Deep calls to Deep

Wisdom and Discernement...

2011-10-31T11:35:00.007-05:00

"My son, preserve sound judgement and discernment, DO NOT let them out of your sight; they will be LIFE for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." Prov. 3:21-24

"Wisdom is SUPREME; therefore GET WISDOM. Though it cost all you have, GET UNDERSTANDING." Prov. 4:7

I love the word of God. In my desire to be "his daughter" and walk and talk as He has molded me I have had to learn some really TOUGH lessons on gaining some of the fruits His Kingdom offers. The enemy is wise in his tactics, his motives and ways...but WISDOM is wiser! Wisdom is packed with discernment that only the Good Lord can develop in a vessel (and some times that means learning the hard way, not to destroy us but to TEACH and TRAIN us all for our protection because he loves us).

This morning I am asking the Lord to TEACH me this Wisdom He talks about in His word. Obviously it is obtainable (though it may cost all I have) Prov. 4:7 it also says that if I esteem her (interesting that Wisdom is referred to as female) she will exalt you; that IF you embrace her, she will honor you and set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor! Wow, sounds good to me but really my need and desire for Wisdom ultimately lies in wanting to DO the will of God and walk being protected by Him and cooperating with Him...Wisdom is what He offers and I want it!! So I cut and copied a little sermon/letter I found on the subject of Wisdom. It's long but OH so good!! I hope it blesses you the reader. It did me:

Let's begin by asking why is it so important? We have already seen that all men seek happiness, and that this is not bad but good. Now the reason that getting wisdom is important is that it is the practical knowledge by which we gain this true and lasting happiness. Proverbs 3:13 says "Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding." Proverbs 24:13-14 says, "My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off." In other words, by means of wisdom you can make your way into a hope-filled future. It is the key to lasting happiness. Proverbs 19:8 says, "He who gets wisdom loves himself." In other words, do yourself a favor: Get wisdom! Get wisdom! Proverbs 8:32-36 sums it all up beautifully. Here wisdom herself is speaking and she says, "And now, my sons, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways. . . . Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord; but he who misses me injures himself; all who hate me love death." If we do not make it our aim to "get wisdom" we will suffer injury and finally death. Therefore, the command, "Get wisdom; Get insight," is very important. As Proverbs 16:16 puts it, "To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." It is a matter of life and death. The ultimate, eternal happiness that all people long for will only be found by those who first "get wisdom."

I say that ultimate and eternal happiness is what wisdom will bring, because I want to emphasize that not all happiness comes from true wisdom. Proverbs 15:21 says, "Folly is a joy to him who has no sense." Our thirst for happiness is insatiable in this world, and if we do not have the wisdom to seek it in God, then we will find whatever substitutes we can in the world. Terrorists may find it in shooting presidents and popes. Executives may find it in climbing the corporate ladder. Athletes in breaking world records. Scholars in publishing books. Gamblers may find it in Reno. Musicians in selling a million records. The sources where people seek happiness apart from God are countless: drink, drugs, sex, suntans, television, tubing, eating, talking, walking, etc., etc. But the happiness that these things bring is not true and lasting. It is not ultimate and eternal. It is not the joy for which we were made. And therefore it leaves us unsatisfied, frustrated, incomplete, knowing that there must be something more. But that ultimate and eternal happiness that we crave is only found by wisdom. Therefore it is supremely important that we "Get wisdom."
Let's look at some examples. Proverbs 11:2 says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom." The wise person is characterized by humility. The person who is proud does not fear the Lord, who hates a haughty spirit, and therefore can't get to first base in wisdom. But the person who fears the Lord is humble, because he depends on God for everything and fears to take credit himself for what God does. Humility in turn is foundational for the other aspects of godly wisdom because humility is teachable and open to change and growth. The proud person does not like to admit his errors and his need for growth. But the humble person is open to counsel and reason and ready to be corrected and follow truth.

Humility, unlike pride, does not recoil when commanded to do something. And this is essential for the advancement of wisdom because Moses taught us that wisdom consists in knowing and doing the commandments of God. Deuteronomy 4:5-6, "Behold I have taught you statutes and ordinances, as the Lord my God commanded me that you should do them. . . . Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples." And Jesus said the same thing about his own words, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24). A good definition of godly wisdom, therefore, would be: hearing and doing God's word. God's word is a divine prescription for how to be finally cured of all unhappiness. Wisdom is the practical knowledge of how to attain that happiness. Therefore, wisdom is hearing and doing the word of God. But the only people who will do this are the people who are humbly relying on God for help and who fear to seek happiness anywhere but in him. Therefore the fear of the Lord is the beginning and spring of all true wisdom.

But something more has to be said about the nature of this wisdom. It is not enough to say it is a humble hearing and doing of God's word, because God's word does not address itself specifically to every human dilemma. A famous example from Solomon's life will illustrate (1 Kings 3:16-28). One day two prostitutes came to King Solomon. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house and we each gave birth to a son last week. And one night while she was asleep, she rolled over on her son and smothered it. So she got up at midnight and took my living son from me while I slept and left me with her dead son. When I woke in the morning and looked closely I could tell it was not my son." But the other woman said, "No, the living child is mine and the dead child is yours." And so they argued before the king. Then the king said, "You both say the living child is yours. I will settle the matter; bring me a sword." So a sword was brought and the king said, "Divide the living child in two and give half to the one woman and half to the other." But the woman whose son was alive yearned for her son and said, "No, my lord, give her the child and by no means slay it." And the other said: "It shall be neither mine nor yours, divide it." Then the king said, "Give the living child to the first woman. She is its mother." The story concludes with this observation: "And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered and they stood in awe of the king because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to render justice" (1 Kings 3:28).

There was no Biblical command to tell Solomon what to do when two harlots claim the same baby. Therefore, wisdom must go beyond knowing and doing the word of God. Wisdom must include a sensitive, mature judgment or discernment of how the fear of the Lord should work itself out in all the circumstances not specifically dealt with in the Bible. There has to be what Paul calls in Romans 12:2 a "renewing of the mind which is then able to examine and approve the will of God. He calls this a "spiritual wisdom" in Colossians 1:9, "We have not ceased to pray for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Of course the wisdom which follows God's word and the wisdom which discerns the way to act when there is no clear word from God are not separate. It is precisely by saturating our minds and hearts with God's word that we gain the spiritual wisdom to guide us in all situations.

So in summary when the Bible says "Get wisdom," it is referring to that practical knowledge of how to attain true and lasting happiness. It begins with the fear of the Lord and consists in humbly hearing and doing God's will perceived both in Scripture and in the unique circumstances of the moment. Such wisdom is essential because the person who has it finds life and joy, but the person who doesn't finds death and misery. Therefore, "Get wisdom! Get wisdom!"

Now finally I want to mention five Biblical instructions for how to get this wisdom. First, desire wisdom with all your might. Proverbs 4:8 says, "Prize her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you for your embrace." These are not cheap words. To prize something and to embrace someone are signs of intense desire and love. Wisdom must be valuable for us. We must be willing to sell all in order to buy it: "Seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasure" (Proverbs 2:4). Blessed is the graduate who walks through the commencement line more hungry for wisdom than when he entered school, for he shall be satisfied.

Second, since wisdom is found in the word of God, we must apply ourselves in study and meditation to know the word and do it. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7). Therefore, we must devote ourselves to know and understand the testimonies of the Lord. And here I commend not only faithful Bible study but also regular reading of great books on theology and Biblical interpretation, books that distill the wisdom of the greatest students of the word over the past 1900 years.

Now, I know what you are thinking: I don't have the time or the ability to get anywhere in books like that. So I want to show you something really encouraging. When this was shown to me about four years ago by my pastor it changed my life. Most of us don't aspire very high in our reading because we don't feel like there is any hope. But listen to this. Suppose you read about 250 words a minute and that you resolve to devote just 15 minutes a day to serious theological reading to deepen your grasp of Biblical truth. In one year (356 days) you would read for 5,475 minutes. Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year. Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page. So if we take 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year we get 3,910 pages per year. This means that at 250 words a minute, fifteen minutes a day you could read about 20 average sized books a year! When I heard that I went home, analyzed my day and set aside the 15 minutes just before supper to read Jonathan Edwards' big book, Original Sin. And I did it in a couple of months. Then I turned to something else. I was absolutely elated: reading that I thought never could get done was now getting done in a 15 minute slot that would have been wasted anyway. Therefore, I encourage you, there is hope. Choose some classics that you've always wanted to read (St. Augustine's Confessions, or City of God; John Calvin's Institutes; Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians, or Bondage of the Will; John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections, etc.) and set aside 15 minutes, maybe just before you go to sleep, to read. You will not be the same person next year at this time. Your mind will be stretched, your heart enlarged, your zeal more fervent. Above all you will have grown in wisdom. And it may not be long until someone says of you: "the words of his mouth are as deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing spring" (Proverbs 18:4).

The third thing we should do to get wisdom is pray. Solomon was not born a wise man. He prayed for wisdom and God said, "Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold now I do according to your word" (1 Kings 3:11). And Daniel admitted that in himself he had no wisdom (2:30) but he said, "To thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for thou hast given me wisdom and strength, and hast made known to me what we asked of thee" (Daniel 2:23). And we have seen how Paul prayed that the churches might be given "spiritual wisdom" (Colossians 1:9) and that they might have "a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God" (Ephesians 1:17). And finally James puts it as clearly as we could wish: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God" (James 1:5). The wisdom that leads to true and lasting happiness is not natural or inborn. It is supernatural. It is a gift of God. Therefore if we would "get wisdom" we must pray.

The fourth Biblical instruction for how to get wisdom is to think frequently of your death. Or to put it another way, think of the shortness of this life and the infinite length of the next. Psalm 90:12 says, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." There is scarcely any thought that will purge our priorities of vain and worldly perceptions like the thought of our imminent death. O how cleansing it is to ponder the kind of life we would like to look back on when we come to die. There is great wisdom in such meditation. Therefore, think often of your dying.

Finally, there is one last, absolutely essential thing to do if you would "get wisdom": you must come to Jesus. He said to the people of his day, "The queen of the south will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold something greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). What an understatement. Greater than Solomon indeed! Solomon spoke God's wisdom. Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). Others had spoken truth; he is the truth. Others had pointed the way to life; he is the way and the life (John 14:6). Others had given promises, but "all the promises of God find their yes in him" (2 Corinthians 1:20). Others had offered God's forgiveness; Jesus bought it by his death. Therefore, in him are "hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). To know and love and follow this Jesus is to own the treasure of ultimate and eternal happiness. Therefore, the command, "Get wisdom" means first and foremost "Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus!" in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom.

There is so much more to learn. Humbly giving my life to the Lord daily is the only way to "real truth" and the only way to "discern real truth"...so that is where i REST knowing He is faithful to grant accordingly! Please comment if this has ministered to you. I don't rely on your comments but it is helpful to know it's making a difference!

Blessings,
Sonja
daughter of the Most high God.

Never let me go...

2011-08-30T09:59:00.003-05:00

Today was one of those days I woke kind of down. I dropped Jonah off at school, came home and opened my email and saw this video a friend had sent me. I listened to the words as she sang and tears started falling! It was one of those "pause" moments and obviously the Lord used this vessel to cause me to do just that!
The Lord is so precious in that He knows when you just NEED Him and every day He is wanting His children to JUST sit in the quiet and be ministered to! So...on my floor in my office that is what I did as this lady sang her anointed song from the Spirit of the Lord.
Then, after getting all my frustrations out, words started to flow from my heart...another silly poem. But to me, every word I wrote was from the depth of what I feel inside some times. So, I hope you are blessed too by the song and by the words! And never, never underestimate how the Holy Spirit can use you, just like He used my friend this morning to minister to me. To God be the Glory!

Never Let Me Go...
Feeling kind of lost, counting the cost of what it is to have faith in this difficult place.
I'm walking down this rode blind it seems even in my dreams.
Never let me go no matter what this life may throw.

I have to know you are here wiping away my very last tear.
Have I disappointed you My Father that at times you don't even bother?
I hope that is not the case as I long to reflect your beauty and grace.

Never let me go, I need you when I'm feeling low
for in those times is when I know you the most,
tearing every pride inside me so that I cannot boast.

You see my heart's cry, as my life passes by.
You created my frame as it is today,
so I'm asking you to help me as I pray.

Never let me go, because I'm hanging on to you,
with all I have inside, knowing and trusting you in the ride.

You are so precious to me. You died to set me free!
How can I repay such a gift so deep,
that has given me a ROCK beneath my feet?

I lie before you now in this place,
like a child seeking your face.

Never let me go, as I face the ugly foe,
then to shout the VICTORY as I make my mark in history!
To you be the Glory my Savior, my friend.
I join with you in the great mission until the end!

Things change ALL the time. Nothing remains the same. But the Lord never changes! He is the great "I AM". So in the midst of changes, some good, some out of our control, He is the one to RUN to for the anchor that holds!
And...He will NEVER let you go!

Sonja

a pause button...

2011-08-21T17:59:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning a little frustrated for missing church and having so much on my mind it sort of caught me a little off guard. I wasn't going to heap condemnation but I did want to STOP for a moment to reflect. Do you ever wish there was a real pause button to your thoughts? I do.

So, I decided to have my own little church time in my office. I sat in the chair wondering where I would start.

It was that moment when the complete silence was enough to draw tears to my eyes. I really wanted to just sit for a while, not saying anything. Not expecting anything...just sit and shut my mind off.

I know for me, when I do that all of a sudden I feel so small in such a large world, kind of like the ant on it's hill looking up!

You know it's got to be some what strange if you were to get the ants perspective of things.

But then, ants never stop and I really don't know if they even look up (in reality that is, lol!) so it may be a poor example.

I just know I felt small.

So why am I sharing all this? I don't know. I'm in that kind of mode. Today things stopped for a moment. And I liked it. It was as if the Lord and I were the only ones alive for the moment.

I can't explain HOW those times are so important and so treasured for me.

It has to happen or I would feel as if I've missed something in life.

This morning, like most when I have spent rich time in the silence, I come to know the Lord so much more as my thirst quencher, love tank filler, Joy booster, and vitamin enhancer!!

He is my strength when my flesh just feels weak. In the end I walk away stronger.

So, maybe today you need a pause button. Maybe in the rush of the weekend, or past week you've needed some energy booster. Some thing to replace the restless thoughts. Perhaps it's just a simple encouragement from the Lord's Word. Which in my understanding of things is His love letter to us and who doesn't like a good love letter?

I will warn you though...when you do take the pause, most likely you will wrestle a bit to be still. Maybe some thing you said this week or perhaps some thing you or some one else did bothered you. Simply confess it, get it off your chest and choose to forgive yourself (as we all fall short anyways) or forgive the other person. Then determine to spend that time KNOWING a pause in it all is ok.

The Lord is near...always near. We cannot understand it, nor comprehend it but we can have faith that it's true.

All I know, is that when I slow down and pause, some thing supernatural happens. I may not feel it right away (kind of like when you have a head ache and you take pain medicine) but eventually you sense the peace, the calmness of you INNER man. Circumstance may not have changed around you but there is that subtle change within and you can't ignore it's effects! It's pretty amazing really.

I am so thankful that what He has to offer is such PURE water that no other well can offer. What is awesome about HIS water is that it never runs dry even when YOU feel dry. It's always there for the taking and it's the PUREST water you can drink.

If you do not know the Lord simply ask Him to show Himself real to you! He will. But when He does don't walk away.

He is telling you to pause and consider His love and the drink He offers you! Take it! I promise you won't regret it!

His love is not the flawed human love we so often are disappointed with. His Love is everlasting and never disappoints because it's never ending and it's PURE.

I am a testimony to KNOWING this kind of Love when man's love failed me and I failed it. Only through Christ can we truly reflect the PURENESS of what Love is suppose to be. And He gives it so freely for us to come to know! Oh how I LOVE my Abba daddy!

Be encouraged today and hit that pause button!

Sonja

Shake off your dust...

2011-08-04T13:32:00.008-05:00

Today I reflected back on a devotional i wrote two years ago. I never updated it...not sure why. But, then the Lord obviously may have purposed it that way being I almost forgot I even had this blog.
I was suppose to be reminded of these words. The Lord wanted me to re-read so to speak what I had written back then because of what I am walking out now.
Sometimes reminders are a GOD thing.
When writing this particular devotional i remember struggling with condemnation. I learned then that condemnation is not of God. It is not the same as conviction (where you realize your sin and then repent and are set free). Condemnation reminds you constantly of what you've done wrong, instead of what you are achieving to do right. It is nothing but bondage.
To this day I believe many are depressed because they are dealing with condemnation instead of embracing the forgiveness and freedom Christ has to offer once repentance has taken place.
So, this is a reminder to me. And I hope a blessing to you. The Lord told me then to "set myself free" because He loves me and he's already provided the way to my freedom. I just need to choose this way (and mind you it's a daily process) in order to walk FULNESS OF FREEDOM out!
So today...I shake off any dust and I proclaim freedom within not because I deserve it but because He offered it freely!! I hope you too will do the same next time you feel in bondage to condemnation, or anything else! CHOOSE this day to BE FREE...He is able to help you (and constantly remind you as He has done with me)!! Here is my devotional from 2009

Monday, March 23, 2009
Shake off your dust...Isaiah 52:2
Shake off your dust;
RISE up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem.
FREE yourself from the chains on your neck,
O Captive Daugther of Zion.

What holds you captive? What mindset are you stuck in? What have you not believed the Lord for? What are the chains on your neck? Is it attitude? Is it unbelief? Is it just a pattern of "self-pity" and discouragement? What is it?
Whatever it is...the Lord says to SHAKE IT OFF!!!! To RISE UP! and to FREE yourself!!!

Those are powerful action words if you ask me!
Life is too short, time is too short to wake up everyday wishing you hadn't. To wake up every day looking for that expectation in others only to find yourself captive to disappointment and chained to bitterness and lack of forgiveness!

The Lord died on the cross for us, for ALL our stinking sin! Why is it then that we choose the mentality of bondage? We have a choice! We can choose to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling! We decide to choose LOVE, LIFE, FORGIVENESS, etc...When we line our hearts up in line with what the Lord already provided...there is power there my friend!

Many times I would feel defeated and accused falsely, gossiped about etc...and I have stayed under the LIE of it's ugly affects but the Lord is saying SHAKE IT OFF!!!!! RISE UP!!!! FREE YOURSELF!!!!

Why? Because He knows that when we line our thoughts and actions up with His word....we are actually walking in the FREEDOM He has already provided for us!!!! Has it taken me this long to learn this? Or is it that I am finally CHOOSING to act on it. Who knows but I am getting it!!! It's in my spirit...it's jumping out at me and I want you to get it too!

SO....do you feel judged? Shake it off! Are you holding on to offence? FREE yourself! RISE up my friend and don't stay in it! Speak the word freedom until freedom gets in your Heart! Until it is what you feel! Until it is what you are living! Get it from your head into your bones and watch the Lord empower you because of it!

Wow, I'm getting fired up just typing this!
Spend time with the Lord today and ask Him to reveal to you what holds you captive...then line your mind and heart up to receive His word of truth and WALK IT OUT!!!! SHAKE IT OFF and FREE YOURSELF!!!

The Spirit searches ALL things...

2011-07-30T17:26:00.002-05:00

I pondered on the scripture in I Corinthians chapter 2 last night while having a quiet moment (the boys went to the health club). Oh how I need these times! Anyways...when I read the scripture I kept going over and over it. I guess in some way I was asking the Lord, "so...what about it?" not in a rude way but in a way that says "what does it have to do with me?"
The Lord is so patient with us really. The scripture has everything to do with me!! I'm a believer and His word is my source of food and promise! It's not just words...it's alive, active, it will set into motion what it was meant to do...BRING truth, life, clarity, remembrance of His character, hope, peace, and so much more!
So, with all that being said, I took a moment to personalize it. And I allowed the Lord to "search my heart". He said, "the Spirit searches all things" so I expected Him to search, find, correct in love and the give me some insight...He did and so much more!!
You see, we fight as humans to "get our way". We don't trust in the God that created us and some of us just plain flat refuse to believe a God did create us...either way we are in a battle.
The battle is within and that battle lies between the choices of Good and Bad. I love how CS Lewis explains this in his book "Mere Christianity" (I've been reading it lately)...
"God made us: invented us a a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our OWN way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is NO such thing."
Wow...boldly and bluntly put and yet so true! We can TRY and create our own happiness by filling it with this or that but the truth is we will never be satisfied until we truly surrender to the God who created our happiness to begin with!!
I can argue, complain and wrestle this theory till I am blue in the face but the bottom line of CS Lewis' words are true, "He himself is the fuel our Spirits were designed to burn." He also says in his book, and I quote: "When you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all, it's like cutting off the branch you are sitting on. If God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will--this, for making a live world in which creatures can do real good or harm and something of real importance can happen, instead of a toy world which only moves when He pulls the strings--then we may take it, it is worth paying." Guess I can't argue with that! lol!
So, last night as the Lord ministered some truth to my searching heart I concluded it was time to REALLY surrender what I thought my life ought to look like! If it is not rooted in Him and His ways...I don't want it in my walk. I'm not responsible for the other person, just myself. Neither are you.
"For who among men knows the thoughts of man except the man's spirit within Him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the Spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may UNDERSTAND what God has FREELY given us".
To understand what God has given us can be DEEP, because He is just that. But a man trying to understand things in life apart from God is a man in a battle!! And until he decides to let God be the guide, his battle will be worse! Trust me, I've walked years without knowing God and it's not the abundant life the devil say's we can have apart from him, it's an empty one and the devil is deceiving and a BIG fat liar!
The Bible says that "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them (the believer), because they are spiritually discerned (the believer has his mind on the spirit)."
I'm not a master at figuring stuff out but it dose not take much for me to read this and say "I don't want to be foolish"...I want to walk after the heart of God and therefore inherit the words that to me are so rich: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has CONCEIVED what God has prepared for those who LOVE Him..."
So to me...whatever that means, it's GOOD!! And way beyond what the world has to offer concerning false love and stuff!! I'm in it to win the GOLD...and I'm not backing down! I'll fight the good fight until the finish line!
Be encouraged and encourage someone for we are all waging some kind of battle!!

In Christ,
Sonja

A song that leads my heart to repentance, surrender and resolve to let fate take it's course!

