressure I felt in my ear. He asked if I wanted him to stop and I said NO!!!! I was sobbing and hyperventilating and screaming. Right before he got the tooth out it felt like my ear drum was going to explode. I thought for sure I was going to go deaf... who knew you could feel like that when at the dentist?

The tooth came out and again I felt this huge pop of pressure in my head. And then I knew, I was right! I gathered my composure, calmed my breathing and took a pretty gnarly picture of the two teeth that were still whole. I was so anxious to get out of there that the dentist had to chase me down to give me back my sunglasses that I had left behind. I got home and spent the next two weeks resting and healing. My jaw is still not fully healed and so I can't eat normal food yet. And I do still have to go back to get several root canals done. But I am so excited and happy to let you know that I have been migraine free for 3 weeks. I stopped my migraine medicine about two and a half weeks ago and have only had a slight headache once or twice, but I can tell it's from a stiff neck from resting in bed so much and not from the same kind of pain as before.

I am literally so pleased! And so grateful. There were many people in my life that had to deal with a me that was not really me for the last ten-ish months. I've been a hermit locked away just trying to survive and that is the complete opposite of me! I can't thank the Lord enough for that silly broken molar... don't ever doubt that the Lord will use terrible situations to bring about good!

Now that my mind feels so free to be me again, I feel I can put some more effort and prayer into figuring out how to deal with the cysts and the bursting of the cysts in my ovaries. You know pain like that almost seems minute when your brain has been hurting so much and you haven't been able to think or function like a real human being. But I will not settle for only partial healing in my body! I am believing that the Lord has a plan to bring complete restoration to me and that I will be able to move forward in loving Him and loving His people.

When I set out to write this blog I did not intend it to be a novel, but I just felt like this portion of my journey needed to be shared. So I am sorry it is the longest thing ever lol But please, rejoice with me! For our God is great and greatly to be praised! His faithfulness is astounding and I want the world to know that it's been a crazy journey, but it's been a journey none the less. And every journey has a beginning and an ending... don't give up if you're in the middle of one right now!

Identify Me

Tonight as I was watching some good ole "Fixer Upper" on HGTV a commercial came on that triggered a thought that has now prompted this post. With all the craziness this country, and world, have been going through lately I feel like this is a timely reminder. So let me share the commercial with you: Lezlie's Story

"I do feel like Ancestry gave me a sense of identity."

I felt a heaviness for us, as children of God, our Father and our Creator, not truly knowing who we are and thus not being able to walk in our true identity. There are so many things in this world that we could try to find our identity in: money, relationships, appearances, family, friends, ministries, careers, ethnicity/race, etc. And I find it is interesting timing to bring up the latter two in this list. With the #bluelivesmatter and #blacklivesmatter campaigns growing rampantly as the days pass, my heart is stirred to pray for both groupings of people to realize they don't need these hashtags for them to "matter" because they both matter already. These hashtags represent hurt and frustration but for the most part, it seems that people just want to be recognized and respected for who they are. The problem is that we think "we are ____" is our identity.

Why does identifying as a certain ethnicity mean you should be treated better or worse? Why does putting on a uniform identify someone as being perfect or having evil intent? We're all human, and we're all going to make human judgments and mistakes, that's why! One side says "you don't respect me because of this" and the other side responds back "I won't respect you because you don't respect me"... and we find ourselves in a whirlwind of a circle. Shouting the same hurtful things back and forth. What comes of it? More hurt. More disrespect. More hate. Is that what we really want our identities to be wrapped up in? I want to challenge us as a nation, as human beings, to not accept that as truth!

When Jesus came to earth to offer us a way out of sin and bondage, He knew His identity. He was firm in who He is. He is the Name above every name. And yet, when men were spitting in His face and placing a crown of thorns on His head and eventually hanging Him on the cross He did not say "Don't you know who I am? Don't you understand that I am the King of Kings?" In fact, in His love for us and the humility in His heart He said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do.(Luke 23:34)"

Wow... how powerful is that? Jesus was so firm in His identity that He did not need to call out for recognition or respect in a time when the world was against Him but He called out for OUR freedom! Whew, I need a moment there to process that!

Can we learn from Jesus' example? Can we push aside selfish and prideful mindsets, accept our identity as children of God and love those around us? Can we at least try? The enemy obviously does not want us to know who we truly are and so he will do anything he can to bring disunity and hate.  But I know that the more we pursue a relationship with the Lord the better we will understand our true identity and the better we can love. The more we love, the better we learn to respect each other. And the more love and respect we have, the better our world will be. And I am ready to live in a world that is a reflection of Heaven on earth rather than just trying to survive a world that is hell on earth. It's time for us to let the Lord show us who we are and walk it out! Let's do this!