2011-07-19T10:47:00.002-05:00

Wow...this song moves my heart before the Lord. All that I am. All my transparent flaws. All my questions, my fears, my doubts fade when listening to this song.
I read a scripture early this morning while not being able to sleep. Ecclesiastes 11:5 "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God the Marker of ALL things."
"Even the Teacher, a man who possessed brilliant powers of wisdom and observation, had to conclude some things are beyond understanding. Failing in his attempt to "figure out" life, he fell back on simple advice: fear God and obey him, no matter how things seem to you."
I took this quote out of the Bible under this scripture (the student Bible, NIV). I believe this is so true. I believe this man saw LIFE in it's purest form. The Good, Bad and ugly...the injustice at times, then the blessings. Though through each he "tried to figure God out" he was unable to. He only knew God's character and God's commands so he resolved to surrender.
That is the season I am in. Possibly many of you are there too. Maybe you are not and have no clue what I am talking about...that is ok. Even the Lord doesn't make sense to us at times! lol!
So, our resolve in this life is to FEAR God...OBEY God and leave the rest up to Him. And like one saying goes "Let Him write your love story" so to speak! I like that. Now I can just "surrender" and let fate do it's thing!

Sonja

Your presence O'Lord...

2011-07-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

I'm up this morning longing to feel your presence...though it's dry in my Spirit. I realize you show me my heart condition and the delicate way it has been beating lately. To try an protect the breech of trust it has felt would only prove to be a false one. So instead I give it to you...all of the broken places, all of the doubts, all of the fears, all of the places I do not trust.
I attempt willingly to surrender them, knowing in you I HAVE to trust. Who else is there that will hold my heart with such integrity and honor? When I deserved neither. Who else would treasure the broken pieces and embrace me, instead of judging when they are scattered.
The wrestle I have is within...though outwardly I smile, laugh, and play like I am content. In reality I miss you my Master, my Friend. In reality your presence is all I long for...I would venture miles away just to find it again...just to feel it again.
That is why I can sit in a room alone, just you and me...safe to cry...safe to speak without fear of being ridiculed. Without fear of a voice condemning my own words ...even when that is the true condition of my heart. You, one of such deep, precious character...LISTEN with such passion, such love. Then, as if nothing I said offended you, you embrace my very being and nurture those places of hurt. By your very embrace ALL places of vulnerability flee...I am confident, secure, peacefully surrendered to your embrace! And finally...what I was portraying on the outside is truly FELT on the inside! A peace, a happiness, an inner beauty that only comes from YOUR PRESENCE O'Lord!

"As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the LIVING God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? PUT your HOPE in God, for I will YET praise Him, My Savior and MY God!" Psalm 42:1-5...

"My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verse for the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer." Psalm 45:1

"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear; Forget your people and your father's house. The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." Psalm 45:10

Comparing Yourself to Others/A Powerful word everyone should read!!

2011-06-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

I read this today as I was seeking the Lord in prayer and wow, what truth! Daddy in heaven was gently, purposefully using this word to speak to my inmost parts. That is why I love him so. He speaks through humans to make his point clear. Please take time to read and take heart the words. They are rich. I myself need to heed, and take to heart every word spoken. Be encouraged as we are all learning and running this race. The Lord loves us and is gentle yet firm in rebuking and teaching us his ways and character. I am humbled yet rejoice that he loves me enough to encourage my heart when I deserve it not. I love you O'My Lord!

Comparing Yourself to Others

"I will reward each one according to their faithfulness. You're on a even playing field with everyone!" ~ Don Franklin ~

Say not: "That because I am doing something that is seemingly unimportant, that I am not important." "Look at this one who is doing so much, 'for the Kingdom of God' and I am doing so little, so relatively little, basically nothing." "I'm a failure." "I'm a loser" "I shouldn't even be a Christian. I am so worthless in the eyes of God." "What do I have to offer?" "What can I do?" "I can never hope to measure up to what others are doing; why should I even try?" "I feel so inferior." "I feel so defeated." "I feel so alone and sick of everything. Why is it so unfair?" "Why do others get so much and I get so little to deal with?" "God surely does not like me." "God surely has passed over my family, my generation, my people." "Why is it so unfair?"

Number one: you do not see as I see, saith the Lord. You do not understand as I understand. Knowledge, knowledge of God can answer your questions for you. When I came to bring the Messiah out of the earth, I brought him out of the lowliest place, the littlest place. I did not go for the great and glorious spots that were available, but to teach you humility to teach you the importance and the glory of insignificant things. Study the Scriptures. Study the Scriptures. Even the men and women of God who were used mightily of God spent many years doing insignificant things. I caused even the great prophets to sit by the brook and have a raven feed them. Why? Why couldn't they begin doing great and powerful things for God?
Little things, little things, I've taught much on little things in the Bible, but no one has understood the significance of them. The widow's mite, the small things. Even the man, who went to work at the last minute and received the same wage, have you not understood this parable that it doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter if you shake continents. You carry no more weight in my eyes than the one who goes to the widow and gives her the bread, and gives her the subsidence next-door to live the next day.

The eyes of the Lord are even. The heart of the Lord is true. I will reward each one according to their faithfulness and their obedience to that which they are doing. I do not judge you by the size of your task, but I judge you by the faithfulness of task set before you. You're on an even playing field with everyone! No one is ahead of anyone.
The greatest scourge on the Church right now is the spirit of competition one with another. "Can I out do this one?" "On, no, this one is out doing me!" Or "What am I going to do? They have greater gifts. They have greater talents. Woe is me." That is not what I set up. That is not what I intended. That is not. That is the enemy tormenting you. That is the enemy tormenting you, getting you to call yourself worthless because you are not as gifted as another.
I hand out the giftings. I hand out the callings. And I hand each one something that I want them to have and then I judge them according to how they take care of that which I give them. You are not required to even begin to measure up to anyone else around you. You will always find those who think they cannot even do what you think you can do, even if what you think you do is small. Look around you. You'll find those who cannot even do what you do. So then you'll feel superior to them because, "Look at what I can do. They can't even do that."

And then you will look back the other way and you will say, "Oh, look at how great they are. I could never do that," and then you will feel inferior. What nonsense. Get out of that "rat race". Get out of that game, saith the Lord. It is carnality. It is an avenue that the enemy uses to drive wedges between ministries, wedges between brothers and sisters. And the heart of it all is a great inferiority complex that you are not as good as the other, because you do not have as many coins in your hand, or you don't have as many gifts to operate in, or you do not have as much ability to influence others.

So on one hand, pride begins to build because you can do these things, and on the other hand, inferiority sets in because you are not as great as the other one. What a trap, what a horrible state to live in - constantly feeling better than others and constantly feeling not as good as others, tormented on both ends of the spectrum.

Drop the carnal thinking. And it will take some training to train yourself not to compare yourself one with another, but you were warned not to do this and it brings nothing but unrest to your soul. But rejoice in the things God's given you to do. Be thankful that "Yes, I can speak a word of the Lord in due season." "I can encourage my neighbor." "I can hear God speaking to me at times." "I understand some of the Scriptures." Rejoice in this.

Put your blinders on, Children. The Devil is driving you crazy comparing yourselves one with another. You are either ending up with a superiority complex and I have to humble you; you're always wondering why I have to haul you down off your "high horse", it's because you're exalting yourself above others. I told you not to do that. I warned you what would happen it you did.

Watch your thinking patterns. If they begin to promote yourself, if they begin to show you that you are greater than others are, then reverse them, saith God, refuse to think them. Drop yourself back down before I come and drag you back down where you belong, on your face before God acknowledging your faults.

And on the other hand, you sink into deep inferiority. This is not true. This is not an accurate picture of what you are. You can go forth and talk about God. You can go forth and pray for people. You can lay hands. You can attend church. You can give into the Kingdom of God, even if it is a widow's mite.

Haven't I taught you that the widow's mite is more important that the tithing of the priest in the temple? Those big hypocrites would come and drop large sums in and make sure everybody knew about it one way or another. If people didn't catch them putting it in, they would "drop it on the side" how much they gave, but it would get around how great they were. What a bunch of hypocrites and phonies in the House of God and did they not receive their just rewards - stinging rebukes from the Son of God.

But the widow who came and gave the little bit she had was given great praise from the Incarnate Glory, the Incarnate Deity came and praised her for her little bit. I'm on your side, saith the Lord. I'm on the "little bit's" side; I'm not on the big guy's side. If you can see that in the Bible, if you can understand that I stand against that type of attitude, and I come to those who with the little bit they have give properly. It doesn't matter what you give. What matters is your heart attitude. What matters is your heart attitude.

So, walk in your walk. Whatever your realm, your sphere is, enjoy it. Enjoy it. Rejoice in God, because someone who is more gifted is not going to get rewarded greater than you. And someone, who is less gifted in your eyes, may receive more reward than you, if they are faithful with what I put in them. And I have taught this in the parables. The one who comes at the last minute gets as much as the one who has worked the whole time. And then everyone else gets mad because I'm generous, because I love everyone, because I reward everyone.

Take the carnality out of your thinking and replace it with the biblical examples and you will be at peace. You will be at peace. You won't have to compete against anyone and you won't have to put anyone down, for the little that they have. You won't have to stick your chest out and look down your nose at them as inferior spiritually. And you won't have to try to constantly pull the others guys down ahead of you and get up on their level, climbing on the backs of your brothers while they are screaming because you have got a foot in their face. Do you think I'm going to allow that in the long run? Do you think I am not going to knock you right back down to the bottom of the heap and teach you a few lessons?

Use your common sense, saith the Lord. I've said it over and over again, if you will humble yourself, if you will lower yourself, if you'll go to the back of the feast and sit down and wait on God, and not exalt yourself in your own mind, and not compare yourself, you'll be O.K. You won't have to worry. I'll come, I'll get you, and I'll give you a task you can handle.

Do you know why many in the Body of Christ fail? Because they take on things I never assigned them to - things that are too great for them. They try to do great things for Me and they fall flat on their face and then blame Me for it! I never sent you, I never commissioned you, and I never gave you the money to do it. You tried it on your own. You tried to be a big shot and you fell flat. And you'll fall flat again and again, because you are only going to be supported in the things that I give you to do.

Don't cook up schemes. Don't make up things I don't want done. Wait on Me. Wait on Me. Wait on Me. I know I called you to go to the world, but I also said I'd give you the plan, I'd give you the timing, and I'd give you the resources to do it. And when I'm ready I'll come and I'll work with you, God working with man in redemption. I didn't send you out on your own and ask you to cook all these things up and then try to make them happen. Wait on Me, saith the Lord.

If I have you do some small things for a season, what is that to you? Prophets have to sit by rivers and eat bread. It's hard on the ego after they have ministered to the whole nation, hard on the ego after they've had the praise of the people. Hard on the ego. Hard on the ego. Hard on the ego. Good for the soul, very good for the soul, very good for the soul.
Wait on God. Wait on God. Wait on God. Bring that leaven of self-exaltation down saith the Lord. Get on your face and get low before me, in your own mind, in your own heart. I love the humble and the contrite. I love those who can't even lift their eyes to heaven, because they are so aware at time of their sins. Don't you know this one's going home justified? Don't you know it's much better to be in that position that to be walking around talking about all the things you've accomplished and reminding me of how great you are?

Oh, get down; get down, not in inferiority but in reality, in reality, in reality. Acknowledging, "Yes, God, yes, God, yes, God, I see room for improvement." "I see this." "I see that." "Lord, forgive me." "Lord, help me." And start lifting people up around you. Encourage them. Put an arm around them. Tell them, "You're doing good." "You're trying." "You are striving." "I'm praying for you." "I love you."

Walk arm in arm, hand in hand, and level shouldered, saith the Lord. Be kind one to another, forbearing one another, forgiving one another in love. This is what I'm looking for. This is what I'm after. This is the Church that pleases the heart of God. Don't feel inferior; don't go for superiority, but find an equal balance one with another as brothers and sisters, humbling yourself.

A Prophecy received by Don Franklin recorded at CHC

"Summer"

2011-05-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

Well, it's about that time to devote to Summer fun! Probably won't be getting much writing done. Hopefully from time to time I can post some things on my heart. This is probably the shortest entry ever! lol! But at least you guys know what is going on!

Sonja

"The cry of Intercession" by Reenie Mederos

2011-04-20T08:54:00.000-05:00

This is so good I just had to copy and post! Be blessed as you read the following:

The Lord is saying, “Raise up your voice! Release a sound all over the earth! Declare a shout and cry out, those of you who love My name. Pray and sing, oh trumpets of the Lord, for your God is resounding from the heights of heaven to the depths of your soul! Dance, twist and writhe from the ends of the earth for it is the cry of intercession that is erupting from deep within you! I have been releasing a greater intensity of intercession in you that you willnot be able to contain.

Prophet Reeni Mederos

Don’t hold it back! For I have called you out from among the ashes to move you out as an army of unified intercessors, precious and called by My name! You have been chosen and anointed to bear the fruit of My heart and to carry the womb of My glory even as a mother who bears and groans in childbirth to bring forth new life. Like a proud Father who waits expectantly for His seed to be born, I have been guarding you and waiting by your side to carry you through every pain, every grief and every sorrow. In your weakness I have comforted you ensuring that you would make it through the fires of heartache and the travails of your soul. In your weakness you have humbled your heart to allow Me to take control so that you could see with your very eyes, the manifestation and the rewardof your labors of love for Me! You did not labor in vain,” says the Lord, “Your labors of love have never been in vain!”
A Generation of Prophetic Intercessors
There is a cry of the Spirit coming forth from a generation of prophetic intercessors that have become the sound of one voice to the ears of the Lord, who are gathered inspirit from the four corners of the earth. Their sound is a sound of unity and love for one purpose as they gather each day as one heart and one mind, worshiping the Lord in Spirit and in truth. It is the sound of the voice of the Lord ranking and positioning deep inside the soul of God’s intercessors all over the earth who are hearing His call to humble themselves and pray as the Spirit meets their supplication. They have found God’s strength in their weakness. They have learned to surrender their very heart, soul, mind and body to the mandate and mission of the Lord.
Born With An Instinct To Pray
As God is manifesting His heart through these precious ones, His servants and flames of fire, they instinctively know how to call upon the name of the Lord, standing in the gap, willingly laying down their lives out of their love for the Lord. They have been born with an instinct to pray that is as natural as breathing air. In quiet confidence they wait patiently upon their Commander in Chief to say the Word, being quick to obey at the immediate sound of His voice without hesitation and without reservation. It is the very intercessions of the Holy Spirit of God manifested through these yielded vessels that God highly esteems and cares for. He is removing the limitations placed upon them as He allows and releases His intercessorsthe freedom they have cried out for as a peculiar generation who expresses the divine feelings, thoughts and purposes of the heart and mind of Christ.
The scriptures reveal a type of intercession that is instinctive in every living being and delivers us to increasing measures of freedom as we cry out with the groans of His Spirit . Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” Until we have arrived to the full manifestation of God’s redemption, God has set His intercessors into place as an extension of His heart in the earth to uphold and sustain His rule of authority, as co-laborerswith Christ. Partnering with their High Priest, they will faithfully carry out His will and heart’s desire until the day of His return.
In the Greek text, this corporate “groaning” of creation is a supernatural harmonic intercession that means “unity” and “to stand, to escape to safety; to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything, and to be of a steadfast mind.” This groan of the soul is magnified in the heart of an intercessor as God’s special servants who give their very lives to the ministry and burden of divine intercession as the Spirit of the Lord also leads them and joins in unity with all creation to “uphold and sustain the authority of” that which was originally given to man before the fall. Romans 8:26-28 (AMP) says ,
“So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Holy Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will. We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are[fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.”
Armor Bearers of Love
These armor bearers of love have been graced with the gift of the Holy Spirit as they pray and petition on behalf of others in unknown tongues and with fear and trembling as the Spirit gives them utterance to offer supplications as they plead their case before the Lord. They are the very interceptors of many tragedies that could have been, but never came into being because of their faithful obedience. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they intercede in harmony with God’s will as God partners with them in their labors of love as He leads them into effectual fervent prophetic prayers producing much power and grace that isreleased to those who are in need of the mercy and justice of the Lord.
The Greek definition of “intercession” means; to light upon a person or a thing, to go to or meet a person especially for the purpose of conversation, consultation, or supplication, to pray, entreat, to appeal and to plead. Its root definition means; to hit the mark, as of one discharging a javelin or arrow, to reach, obtain and become master of, with the idea of effecting, to bring forth, bear, produce (fruit from the seed) as in a woman giving birth, travail and labor. As God’s holy intercessors engage in divine prophetic intercession, there is a high rate of “hitting the mark” with a divine javelin of precision andaccuracy. God’s strategy is to completely annihilate the opposition with effectiveness and finality as He continues to raise up an end time army of intercessors that are sharp with discernment but humble enough to realize the responsibility they have been given to heal or to wound. With this powerful gift, He has made them accountable how they utilize it but He will also reward them for bearing righteous fruit from their obedience, perseverance and travail.
Called to the Ministry of the Unseen
God’s plans for His intercessors are greater than what can be seen with the natural eye. God has given intercessors insight into the unseen realms to know how to pin point, overthrow, call out, destroy, expose, build up, plant, encourage and birth new life. “It is the ministry of the unseen that I have called you to,” says the Lord, “It is what I have consecrated you for. This is the place I have set you apart for Myself. I have been jealous over you and I have not allowed man or the enemy to take away the glory of the precious gift I have placed inside ofyou. I have chosen you for such a time as this. I have held you dear to My heart as sometimes you have been rejected and you have felt robbed and stripped in your heart, but I have never left you or forsaken you and I will recompense everything that has been stolen from you if you will forgive those who have used you and bless those who have persecuted you. Let me heal your heart and your cause will become a legacy for generations to come who will learn from your example and endurance and love.”
Warriors in Battle Behind the Scenes
God’s intercessors have a special place in God’s heart. He reveals His secrets to them because they are prophetic in nature and they are graced in spending long periods of time in the secret place with the Lord out of their love for Him as they are petitioning, groaning, dancing, writhing, birthing, worshiping, singing, warring and destroying the strongholds and the works of the enemy behind closed doors. As warriors in battle behind the scenes, God has highly esteemed them as He is now releasing and ranking them into their rightful places where the enemy has attempted to dethrone their importance, their dignity,their strength and their value in the kingdom of God. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that is within them as they have been endowed with a special grace of His glory that is being released in the earth with increasing measure.
You Have Been Blessed With A Burden
I hear the Lord is saying to these precious ones, “You have been blessed with a burden and I have blessed you with the weight of my Spirit that is precious in my sight, to release the plans and purposes of My heart in these last days. I have burdened you to carry the torch of intercession for this generation and I am building a lasting legacy within you for those who will come to remember you as I have named and called you, 'Faithful, Loyal & Steadfast.' Is it any wonder the enemy has tried to put out your fire and to take your very life from you? Lift up your voice and take your rightful place and be free to come toMe with every supplication, every burden and every heart cry, for I will hear you and not reject you or turn you away as others have,” says the Lord.
God is causing His intercessors to take up and wield the Sword of His Spirit with strategy, strength and power to annihilate and decapitate principalities, authorities and powers of the air through the power of humble, obedient intercession through timely prayer watches, fasting and engaging in the simplicity of bearing their own hearts before the Lord, trusting and believing Him to reward those who diligently seek Him, paving the way for God’s manifested presence in any given situation, location, time and space. “Consecrate yourselves and set yourselves aside for Me,” says the Lord, “Giving up your bodies to Me as a living sacrifice for Me to speak through, cry though and war through as I release the mysteries and treasures of My heart to you. It is My pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Guards of the Treasures of Heaven
There is a special DNA that resides in each prophetic intercessor that God has called from the foundations of the earth. They are guards of the treasures of heaven instinctively protecting and preparing the way for the Lord’s supernatural intervention. They expose the enemy’s plans as they see his schemes from afar with precise visual insight into the spirit realm long before his attacks can be launched. They are gifted to engage in territorial battle as co-laborers of the Lord to fight on the behalf of others as they are team members with especially prophets and apostles to prepare the way of the Lord and His coming.
The Lord is saying, “I have given you laser eyes of discernment and what you have seen has sometimes broken your heart because it was the brokenness of My heart that you felt. When My heart breaks, your heart breaks. When My heart rejoices, your heart rejoices. When my heart travails, your heart travails. I have given you the treasures and secrets of My heart, the very things that are near and dear to Me because I have found you faithful. I trusted you to heed the call of intercession, to set yourself aside at the appointed times each day when you heard Me calling you. Even in the middle of the night when you were weary, you remained faithful to the night watch of the Lord, and you drew near to Me.”
Sharpshooters of the Spirit
These precious ones are gifted with a sixth sense of discernment that is stirred by divine love as they are moved with compassion to pray for those that cannot pray for themselves. They are quick to obey the voice of the Lord because their senses have been trained to hear God’s voice upon their knees. They are familiar with the sound of the Lord as He walks through the cool of the garden and they instinctively respond to the command of His voice which causes their hearts to drop to their knees with very little notice. They are a passionate remnant of the Lord who have laid down their own desires to see the desires of the Lord be manifested in every way possible. They are sharp shooters of the Spirit, skilled in smalland long range targets. They will not give in or give up until the burden of the Lord has been released and the desired outcome of God’s heart is fully manifested.
The Lord Is Your Warrior, A Mighty Man of War
It is God’s heart of love that is burning for these faithful followers who have moved His heart to action as they have humbly prepared their hearts to make room for their Lord as they sing their song of victory just as Moses and the children of Israel sang in Exodus 15:2-3, “The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is His name.”
The Lord is a Warrior, a mighty Man of War and it is the preparation of their heart that is their strength, taking the time to consecrate themselves as holy vessels, inviting the Lord to inhabit their lives as they fervently pray. He will surely accept their invitation of habitation and fight on their behalf as their personal Warrior and mighty Man of War.
It is the cry of this invitation and the sound of the Lord in the distance becoming closer as He makes His heart known. His utters His voice before His army to be distinctly heard in the spiritual ears of this generation of intercessors as they pave the way for the Lord with their very lives. Like a refreshing latter day rain, the Lord Himself has positioned them, to give strength to the weary. Like a mighty rushing wind blowing from nation to nation, they are infused with the sounds of crackling fire burning throughout the land as they are continually urging others to answer the call and privilege to pray. They lead with God’s wisdom as they usher in the very presence of the Lord wherever they go because they are skilled in making the Lord their habitation and have found favor with the Lord, dedicating their personal lives to become His personaldwelling place.
“Because of you, I will draw all men, women, children and nations unto Me. Because you have not lifted up your own heart, but instead you have humbled your heart, and have trusted me with the treasures of your heart, now I have trusted you with the treasures of My heart,” says the Lord. “It is in the secret place I have known you and it is in the secret place that I will always reward you. It is my favor that rests upon you as you begin to see those mountains move out of your way. Watch your enemies melt like wax before you as you see the salvation of the Lord with your own eyes. I will fight for you, I will fight for your family and everything that concerns you. As I have promised you before, I will take good care of you,” says the Lord, “No harm will come to you, those who willingly take refuge and rest under the shadow of My wings.”
Reeni Mederos
Warriors International, Inc.

"He is my Safe refuge"

2011-04-15T12:08:00.010-05:00

The following message came in my email today. I believe it is so right on.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns -- 4/15/11:
Draw close to Me, says the Lord. You do live in perilous times where the enemy is on the prowl seeking to find opportunities to attack and afflict you. However, if you will maintain a personal, vital, and intimate relationship with Me and do not sin, the enemy cannot touch you. You must live and walk in My Spirit. Be free!
1 John 5:18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

Today I reflect on the Lord's goodness. He is faithful to fill my heart with wisdom as I seek and inquire of Him. Though I am learning so much (doesn't ever stop) no, it never does. Everyday is a new lesson, a new challenge, a new day. And just in case you think you've arrived, you haven't.

However it does feel good to look at past lessons and see the maturity in them after the fact. I believe in many ways that is why some of them are presented to us.

The Lord is my safe refuge. So when I am in a battle or in a situation that is out of hand, I simply remove myself in order to calm down and see it from a perspective I couldn't other wise being IN IT.

Some may think that is a prideful way to handle things by simply removing myself. Some may think I have just allowed the enemy to have his way, and yet others may say, what a cop out.

But...who better to RUN to in the midst of a battle than the one who sees the battle from a perspective we don't? And it never hurts to stand back and re-evaluate what just took place~I just believe that is plain WISDOM. He is faithful. I know that. And again I am learning much.

I love what Psalm 17:6-7 says "i call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who TAKE REFUGE in you from their foes."

In the face of much offence, at times all you can do is just RUN to the Father. He is the only one that brings clarity and truth when war has raged. And besides when FLESH gets in the way all kinds of things are being said that shouldn't (most of the time it is against someones character and NOT words of truth) when actually it is just creates more ammunition to wound and solves nothing.

So, next time you are in a battle (caught off guard) simply remove yourself, get with the Lord and THEN see it from a safe perspective. He will pour truth over the situation and then give you instruction from that point on. It's ok if others don't respect your stand. You are using Wisdom in doing so. And at times you may need to seek advice, Godly advice.

The word of the Lord says in Proverbs 20:18 "Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance"

This is so wise. Too many times we find ourselves in situations we Can't seem to get out of...or make right. So the next best thing is to seek advice. Get someone else's assessment. Someone you can trust who will give you non-biased advice and speak truth. Then you are free to take healthy action from there.

The important thing is that once you "understand" what happened and apply love to the situation and then take appropriate steps from the leading of the Holy Spirit to make amends or seek unity, it leads to Peace. And that is a great place to be!

So...it's ALWAYS a GOOD thing to RUN to your father, no matter what emotions are flaring, He alone can put the fire out by His mighty spirit. He alone can restore your own identity by speaking Truth into your character and positive affirmation into your spirit. It's like drinking a nice cup of COLD water when eating something very bitter or hot!! It soothes and Feels good!

I hope this has encouraged you. There is really so much yet to learn. The Lord is so patient with us and He knows our heart and intents. He is able to correct, rebuke in love, build you back up, restore your emotions, lift your chin up and give you the courage to RISE up in the midst! I love Him so much for being that kind of daddy!

I love to sit in His presence knowing He holds me as His child, knowing that only His love is really steadfast, unconditional and totally trust worthy!

I love His gentle voice in my ears, helping me to see things from His perspective. Giving me wise instruction. Telling me what's good for me and what is not. My safe place, my shield and my strong tower!

Wow...His character is so beautiful. And mine so flawed. Yet still He says "I love you daughter, you are my child" in spite!

Take time to sit in His presence. To allow Him to be the one who esteems. Let Him be Your cheerleader.

If you do not know Him, give Him a chance. He will prove to be "a father to the fatherless" your "rear guard" your "shield and buckler" your "loving instructor" your "voice of wisdom and instruction" and "your voice of truth!"

Who wouldn't want Him as a Shepherd? I'll be his sheep any day! He longs to be so strong for you when you are but a wimpy sheep! He longs to show you love, a love not a person on this earth can truly master BUT in part. He has it in FULL and He fills you time and time again with truth of His love everyday you inquire of Him!! So faithful, so true.

Be encouraged today as He watches over you!

Sonja

"The Fire of Awakening is here!"

2011-04-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

It is not often I will post a word in prophetic content by someone I am not familiar with but when I read these words I couldn't help but believe they are inspired by the Lord. All we can do is pray accordingly and hope that this word would indeed be fulfilled. I myself can use some FIRE as at times these bones feel so dry!

I see a fire that has begun! It has been ignited in the nations and it will not be stopped. It is the fire of awakening. I'm sensing this firefall is a cascading move of God that will usher in a mighty baptism of fire for millions and millions of souls throughout this needy planet. It is not a revival centered around the anointed preacher, for when that preacher leaves the fire would go out. It is not a revival that is centered merely in one local church. It is a revival of cities, regions, and nations – coming alive with the fire of awakening!
I want to put before you a summary of this prophetic message God has spoken to me. Allow God to ignite this flame inside your being. God is asking: "How hungry are you for My fire, for the fire of My presence? Show me how much you want it!" Moses turned aside to see the mystery of fire...will you turn aside from your busy life, your many duties and distractions to gaze upon the Source of this eternal flame? How badly do you want it? Our God is a consuming fire.—Hebrews 12:29
We know that God is love, God is light, God is life, and we gladly embrace those realities, but so must we embrace with equal certainty and security the reality that God is an all-consuming fire! Do you want to know God? He is a consuming Fire! To know God is to embrace the fire!

There are three things that are never satisfied – no, four that never say, "Enough!": the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.—Proverbs 30:15-16
There are some things that never get finished, that never say "Enough!" This means there are some things God is never finished with. He never reaches a point where He says, "You're holy enough, spiritual enough, disciplined enough, cleansed and purified enough." There is a fire that will burn in you that will continue to burn long after the meeting, long after you encounter this raging blaze. Until you are consumed, this fire will never say, "Enough!"
God's determination for your life and mine is not just to touch us, but to consume us with His fire. The devouring fire of holy jealousy surrounds. He will not share us with another. He created us for Himself and longs to possess every part of our lives. So, fire that never says enough is burning in me! And none of us who want to be close to God can escape the heat! God is so supernatural and powerful that He lives among the flames.
Here are the components of this all-consuming fire of God:
1. It is a Fire that Jesus Released to the Earth When He Walked Among Us!
"I baptize you with water. But One more powerful than I will come, the thongs of Whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire...—Luke 3:16-17
There is a sacred fire that is falling from Heaven. It is a baptism of fire the Lord wants to impart to His Bride. It is the fire of holy love for the Bridegroom, a fire of purity and holiness, the very spark of Divine fire that is the burning essence of God. Heavenly fire is being poured out upon the sacrifice and the altar. Moses stood before a sacred shrub burning with glory and holiness. He lingered before the burning presence until he became a burning bush! God's plan is to light you on fire and for you to burn – for the entire world to see.
The fire of the Tabernacle in the wilderness was holy fire. It came from Heaven to earth as Moses and Aaron prayed at the gate of the Tabernacle. In one moment, suddenly, the fire fell and burned on the altar where sacrifice was made. "The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire... The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:12-13).
The fire came from God; maintaining the fire was the duty of man. Only God can send the fire. But God did not come down and tend the fire, keeping the flame from dying; this was the responsibility of man. THE FIRE IS TO BE KEPT BURNING CONTINUALLY – IT SHALL NOT GO OUT!
Every morning wood would be added to the fire to keep it burning, prepared for every new sacrifice. Every morning a new sacrifice was to be placed on the altar and consumed with this fire. The slain lamb must be put on the altar where the living flame would transform it and consume it and lift it in beautiful colors Heavenward as a sweet-smelling fragrance to God. It is for this reason the Baptism of Fire is given to you and I! Where fire burns within us, our whole being is ignited, consumed, making it an acceptable sacrifice. The fire turns everything into flaming love!
Every conflict... Every failure... Every sacrifice... Every gift we offer...
The fire makes it sweet to God! Everything you throw into this fire will become love on the other side. It will be ashes, but it will become beauty! What you cling to and refuse to throw into the raging flame will become worthless to you one day. It is the fire burning continually that makes our life a living sacrifice. Every moment is sacred, every duty is delight, every thought and word surrendered to Heaven. The path to love is the path of surrender to this fire!
2. The Fire of God in Holiness
It was in the year King Uzziah died, that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the Temple. Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven's Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!" Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.—Isaiah 6:1-4 NLT
Isaiah saw the Lord lifted high and exalted with these singing seraphim flying around His throne. You see, they flew so close to the fire they caught on fire! That is what the holiness of God will do to you. If you get close to holiness, it will purify and ignite your soul. The seraphim are actually Angels of Fire! Their name, seraphim, means "burning ones." "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook (NIV)." A violent concussion hits like a bombshell and a tremendous shaking burst forth in the Temple of Holiness. Everything began to quake. Walls and posts and doors. "And the temple was filled with smoke (NIV)." The glory cloud moved in and covered the entire scene. The fragrant incense of praise offered to God became a cloud of glory! Then I said, "It's all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, "See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven."—Isaiah 6:5-7 NLT
The prophet of God was taken into the Most Holy Place of the King's Throne Room, and there he witnessed firsthand the unveiled Holiness of God Almighty. Isaiah's response to all this was pronouncing his seventh woe – "Woe to me!" No one comes before the fire of the holiness of God without devastation. What a shocking experience for God's prophet! It is the duty of a prophet to make declarations and announcements on God's behalf. Isaiah must be humbled and shattered by the revelation of the King. Isaiah was one of the best of God's people – with anointed lips he had brought messages from God to the people. Yet he declares, "I am ruined" (in Hebrew, "finished, cut off, and pierced through, devastated, destroyed, doomed, undone and ruined"). He not only saw God, he saw Isaiah. One glimpse of God's holiness and he became a wretch in God's eyes. Expect the fire of holiness to burn you until you see what Isaiah saw!
The Lord opened the Heavens and He opened the prophet's eyes. Vision brings hope. True vision brings true hope. We will never feed people from the Tree of Life, giving them the water from the satisfying River of God, until we see the Lord high and lifted up. Most of us think revival is the roof blowing off, but in fact, it is the bottom falling out. Revival will come not with just a WOW, but a "Woe to me!"
"My eyes have seen the King!" The majesty of this King left him undone and shattered! When you see God seated on the throne all you can think about is your uncleanness. "Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar." Instead of ushering Isaiah out of the Holy Place and throwing him out on his ear, a provision was made for his cleansing. One of the burning ones took a live coal, "a burning coal," and brought it to Isaiah. Visions of glory will turn to visits of grace. God's prophet was cleansed by the burning coal. This "burning coal" from off the altar speaks of the SACRIFICE of Christ which takes away our sins! The coal is a living flame, which points to Christ's resurrection life that continues to burn in us with jealous flames! The Cross is the live coal that touches our lips in purging fire. Jesus became the sacrifice that endured the judgment of God for our sins.
3. The Fire of God in Power
What happens when the Holy Spirit baptizes us with fire? What happens when the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon us? It is more than we expect and it is different than we expect. It will make us witnesses for Christ willing to go anywhere, even to the ends of the earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It will give us great power to confirm the message of Christ's death and resurrection with signs and wonders. God Himself will work with us in demonstrating His power to confirm His Word.
"God makes His angels become like winds. He makes His servants become like flames of fire."—Hebrews 1:7 NCV The fires of God are needed to ignite our passions to love Him and lay our lives down for Him. Without fire all we have is dead religion and Christian cliches. This intense God wants an intense love relationship with us. Imagine, the most awesome, intriguing, mysterious, and fascinating Being in the Universe wants us to experience Him and meet with Him in the fires of holiness! This is what is meant by all-consuming fire. It is a fire that attracts, fastens onto the soul, and devours everything that gets in the way of holy love.
4. The Burning SEAL of FIRE Upon Our Hearts!
This is the fire of intimacy! It is the burning heart that cannot live apart from love. The love of Christ now becomes the fuel for the flame of God. The raging furnace of love is carried upon our lives every moment. Jesus must be glorified! Jesus must be the center of attraction. Jesus must be released by our passionate praises. This burning seal is the mark of the Christ. Many are concerned about the mark of the beast, but I have become fixated with the mark of Christ, the brands of His love that burn on my heart. Undistracted devotion to Jesus will brand the heart with burning passions. Nothing can be compared to this love. Intense, unyielding, blazing fire... This is the seal He invites you to place over your heart! It is a seal that will brand you for life, forever changed by that love.
It will consume your shackles and chains of emotional bondage and pain. It will unravel your clever ways and break the self-confidence that has been a part of your life. It is an unquenchable fire that will not rest until you are fully His. Regardless of your sin or failure, this relentless love that consumes like a forest fire will defeat it! It is a tenderizing fire that will leave us responsive to Him, craving more. You are about to become His burning bush of fire (Exodus 3:2)! "Many waters cannot quench love..." (Song of Solomon 8:7). These waters are floods of obstacles and pressures. Nothing can put out the eternal flame of Divine love burning within the Bride. Water puts out fire, but many waters cannot quench this love! Even rivers of persecution cannot do it. Rivers of misunderstanding, heartache, disappointment, or pain cannot quench His love. Rivers of accusation, condemnation and rejection cannot put out the sacred flame. Joseph felt temptation, Peter denied our Lord Jesus, Saul of Tarsus persecuted the saints; but nothing could extinguish Love's jealous flames.
This supernatural fire fell from Heaven, consuming the living sacrifices of the Bridal company. It will not go out. Sickness, failure, divorce, shame and guilt... none of these can quench the love of God. He will never put out the fire that burns in our hearts. You can be fired from your job or rejected by those you love – the strongest rivers of difficulty cannot put out this blazing fire (Revelation 12:16-17)! His love is the seal, and the source of this love is God Himself. Our ability to claim this love has nothing to do with our temperament or personality, how we have treated Him or what we have done to mess up our lives. His love is the seal over our hearts, not our performance, not our devotion! His fire is greater than the illegal fires of any sin or addiction. His fire will not be put out by your failure to walk perfectly before Him. His love is the seal, not your secret failures and shameful history. This love will prevail, it will conquer you in the end – you will be consumed in its flames! Love conquers all (I Corinthians 13:8-13) and never fails. When you fail, love doesn't.
Listen to the Passion Translation of Song of Songs 8:6-7:
"Place Me now as a seal of fire over your heart forevermore. This living, consuming flame of fire will seal you to be Mine Until you become my prisoner of love! My love for you will be stronger than the chains of death and the grave. My love for you will be consuming as flashes of fire From the burning heart of God. Place this fierce, unrelenting fire over all your being Until you are consumed! Rivers of persecution and pain will never extinguish this flame. Even floods will be unable to quench this raging fire! Everything will be consumed, It will stop at nothing! Surrender everything to this furious fire— Until it won't even seem to you Like a sacrifice anymore!"
All I can say is there is coming to you a fire that will consume everything you yield to God. When you and I have surrendered EVERYTHING to this flame, it won't even seem like a sacrifice anymore!
Love you my friends, Brian Simmons
Apostolic Resource Center (ARC) & Stairway Ministries
Email: bwsimmons@msn.com
Brian and Candice Simmons have been described as pioneers, prophets, and pastors. As a spiritual father and mother, their teaching and prophetic gifts have opened doors in many nations to take the message of authentic awakening and revival to many. For the last 35 years they have labored to present Christ in His fullness wherever God sends them. As an apostolic couple they have pioneered church plants for many years with a tribal people group, planted churches in New England, and helped to translate the New Testament into the Kuna language. Brian is the founder and director of Apostolic Resource Center (ARC) based in New England, and they have established Stairway Ministries under which they travel full-time. Brian is the author of numerous books which reveal depths of insight that the Holy Spirit has released for the last days.

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"You MUST be BOLD!"

2011-04-06T14:00:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I cheated and read the devotional for tomorrow, today!! lol! Well, it was the title that caught my eye and the word BOLD. You see, the Lord know's exactly when you need to heed something and today I'm hearing with BIG ears.
This morning in our prayer meeting I must have heard the word BOLD atleast four times and by a VERY BOLD dear friend! Sooo...here goes the word in a devotional! Hope you are blessed by it!! Oh and BE BOLD today! Hey look, the enemy is nothing to contend with apart from the Spirit of God so we might as well TAKE a stand! Be encouraged as you read!

You Must Be Bold
"We were bold in our God." I Th 2:2

"If you want to be led by God you must learn to be bold-not rude or insensitive, but bold, because God will sometimes direct you to do things others don't understand or agree with. Any time you step outside the boundaries of what others think is acceptable, you risk rejection. So be it! You can't allow that to keep you from doing what you know God wants you to do. Confronting criticism becomes a little easier when you remember that, ultimately, "Each of us shall give account of himself to God" (Ro 14:12 NKIV). It hurts to be criticized. But if you're to succeed in life, you must have the attitude Paul had. Ben Campbell Johnson paraphrases Paul's words in First Corinthians 4:3-4: "I am not the least concerned with the fact that you are deciding what is right and what is wrong with me...Neither you nor anyoe else can put me down unless I first put myself down (and I'm not doing that)...Though I don't know of anything against me, my ignorance doesn't mean that I am correct in my appraisal, because the final evaluation is in God's hands." Secure people can handle being the only ones doing something. They can also allow others the same choice because they know we have been called to love one another, not analyze and categorize one another! To avoid growing old and feeling like somewhere along the way you got lost and never suceeded at being what God called you to be, you must be bold.

Humm...good words to heed! Oh how there is so much to learn. So glad I am doing this one day, one step at a time...from precept to precept.

The Lord directed His word this morning in Psalm 119:33-40. Let me tell you this was defenately led of Him...not planned by man but by the TRUTH of His Spirit! I love it when He does this.

Psalm 119:33-40
TEACH me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.
GIVE me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with ALL my heart.
DIRECT me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
TURN my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
TURN my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.
FULFILL your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
TAKE AWAY the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.
How I LONG for your PRECEPTS!!
Preserve my life in your righteousness!

Now that is some good stuff!!!

Be Blessed today and GO be a blessing to others!

Sonja

"Be Determined"

2011-03-31T12:38:00.001-05:00

I read this devotional entry and thought it was so good. Lately I have had many bouts with questioning my "position." At times I feel so inadequate for the jobs at hand but the Lord never gives up on me. He knows and sees my struggle. And I know He also wants to see me overcome them.
Read the following and be blessed by the words to encourage. We all need it from time to time!

"It takes courage to be led by God. It's not easy to "break the mold" and rise above the limits others place on you. When you do, you'll face disapproval. Jesus did. When the folks He grew up around said, "Isn't this the carpenter's son?" (Mt. 13:55), they were really saying, "He should stay in His place!" When they tell you that, don't listen. "Each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Ro 14:12). In the final audit you'll discover that not only is it wrong to be judgemental of others, it's also wrong to permit their opinions to control you. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him." To follow God's leading you must have confidence that (1) He loves you in spite of your shortcomings; (2) He has a definite plan for your life; (3) you are capable of hearing from Him for yourself; (4) whatever He asks of you, He will enable you to do. Once you've heard from God, be resolute! Things worth having never come easy. If you find yourself weakening, ask God for determination and He will impart it to you through His Spirit. If you find yourself being "double minded," go back and ask yourself what God told you in the beginning-then stick with it. Don't go in a different direction because of worry, or discouragement, or the sentiments of others. Remind yourself that you have what it takes to succeed in whatever God has called you to do. If you've made Jesus Lord of your life, His determination lives in you-because He lives in you."

This is so good. I often get so frustrated when I start listening to others about what they think I should or should not be doing with my time. Usually, they mean well, at least that is what they reason within themselves. It could be they are just being a bit judgemental/nosy, thinking they KNOW what you should and should not be doing with your time!
What matters here is that YOU know what you are doing and accepting where you are at in this life (your position) to where you are going.
Some of us are called to be home, some called to be out working and others doing both. The important matter here is that YOU have a peace and contentment inside. NOT what others think!
I have struggled with this on many measures. I am realizing more and more NOT to pattern my life around the "critics" out there but to move forward in "confidence" that the Lord is my biggest cheerleader and He is faithful to show me, teach me, and guide me.
Oh how the enemy loves to use others to speak into your "weakest moments." Especially using words of condemnation which create doubt and all kinds of emotions to stir up in you.
But something my sister said the other day really spoke volumes..."doubt is having a conversation with Satan, not God." And I would add that condemnation is the same...When you start to entertain doubt, you start giving him access to fear and fear gives access to death (death of vision, or a crippling ability to move forward).
The best thing to do is to REBUKE the doubt/condemnation and stir up the faith that you are making a difference.
What if that difference you are making is in your little one who looks to you every day for strength, courage, questions, help, etc? It's worth it and it's more valuable than any gold out there!!
So be encouraged and be confidant in the Lord. Seek Him daily and make yourself available to Him. He will be faithful to tell you what to do, how to do it. What to pick up, what not to. How to lend your time and how to take a break, whether big or small from different things.
He is a faithful Father. And trusting in Him to lead is the BEST most rewarding way to go!

Sonja

Mirrors Don't Lie more quotes from "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren

2011-03-27T17:22:00.003-05:00

I picked up Kay's book again this afternoon and have been so touched by the openness of her life. This week for me has been a catalyst of emotions as I have gone in deep places with the Lord. At times we just NEED those times with Him while all other distractions and even chores are set aside. It's ok. We need to do that from time to time in spite of what others may think. So I did just that.
Maybe soon I will write on what He has been teaching me. How He ministered such refreshing solid truth concerning His STRONG, Vigilant character. I am so proud to be His daughter and so honored He adopted me into His Kingdom for such a time as this.
But I am also very aware of my human weaknesses. Totally aware of what upsets me and what drives me to be angry. When I see injustice, when I witness foolishness, when I see the helplessness, etc...but when I read Kay's words on the chapter of "facing the evil within" I realize that we can ALL be capable of such. Without the Lord, without His love, without applying forgiveness any of us can allow bitterness, hate, anger, stress, emotions, etc...to go in the wrong direction for our lives.

Kay Warren: "A few years ago while wrestling with the depth of evil I saw inside of me, I attempted to memorize Psalm 103. As I meditated on the first verse, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name," I was intrigued by the phrase "inmost being." What does it mean to praise God with my inmost being? What is my inmost being?
God in His amazing love and mercy enters into those caves of my inmost being, down into the deepest part of me where no other human being can enter, where no one else will ever know me. God enters into that place where there are no excuses, no pretensions, no false fronts, no hiding. There I cannot pretend to be anything other than what I really am and what I am not. There he sees completely the depravity of my heart in a way you will never see.
God is the only one who can enter deep into the caves of your inmost being and not be terrified or repulsed by what he sees. He was the only one who knew all along how wounded and broken I was on the inside. He was the only one who could meet me there with forgiveness, mercy, and healing. God saw all of the garbage-the shameful thoughts and behavior, the secret guilt and shame-that was ripping me up."