Lord, tonight my heart is stirred for Your children to allow You to identify them, us! Help us to see who You created us to be and to carry out the love You have called us to walk in. I am believing for a reviving of Your children and a revelation of our identities. May we see each other the way that You see us... not as black or blue, or tall or short, or even loud or quiet, but as chosen and loved. Burn off the chains of hate that bind that hearts of our nation and world and cut off the enemies plans to bring destruction and disunity. Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Amen!!!

What About Me?

What do you do when your whole being feels stuck and yet the whole world around you keeps moving? When your dreams are feeling lost in some other galaxy but everyone around you seems to be enjoying the fruit of their hopes? You long to travel but can't and everyone else seems to be able to while you are waiting. You're waiting for a husband while all your friends from high school and college are already married, engaged or soon to be. Your heart yearns for a child, and every other post on FB is either a pregnancy or birth announcement. You want to be healthy; you want to do what you're called to do. It' a hard season to be in and I know many of us are there... so I want to speak to the tiny bit of hope that is still stirring.

I watched a video tonight that is going viral on FB. It is the story of a couple with the promise of a child. Not just any child, but a little girl, with olive skin whose name would be Chloe. They share of the struggle they faced for years when they had no comprehension where this child would come from since they could not conceive. It tested their trust, their faith and their hope. The Lord had made a promise but it was a promise that would take place in His perfect timing. I don't want to destroy the whole story for you so I will attach the video to my blog for you to enjoy... it's worth the watch!

One of the subjects that came up briefly in the video was the pain this couple felt when all their friends were announcing pregnancies and babies but they seemed to have no hope. It tested their hearts on the goodness of God. How can we, as human beings, celebrate the joys that we long for when we aren't seeing them but others are? It's hard. There's no simple way of putting it. It is hard to rejoice with friends living their dreams when it feels like you'll never be able to celebrate your own. 

I am in that hard season right now where I am not seeing dreams happen. I am not seeing much of anything happen. And I don't say that to stir up sympathy, but simply to be honest. I want to share my perspective and the things the Lord is showing me through this time. We have to know ourselves and know how we need to process things but we also need to know that the Lord is good... no ifs, ands or buts about it. So, let me share with you some lessons that I'm learning...

For a tree to achieve it's purpose it takes work. Different trees require different amounts of work: watering, protecting from cold, stabilizing, pruning, etc. Some trees grow quickly, some take hundreds of years to reach their height. But the thing is, the tree never has to try to figure out how to make it's purpose happen on it's own. The planter who chose the seed, knowing it's potential and what it would need to reach that potential, knew the amount of work that would be needed to make this tree the best that it could be. And it reminds me of the Father. He knows because He created. He knew us before we were in our mother's wombs, and He knows the plans He has for us. That right there brings a peace to my over working mind already. 

Another thing I'm learning is that it is ok to be sad. It is ok to process through our emotions. What is not ok is dwelling on hurts because that will only stir up jealousy and bitterness. Though it may be hard and require some extra effort, we need to choose to rejoice over the joyous moments in the lives of the people around us... because love is not selfish. And the Lord has not just left us out to hang dry while these circumstances are happening, He has sent us His Holy Spirit to be our comfort, to give us the right words and to help us look through with Kingdom perspective. We are not doing this alone. How good is our God? SELAH!

And the last thought I will leave you with is this: we need to dig in to the Lord deeply in this season of life. He will uplift us. His word will nourish us. He will stir up our hope and our trust. It may not be easy, but what HE has for us in HIS right timing is worth so much more than the rushed options we could try to pull out of a hat. And that is more than good enough for me. In His perfection, if I have to wait till I'm 80, I will choose to follow His lead and wait. 

         Isaiah 55:8-9

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

 

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Lord, my prayer right now is that those who are hurting in a time of waiting would be lifted up by You. All it takes is one moment with You for our perspectives to be shifted. So Holy Spirit dwell with us. Teach how to be loving and filled with joy especially when our flesh is telling us to throw in the towel and carry around bitterness and jealousy. We can only process as deep as our fleshly nature allows us unless we have You... so I invite You to come and change our hearts! More of You and less of us. And we wait patiently for the promises and dreams that cling to our hearts and minds, but until then teach us how to simply obey. In Jesus' name, Amen!

HE Has Overcome!

I am sad and righteously angry at the events of this past week. The fact that so many people have lost their lives makes my stomach churn and a fire burn inside of me. I cannot comprehend the thoughts in the minds of the men who have caused this time of grief and pain. But what I do know is this: the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10)... period. He has no intent of doing good. He has no desire to be helpful. And he will not preserve life. But God, in the midst of pain, sorrow and questioning offers us a light in the darkness... His name is Jesus.

John 16:33

"These things I (Jesus) have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."

This is not a nonchalant word that the Lord just placed in scripture for no reason... this is POWER! It is release in AUTHORITY! It tells us that even though the world may seemingly be crumbling to have FAITH, for He has already taken care of it. So cling to this verse, hide it in your heart and think on it daily. And when the enemy thinks he is sly and can stir up chaos and pain, throw this verse in his big ugly face and declare: JESUS IS MY OVERCOMER!!!