My thoughts: Ever been there? Gosh, she words it so well. I write these quotes because she is so open and so honest and I appreciate that about her. Oh how I can relate to her confessions. We are all capable of doing wrong. We all fall short. But the Lord is so merciful that when we come to him with a repented heart and a willingness to learn of his way, he scoops us up and adopts us into His kingdom and begins to teach us. He is such a loving Father that way. This week I encountered a greater reality of such. He desires to protect us in so many ways. But, we need to take time to seek Him out. To lay aside all other things we see as important for the day and allow Him to show us what really matters most!

Kay Warren: "Because you are known at the deepest level by God-where your filthiest thoughts and most reprehensible deeds are revealed-and because you have been offered forgiveness and liberation through our Savior, Jesus Christ, you can authentically move toward the maturing knowledge that you're no different from the person living next to you. You need Jesus. I do too. Everyone does. The truth changes everything.
Now we see why God instructs us to look in the mirror of his Word, because what we see there will keep us humble (see James 1:22-25). We are to let the Bible "judge" us-to point out our flaws, our sins, our failures, so that we can confess them and receive forgiveness. Once we've allowed God to "judge" us, we're more ready to "judge" the evil in our world."

My thoughts: So good! When we go to the Lord, in that secret place. We give him permission to locate us, to rebuke us in love or encourage us for courage (usually in my case it's been both!). Nonetheless his ultimate purpose is to GROW us up in knowing His character so we can be FREE in trusting it and be able to instruct others to seek it out. I believe He wants all of us to know that we are His mighty warriors. We are His mighty children. We are made for greatness because He is great and lives in us. Warriors aren't born overnight. It is usually in the great time of training that they finally emerge as strong and stout-hearted ready to conquer each trial at a time. Ready to silence the enemy at any cost. I end it with Kay's last paragraph in this chapter as it is powerfully written and oh so tangible to grasp!

Kay Warren: "Are you ready to begin to push back the darkness in yourself, in your home, in your neighborhood, in your city, your state, your country, your world? What will it require? Dangerously surrendered people who are honest and courageous enough to hold up the mirror of God's Word to themselves and ruthlessly examine their own motives and actions. God is searching for people who will confess their personal sin, accept his merciful forgiveness, and then humbly but bodly step into the battle against evil. When you and I minister to fallen fellow human beings with a realistic understanding of our own capacity to stumble, we bring not only truth and justice but healing and the possibility of compassionate redemption as well.

So well put Kay...I thank God for your transparency and truth to challenge all of us who have ears to hear! More to come...

Sonja

"living in 3 different worlds" more quotes from the book "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren

2011-03-17T12:21:00.002-05:00

Kay Warren:
As I have grappled with how to live out this "ruined" life and still maintain healthy daily living, I have discovered that I actually live in three worlds--all of which are real.
There is my world, the suffering world, and the spiritual world. The first one is where I make my living and raise my family; it is a world of supermarkets, malls, affluence, and plenty. It's the day-to-day world in which I interact with family, neighbors, coworkers, fellow church members, and people in my community. This is the world in which I have to make my faith real, not just theoretical.
There is another world--just as real--where many of my brothers and sisters exist in deprivation, struggle for survival, and experience great need. This is the suffering world. Spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and crippling illiteracy dominate. In this world, largely unknown to most of us, there are 40 million people infected with HIV, and incurable but preventable viral infection that leads to AIDS, when the immune system finally fails. Fifteen million orphans are part of this world and that number represents just those orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS; it doesn't include the more than 100 million children orphan's by other diseases or causes. you and I have the opportunity to be Jesus' hands and feet to these brothers and sisters, making him known by our love.
The third world is the unseen spiritual world, the more real world of all, in which I am united with God through a personal relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the world from which i draw strength, courage, integrity, and love I need in order to live in the other two worlds. If I didn't experience the spiritual world with its eternal perspective, I would burn out from fatigue or emotional overload. God's word, quiet times of reflection, worship music that refreshes my soul, and the companionship of other "ruined" friends keep me spiritually healthy. Because of that, I am happy and content to be a citizen of all three worlds. Living with my feet in all three of these worlds is a challenge as I constantly evaluate where to spend my time and energy on a daily basis, but being spiritually grounded makes it ALL possible!

My thoughts:
Boy, she described it so well! We can all probably relate to the above! I have been challenged lately to live every day open for the Lord to change my agendas if he so wants. It is much better to live "flexible" to his leading then trying to do it ourselves! I am also learning that when He sets a plan in motion our part is just to Obey...walk and he will keep shining the light.
Most of this requires a willingness to seek HIS voice. If he says his sheep hear his voice then he is not lying!! We can actually hear him and follow his instructions. If you hit a road block then you stop pray and don't move until further revelation comes!
Kay challenges us with a question. I will leave after I post it allowing you, the reader to ponder on it...I am.
This world is complex. But we serve a mighty daddy who knows that and he is able to give instruction, teach and counsel us in our daily lives. He will be supernatural in showing us or just plain practical. Either way, he is faithful! Be encouraged and I pray that we will all take Kay's words "dangerous surrender" to heart. I encourage everyone to read the book. It truly has moved my heart.

Kay's question to us:

In what ways are you allowing God to rearrange your schedule, your finances, your affections, so that you can regularly interact with those he loves? Can you point to the sick, the poor, the prisoner, the orphan, the widow, the immigrant you are personally ministering to in Jesus' name? If not, it's time to make some dramatic adjustments in your life...

More to come...

Sonja

"the bottom line..." More quotes from "Dangerous Surrender"

2011-03-10T17:47:00.001-06:00

Kay Warren:

Here's the bottom line: Figuring out God's ways isn't any of my business. Following Him is!
Following Jesus is to offer to him all that you think you are, all that you really are, all that you think you are not, and all that you really are not--to be used in the way he chooses. It is stepping down from the throne in the Kingdom of Me and joining a new kingdom--the Kingdom of God. It's following him, even when following makes no sense. I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.
I've taped to my desk an old Puritan prayer from the 1600s, and I read it nearly every day. I repeat it loudly and joyfully on my good days; on my bad days I force it through gritted teeth; on the terrible days I whisper a few of the words--and on the days when it all just seems like a big cosmic joke, I gaze through my tears at heaven and let my spirit speak to his with no words at all.

The Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you;
let me be full, let me be empty;
let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure
and disposal.
And now, O Glorious and blessed God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine, and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

Sonja:
Wow, such an awesome way to surrender. I believe I myself will post this somewhere and be reminded that I do want ALL the Lord has for me. Do you? It may require this kind of step in order to get "self" out of the way and take up the cross to follow him.
Such a challenge and yet such a previlege.
Most of us can't stand pain, physically or emotionally. But, pain at times is what can strengthen us IF we respond to it appropriately! And pain is felt when you say NOT my will Lord but yours! Especially when you WANT to hang on to something he is saying to "let go". You feel that pain in the heart. In the end though that kind of pain is like working out, it rewards you with an awesome muscle! I like that.
Reflect on the words of this awesome covenant and allow the Lord to minister to you as to WHAT you have your own Kingdom of Me in and trade it for His Kingdom!
Remember...I am taking this journey too! There is plenty of ME that needs to be burned up!

More to come!

Sonja

"The kingdom of Me" more quotes from the book: "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren

2011-03-08T11:21:00.000-06:00

Today is Tuesday a rainy grey day. I thought I'd share more from the book I am reading. The events in Kay's life in surrendering what she calls "kingdom of me" are like all of us. We wrestle with what WE want and WHAT God wants...some of us spend ALL our days and life doing what WE want and miss out on the benefits, the fruit of sacrifice. Better yet said "dying to self".
Everyday we are all faced with, "what's in it for me?" , or "I'm too busy for someone else...instead of "what can I do for someone", "who can I spend time with and be a blessing to them?"
Here are some thoughts on the "kingdom of self" and some actions to take in conquering them.

Kay Warren:
"How do we actually surrender the throne of the Kingdom of ME to the Kingdom of God?

The answer is simple but not easy. Once you begin to catch a glimpse of the love that God has for you, you can relax in your attempts to manage your life by your self. You acknowledge that God sent Jesus to mop up your messes-to pay the debt you owe for all of your failures.

You believe by faith that Jesus did what he said he came to do-to give his life on your behalf-and then you accept his offer of salvation. You allow him to enter into your "kingdom"-your mind, will, and emotions-and take up residence there.

The Kingdom on ME is now absorbed into HIS kingdom, and you will gradually allow Jesus to be at home there. Over time, you will experience the quiet confidence that comes from being a part of God's kingdom. Ephesians 3:16

As Jesus becomes more and more settled in us and our spiritual perspective grows, we become more willing to let him do the internal renovations necessary to make us more like him. We grow in our ability to become disciples, making surrender a more natural response.

Once we surrender the keys to the Kingdom of Me to this loving Father, we are ready to give ourselves over to life in the Kingdom of God. Instead of cooperating with the firmly established rules in the Kingdom of Me-where we want God to pamper us and make our every wish come true-he asks us to surrender control and become a "bond-slave" to Jesus in his kingdom.

A bond slave is a person who voluntarily enters into the service of another. Voluntary surrender is the key. Jesus only comes in when he is asked, and he only assumes the leadership of my life when I voluntarily yield it to him. Every other moment of surrender to him grows from his initial invitation to join his kingdom.
It's never easy. Giving up the rights to the Kingdom of Me goes against the grain of self, but it inevitably leads to a life beyond our wildest imagination. Not that fame, fortune, acclaim, or earthly reward comes to everyone-that' God's business to decide-but somewhere within each of us is a desire for significance, for meaning-a need to know that our time here on earth matters. This can only happen as we live as Jesus' bond slaves, voluntarily serving him in the places he leads us, whether far away or next door." Mark 8:34-37.

My thoughts: This is so good. I am challenged today to look at my areas of selfishness and give of myself instead. Whether it's spending time with your children, meeting with friends, helping someone in need or just cleaning your house! There is always a time to "die to your plans".
I do believe there needs to be balance. You can't help someone else if you are tired, worn out or have loads on your plate. That is when "wisdom" calls and you learn to know what to Pick up and what Not to.
My mother in law is a perfect example of someone who gives of herself. Just yesterday on her day off she came to my house to help me with some vision in this house.
I was starting to get so stressed before she came because I really had NO VISION for what needed to take place so I prayed that our time would be what the Lord wanted and not a time of confusion or stress. I was hoping she had the vision! Sure enough the Lord used her mightily! She went to it as if she had mapped it all out in her head before hand! lol! I just followed her lead! I had some input, but not much. She was anointed for the job...she gave of herself (i am sure there were things at home she could have done on her day off). It all came together and now I love the outcome! Basically, fruit came out of her time of giving, and my "letting go" to make it happen myself! I simply didn't have the plan, she did! And actually even MORE than I expected! A big Thank you to her for that!
Sooo...there is definitely FRUIT in saying NO to our agenda's and yielding to the Lord's! You just never know how HE will lead the day and what blessings may await!!

More quotes to come from the book as you take this journey with me!

Sonja

Ok God...you Win! Let's take the journey into the book "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren

2011-03-03T09:10:00.003-06:00

So I am reading a few books in this season but the one I have been drawn to this past couple of days has been "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren. I'm already feeling challenged and coming somewhat out of a place of "desert" to now a place of "what is this place anyways!" lol!!

Yep...I'm sure I'll see it soon as I know the Father's plans for me are always good. I actually stumble on this book by mere accident or maybe more like mere fate! So, as with any book I have read in the past thus begins more growing, learning, fine tuning etc...that comes along with it! I am sharing quotes on Face book these days so I thought why not my blog too and really have you share the journey with me!
Here we go!

Kay Warren:
"After a month of anguish wrestling with god, I reached a point at which I had to make a conscious decision. Would I retreat to my comfortable life and to my settled plans, pretending I didn't know about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the millions of orphans? Or would I surrender to God's call and let my heart engage with a cause I was pretty sure would include buckets of pain and sorrow? I didn't know what would happen if I said yes to this increasingly strong urge to engage--what did "engaging" even mean? I felt like I was standing on the edge of a giant precipe; I couldn't go back, and yet the way forward look like stepping into void!
The moment of decision came. With eyes closed and teeth clenched tightly, I finally said YES. The second I did, my heart broke, and I was shattered. It was as though God took my heart and put it through a wood chipper--what went in was a "branch," but what came out on the other side was a heart shredded into a million of pieces. With lightening speed, God yanked the blindfold of apathy, ignorance, and complacency from my eyes, and I was overcome by the realities of the suffering he revealed. I ached with a new kind of pain--a pain that felt as though it had come from the most visceral part of me. I was filled with sorrow and grief. I knew next to nothing about HIV/AIDS, but my heart was instantly linked with those who know it intimately. Like the apostle Paul knocked off his donkey on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), I was changed by my encounter with TRUTH."
My thoughts:
Wow! Oh how I can relate on some levels but at times I wonder "am I really doing what I am suppose to be doing?" The questions still unsettled in my heart. I believe I am suppose to be reading this book and two others. I also know and believe HE has so much more for this vessel to walk out! Have you ever felt the way her words explained above? I have, she couldn't have put it into words any better!

Kay Warren:
"What stands in the way of your surrender to God's plan to engage with hurting people is simply that you care more about yourself than you do about the suffering of others.
What could ever break through those impossibly thick walls of self-centeredness? Who or what can change your perspective in such a way that instead of living to serve yourself, you actually WANT to live to serve someone else? To whom do we surrender the keys to the Kingdom of Me? A jailer? A torturer? A more powerful enemy who has beaten us into submission? A ruler whose intent is to ruin and destroy? No, we surrender to a Father who loves us unconditionally.
God wins us, not by shouting, beating us up, or starving us into submission, but by asking for an invitation to enter. We are loved into surrender. The more we accept that HE operates out of love for us, the more we will entrust ourselves to Him.

Fenelon expresses the truth beautifully: "God is not a spy looking to surprise you. He is no an enemy lurking in the shadows to hurt you. God is your Father who loves you, and wants to help you if you will but trust in his goodness."

My thoughts:

Soaking in such words of wisdom...I am already starting to become even more undone, more challenged to surrender to the Lord my "comfort zones." Can I really trust Him to guide my feet in the way I need to go? Has He guided them lately and yet I am the one fighting, telling myself this "isn't what I thought it would look like", this "isn't what I signed up for God." How many of us have asked that question? How many of us have been challenged to "step out" and then when we do what we thought was going to be a season of RICH blessings ends up being another season of hard core plowing, breaking up hard ground, a garden without a face again! When will the flowers bloom? When will the seeds that were planted (you thought) take root? Have they been eaten by wolves? Were they sown in vain? Will it always be this hard? Do I need a weapon in one hand while working with the other? What does it look like Lord? The plan you have? Am I walking it out carefully nourishing what is in front of me? Am I really learning your ways or just merely going through the emotions?

Challenging questions...to which sometimes I have no answer but nonetheless I keep one step in front of the other, each one with a growing amount of Trust. Each step and each moment I spend with my Lord I learn of His character. Though I am corrected, even severely at times, I know it is Motivated with Love to cause me to grow and learn. I hope you don't mind sharing this journey with me as I share quotes from this book as I am challenged...maybe you will be too! Face book has been a tool, amongst others, for me to share my life, get a glimpse of your life, and yet my motivation, my heart is to always direct it upward where the TRUE inspiration, TRUE motivation of my heart comes from!

Sonja

Birthday Thank You!

2011-02-28T14:11:00.001-06:00

Psalm 139:1-18
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw m unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O,God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you."

45 years ago today, my mother gave birth to my hidden frame and brought it out in to this life! Thank you to my dad too for contributing his part in it all!

I was cleaning my house some and reflecting a little on my life (wonder how many others have done that on their birthday).

I am thankful to still be alive! I am thankful that in my life time so far I have known what it is like to feel rejection.

Known what it is like to feel fear, to feel sorrow almost even to the point of wanting death. Now I know that sounds extreme and a bit morbid but it is also very true.

I know what it's like to have lived and not known love, true unconditional love that is. I have lived with regret. I have made choices that the scars from those choices will never truly be forgotten! I have felt the all too familiar "thorn" of life.

BUT...before this all sounds like such a downer, it's only really the beginning of what I have TRULY learned in my 45 years!

I came to know the Lord when I was 24 years old (June of 1990). In that began my NEW birth. My spiritual one! What a day that was...what a NEW beginning! It is said that all the angels in heaven rejoice when one soul comes to the Father in repentace and embraces the cross! Oh how true that must have been in my case!

Since this journey began, I now know that the "thorn in my flesh" has actually been the "blessing in my heart".

Without the trials I would not have known the LOVE. Without the hate, the bitterness, the hurt...I would never have really understood how to really apply and walk out forgiveness and healing! Forgiveness for others as well as for myself! I would not have understood what it is like to lose something but then gain under circumstances undeserving! Now that is LOVE in true form!

And without life, I never would have experienced the joy of "carrying life" in my own womb.
Though a bitter sweet time in my life, the Lord graciously and compassionately allowed my barrenness to experience the stages of life being formed in that secret place, while Jonah was coming to be! I then understood life to be such a precious gift...if anything the MOST precious gift ever!

I now also understand why the Lord chose to give His one and only son to die for us, who deserved it not!
I have come to see my life as a gift now and not such a curse.

I have been fortunate to have known what it is like to "fall in love" and then maintain commitment in that love. Though love is a choice. We must choose also to continue to nurture it and treat it with high respect and precious. Oh, I've fallen short many times but that's another thing I have learned in life. We have ALL fallen short of the Glory of God! It is only by the grace and LOVE of our heavenly Father that enables any of us to walk out real love!

I smile knowing the Lord has blessed me with mom's, dad's, grandma's and pa's, brothers and sisters, son's and daughters (both biological and spiritual) in my life!! Just that alone is something to be tremendously grateful for!

Some of you have literally been used of the Lord to hold me up, cheer me on, rebuke me in love, cry when I cry, laugh when I laugh and rejoice when I rejoice! Walking out the heart of the Father in a true sence of His word!

Though I have much more I want to experience in life. Places I want to visit and see. People I have yet to meet and be blessed by...one thing is and always will be before me! The destiny that awaits when I've won the prize. When I've ran the good race! And that is to sit eternally in the presence of the Almighty God!

He alone knew my unformed body. He alone set life into motion for me. He knew before I did what I would walk out and learn. The places I would go, the people (like you guys) that I would meet! The family that I would have.

He knows what is in store for the minutes, the hours, and the days and hopefully many more years to come!
Without Him my heart would never have come to know His and with Him my heart now beats like His!

I am so very thankful for each one of you that took the time to say "Happy Birthday"!

Some of you know me personally, some just occasionally (laughing) some just on Face book (also laughing!)...nonetheless each one of you are like the flowers that adorn the landscape of my life, however (if you are a weed and know it watch out I'll pluck you quick! lol!) all joking aside...

I mean what I say, I am blessed to have such great friends and family in my life! And those of you who know me personally also know how sentimental I am!
This is my birthday, my blog...sooooo! I can be as sentimental as I want! Ha!

However, I will bring this to a close now, humm...so how do I close this other than to say again...
THANK YOU!!!!!!

Be blessed and continue to bless others!

Sonja

"A time to be alert"

2011-02-24T09:17:00.004-06:00

I sit here in my kitchen this morning drinking coffee when out of no where I was reminded of this song.

Many of us who Believe, know that our Lord is coming one day. Though we see the earth experiencing great tragedies, could it be soon? Only the Lord knows that exact time when he comes like a thief in the night. I Thessalonians 5:1-2
We MUST however be mindful of the times. We MUST heed that approaching day!

The Bible is the oldest book around and the one book that seems to STAY around? Could it be because it is definitely the "anointed book of the Lord" and oh so "very true"?
What the Lord put into motion WILL come to pass!

Isaiah 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will ACCOMPLISH what I declare and achieve the purpose fro which I sent it."

So...no demon in hell, no human being can STOP what the Lord sets into motion!

Lately, I have been very concerned about the times. Very concerned about the deception going forth especially when it comes to the young ones. They are our future leaders. It grieves my heart to see the "seductive spirit of the antichrist come in and cause distractions".

Oh, it's a slow fade for sure. A slow desensitizing of the mind, will and well even the emotions. It's evil, yet recognized as "trying something new" and "get with the times would you!" kind of thing. It's also "hey everyone else has one" and " all my friends have it" on and on it goes!

Sunday morning while in church I observed something that shook the core of my heart really! Two young girls sitting two rows in front of Wil and myself texting the whole time this powerful message was going forth. Back and forth the phone went from one girl to the other as they were obviously having a conversation with someone they both knew. Both totally oblivious of the message (which by the way was on deception). I imagine the devil laughing and saying "yep, my plans are effective for sure" and "parents thank you for being a channel for the access, after all you are the one paying the bill and they are the one enjoying the ride"...wow!

Not sure where the parents were. Not sure who they were with. As I observed I noticed one being the instigator, the other following.
I leaned over to Wil and said "this is really starting to bother me".
I managed to make it through the service but not without some regret.
Should I myself have said something to the girls? (after all isn't that the parents responsibility?) Was anyone else as bothered? Did anyone seem to see this as NOT good? What about the people sitting beside them, did they not see this as a distraction and disrespect? On and on the questions went in my head.

Then it caused me to examine my own heart. Am I doing everything to protect my own son from this kind of seduction? This kind of "learning behavior".
Are we teaching him respect, and reverence unto the Lord?

I do know this: "I believe parents are doing their children an injustice by giving them unlimited access to texting and internet service when they are too young to know how to treat it all!"
I don't like the analogy of "you might as well give them a loaded gun" but hey it's makes one wonder?

But then, I am just sharing my concern and well humble opinion on the subject and it's ok if you disagree!

Are we teaching our children boundaries by giving them unlimited access to these things? Are we disciplining them when they use and abuse the privilege by taking it away or maybe asking ourselves, they are just not mature and ready for this yet? There again I remind you...you are the one paying the bill. Humm...? Something to check into there.

Funny, I have witnessed parents wondering how in the world their children became so self-centered, disrespectful, and void of any listening or having conversation with them! Hello?

The subject of the phone and texting is a very sour one with me. Maybe because I know that years to come my own son may try and demand what others have when I've seen the negative side of this kind of privilege all too much!

It's not worth it! And I pray when that time comes Wil and I will have wisdom enough to KNOW how to handle it!

I will also say this...if you want your child to have a phone (so you can get in touch with them) that is why you give them one right?? Then give him or her one without internet service and texting!! It's not going to kill the child, if anything think of it as "saving your child's life"!