  Lord, we are in a season of pain in our world... people are dying, possibly not even knowing You and Your great love for them. Families are losing loved ones. The entertainment industry is losing those who are willing to shine Your light in a dark world! BUT, You are ever faithful and You are ever true! So I ask for a special outpouring of your glory and for a dwelling of Your presence around us. When the whole earth shakes, would we remember that You are our loving Father and faithful friend. 

  I ask for visitation of Your Spirit to visit the families of those who are suffering through these tragedies. Breathe Your life in their hearts where it may feel like they don't even want to live. Let them come to know Your love for them and find comfort in Your arms. May they be surrounded by people who speak words of life and wisdom, and not words of hurt and blame. Stir up intercessors around the world that will cover them in prayer at every moment. Blessed are they that mourn!

  And Lord, I ask for Your church to rise up. That this would be a time to bless and love on the hurting. That Your light would shine through us so brightly and that all of the fleshly mindsets that the enemy would like to use to bring further pain would be broken off. We are Your salt in this earth, so help us to be just that! This is a time for love and comfort and I declare that Your bride will walk in those things! In Your Holy and Precious Name, Amen!

Truth or Lies

Can I start off by sharing that the last 2 weeks I have felt defeated? Well I have, AND I didn't even know it. It's not really the defeat like in sports where you didn't gain enough points to beat the other team... But it's the defeat that comes with words like this: "I guess this is just the way it is and will be." That melancholy, lackadaisical, no fight left kind of defeated. The enemy hasn't even won and I'm throwing up the white flag. And the scary part,  I didn't even realize it until today. BUT GOD... and I'll get to that in a minute.

Last week I went to get a CT head scan done because of the horrible migraines and headaches I've been having. I know I've shared in previous blogs that I'm in the middle of some health struggles, but the last 2 weeks have just been rough. On top of all the issues with my uterus and ovaries, I have been a mess. And everyday that I don't receive answers from tests it's like I take this mental white flag and say that this is the way I am and will be. Though I pray and pray and BEG God for healing and freedom from these things, I've not seen any progress or relief. When people ask me how I'm doing, I think to myself: "why do they even ask, it's just the same story over and over again!" And I feel completely annoying always responding with negative. And so HAS been the story of my life recently...

Today I came home pretty quickly after work to wait for a house cleaner to show up. I waited... and waited... and continued to wait. An hour after the time she was supposed to be here she still hadn't arrived so I did what most Americans do now days to waste time, I got on Facebook. After 45 minutes of wasting my life scrolling (don't even judge me... I know you've done it too! lol) I happened upon a post that was made by someone I don't know. They had tagged one of my FB friends and so it randomly popped up on my feed. It was a blog that one of the leaders from The RAMP ministry in AL  had written... I was decently over scrolling so I clicked the link to the blog and began reading.

The blog was short, and honestly I don't remember much that it said except for the fact that it had a link to watch a clip of Karen Wheaton speaking and sharing the story of restoration with her family from the last couple of years. I knew bits and pieces of this testimony and so I thought, eh why not give it a watch? When I clicked on the link I did what I do most times I click on videos to watch... I checked how long it was. And whew it was long. I moved my finger to that little x on the top left part of the screen and I was ready to close the page when I had a quick thought, "what if this is for you?" Well, can you really ignore a thought like that, especially when you believe in the Living God that still speaks to us?

Within minutes I knew the Lord wanted to speak to me through this video. Mrs. Karen began by briefly describing the will of God and the mysteries of God. And in those simple breakdowns there was a word that really captured my heart... When you know the will of God, because His will is His word, and you are a friend of God, you have the confidence to approach the thrown room with declarations of His will... you have authority to bombard the gates of hell with the declarations that "He is willing that NONE shall perish!"... both of those things are two very deep, gut wrenching places for me right now. And so my attention was got!

I sat and watched this video for the entirety of her message. I declared over myself that I would remember my place and calling and would step in to it. I asked the Lord to forgive me for being quick to forget His word and declarations. And I thought of scriptures that stirred my faith and hope. Because the reality of the fact is what is happening in the natural is only temporary... but when His kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven, the natural has to come into alignment with Him... sickness has to flee!

Side note: How great of the Lord to use this time of waiting for a house cleaner who is running late and my need to fill curiosity to speak to some very tender places in my heart! He's a good God!

So I leave you with 2 things... Karen Wheaton's message I watched... do yourself a favor and watch it: click here. And with a thought: if you are struggling, with health issues or lost loved ones or anything this life could throw your way, remember that His word is alive and it is our weapon. Stand firm and do not accept the lies of the enemy that say "this is just the way it is" when that very statement contradicts the living, breathing word of the Lord! Let His will encompass you and let your relationship with Him empower you to walk boldly according to His will.