I have seen eight year old children with high tech phones, unlimited texting, and internet service, even FB and they thinks it's sooo cool! Well hello! of course they do! You just gave them a "loaded gun" and access to dangerous addictions imaginable...right there in their little young hands!! Not sooo cool after all! Especially when you are left wondering "what in the world just happened"?

I believe it is time to WAKE up!! I speak this to even myself, as a human that can fall for the deception out there too! It is time to call out for WISDOM in raising our young ones!

Satan is coming as an angel of light. That means anything and everything he can make LOOK good, FEEL good, SOUND good etc...he will put it in front of you and your children!! The not so good part is what you think won't hurt, ends up being that apple in the garden of Eden! Ouch!

Though there is so much more to say on this subject I will stop with this scripture so as to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to me and to you the reader! I am not here to condemn, nor judge. I am a learner of the Lord and a follower of HIS heart. Know that what I write in my blogs is always in LOVE and from the perspective of "i am taking this journey in spirit and in truth"...so what I write challenges myself to be ALERT and on WATCH. Discerning correction given, rebuke or repentance the Lord may desire for me as HIS beloved child...that being said let's reflect on this scripture:

I John 4:1-6 says:
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: EVERY spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
You, dear children are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

Staying alert and watchful!
Sonja

"Moments Still"

2011-02-05T18:25:00.003-06:00

Today I seek to know you in this moment still. You know my every thought and how I feel.

To you my heart sets out to pray, I'm asking my will to surrender so you can have your way!

Sitting here still knowing you are here, comforts my heart and quenches every fear.

There is definitely something to this. Ceasing the moments in your midst. Refreshing my spirit within knowing the doves song is about to begin.

I look up at the tree standing so tall and strong, in position to your will, I hear its whispering song.

Yes, taking in this time. Writing down my silly rhyme. Just breathing in and breathing out. Isn't that what life is about?

Life all around me. Rejoicing that my heart has been set free. I am no longer bound to what had a hold of my soul, no longer deceit putting me to a lull.

Deep inside I admit that some times things just don't seem to fit. The puzzle I see before me is unfinished. Pieces still yet to be placed as I run this amazing race.

I wonder at times what those pieces will be that mark my steps to eternity? I hope in the end the puzzle will reflect His face when all the pieces are set into place.

Where must my feet journey to the next piece in all the fun? But then that is the exciting part of this run.

Holy Spirit, you are so gentle to lead. You are my friend and counselor in my times of need.

I give you a chance as the two of us begin to dance, the music so sweet to my ears bringing me to tears.
You hold me close and speak confidence to my heart knowing deep down I didn't have much from the start.

Faith becomes stronger as the story unfolds. The strong hand of the potter shaping my mold. Chipping away the rough places to smooth, as He speaks unconditional love to the vessel He makes NEW.

My God! My king! To you I sing! To you I rejoice in the happening!

I feel the peace, the love so sweet. My heart beating with yours so true as I share this moment still with You!

Fill me up with greater love that only comes from your spirit above. Help me to always be faithful and true as I live my life abandoned in YOU!!

I'm yours...

Sonja

"Empty Jars"

2011-02-03T10:23:00.000-06:00

Much was on my mind and heart this morning.
Drinking my coffee I turned to my little book called "Tell me all about it", it's a journal my sister in law bought me and when I am inspired or have much on my mind I write poems in it. Some are silly but they are from the heart.

Today, I reflected on one and thought I would share. Maybe it will minister to someone reading out there!

"Empty Jars"

I once read about a woman whose husband passed away. He left her with debt she could not pay.
The man to whom she owed was coming back to take her sons in exchange for the lack of her funds.

In a desperate cry, she asked her friend Elisha to help, "I have nothing but a jar of oil"...the pain in her heart was felt.

With the confidence of a prophet Elisha spoke up "Go now to all your friends and neighbors and collect as many empty jars as you can" he knew deep inside the Lord had revealed a great plan.

So the woman did as she was told, house to house watching the story unfold. She came back to her home and the boys helped her fill the jars one by one and as they did the oil increased into a great sum.

When all the jars had been filled they were amazed at the sight and yet still more oil came flowing out in the light.

Now Elisha spoke again, "Go sell all the oil today" gather your funds and pay off the debt you owe so she did as told now feeling a little more bold.

She had more than enough to spare for sure, so she bought food and clothes too and well maybe even herself a nice fur!

So the point of this story is to let the Lord show forth His glory when we do what He says and we trust Him for our daily bread.

His promise remains true and He'll take care of you.
So, set out your empty jars and walk as He commands. Let Him be your Lord of Lord and take Him by the hand.

Rest in His arms today and know that when you pray He hears and gently wipes all your tears away!

Sonja

"Keeping it simple, keeping it real"

2011-01-14T11:40:00.001-06:00

Well, January is here and so is the mindset of de-cluttering and getting fresh perspective!

The other day I emailed some friends on something the Lord placed on my heart. One of my friends responded back and I liked what she said at end of her email:

"Thanks for keeping it real"! Wow, I like that!! And I smiled knowing she knows me, that is the ONLY way I'll go!!

I read an article in the newspaper about a woman who made her wardrobe very simple. I didn't think mine was complicated but I do have more than I need and wear, at least for winter garments.

So, yesterday I faced my closet head on with an honest heart and determination to "get it done" and "give away what I did not wear or NEED". Key word there! Things we think we need really we don't! That is where the honest part comes in! lol!!

Sooo, needless to say I got my husband involved on his side (I had to laugh because he was more hesitant to get rid of shirts, etc...more than I was). Nonetheless we got the job done!

A friend of mine said she knew someone that could use the clothes and shoes so I am happy it is going to USE for a NEED.

Funny how our "think we needs" become someone else's "does need"...make sense?

Any how, now I am doing the same with dishes, and things around the house! I tackled Jonahs room (my 7 year old son) earlier in the month, guess that is what really got me on the ball!

What I keep hearing in my heart is "keep it simple", "keep it pure", "keep it true", "keep it real".

So how do I do this?

This is just how I have started out:

1."Keep it simple": Get rid of STUFF you don't need! Organize what you have left.

2. "Keep it pure": Pure meaning CLEAN, de-cluttered to the max, and well room to breathe so to speak.

3. "Keep it true": Be honest with yourself about what you are doing. Look it square in the eyeball and face the mess, clutter, or whatever it is. Be truthful about what you DON't wear, what you CAN't fit into (maybe keep one small pair of pants or favorite shirt you can't wear as a goal but that is it, get rid of the rest or you will get overwhelmed, wear what you CAN fit into now and be happy).

4. "Keep it real": Be real with yourself! Don't try to be someone else. Don't try to have someone else's wardrobe, or buy things for your house just to keep up with them. Be real about where you are, it's ok.

These are things i tell myself anyways, and things I've learned in "keeping it simple"...my personality is not naturally simple (it can be rather deep and complex) so it's a good thing for ME to have everything else in my life somewhat simple.

I am also painting (well about to start up again anyways). I had some leftover paint from years back when we finished the upstairs and I think it's a great color for our sun room! So today I start! Woohoo!! Ok, here's the honest truth...I absolutely DO NOT like to paint! lol! Really! However, I DO like the finished results!!

It's amazing HOW conservative you can be when you set your mind to it! Since Wil and I have been on this "debt free" journey there have been some pretty tough places of our test in faith...especially mine. But, through it all we KNOW one thing...STAY THE COURSE!!!!!!

We will not waver, compromise, lose focus (at least not long term focus). So part of this journey and assignment for me has been to be WISE on spending. Making things simple. Getting rid of excess and being creative in the food department (probably one of my biggest challenges with a 7 year old boy and a very healthy fit handsome body building hunk in the house).

Soooo...if anyone has any HEALTHY cheap suggestions please fill free!! I need all the help I can get! lol!!

Well, this has been it! Hope it challenges YOU to "keep it simple" and encourages you to also "keep it real".

Blessings to you all who read my blog! Hopefully you are encouraged, enlightened (ha! how can you not in my world) and well just know that you are special...God loves you just the way you are to where you are going!! So give yourself a pat on the shoulder and encourage yourself in the Lord!

"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness" (author unknown)
"There is nothing more beautiful than a rainbow, but it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow. If life is to be rounded and many-colored like the rainbow, both joy and sorrow must come to it. Those who have never known anything but prosperity and pleasure become hard and shallow, but those whose prosperity has been mixed with adversity become kind and gracious"! (author unknown)

Sonja

Another silly poem...

2011-01-03T21:11:00.007-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas and New Years too! What will this year bring? I hope not many of the blues.

It's already starting out kind of swell, a few challenging character quality's surfacing rather stale. All in all I hope to soar in this coming year, and maybe create some kind of new cheer!

There are hopes and dreams still locked away to open. Hoping to achieve enough to make it just a small token.

My life here on earth is getting somewhat dim but I'll try real hard to lift up my chin. Just sometimes the sound of heaven lingers in my ear, especially now that 2011 is here.

So begins another year, already I have cried my tears. Such is what life brings some times, may it be rain or a beautiful ray of sunshine.

I know for myself I vow to stay away from the "critical" mindset. I will defy, run from, shut out the influence of such a pet. I won't feed it, nurture it, nor give it room to grow. In this vessel of mine only the fruits of the spirit will be what I want to have show.

I will separate, not congregate with those who vomit a negative atmosphere. It is my choice really to choose such a path here. I want my life to blossom by the positive affirmation that truly is awesome. Who wouldn't want and desire such a wish? So for me this year that is on my list!

All in all it's good to be alive to watch my son grow and make his strides. One day to become a strong man of his word of that I am truly sure.

This is just another silly poem, for which many I have written. It's a reminder to myself that in this life I will not be quittin. It may only make sense to me the writer, which is fine in itself. I know when I read them I entertain myself!

I close this silly poem with one more thing on my heart. That I remember the Love of the Lord and what He said from the start.

He's coming back for His bride, all dressed in white. On that day will be a great fight. But He will win and so will we who believe and join Him on that day among the living sea.

I keep my eyes above. I draw upon His unconditional love. I pray I keep changing from glory to glory and my legacy of leaning on Him will be my final story!!

Sonja

"The flaming fire put out by the water of forgiveness"

2010-12-07T09:13:00.003-06:00

I am sitting by a fire as I type this. The house is cold but where I am sitting the warmth embraces me. In order to get that warmth I basically need to sit real close to experience it. This fire keeps me warm but it also has a boundary that keeps me from being burned. It's an understood one with the screen closures in place from the sparks that pop from time to time.
We all know that getting too close to a fire would not be a good thing. With that in mind I can enjoy the benefits of it's power to my advantage.
Right now, I feel the peace of God. It seems as if the world has stopped and I am relaxed. I also have a nice cup of hot cocoa with miniature marsh mellows floating at the top. With each sip I take the warm cocoa goes down my throat giving me a warm sensation and satisfaction only a cup of hot chocolate can do.
Nice picture huh?
Well, that was not my picture yesterday morning. That was not how I felt. There was no warmth in the air. No nice hot cocoa going down my throat. No peace in the atmosphere.

It started out that way I guess. We all have days like that. But this one seemed to come out of no where with the fieriest of all forces. It hit me before I knew it was coming. It was a different kind of fire brewing. It was one without boundaries. It was a deadly one to the emotions, one that started deceptively and grew into a big destructive fire. Before I knew it I was in the midst of it's raging flames.
Every word spoken became another powerful flame lit. Panic was not going to be one to put the flames out. Nor was anger, or rage. Fear seemed to be the driving force of what brought it on and one I did not want to contend with at the time.
In the end all that was left emotionally in me were the ashes.

I felt nothing. No love, no comfort, no peace. How in the world did this fire get in? Oh, I knew possibly I had lit some of those flames but enough to make a full fledged fire that could destroy the very essence of peace?
No. It took more than that. It took a blow. It took a fan. The words and attitude were the blow and with each one being lashed out the fire was only given that much more strength to burn.
What is amazing about fires like the one I experienced yesterday is that in the end it was really an unnecessary one. Like most fires, they are not all lit intentionally but by careless actions.

I will say this one took some time to "put out". It continued to burn all day, leaving me with one scar affect after another. Even my tears were not enough water to put it out. I was engulfed in it.
It wasn't until this morning that I realized I needed to put it out. It didn't matter if I felt like the victim of such a raging fire. What mattered in the end was, would I choose to put it out? I knew the answer to that as soon as the question was raised.
I knew that the only kind of water affective in putting this fire out was the water of "forgiveness". It also serves to be a great healing balm for the wounds left. Not only does it soothe it also heals.
We have all had days like that. We have all started fires and been victims of fires. We have all asked ourselves the question "Will I choose to forgive?" Some of us haven't chosen to and continue to let the fire burn.
We sit in the middle of it screaming inside, feeling it waste away our bones. Like a bird with the cage door open able to fly out and be free but dosen't, we sit in the fire letting it burn us not realizing our freedom is the open cage door of the Cross, we just need to apply it.
.

Instead we feel justified. Sure, it's only human to say "I don't deserve this" and we probably don't. But, what we also don't realize is that no one can KEEP us in that fire! We have a free will and choice.
Christ died on a cross to "set us free from the bondage of sin" and HE had to ask His father to forgive us in our ignorance of the fires started that day. "It is finished"... were his words that echoed in the night...that meant forgiveness had been applied to the wounds and the fire had been put out! He did it for us. He did it to set us free.

So remember this Christmas that the "gift of forgiveness" is for everyone. If you are sitting in a raging fire of bitterness, anger, control, self-righteousness, greed, selfishness, addiction, etc...know that your response is what matters. You can BE free!!
It doesn't matter so much any more WHO set the fire. What matters is that you NEED to get out of it! And you CHOOSE!

This morning I enjoyed my hot chocolate, fire and warmth, the peace was returned to my heart because of a choice I made to forgive. I choose to love no matter what. To say, in light of the precious gift of life I am going to walk free from this fire.
What it set out to do in destruction, I will allow the Lord to turn into a blessing. I don't know how He will do it because we all have wills but I trust in Him. I will do my part in forgiving, He'll do His part in the giving.

My Christmas prayer:
Father, thank you for continuing to teach me the power of forgiveness. Thank you for allowing me that choice and thank you for helping me put the fire out. Thank you for the cross, for that day you yourself endured the fire of all hell taking on our sins. You taught me that compassion and forgiveness are a gift to choose and you chose to walk in them for me. To set me free. So I will follow your example and apply the same in my own life. Help me to continue to do so. I never want to be swallowed up in a destructive burning fire.
Be with those who are lonely. Be with those who feel like love is not out there and love them. Let people know this Christmas the power of forgiveness. If they are bitter, help them to forgive and let go. If they are angry, help them to be thankful instead and if they are wounded HEAL the wounds and help them to choose to be set free from them!! Thank you for the life you have allowed me to live. Thank you for my husband and help me to continue to love unconditionally. Thank you for Jonah, the son you gave me, the son I did not deserve. He has taught me so much about forgiveness and what it is like to have a soft heart. I love you Lord. Amen.

"Broken One"...

2010-10-28T11:40:00.003-05:00

"A message to the Broken One"

I have a message to the broken one

I see the pieces all in one

You will not feel at all complete

Until you learn to sit at my feet

My will for you is to KNOW me

When you do you will see

That the pieces broken I will mend

Together we will begin again

In the shadow of your despair

I will carry you with love and care

In time you will begin to grow

And no longer carry your head down low

I desire you to BE complete

Do not walk in the way of defeat

My Spirit is there to strengthen you

In all the trials, I will walk you through

One day you will come to understand
I am your daddy, who holds your hand

There is NO storm you cannot overcome

That is why I sent my Son

He is the one who carried it all

I gave him a unique but important call

To bare the sin of all mankind

So in turn you can SHINE

That is the love I have for you

It is one so pure and true

So stand tall my dear one

And let's have some fun

My burden is light

And yes, there will be a fight

Learn to laugh a little through it all

It sure makes it easier in the call

So broken one precious to me

I look down on you and say BE FREE

I am using this vessel so you can know

I will not EVER let you go

Surrender your brokenness into my hands

I am the Master of all the plans

I am the One and only King of Kings

And soon you will have your wings!

In seeing the word "Broken" more than once this week I felt inspired to write this poem of encouragement. I wanted my hands to be surrendered as the words just came natural.
I have been broken before. I understand that place. The pieces all shattered you don't even know how they will ever come together. But they will.

The key is to not try and do it yourself. The key is to just let the "super" hand of the Lord do His anointed work. How, you say?

Surrender. Yes, I know...hard to do. But that is really the only way. When we surrender. When we acknowledge that we don't know how, then that is when our WILL (stubborn one at that) dies and He comes in and LIVES.

It's an amazing process. Let me just say, it is a process. Even an oak tree starts as a small seed buried deep within soil. But, the process is amazing when it comes to a FULL complete visible appearance of a beautiful tree! Complete in all it's way! Standing strong in it's role.

The eagle is the same. One day after all that time in the nest it's ready to discover that the process was a time of preparing for the most amazing discovery...the POWER of it's wings! Can you imagine?

Here comes the wind as he mounts up ready to spread his wings and FLY!! Oh what a feeling that must be for the eagle! In that moment in time as he fly's flashbacks of time spent in the nest all comes together! This is what it was for! I understand now! The eagle has now taken on the role of his destiny. And in time so shall we.

I kind of sense that in my own life. An inner still small voice beginning the words..."are you ready to fly?" At first hearing it there is a little fear. Not the kind that keeps me from jumping but the kind that say's Yes (with quivering lips) I'm ready...not really knowing how exactly to do that and then when I do fly where will I go? lol!! Such is the human side of me!
I laugh knowing deep inside my heavenly daddy smiles at my own apprehension. He knows me all too well. But He also knows my passion to obey and my love for Him in all my ways.

The time is coming I know. The winds picking up and I must take my position. I simply spread my wings, jump and let the Wind of His Spirit determine where to take me! Gosh sounds easier said then done! But, then such is Life!

So be encouraged broken ones...Be gentle on yourself. God will heal. The Lord will restore. He is faithful. I know because I am a witness of it!!

Wings beginning to spread...

Sonja

"You did this for me?"

2010-10-20T13:54:00.001-05:00

I had not plan on updating my blog today but I could not shrug off the fact that the Lord was prompting me to say something to you...the reader.

I came home from a prayer meeting with some of the two most beautiful woman I know and yet while in my house I paced back and forth stopping at the picture of Jesus in my kitchen. What? I basically said, not out loud but in my spirit. I stood in front of the picture and waited. I started to weep as there was much on my heart. It wasn't heavy weeping just tears that gently fell. Then it hit me.

The Lord reminded me of a gift I got at the prayer meeting. One that my husband bought me a while back. He had given it to one of my special friends to put in a gift basket she made for us...she forgot. But, now I know that things happen for a reason and the Lord knew exactly when I needed to receive this gift.

It's a precious simple wooden cross made by a ministry obviously walking in love. I took this cross in my hands and then the Lord led me to a book shelf and said "that book". Are you sure Lord? Yes.

So, I start to read and it all came together...it will for you too! So here it goes:

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and gray; we wouldn't have known the difference. But he didn't.

He splashed orange in the sunrise

and cast the sky blue.

And if you love to see geese as they gather,

chances are you'll see that too.

Did he have to make the squirrel's tail furry?

Was he obliged to make the birds sing?

And the funny way that chickens scurry

or the majesty of thunder when it rings?

Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste?

Could it be

he loves to see

that look upon your face?

If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would he? If we-speckled with foibles and greed-love to give gifts, how much more does God, pure and perfect God, enjoy giving gifts to us? Jesus asked, "if you hardhearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won't your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?" (Matt. 7:11).

God's gifts shed light on God's heart, God's good and generous heart. Jesus' brother James tells us: "Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light" (James 1:17). Every gift reveals God's love...but no gift reveals his love more than the gifts of the cross. They came, not wrapped in paper, but in PASSION. Not placed around a tree, but a cross. And not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood.

The gifts of the cross.
Much has been said about the gift of the cross itself, but what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? The garments taken by the soldiers. The garments given for the burial. Have you taken time to open these gifts?
He didn't have to give them, you know. The only act, the only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet he did much more. So much more. Search the scene of the cross, and what do you find?

A wine-soaked sponge.
A sign.
Two crosses beside Christ.

Devine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, "You did this for me?"

The diadem of pain

which sliced your gentle face,

three spikes piercing flesh and wood

to hold you in your place.

The need for blood I understand.

Your sacrifice I embrace.

But the bitter sponge, the cutting spear,

the spit upon your face?

Did it have to be a cross?

Did not a kinder death exist

than six hours hanging between life and death,

all spurred by a betrayer's kiss?

"Oh, Father," you pose,

heart-stilled at what could be,

I'm sorry to ask, but I long to know,

did you do this for me?"

Dare we pray such a prayer? Dare we think such thoughts? Could it be that the hill of the cross is rich with God's gifts? Let's examine them, shall we? Let's unwrap these gifts of grace as if-or perhaps, indeed-for the first time. And as you touch them-as you feel the timber of the cross and trace the braid of the crown and finger the point of the spike-pause and listen. Perchance you will hear him whisper:

"I did it just for you"

(taken from "He chose the nails" by Max Lucado)

"Letting go"

2010-10-12T11:20:00.001-05:00

"Letting go"...

There are times when the Lord say's "Let it go" as to the why? Only He seems to know.
I've asked many questions on my knees, even to the point of saying PLEASE!!
But, to no avail I again hear the words "Let go"
It's wisdom you know to obey the Lord in all, by doing so you can be assured of the call.
Maybe He is protecting you from some hidden scheme and He knows to whom you should lean.
"It hurts" you say to let that go..."I understand" he say's but, I know your foe.
He's a crazy fool who sets out to harm and he does it so well with all his deceptive charm.
"I know your weakness that is true, what you don't understand is in your weakness I am also STRONG in you".
So, do what I say, do not delay...
Let go of the lies he's told, so that the cord's around your neck lose it's hold.
Reflect on my character that stands STRONG and TRUE, when you do I WILL come through for you!
Take your stand and be relentless. For when your persistance shows true, I will make a way where there seems to be no way for you.
DO not FEAR when others question what you do. Just do what I say and I will be faithful to show you the way.
Now, LET IT ALL GO. Forgive and let go of the negative too, all the foxes that come to steal the vine from me and you.
Say NO and REBUKE the sin and watch my Spirit take you for a spin into depths you have yet to begin.
Walk with ME in it all and soon your eyes will be more open aware of the call.

I wrote this poem a while back. In the Lord's gentle way He was showing my spirit little things I needed to let go of. He knew that IF I continued to hold on eventually I would become a weary soldier. I needed to surrender ALL my wondering mind, the questions unanswered, the dreams yet unfullfilled.
I remember crying as the words came out on paper, knowing He was already giving me the courage to TRUST Him in what i could not see ahead of me.
Life does not always go as we expect. Sometimes it throws us unexpected "hit's on the head" and when that happens our world goes into kaos.
It is then that we NEED to get some solid ground, calm ourselves and look to the one who can FILL us with truth in the midst of the storm.
I want to encourage you to get alone. Distance yourself from all distractions and other voices that COULD lead you in a direction that is not right and true.
Ask the Lord to show you "what to let go of and how"...He is faithful.
There are many of you walking around with deep supressed anger inside. You don't know how to let go of it so you allow it to manefest in other ways. It causes harm to you and others.
You need to let that anger go.
Perhaps getting with someone else and talking it out. Take the step to let it go by taking ownership of the truth and then disowning it by applying forgivness where the anger was. It's ok.
Maybe it's letting go of something YOU thought would be the ideal life for you but now it's one big mess. Jesus is able to take that big mess and make it into that ideal life HIS way and believe me that's the plan you want...all other is really just sinking sand. That's not my opinion, that is truth.
I know that when I began to "let go" and give ALL to the Lord, there was room in my heart to grow in ways I never dreamed. He truly know's what is BEST for us. My desire is always HIS BEST.
Letting go also gives room for love to grow. You begin to accept yourself and accept others through HIS eyes of love and not your eyes of criticalness.
It can be a little scary to let go because you are saying YOU will no longer be in control. You actually step out in faith and begin to allow the Lord to lead you safely and you wonder if HE really will.
But, what you have thought all these years was a shield of protection was really a chain around your neck! This is the lie that keeps you from really experiencing TRUE freedom. And that is where Satan would want you to stay!
The fear of letting go is what is really keeping you in prison. When you let go...that is when you can finally say "you are free".
Letting go can also challenge our pride. It say's to us "if we let go we have failed. If we let go we are now weak. If we let go then we are no longer in control."
Some of this is actually true because we have tried to do it our way...but the Lord say's "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2Corin. 12:9-10.
When we lose our lives for His sake we find it and He replaces all our weaknesses and give them strength! So it is really GOOD to let go!!
I will say this then close my thoughts. "It takes time to let go". Nothing happens overnight. It always starts with a choice. Then as we choose to forgive, choose to let go of control, choose to LET the Lord fill us, direct our steps and strengthen us we begin a LIFE we never thought possible.
It's all sumed up in this: LOVE and FREEDOM!! That has been and always will be the message of the cross! Salvation is "letting go of the old ways, the old idols, the crutches, the lies" and Embracing a Lord who offers FREEDOM from all that! The chains broken...the chains removed!
Perfect, unconditional love you can TRUST and Invest your life in!
Today...say a prayer and whatever He shows you to LET go of...JUST DO IT!! I promise you won't regret choosing HIS BEST.

Changing one day at a time...

Sonja

"Examine yourselves"

2010-10-06T10:36:00.001-05:00

Last night I spent time seeking the Lord on behalf of some friends that are really going through the battle and difficult time. They are separate situations but a battle nonetheless. We've all been there at one time in our lives, I know I have. Season's come and go. Depending on the situation the battle can be fierce or it can just be a plain annoyance!

For me, when the battles rage I begin at times to internalize things. This isn't always wrong as it causes me to "examine myself" in the midst. I begin to ask myself questions like: Did I do anything to cause this? Is there sin in my life I need to get with the Lord on? A compromise? Is this just a plain out attack or an assault from the enemy? Are the accusations true or are they just that, accusations?

Satan is the accuser of the brethren...he loves to come in and cause disunity by using false evidence appearing real. Most of the time he is just blowing smoke but he knows as humans we think the smoke is a full blown fire and we panic!! He laughs knowing he's just baited us into FEAR.

I pondered on the word Purity much this week and on many other things. Do I really want change in areas of my life where fear, doubt and unbelief come in? Most definitely. These are some of the impurities in my own flesh. Probably many woman go through the same. I find it a good thing to at least be able to target because then I know to recognize them when in operation, and in turn put the little fires out with the PURE water of the Lord's word. Just spending time with HIM...silent, reading His word can do wonders for my own self-esteem and identity. One thing I work on with His precious encouragement is EMBRACING myself, even the impurities I see. I know that without HIS love I will not overcome. I know HE is the only one that holds the KEY to my freedom. I also know that I hold the key to WALKING out that freedom!! I have to take the steps.

This leads me now to a devotional I also read last night. Read the following and your eyes will be open to FRESH revelation. PURE advice that is so true and lasting. In reading it I realize that MOST of my battles come from within. How I choose to respond to them says a load of what is truly INSIDE of me.

"If you are serious about changing: 1. The first person you must know is yourself. Human nature seems to endow us with the ability to size up everybody-except ourselves. If you're not comfortable with yourself, you won't be comfortable with others. And if you don't believe in yourself, your lack of self-worth will undermine you in life. One marriage counselor says, "The most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself. You've got to be your own best friend first." But how can you be best friends with someone you don't know, like, or respect? That's why it's important to discover what God's called you to be, then work at becoming that person. And you won't get there overnight; it's a process-one that requires a mindset of HONESTY, frequent repentance and constant self-correction. But if you commit yourself to it God will help you. 2. The first person you must work on is yourself. Dr. Samuel Johnson said, "He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the grief which he purposes to remove." The Bible says, "Examine yourselves." Only as we examine ourselves before God do we discover where our true battle lie. Then we've a choice. We can be like the man who visited his doctor and found out he'd serious health issues. When the doctor showed him his x-rays and suggested surgery, the man asked, "okay, but how much would you charge just to touch up the x-rays?" Or, you can decide to change!!

So, how much do you want to change? How bad do I want the battles to stop? The same questions can apply to you. I am realizing more and more that I can't change anyone else. I can only change ME. I can only adjust my decisions, make my own choices, and at times encourage myself! The Lord is strong and mighty in and through me and He is through you too if you've allowed Him to be your Lord. We just have to tap into that by taking a deep look at ourselves and deciding we are not going to give up!!

Jesus loved us and had compassion on us enough to the obediance of Dying for us...that's all the motivation I need to surrender to Him knowing He loved me first and will help me to embrace and love myself. When this happens the PURITY in loving others and the PURE motive of compassion from my heart is the overflow of the Love HE filled me up with. Choices and responses will end up being healthy and hopefully impact others to want the same. The result is simple "Love covered up a multitude of sin!" I Peter 4:8

Changing...one day at a time!

Sonja

One day we will say "FREEDOM"!!!

2010-09-22T23:28:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since my last post. I can relate somewhat to Elijah and his cave! I don't think he wanted to come out of it either! But, the Lord has no use for a vessel to spend his or her life in the cave. Eventually you need to come out!
Emotionally that is where I have been. Not all that sure why, perhaps a combination of things, that I have allowed disappointment my way. But, then I need to learn to LOOK at the bright side of life and at times that comes hard for me. Just being real here.
I have had days where I felt the whole world around me was just falling apart. Really an exagerated emotion but nonetheless that is where I was! Then I've had days where my Faith seemed to move the mountains! You know, I'm sure you've been there
The Lord wasn't suprise though...He knows how he wired the emotions of a woman! lol!
Wil, Jonah and I have been on a Journey. The Journey has been a walk of deep faith. I can't say I have always embraced it with Joy...I know it's a little sad, but true.
I remember the day when Wil came home after hearing a Dave Ramsey show on the radio. He had heard them before but something was stirring his heart this particular day. In faith he ordered Dave's whole series of video's and informed me that we were going full force on his program. I was in agreement and had been knowing something needed to change in the way we were using and budgeting our money.
We stood in our kitchen with the big sissors and cut up the 3 credit cards we had. One was a Visa for emergency purposes (that became a joke) you know how that goes. The other two were gas credit cards...for you guessed it, emergency purposes!! lol!! I love it how Dave Ramsey nails that one on the head in one of his videos (guess you'll just have to purchase them to see it).
We watched the videos and applied the steps. The cash basis only was going to be our NEW motto (never again turning to credit cards) and Wil put a bracelet on his wrist (he wears to this very day) to remind ourselves that we will reach FINANCIAL freedom one day! He will wear that bracelet until that day when we can actually call the Dave Ramsey show and say FREEDOM!
Anyways...that day felt rather strange. I don't think Wil or I were really prepared for what would come for us in the next months nor how we would NEED to respond appropriately to the resistance, not to mention a load of temptation and persecution of doubt, unbelief, etc... Even some well meaning friends questioned our New Journey.
I can be honest and say though, if we would have known how hard it was going to be, I don't know if we would have taken this path...BUT, I am glad we did and actually still are (we are not FREE yet).
I have had to pray prayers concerning provision I never thought I'd ever have to. And Wil has had to work extra hard in ways I don't think he expected. We both agreed that I would NOT get a job because being home for Jonah during the summer was important to us and being flexible for Wil and keeping the house in order was important to me to which he was also in agreement of big time!
We started out by attacking our smaller balances on the credit cards. We set aside money in the envelope monthly and stuck to it for a while until at times it got a little hard to do that way. With Wil being self-employed it's a little complicated to set aside a certain amount of cash. I had a huge garage sale several times to get rid of STUFF in order to start attacking the credit card debt.
There have been times we didn't KNOW how the bills would be paid. Where the gas would come from to fill our cars. How we were going to pay Jonah's tuition for him to go to a christian school (that was important to us) and on and on.
I had major car problems because the car I drive is getting it's miles for sure. We bought it in 1996 and it was already 4 years old before we purchased it! You do the math on that one.
I'm still driving it. We are applying Dave's motto "live like no one else, so one day you can live like no one else!" Seems like a far away dream but then God is a BIG God.
There is more I could share and probably will as time goes by. We have stuck to the Journey of cash basis only. We pay cash and check for EVERYTHING we do and have been for the past 3 years. It's been rewarding in that I can say I go to bed not worrying about debt BUT I will confess that I have gone to bed wondering where the money was coming from to pay our bills for the month. I'm there this month. But, my faith has been enlarged so I am learning as the years go by that it seems to have become stronger. I'm not there yet but I HAVE grown and so has Wil.
Today, Wil came home only to share with me that his AC in his truck is out! Well, just another way for the Lord to show up isn't it? He's done it time and time again with my vehicle, He'll do it for Wil's!
So why have I shared all this? One, because it's fresh on my mind two because nothing comes easy and three to encourage you that though it will be hard, getting out of debt is the ONLY way to freedom!! But, I do believe if you determine in your heart to accomplish it (especially when it's biblical and right) then go at it with ALL your heart. Wil and I have done this will the "gazelle intensity" the best we know how.
I remember times when well meaning friends would make comments about my car and some to Wil. Gosh, I really couldn't blame them at times BUT, one day the Lord opened my eyes to the fact that HE is my daddy and HE is a rich daddy so HE is the one that provides!
He hasn't blessed us with the money YET to buy an new vehicle but that doesn't mean HE won't...it just means He loved us enough to TEACh us something (possibly others didn't want to be taught) so that We can one day have learned Him to BE OUR PROVIDER!! And now know exactly HOW to be good stewards of our finances (definitely saying GOOD bye to the credit cards forever!). I know the Lord to be faithful teaching Wil and I how He provides what I called "our daily bread" because really it seemed that is what it was "daily provision".
So there is more to this story...more to this Journey! I will say this: "I am proud of my husband for listening to the nudging of the Spirit that day to take this difficult journey!" He has been focused! Sure, we've had our huge moments of frustration...and I have had my moments of selfishness but all in all we are hanging on (thin at times) but determined to reach our goal!! We have paid ALL our credit card debt in that first year and we are attacking our only other loan with a passion. We KNOW that the Lord is the one Who guided our first steps, He will be the one to help us FINISH the race!! I can't wait to be FREE so that we can GIVE more and BLESS more abundantly to help others get FREE in return! I can just feel that excitement RISING up in my bones!
STay tuned...the rest of the story is YET to unfold! Lord, help me to hang on for the ride! Help me to adjust my attitude accordingly and most important of all YOU get the Glory for that which YOU have DONE!!!

"Lord, you establish PEACE for us; ALL that we have accomplished YOU have done for us." Isaiah 26:12Sonja

"Letting the Inside Match the outside"

2010-08-25T10:57:00.001-05:00

I was reading in Matthew this morning and at the bottom of the page is a "written insight overview" of the chapters 5-7...as I read it I thought "this is good stuff." I want to share it with you and then allow the Lord to minister to you through it...as I have done. I believe, IF we allow the Lord to help us BE our genuine selves IN Him we will not struggle or be bond to the following! So here it goes...

"Letting the Inside match the Outside"
Is everyone a hypocrite?

"Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." 6:4

Almost all of us live two lives: what people see outside and what is REALLY going on inside. In school we learn what outward signs of attention will please the teacher. At a job we learn to "put up a good front" whenever the boss happens to stroll by. As if donning masks, we style our hair, choose our clothes, and use body language to impress those around us. Over time, we learn to excel at hiding truly serious problems.

People ten to judge by outward appearances and so can easily be fooled. Acquaintances are often shocked when a mass-murderer is arrested. "He seemed like such a nice man!" they insist. The outside appearance did not match the inside reality.

A Blast at Hypocrites
Chapters 5-7 announce that the time has come for us to change not just the outside, but the inside. In Jesus' day, religious people tried to impress each other with showy outward behavior. They wore gaunt and hungry looks during a brief fast, prayed grandiosely if people were watching, and went so far as to wear Bible verses strapped to their foreheads and left arms.

In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blasts the hypocrisy behind such seemingly harmless practices. God is not fooled by appearances. We cannot fake behavior to impress him. He knows that inside the best of us lurk dark thoughts of hatred, pride, and lust-internal problems only He can deal with. Jesus goes on to present a truly radical way of life, free of pretense.

Familiar Yet Startling Words
These three chapters, among the most analyzed in the entire Bible, present a fresh view of the world. You will likely recognize many familiar sections, including the Golden Rule and the Lord's Prayer.

In one sense, Jesus says, the truths presented here are not new: they fulfill, rather than abolish the Old Testament law. In another sense the way of life described is more radical than anything before or since. Jesus' words turn many normal assumptions upside down. With statements like, "blessed are the poor in spirit...those who mourn...the meek...the peacemakers...the persecuted, " Jesus attacks those who strive to build a good image by appearing powerful, successful, and assertive.

Perhaps most radical of all, The Sermon on the Mount introduces the possibility of living solely for God and not for appearance. At last we can bring our inner and outer lives together.

Life questions: Do other people see what you're really like inside? How do your friends try to impress each other?

My thoughts: In a generation of much competition and falsehood this is a great time to stop and reflect some question to yourself. Am I trying to compete with others by getting a career to impress? Am I doing things to please man, to be noticed or accepted? There is nothing wrong with wanting healthy relationships and friendships BUT if we are moving forward in something for that to be our sole purpose we will be disappointed for one, and could open ourselves up to a "performance mode" instead of actually wanting to benefit others (it becomes something you are doing for yourself, instead of building someone else up). Helping some one else be successful (if you are working for a company) or if you are self-employed hiring someone to benefit their income instead of focusing on what income they can bring you!! It's challenging to get our eyes off ourselves, to be genuine in the face of rejection. I challenge you today to STOP and examine your motives today.

Be encouraged...we are ALL a work in progress!!

Sonja

Paul's perplexed...are you?

2010-06-06T23:18:00.003-05:00

I believe that a person remains in slavery to bondage because they are RUNNING from the truth. The enemy has lied to them telling them that facing the truth is worse, so in that they CHOOSE (key words there) to believe it...WRONG...facing the truth Set's you FREE!!!

Paul's Concern for the Galatians speaks volumes of this...I read this tonight after wanting answers from the Lord for my own perplexing situation with ministry and reaching out to others only left feeling like I waisted my time! The Lord is so faithful to bring me some truth here!

Galatians 4:8-20"Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But NOW that you know God or rather are known by God...how is it that you are turning BACK to those weak and miserable principles? (good question) Do you wish to be ENSLAVED by them ALL OVER AGAIN???" (maybe sometimes we need to ask ourselves that question). Later he say's "I FEAR for you, that somehow I have WASTED my efforts on you"! Boy can i relate to that statement!!!

So now here comes the PLEA from Paul (ever had one of those for someone you were trying to warn or minister too? been there, done that)..."I PLEAD with you, brothers, become like me (he is not saying this pridefully but knowing that what and who he has become is from his complete surrender and obedience to Christ, in other words it works to surrender all)!

Paul continues to say "paraphrasing here", look I was sick when I first presented the gospel to you and this was a trial for you, you welcomed me as if I were the Lord himself! What has happened to all your joy? If you could have you would have torn out your eyes for me...Have I NOW become your enemy by TELLING YOU THE TRUTH???

Perfect example of a people not wanting to WALK and EMBRACE truth when present it to them!!!!!So Paul warns them: Those people are zealous to win you over, but FOR NO GOOD!! (the work of Satan himself tempting you with SIN, up to NO GOOD!). What they really want to do is Alienate you from US (or the TRUTH because Paul had TRUTH in him).

It is fine to be zealous IF the PURPOSE for it is a GOOD one!!!My dear children, for whom I am AGAIN in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (basically saying I am BACK to interceeding for you again)...HOW I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am PERPLEXED about you!!!Oh how I can relate to Paul's frustration!!

You speak truth, you pour out, you give warning only to find that the one you are ministering to, trying to reach like Christ say's for us to...RETURNS to their yokes of suffering!!! And mainly by choice!!!

I've had some say but they don't know any better! YES THEY DO!!!!! They are just choosing NOT to face truth and by doing that they are LIVING THE LIE...the DECEPTION!! I think sometimes we justify things WAY too much!

More to come on this....

Sonja

"Be strong"

2010-05-13T12:14:00.003-05:00

The words "Be strong" keep coming to my spirit so much lately! It is as if every day the Lord is reminding me to Be strong. I questioned this a little this morning wondering if He was preparing me for some battle about to come.

None the less I am heeding His words to me. I've been in Deuteronomy quite a bit these days learning about the Israelites and the times they had to be strong and trust, how the Lord was so gracious to them but then some turned away from Him!

Oh how our hearts are so deceitful and selfish. We want the Lord to bail us out of a situation but then when He makes provision for that we are stabbing Him in the back by our attitude the next time we face a trial! This pierces my heart to the core, because I have done that very thing!

The Lord is so gracious to give instructions that are not too hard for us to walk out. If we turn to His word and TRUST in his insight then it will go well with us and our attitudes will fall in line with His precepts...follow with me as I share the plan of the Lord to us in APPLYing the word of the Lord and reaping the rewards that come with it! It's in Deuteronomy and it's good stuff!

Deuteronomy 30:

"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is VERY NEAR you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it!"

Those are good words! So you see, it is important to get the word of God IN us so that we can proclaim it forth!! When battles come our way...we can use the word of God to combat the lies being told to us during it! This is so important. Everyone knows that the vessel gets tired during a battle, and when that happens weakness becomes obvious. That is where the enemy makes his move!(You can trust me on this one, just recently this happened and I failed because I did not proclaim the Lord's word) But if we are armed with the word of God we can be strengthened by just opening our mouths and proclaiming His goodness!

I know it is easier said then done. In my own battles there have been many times when I've just acting so wounded and forgot to speak life over the battle! Instead I just gave into it's ugliness and agreed with the enemy that yes, it stinks! By the time i was finished agreeing with every negative seed that was throne my way I felt sick, useless, and depressed!!

But not ALL my battles ended this way!! Praise the Lord!! I got smart some where all the way and realized "ok, Sonja...You HAVE to start agreeing with the Lord's promises and start speaking LIFE over this, if you don't you will be defeated like the last time"! That wasn't an option for me this go around so I did just that! I claimed PEACE, JOY, Love and HEALING over my battle! I put on praise music and danced! I gave my concerns to the Lord and I said "You see them, You know what needs to be done" and I gave Him thanks for it all!!! That's right, I thanked Him!!

Now, the battled still raged, the situation needless to say didn't change (at least not over night) but what happened was I DID!!! I changed my response!! And in doing that I lined myself up with what Deuteronomy 30 says in chapter 19:

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now CHOOSE life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and HOLD FAST to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Now I believe that!!! When you begin to CHOOSE life over your situations, over your responses...you are automatically lining yourself up for the blessing!! Hearing His voice is a must and declaring His word is a sword!! During my battle I held FAST to Him and He heard my cry! He has always been faithful to me!!

I pray this encourages you too, to "BE STRONG" and HOLD FAST for the battle is not yours but the Lord's...speak His word, stand on HIS promises and You will endure!!

Sonja

2010-04-16T14:00:00.002-05:00

This morning the Lord ministered the "Dry Bones" to me again and then I remembered a word I wrote back in 2006, wow, has it been 4 years since this blog? I felt prompted to post this today...the Lord is always reminding us of His promises and His words to us! Read, let it minister to you...excuse the lack of professionalism in the paragraphing, etc...just get the words in your spirit!! Appreciate all of you who take the time to read what the Lord lays on my heart! Be blessed and don't forget to comment if you wish to!!

Sonja

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

the calling forth of Ezekiel's.....
I hear in my ears the voice of the Lord saying:"I am calling forth Ezekiel's, I am calling forth in this time a generation of believers that will prophesy as I command. Prophesy Life into the dry bones of your situations, stop speaking death over others, over ministries, over pastors, over your own family. I say begin to prophesy that the dry places be filled with living waters and watch me redeem it!"
In prayer yesterday morning I felt prompted to turn to Ezekiel 37. The Lord has had me read this before on several occasions. As I read the passage again I am encouraged to know that the Lord WANTS to use us so mightily in ALL areas of our lives and the people that are in it. He, the Lord, gives us the POWER to prophesy LIFE, HEALING, RESTORATION and JOY in every area and aspect of our being!!!!
When Ezekiel was looking at the circumstances of the dry bones, not looking too alive, the Lord asked him if the bones could live! I love Ezekiel's answer....I don't know Lord, but you do!!!!
Then the Lord say's "PROPHECY to these bones and say to them, Dry bones (or broken marriage, sick body, dead ministry, etc...), HEAR the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I WILL MAKE BREATH ENTER YOU AND YOU WILL COME TO LIFE!!Now that is something to SHOUT about!!!!
You see, I am learning, just as I am sure many of you are, that before I speak....will it bring forth life in the situation or death???? Ask yourself this question. I am challenged by the Lord to start PROPHESYING over areas of my life where Death crept in...
What about a marriage that, IN OUR EYES, seems impossible towards restoration? What about it? The Lord told Ezekiel to Prophesy so he had a part in the bones coming to LIFE but the POWER came because he spoke the LIVING WORDS OF THE LORD! It is not what we see but what we speak over what we see and HOW we respond to what we see that make the difference.....will we respond in death? or life? Will we choose the Word of the Lord or our own?
EVERYTHING that comes out of our mouth should ALWAYS be for building up, not tearing down....EVERYTHING! Now that can be a challenging discipline! It doesn't mean we deny how things are. Ezekiel told the truth when he answered the Lord in saying "what I see are a bunch of dry bones" basically a people with dried up hope, and their hope gone....BUT....the Lord saw something pass the dried up bones that HE alone was able to change! and HE chose to USE Ezekiel to speak it forth!!!
That's sooooo powerful to me! But that is also a SERIOUS responsibility too!!!If you are in a situation that seems hopeless, a marriage that you are believing to be restored, or a ministry come to life, or the BIG one in most eyes, a HEALING take place in the body....you want desperately to SEE fruit then I say be like EZEKIEL...take the Lord at His word and keep prophesying over that situation until you SEE fruit....it may also be that your attitude needs to line up with what you are prophesying too...in other words let it get DEEP into your heart!!!!!

After all that's where the issues of life flow out of!Israel's hope had vanished and the Lord called forth Ezekiel to speak LIFE over them....in the verses 12-14 You hear the end result of Ezekiel's obedience in speaking that which the Lord commanded him to speak:Therefore prophesy and say to them: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves (your marriage, your body, your ministry, your relationships) and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my SPIRIT IN YOU and you will LIVE, and I will SETTLE you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord."That is it!!!! HE WILL RESTORE!
Our part is to be an Ezekiel....we MUST begin today to speak life over EVERY situation in our lives and those around us...this is our responsibility! We must speak LIFE over ministries! We must speak LIFE over our marriages, our families etc.............I encourage you to read Ezekiel 37 and let the Lord minister to your heart. I am encouraged as He has REBUKED me in love and has INSPIRED me to keep the good faith. But He is telling me that MY WORDS need to ALWAYS speak life, not just some of the time!!!!I pray you are encouraged today to be like Ezekiel!
Send this word to someone who needs this encouragement as we all strive to do our parts! Remember it's the Lord that brings the POWER and the ANOINTING, but it is our job to SPEAK it forth by USING His words!!Becoming like an Ezekiel..........

Sonja

Connecting...

2010-03-12T10:51:00.003-06:00

Lately, I have been inquiring of the Lord on how I can be an affective vessel for Him. Simple things I have just wanted to understand about myself, others and the word community. What are His thoughts? What am I putting in a box and not allowing myself to consider? I have always long to learn the ways of the Lord, and be open to His love, guidance, and even His rebukes, which are good for learning.

I picked up a book the other day that I have read before but felt compelled to read again. The book is titled "Connecting" by Larry Crabb. In it I was challenged with two of his questions, "Do I know the good so intimately that i gladly endure whatever hardship lies on the path to more of it?" "Do I know how to share that good with others?" Those are great questions.

I pondered on times of great trials and saw the worst in me come out. How I took it out on others, especially those that loved me. I didn't stand on the good, nor reflect on what good could come out of my trial...I only saw the negative side of it, which tells me I need more of God to be able to do this right the next time I face a challenging trial.

I read on in the book and since this part ministered such truth to me, I felt compelled to type it out for you to read too...hoping it will give YOU the reader an insight to gain on like I did. It's long but worth reading...here it goes...

"The absolute center of what God does to help us change is to reveal Himself to us, to give us a taste of what He's really like, and to pour His life into us. And a critical element in the revealing process is to place us in a community of people who are enough like Him to give us that taste firsthand. If that is true, if a powerful experience of God comes through others, then connecting plays a vital, indispensable, powerful role in effectively addressing the core issues of our souls, the issues that lie beneath all our personal, emotional, and psychological problems. God no longer stands in front of us, drill-sergeant style, barking orders. He is now inside us, whispering with attractive authority that it's time to hit the deck and do fifty push-ups. An now we want to do it, not because the activity itself is fun, but because it fits our nature (we're soldiers) and we enjoy pleasing our commander (we love him).
Neither does God tinker with our old nature, that tangled system of God-doubting, self-protective, pain-denying passions within us that the Bible calls our flesh. Rather then entering the dark places of our souls with a flashlight and a scalpel, intent on repairing what's wrong, He enters with a flashlight and a smile, eager to let us see how He feels about us even when we stand exposed in His presence.
God's method is neither to merely issue commands from the generals tent (do what's right) nor to improve the functioning of diseased organs (fix what's wrong). Instead He becomes so intimately a part of us that we want to RESIST whatever He doesn't like and release the GOOD things He has aroused WITHIN us.
The most powerful thing we can do to help someone change is to offer them a rich taste of God's incredible goodness in the New Covenant. He looks at us with eyes of delight, with eyes that see goodness beneath the mess, with a heart that beats wildly with excitement over who we are and who we will become. And sometimes He exposes what we are convinced would make Him turn away in disgust in order to amaze us with His grace. That's connecting. When we connect like that, it can change people's lives.
God doesn't FIX us or PRESSURE us. He does whatever it takes to reveal Himself to us. That may include probing deeply into our messy hearts or insisting we do something we really don't want to do. But the core purpose is ALWAYS the same, not to repair or exhort us, but to DRAW us into a fuller appreciation of His beauty, to dazzle us with the sunrises of His nature, to AWE us with the Grand Canyons of His character, to ENTICE us with the endless fields of fragrant flowers blooming in His heart."

Wow! I can read this over and over again!! I want to live and breathe this kind of connecting because I KNOW it is full of truth. There is something we can learn from this, something we can grasp of the Lord's character IN this. Too many people are being hurt by others, too many are staying isolated for fear of being judged, rejected. Why? I believe because of the lack of RIGHT connection. The kind that the Good Lord offers us all.

Let's examine our hearts. Let's stay pliable to learn His character in this and let's connect with the hurt, the lost and SHOW them the love of the Lord. We can only give away what is pure when we spend time with the PURE God who teaches us. I know I want to be a healer of man, not a wounder...I want to see others grow and connect with the Lord! I want to do that one connection at a time!

Staying pliable, teachable in His presence!

Sonja Howell

reflecting back to examine the heart!

2010-02-22T09:56:00.003-06:00

Today I read and entry I wrote last year and felt impressed to post it as a reminder and a reflection. The Lord is alive and active...doing NEW things in my heart and I WANT and desire to grow and learn from my mistakes as well as character flaws! lol! Guess we all have them!

He is a gracious Lord. One who counts me to be VERY valuable in HIS eyes. I have been adopted by Him and He is my precious daddy! So, His advice to me is always on target! To which i say YES my Lord!

Hope this blesses you as it did me!

Sonja

Friday, February 27, 2009

Interesting that the Lord has been speaking to me about what causes weeds to grow amongst believers...some of the words I got were...jealousy, comparing one to another, bitterness and unforgiving, feelings of rejection (expecting others to meet YOUR needs, instead of cultivating that relationship with God) so much more!

Woman especially seem to battle these areas and it really keeps us from walking in the fullness of what the Lord wants us to walk in! I have been asking the Lord to help me to recognize when I myself am tempted to plant any of these relenting weeds, so that I REPENT, TURN away and walk in TRUTH.

One way to do this is to begin to ACCEPT yourself for HOW the Lord made you and continue to let Him mold you as that "fearfully and wonderful" person. We are ALL different, we ALL have different ways of expression, gifts, etc... We are all on different levels of learning and growing...BUT we can ALL cultivate UNITY and LOVE during our journey. If you have anything, against anyone...or bitterness and lack of forgiveness in your heart, the wise thing to do is GET WITH GOD and ask Him to help you cultivate LOVE in your heart towards people in greater ways!!!!!

The word below is right on target...the Lord is speaking for those who choose to have ears to hear!!!

Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns --February 27, 2009:

The Lord says: It is My will and desire to bring a people forth who are truly in one accord without comparisons and competition, prejudice, self- exaltation or self-promotion. I am raising up a people who will turn their gaze from one another to seek My face, a people with single focus and divine purpose who will bring edification to the whole body through unity. This process will reveal and separate flesh from spirit and quicken your discernment. Every facet of life and ministry is for the purpose of gathering a people who will love Me whole hearted and love one another. Everything that is not consistent with that purpose will be exposed for what it is. Motivations of the heart are being purified. Take the next step and come higher. Step into spiritual maturity and put away childish things.

Ephesians 4:11-16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

found faithful...

2010-01-26T10:34:00.004-06:00

This will undoubtedly be my shortest blog entry yet...but I just had to share the little I had. This year started out a little shaky for me in the emotional realm...my present Identity got a little shaken by a series of events (some I brought on myself). We also purchased a new puppy and if anyone knows about that potty training is definitely time consuming!

So, as I started to wallow (a few days worth) in my self-pity and emotions I felt terrible. Mainly because of my previous post...Rise up! Take position! Free yourself! lol! I definitely wasn't doing that!! Ok, so I am human!

But, the truth is I needed to do just that! Worry, defeat, feelings of rejection...get you no where quick IF you wallow in them! However, if you face the truth, talk to the Lord about it and even a trusted friend out there (oh, how few really trusted ones there are!) it can empower you and inspire you to get passed it! Strength begins to come...thanks to my BIG sister who listened to it yesterday! Like she say's "what are sisters for?" That is what we should be doing if not more than we are! She is right! So today I thank the Lord for my own biological sisters!!! Who always inspire me to "hang in there" and let me "lose it on occasion"!

Today I declared FAITHFULNESS! I chose to write down the responsibilities the Lord has called me to. I will fulfill them with faithfulness attached to my thinking and heart. And really, I have much to do!!! There are holes in my faithfulness that need healing balm and fresh perspective! And steps I NEED and REQUIRE to take in order for this to happen.

I started out with repentance to my Lord. I asked Him to help me to LET GO of all expectations IN man, and myself...and to guide my steps according to His plans! That is a great start!

For now, I will be FOUND faithful...I will not strive for more. I will nourish and watch over the responsibilities at hand.

I hope this has helped you a little today! Let me know!

Sonja

2010-01-03T21:43:00.002-06:00

This is a post I wrote last year, as I read it I felt impressed to post it on this blog! Be blessed! Let this year be the YEAR of RISING up in faith...fighting the good fight!!!!! When you are weak, HE is strong!!!!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Shake off your dust...
Isaiah 52 2
Shake off your dust; RISE up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. FREE yourself from the chains on your neck,O Captive Daughter of Zion. What holds you captive? What mindset are you stuck in? What have you not believed the Lord for? What are the chains on your neck? Is it attitude? Is it unbelief? Is it just a pattern of "self-pity" and discouragement? What is it?''

Whatever it is...the Lord say's to SHAKE IT OFF!!!! To RISE UP! and to FREE yourself!!! Those are powerful action words if you ask me! Life is too short, time is too short to wake up everyday wishing you hadn't. To wake up every day looking for that expectation in others only to find yourself captive to disappointment and chained to bitterness and lack of forgiveness! The Lord died on the cross for us, for ALL our stinking sin! Why is it then that we choose the mentality of bondage? We have a choice! We can choose to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling! We decide to choose LOVE, LIFE, FORGIVENESS, etc...When we line our hearts up in line with what the Lord already provided...there is power there my friend!!!! Many times I would feel defeated, stomped on, spit on, accused falsely, gossiped about etc...and I have stayed under the LIE of it's ugly affects but the Lord is saying SHAKE IT OFF!!!!! RISE UP!!!! FREE YOURSELF!!!!

Why? Because He knows that when we line our thoughts and actions up with His word....we are actually walking in the FREEDOM He has already provided for us!!!! Has it taken me this long to learn this? Or is it that I am finally CHOOSING to act on it. Who know but I am getting it!!! It's in my spirit...it's jumping out at me and I want you to get it too!!!!!!

SO....do you feel judged? Shake it off!!! Are you holding on to offence? FREE yourself!!!! RISE up my friend and don't stay in it!!!! Speak the word freedom until freedom gets in your Heart!!! Until it is what you feel! Until it is what you are living!!!!! Get it from your head into your bones and watch the Lord empower you because of it!!!!! Wow, I'm getting fired up just typing this!!!!Spend time with the Lord today and ask Him to reveal to you what holds you captive...then line your mind and heart up to receive His word of truth and WALK IT OUT!!!! SHAKE IT OFF and FREE YOURSELF!!!! It is your choice!

Sonja

Chiseled with His unbridled tool of Mercy...

2009-12-15T13:04:00.004-06:00

Mercy...we all need it, especially in times of a troubled heart. The Lord is full of it and grants it to the repented heart.

Often times we are walking along in life, doing our own thing. Yes, we acknowledge the Lord is real, we even go to church, do our bible studies, sing praises to Him...but, in it all we still have this HEAD knowledge and motivation instead of a DEEP heart longing for JUST Him.

Because of the Lord's great Mercy on us He loves us too much to keep us on this "eventual" destructive path of deception. On this path there are doors leading us to lies that we go through, some knowingly, some unknowingly...but because we still have not died to "control", and place our TRUST in the Lord we serve, our ignorance leads us there like a "horse and mule with bit and bridle" in their mouths allowing Satan to be the one holding the reigns.

It's a stunning thought. Yet so full of truth.

The word say's in Psalm 32:1-2, "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit no deceit.

I can think of times in my past when i have been forgiven of sins...when I saw the MERCY of the Lord on my life time and time again. He did not count my sin against me, but at the time of my confession, washed me clean! Now that is MERCY! Sure there were lessons I learned. But the work He did in my heart alone was worth the repentance!

If I had held on to my OWN ways, my own attitudes (that I know did not line up with the fruits of the Holy Spirit) I would have stayed in a condition of "slow deterioration" in my relationship with the Lord, not to mention my life.

Psalm 32:3-7 describes it this way: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then, I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin."

Though I did not get to the point of my bones wasting away...I do know that when I try to do things MY way, I become agitated, fighting against the Will of God. This scripture shows the reality of what happens when there is no repentance, but also the MERCY when there is!

It goes on to say: "Therefore let EVERYONE who is godly pray to YOU while YOU may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place you will protect me from trouble and surround me with SONGS of DELIVERANCE.

The Lord is faithful to take our stubborn positions and begin to chisel at our hearts pouring forth Mercy. What He desires beyond anything is that we KNOW Him and LOVE Him. Not what He can give, do, or say...but just WHO He is!!! So, He allows things to happen to reshape our priorities, our focus, our attention and time to align with HIS unfailing love for us. LOVE will be the end result of any of our lives IF we keep looking to Him to fill us and teach us this love.

When we repent of our ways, and wait on Him THEN HE can begin to give us the "instructions needed" towards HIS will and freedom! Which all result in a deep down PEACE.

The Lord ministered this scripture to me years ago before I married and had my son. I had just been saved, living in a flat apartment...working at Clinique Cosmetics. I was on my way to climbing that corporate ladder as top sales person nine months in a row and counting. However, something kept pulling at my heart to quit. I wasn't sure if it was the Lord because I was still learning to KNOW His voice and direction. I remember reading from His word this scripture:

Psalm 32:8-10
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him.

I memorized it and took a step of faith and quit my job. Much followed after, it was a path of faith from that point on. He put great men and woman of faith in my life that prayed with me, helped me financially, and encouraged me to keep seeking Him and getting to know Him. That really became my focus. My co-workers thought I had lost it. But something IN me fell in love with JESUS and I wanted to follow Him! I would leave it all behind to KNOW this Jesus who died for me, and that I did.

I left my apartment, moved in with two Christian woman, learned TOUGH lessons about the spiritual realm and really began to understand that the Lord was indeed my "umbrella". Let's just say I felt like I left my job and entered into "boot camp!"

Looking back His unbridled MERCY chiseled at my heart through each lesson. All of the lessons bringing me closer and closer to an understanding of HIS true character and love for me. While all alone building my own character IN Him! There is no money in this world that could buy that kind of treasure, nor is any money worth giving it up!!

Though I know this is a glory to glory walk with the Lord...and I have not obtained all there is, I do know one thing...HIS MERCY is unbridled!!!! He gives it when HE wants, to whom He wants and He gives how much he wants, when HE wants!!! Nothing can stop Him!

So, in this time...if you are facing difficult situations KNOW that IF you rely on Him...confess doing things your way and let HIM take the reigns HE will begin a work of ART in your HEART!! And in the end you will find yourself agreeing with the last verse in Psalm chapter 32..."REJOICE in the Lord and BE GLAD, you righteous; SING, all you who are upright in heart!!!

Hope in the Lord today...for His Mercy endureth forever!!!!

Sonja

Sweet encounter...

2009-12-01T10:18:00.002-06:00

About 4 months ago a dear sister in the Lord was sitting by me in church one day. Inspired by the Holy Spirit she began to write these words on a sheet of paper:

Wash clothes
Dry clothes
fold clothes

Repeat...

Wash clothes
Dry clothes
Fold clothes

Repeat...

She handed the paper to me. I took it, read it, and thought...Ok, that is an odd word to give me but I didn't question whether it was of the Lord, I just didn't really get what HE was wanting to convey to me~I tucked it into my bible and literally forgot about it, UNTIL ...

About 3 weeks ago I became unsettled in Spirit. I wrestled with thoughts of insecurity, identity and fear. I questioned my place in the home, my life as a mother and wife. I asked myself...should I go to school? Get a career? Do what most of my friends are doing and get a job, somewhere?

I became restless and even felt compromised in my heart as it kept PULLING me in directions I didn't want to go (and I did managed to resist with a fight) but still I was confused about what was going on! I really just questioned the Lord "What do you have for me to do besides what I am already doing?"...silence time and time again...until the day came!

It was an ordinary day, doing my normal routine cleaning, making beds, etc...still questioning my place, still wondering WHAT when I walked into my laundry room (oblivious of the word given to me earlier in the year) and that is when a SWEET presence of the Lord fell in that place...my four walled laundry room...with just a washer, dryer, few cabinet space and a place to hang my clothes...yet that is where HE chose to POUR forth His voice to me in a precious way.

I was taking clothes out of the dryer, hanging some, folding some when it happened...these words came to me in a STILL small voice "Sonja, if this is all I had for you to do, would you be happy? Would you be content? Would you embrace it?" I knew it was the voice of my precious father.

I began to cry and shake a little knowing I HAD to surrender and at least be "willing" to embrace the moment. Then these words came to me "Yes, Lord, yes...if this is all there is, yes, I embrace it but not without your help!" More tears came rolling down my face as I stayed in my laundry room letting the Lord minister to my restlessness. PEACE came.

It really wasn't until about two days later, when I shared what happened to a friend of mine, that I remembered the word my dear friend Hazel had given me! I was floored! He is sooo faithful to fulfill what the prophets deliver!

Though it has been a challenge for me to KEEP my place of contentment, I KNOW that this is what the Lord wants for me RIGHT now. To be the wife HE called for me to be, the mother and the one that keeps this house in ORDER and the intercessor for HIS Glory (I do loads of praying in the spirit while i clean)!

It may not be the perfect picture of a "satisfying job", but it is what HE has for me. I really wouldn't trade the times when HIS spirit moves mightily on my heart for someone and I end up on the carpet with "deep groans" of the spirit! My job is to "submit to HIS call" where HE has me until HE directs other wise! This can be a challenging thing when you see others succeeding in jobs, etc!

I am sharing this with you because I believe there are many who are wrestling WHERE they are. Wondering IF this is what you need to be doing, where you need to be. I can say that there is WISDOM in asking the Lord but then when HE gives the answer BE content with that. Embrace it, count it pure JOY! He knows what HE is doing in this season of your life! He also has a GREAT plan unfolding that YOU know not of! I believe that.

So, though I still fight with "being lost in the woods" so to speak, I surrender my LIFE to Him. I TRUST His guidance for me. I EMBRACE this place I am in because it's not about me anyways! And I count it PURE joy and a privilege to KEEP this house in order, be able to pray and praise my Saviour while doing it...knowing that HE is working IN me His perfect will!! And He is doing the same for you in your situations too! The KEY is "how are you going to respond in embracing it?" He's got my back and He's got your back if we are surrendering to HIM!

"God KNOW's the desire of the humble; He will PREPARE their heart and cause their ear to hear. For their desire is before God; He will give them their heart's desire and not withhold the request of their lips. Yes, DELIGHT yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desire of your heart; He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him. He will also HEAR their cry and save them". "The desire of the righteous is only good, and shall be granted, and when it is accomplished it is sweet to the soul. Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeks and inter meddles with all wisdom." (quoted from: The Bible incorporated)

Be encouraged and embrace the place you are in to WHERE you are going! It will be worth it!!

Sonja

Reflection in Action!

2009-11-06T02:49:00.005-06:00

This morning I searched my heart before the Lord to see what He would have me write on this blog as it has been a long time since I've updated it. I felt impressed to read over some previous entries and my eyes and heart stopped on one that I wrote in February.

As I read it the Lord ministered all those words "BACK" to me. In His gentle way letting me know that this consecration is again taking place in my heart! We know that HE never stops the process until HE knows the work is done. I am humbled in knowing that HE is able, HE is faithful and HE will FINISH the work.

I thought this entry would bless you as it has me. Reflection is a GOOD thing when it accomplishes the "FRUIT of the Spirit" in and through you. I want to be 100% sold out to the things of the Lord. Why? Because I yearn for Him...because I know He is the giver of my life, the source of my Hope and the builder of my faith. He is LORD! Be blessed today as you read, reflect and apply!

Let's believe together for our PHILISTINES to be torn down in the Name of the Lord God who does ALL things well according to His purposes and plans!!!!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

A consecrated heart....
Time and time again the Lord requires us to purify our hearts before Him. He knows that we can not do His will without a pure heart, at least not with power and fruition. We can do nothing apart from the Lord, so that would make sense to "have a pure heart before Him" our Maker!

The word of the Lord say's "Blessed are the PURE in heart, for they WILL see God." Matthew 5:6

Many times I have thought "OK Lord" I know my heart is deceitful, so, what I can't see...PURIFY! And, what follows are circumstances and situations that draw out the impurities in my heart, by the way I react to them!
Wow...How He allows this only for our good to "answer the desire of our hearts" and of course His desire for us. So, I adjust my heart according to His word. This is a process. I believe that is why we "daily pick up our cross" because daily there is that consecration going on...from Glory to Glory! Thank God He does not leave us or forsake us, that He performs His word IN us to accomplish what it is set out to do! He is faithful. He is coming back for a PURE spotless bride and He does not take that lightly, neither should we!

When our hearts are purified by the Lord through confession and spending time with Him we are then able to be USED of Him to bring down strongholds of many kinds. We are used to come against armies of Satan in ways we never thought possible!
Take David for an example....He knew deep in his heart he could bring down the Giant Philistine but he knew it was only because of WHO lived in his heart! Evidentually David had spent many days in the Lord's presence "getting his heart right" and drawing on courage and strength through his own trials as a shepherd boy! He heard the Lord's voice and knew the authority he could walk in! When the day came, David's heart was prepared and ready....consecrated, purified, and made strong IN THE LORD to fight.
His words of declaration were heard...."You come against me with sword and javelin, BUT I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. THIS DAY the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head"!!!! I Samuel 17:45-46

David, a man of consecrated heart, placed his confidence in the living Lord to deliver. On that day he displayed an act of Proclamation in the spiritual sense before anything physical came about....then he ACTED on it with the power of the Lord, giving the Lord all credit and glory in bringing the Philistine stronghold down!

I meditated on this much today, realizing that if we fight Satan before our hearts have been purified before the Lord we are only setting ourselves up to become a wounded soldier.
But, if we confess our sins, let HIM purify our hearts, line up our will with the Lords commandments (precept upon precept), proclaim and use His weapon (the Word) THEN, He will deliver any Philistine that we fight today into our hands and He will use us to be the AX in taking it down and uprooting it!

I truly believe this because I have seen Him move in this capacity many times in my own life!

If you are facing a battle, a Giant Philistine in your life....ask the Lord to shine light on any sin in your heart (it may be bitterness, an unforgiving heart) be open, then simply repent and let Him restore your heart. I promise...authority will begin to RISE up in you BY the Spirit of the Lord to take down the Philistine in the spirit first, by prayer and intercession, waiting on Him...then, He alone will deliver it into your hands for you to apply the AX!
It is so powerful and yet so humbling to know He chooses to use us in this way!

Be encouraged child of the LIVING Lord...He will hand over the Philistine to you to be cut off! Freedom is at hand...be strong!

Sonja

Committed to the grave!

2009-08-14T09:17:00.002-05:00

I read this little testimony out of the work book "Discerning the Voice of God" and I wanted to share it with you. There are times when the Lord sends us places we DO NOT want to go...people we DO NOT want to minister to, etc. But, if we are "committed to the grave" so to speak, then what we reap for the Glory of God is greater then what we would face if we were disobedient. Maybe this will help you STAY at your post...it definitely is encouraging me to!

Hemet, California was once known for gang activity and drug business. The gang activity was so widespread that it wasn't uncommon to see three generations of one family with membership in the most pervasive group, the First Street Gang. The violence was so rampant that even police officers wouldn't go into the area without back up. Nine methamphetamine labs supplied more than a million people a year. The dominant religion was Scientology and a meditation center stood as the centerpiece of the town, a symbol of the New Age fetish. A spirit of competition particularly among the pastors, marked the Christian community. Known as a pastor's graveyard, Hemet was the last place most pastors wanted to be in ministry.

God called the Beckets to this valley, but they didn't want to be there. When they arrived, they didn't even unpack their bags, hoping God would let them leave. But they were soon assured this was God's calling on their lives. To show their commitment to God's word, the Beckets bought a cemetery plot as a way of saying, "There's no way out. Unless God tells us differently, we will die here."

In the years since their commitment to God's leading and with the help of other area pastors, Hemet has completely changed. Cult membership has sunk to less than .003 percent of the population. First Street Gang members have gotten saved and disbanded the group. The drug trade has dropped by 75 percent. Even the New Age Meditation Center was demolished by a fire that didn't destroy anything else. Government officials, officers, and teachers have gotten saved. Hemet schools used to be the laughing stock of California and now have the highest scores and lowest drop-out rates. Churches and pastors aren't competing anymore, they are coming together to build the kingdom of God. All because of an unrelenting commitment to obedience!

Wow...I don't know what you thought of this story, but to me it spoke volumes!!! Staying committed is so hard at times when all you see around you are the "DRY BONES". One day however, if you stay...the Lord begins to allow LIFE to be seen in the midst! However, it seems to require that "commit to the grave" attitude!

I do not want to live in Louisiana forever...I do not really even want to die here! But, this is where the Lord has Wil, Jonah and myself as a family. This is the land HE allowed our feet to be planted. One day, I believe we will leave but for now that day will have to be nothing but a "light hearted dream". We are here, and here is where HE uses us today!

I am being challenged in this area like never before! I want to run, the Lord tells me "stay". I don't want to commit, the Lord say's "stay committed!" Wow, it is not easy. Sometime it really takes effort to follow through!!!

So, this entry is to encourage those who want to LEAVE the place you are in because you are tired and see no fruit! Be encourage that if the Lord say's STAY, you will be rewarded for that! Most of the time HE say's stay because we don't see the hidden work before us! One day though what was hidden will be brought to LIGHT! And oh what a joy that will be when there is much fruit!!!

Staying committed to the end!

Sonja

Sunrise...Sunsets....

2009-06-18T09:44:00.007-05:00

Psalm 113:1-3 Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

I took these picture while visiting my in laws at their beach house in Texas. The colors, the breeze in the air, the birds flying by, the quiet of the evening all made for a beautiful sunset.

Today I realize so much how important it is to capture something in your heart that gives you joy. A focus of the Lord's heart and love.
This did it for me.

I am amazed at how the sky is painted so perfectly to capture this moment of peace!

"The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sit enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?" Psalm 113:4-6

Sunrise and sunsets I believe are captured moments of PEACE...I know I myself need to cease them more often. They are like little gifts from the Lord letting us know that another day has started and yet another one ended...but, He is always there. He is IN them through and through. He created the living portraits...just for us to enjoy!

Captured moments like this deserve few words in order to reverence the already powerful expression it gives.
I will see it again, it won't ever be the same, but it will be painted for that moment in time.

One of my favorite expressions to say, when I see something beautiful is..."take a picture and capture it in your heart." What I really wish is that at those moments time would just STOP a while....Awe yes! That is it! Unfortunately that is not the case.

Seasons come and go and, so do moments like this, so I choose to freeze frame it in the heart! My how we take the simple sunrise and sunsets for granted!

The Lord is so good, and worthy to be praised for sure! "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." Psalm 116:7

"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people." Psalm 116:12-14

I hope this entry has helped you to remember the sunrise and sunsets in your lives. When you see one...breathe deep knowing you can. Don't forget to give the Lord praise for making that time a precious one, to stop and really capture it in your heart, not just your head!

Moments like that may stir up an emotion, but hey that is ok...whatever emotion you feel, let it out! When you do, a great peace will come! I know this to be true! Try it.

Sonja

"Livin"

2009-06-02T23:23:00.003-05:00

It is not often I write what I would call a song, but the other day words came to me while I waited for Wil as he installed some cabinet work. I was sitting outside, feeling a little blue. Wondering what all this was about, these are the words that came out. I named my thoughts "livin"...

Staring out the window of a small construction house
wondering what my life is all about.
hearing sounds of birds singing in the air, drills and nail guns, watching Jonah playing without a care.
A dog in the distance laying on the grass, black coat, red collar, a breeze in the air, no boundaries no resistance.

What is it all about?
the life that I am livin
Do I believe or do I doubt
the time that I've been given?

Wrestling with an emptiness no human seems to fill
I RISE above the place I'm in and find some life back again.
Though it is not easy and even very dry
I remember the whisper I heard one day "my child just be still."

What is it all about?
the life that I am livin.
Do I believe or do I doubt
the time that I've been given?

Though I know my ultimate destiny lies within the boundaries of eternity
I desire to walk out and focus on the here and now without regret or doubt
The child I've been given I did not deserve at all but somehow the grace of God
allowed such a plan, I hope to live the years I've been given and see him become a man.

Some how, some where I hope to feel settled
where loves a constant ring and hopes and visions are a flowing thing
Until that time...I'm livin.

Ok, so it not real poetic...and not does not even have a fancy flare, but they were my thoughts and that counts for something. Ever feel out of place? Like you are where you are but some how it just does not settle what is inside? I'll leave it at that since I can't seem to figure it out myself.

Sonja

A list...

2009-05-07T11:56:00.002-05:00

I was challenged yesterday while talking to one of my favorite friends...to write a list. A list of things I Am or roles I play in life. Strange how I felt after she challenged me to do this, I actually laughed under the tears that rolled down my face when she said the words!

But the challenge is a good one I believe. So, what better way to start then have my fans (are there any?) out there read them and of course comment if they want. Don't be too hard on me! However I do want truth...how else will I then grow?

Here is the List so far:

A child of God
A wife
A mother
A daughter to earthly parents
A granddaughter to earthly "pawpaw" by marriage
A daughter in law
A friend to many
An encourager to many
A pain in the butt to many too I am sure!
A good listener
A woman who considers moral values
A woman who does not like seeing others down, hurting, etc...
A woman that absolutely enjoys prayer!!!!
A woman who loves to journal
A woman who loves to read
I am talented with my hands
I often can create something out of nothing
I try to be honest most of the time
I love people
I love life

Well I am running out of things...not sure what else to put but hey, I feel pretty good about it so far. The reason for the list came when I told my friend that I felt like all my other friends had careers...positions of employment that seemed to identify them but I didn't.

I guess you could say I was having an "identity insecurity", being a wife and mother seemed such boring roles...but then she started listing some other things and ok, so I feel a little better about my life here on earth.

Have you ever been in a phase of life when you question "Am i doing what I am suppose to?" or "Am i living my life to the fullest?" Lately, through a series of events and connection with past friends, those questions have been blaring in my head. So, today I am getting a sense of a "boost" of life...and asking the Lord to show me what HE wants from me TODAY.

This post is different from previous ones I have done, but I felt very important. So, if you want to be challenged, start writing a list of things you are and roles you play! You might surprise yourself and try not to write the negative ones...we are focusing on the positive ones!

Ok...until next time!

Living!

Sonja

Faithful One...

2009-04-23T13:03:00.003-05:00

I thought of the word "faithful" and pondered on the times I really was not faithful in many ways, to myself or others, especially to God. It was a time I didn't KNOW him...so, how could I be faithful to someone I did not Know?

When my journey from broken roads...led me to the One true and faithful God I began to learn How faithful He really is! So faithful that He gave His One and only Son to die on the cross...just for me. That is how personal his faithfulness became.
I still can't imagine why he would do that, I know it is only because of the depths of His love for a generation that is lost. A people who needed a way of salvation for the tremendous path of Sin and destruction.

The Love He has for us is still to me very tough at times to understand because of the true fact that I am NOT totally molded into it's True likeness and won't be until I am home with Him.
There are times when I will reflect on the word "faithfulness" and I ask myself...am I a faithful one? Have I been faithful?
The dictionary defines the word Faithful as this:

-Firm in faith
-Loyal
-True and constant to a person to whom one is bound
-True to ones word
-Worthy of belief

I am sure being "faithful" is so much more, but the above is enough to help me realize that I can only be all those with the Help of the one and only "faithful" one. The Lord molds my vessel into His image, as I yield it. Though, at times I want to fight the process...a deep desire in me gives up the fight and once again I am yielding to His hands.

I want to be a faithful person. Since the Lord gives you the desires of your heart, I know He will be faithful to mold this character in mine. It will not come easy, and it will require a search of my own heart to be TRUE to the process, even when storms come or the one you love the most betrays you. I do not want to be like Peter...however, if in my heart still lies within it the seed of deceit may the Lord ever so deal with me until it is forever gone!!!

To mine own self be true right? To the Lord I want to be true...in doing that He will help me to be true to others and faithful to do what He alone enables my feeble arms to accomplish. I am NOTHING without His Love, His salvation, His Spirit that guides mine.

"To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty." Psalm 18:25-28

It is a challenge to stay "faithful" in these times of so much deceit. It is a challenge to take a stand daily against the lies of the devil and his vicious schemes. It is a challenge to KEEP praying for something you haven't seen fruit of yet, to keep walking when we at times are not sure what is ahead...

One thing I am sure of...if you "remain faithful to God, He will show you His faithfulness." I can breathe easier knowing and trusting that He makes my way straight. Even when I may venture on paths unknown, He is always faithful to lead me beside His ways. He has proven this time and time again.

"You, O Lord, KEEP my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God HIS way is perfect, the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." Psalm 18:28-36

Who wouldn't want to be faithful to this kind of friend? One that KEEPS THE LAMP burning! Turns DARKNESS into LIGHT. One whose WAY IS PERFECT (safe to follow)...A SHIELD, one who TRAINS MY HANDS FOR BATTLE, and gives me HIS SHIELD of VICTORY to have His RIGHT HAND sustain me!!! One who desires to make me GREAT!

My, My, yes...that is the FAITHFUL one! And my heart is growing ever so closer and IN LOVE with His ways!!! I hear Him in the depths of my heart causing it to be "steadfast" and "true" because I am leaning on Him and because of His love for me! Wow!

I am His, He is mine.

Sonja

Faith vs Worry

2009-04-01T11:24:00.003-05:00

"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 important than food, and the body more important 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?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:25-27

Worry...where does this word come from? How did it even get into our vocabulary? Ever thought about that? I have obviously! And the Lord knew it would be a word we would have to be ALERT about in our life.

Worry...we worry about what others think, we worry that what we have said may have hurt others, we worry about what tomorrow might bring or not bring, we worry about our children and their future, worry, worry, worry, am I drilling my point? Sick of the word yet?
I imagine all of us can make quite a list of stuff and attached to it the word worry. Now, before you do, let me give you something that will WAKE YOU up! Have you ever looked the word up in the dictionary? I never thought I needed to until today...a prompting for sure.
Here it is:

Definition of worry:
to harass with importunity or with care and anxiety
to plague, tease, bother, vex, persecute
to be unduly careful and anxious
to be solicitude or troubled
to fret
perplexity, trouble, anxiety, fatigue

Ok...read that again! Now, is there ANYTHING in this definition that would describe an abundant life? Something you can anchor to? I am ask myself that question too!

Nothing...absolutely nothing! And yet it seems easier to worry than to walk in Faith...why?

I believe because of generations of mind-sets...patterns that we have been accustomed to from generation to generation. The good news is we still have time, we can still turn that clock around. We can defy those mindsets and set NEW ones. We CAN!!! If we CHOOSE Christ and CHOOSE to let Him help us!

Now here is the definition for FAITH:

Faith:
The assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another.
Firm and earnest belief on probable evidence of ANY kind.
Belief in what is given forth as a revelation of man's revelation to God and the infinite
A settled conviction in regard to religion.
Word of honor, a pledge, a promise given
In real honesty, with perfect sincerity

Wow! Now that I can put an anchor to! When I read those words LIFE supernaturally takes place, an energy comes over my mindset. The KEY is to KEEP it there!!!! To have it rooted! The only way to do that is to repeat it over and over again...like adding clean water to a class of water that is muddy,repeating the process until a pure glass of water appears before you!(from Glory to Glory)...then change has occurred!!!!!

Our walk and journey in this Life is to grab hold of the PROMISES of our faithful Father. He is not one to lie, he is FIRM and EARNEST...He has SETTLED conviction....and He is a God of HONOR and SINCERITY!!!!!

Worry is nothing but from the pit it came from! The sooner I realize that the sooner I will begin to renounce it every time it decides to rear it's ugly head in my life!

I am not there yet...but I am getting there! And I WILL get it! With the Word of God in my mind like that powerful two edge sword, there is no choice but for Worry to be cut up and thrown out and FAITH begin to grow!!!

Chomp on that a while and see where the Lord locates you today on the word WORRY! Yuk...what a cursed word.
Also, make note of how many times you say that word on a given day and try REAL hard to get it completely out of your vocabulary!!! Who set us up to that word anyway??? My how we follow things and not realize it....

Be blessed.

Sonja

Simply Him....

2009-03-23T12:04:00.003-05:00

I say to the Lord today...it is just simply YOU. Simply you speaking...You drawing us to listen, You doing a work in my heart and others. Just simply...the Spirit of the Lord in all His pure and precious splendor!!!!

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says;

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength, but
You would have none of it! You said, 'No, we will flee on horses!
Therefore you will flee!
You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.'
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!!
A thousand will flee at the threat of five
you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff
on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill."

My, My....will we do it our way? Or will we rest trusting the Lord to do it His! It is basically our choice really. I don't know about you but I do not want my pursuers being swift! I also know that when I choose my way...I am setting myself up for a huge fall!!!! But how many of us end up just like this? How many of us choose to wallow in our sins, not repenting, not resting....just toiling day and night in our own misery?

It goes on to say...

Yet the Lord LONGS to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who WAIT for Him! Wow, His love is awesome. He is such a forgiving God!

"O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for Help! As soon as He hears, He WILL answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,"This is the way, walk in it."

Oh, how the Lord longs to minister to us IF we just sit still long enough. If we just settle our hearts down to Hear His voice. He promises to answer in His time.

What is keeping you from entering into that place of REST where you simply just enjoy Him? Simply just sit not expecting thunder rolls and lightening (although that happens at times) but just simply His sweet presence...just His sweetness, His gentleness, His breath close to your cheeks!

Power doesn't come when we do things in our strength, when we muster up one more Will-power to move forward...no my friend, power comes when we fall at His feet and when we have no more strength to move on. When we are emptied and we JUST want Him! We just want His SIMPLE yet glorious anointing!

"Strength comes then, when all the storms are raging and you are as an oak tree in the midst, not moved, nor uprooted by the toss and turn of events...you are simply STANDING with PEACE in your heart, KNOWING that a greater presence of authority exist than the adversity you are facing and in that authority flows forth a GLORIOUS LOVE that conquers every darkness and shatters every perverse intent to destroy the Spirit...It is Simply Him IN you!!!!" (quote by: Sonja Howell)

Isaiah 53:10-12
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life, and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors!

Wow...I am speechless! I reverence You O'Lord...simply because You Loved me first! And simply because you are YOU!!!!!

Sonja

Prayer...

2009-03-04T13:34:00.004-06:00

This devotional was so good that I wanted to share it with all you readers out there! Be blessed and apply the "good deposits."

Sonja

How to Build a Stronger Prayer Connection
Whitney Hopler
Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Peter Lundell's new book, Prayer Power: 30 Days to a Stronger Connection with God, (Revell, 2009).

When you pray, do you sense God listening to you, or do your prayers seem to just float off into the air unheard? Do you hear what God has to say, or do you struggle to discern any message from Him? Do you pray frequently because you love to do so? Or do you often neglect to pray because you're discouraged or worried that you're somehow not praying correctly?

If your prayers seem ineffective, you can strengthen them to experience more of God's power when you pray. Here's how you can build a stronger prayer connection to God:

Develop a hunger for God. Ask God to help you want Him more than anything or anyone else in your life. When you're hungry for more of God, you'll naturally be motivated to meet with Him in prayer.

Seek intimacy with God. Be willing to make drawing closer to God your top priority. Make whatever changes you need to make in your life to allow yourself to spend significant time with God daily in prayer, and regularly confess and repent of sin that blocks your intimacy with God. Deliberately build the rest of your life around your relationship with God.

Pursue God with passion. Overcome complacency and distractions that can cause you to cut back on how much you pray. Simplify your life as much as possible so you won't be too exhausted to invest lots of time and energy into prayer. Whenever you encounter challenges, view them as opportunities to pray and discover more about God's plans for you. Ask God to give you a passion for the people and situations that burn in His heart, so you can pray with passion for what matters most to God.

Start a dead engine. Sometimes you may not feel like praying but know that you need to pray anyway. If you crank your prayers to life like you would a stalled engine on a car, your prayers will then begin to flow more naturally. Recognize problems as opportunities to tap into what God can do in your life; pray about whatever problems you encounter, no matter how frustrated or discouraged you are. Use written prayers (like the Lord's Prayer) to start praying when you don't have an idea of how pray about something on your own. Play praise and worship music -- especially a song that proclaims what you'd like to pray about aren't sure how to pray yet. Use a prayer notebook or a list of prayer topics to give your prayers clear substance, focus, and direction.

Get a faith lift. When you're discouraged by challenges you're facing, don't give up praying. When you don't understand what's going on, keep trusting God. Ask God to give you more faith to help you hold on through the challenges.

Clean house. Lingering sins in your life can block the answers to prayer that God wants to give you -- and also lead to spiritual lethargy, emotional turmoil, and physical illness. Clean out your soul by regularly confessing and repenting of whatever sins you know about, and ask God to reveal the ones you don't so you can deal with them, too. Let go of grudges and forgive other people regularly. Ask God to keep your relationships with Him and others right.

Invite God to strengthen your character. Struggling through hardship gives you a valuable chance to grow in your character if you're determined to trust God in the process. Pray for God to use your struggles to change you more into the person He wants you to become -- someone who is more like Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to heal, correct, and transform you from the inside out.

Praise God. Decide to praise God for who He is even when you're dealing with discouragement or trouble. Let your praise rise from your faith rather than just your feelings. Choose to praise Him every day, no matter what, since He is above your challenges. When you praise God, He will respond to your praise and actually become to you what you praise Him for -- from your healer, to your provider.

Let the Holy Spirit lead you. Open your mind and heart to the Holy Spirit when you pray and yield your own prayers to the Spirit's prompting. Let the Spirit guide your prayers, empower you, and connect directly to your spirit as you're praying.

Practice God's presence. Develop a continual sense that God is with you at all times throughout each day -- even as you go about the most mundane activities, like cleaning your house or commuting to work. Pray while you do various tasks, offering your efforts to God's glory and thanking Him for His presence with you. Say short prayers that you can say in a single breath to focus on a particular need you may during the day. If you're too busy to notice God's work around you every day, cut whatever activities you can out of your schedule and slow down. Think of God as you move from one part of your day to another, and use even brief times between activities (such as while waiting in line to pick up your kids up from school) to pray.

Listen to God. Quiet your mind and heart before God to listen to Him. Ask God to help you be willing, patient, and perceptive, and to learn how to discern His voice speaking to you above your own thoughts or thoughts from other people or the evil side of the spiritual realm. Trust that God will respond and speak to you. Whether you hear an audible voice inside your mind, receive a mental impression, or sense God speaking in some other way, listen carefully.

Pray out loud. Verbalize the prayers you have inside your mind. Lift your voice to God either quietly or loudly, remembering that He loves to hear you speak.
Be specific. Clearly identify what you're seeking when you pray. Don't be vague; tell God exactly what you hope to receive. Then place your desire in God's hands and trust Him to do what's best. Expect Him to respond with a specific answer.

Pray God's Word. Find and apply Bible verses to whatever situation about which you're praying. That way, you'll be praying not merely by your own desires, but according to God's promises. You can pray Scripture either by reading it verbatim and affirming what it says, personalize it as if it were written directly to you, or paraphrase what it says in the context of what you're praying about. Then trust that God will do in your life what He promises in His Word.

Fast. Take your spiritual prayers into the physical realm to show God that you're serious about being humble and broken before Him as you pray. Offer your body to God as a living expression of your prayers.

Pray at a special place. Establish a particular place to go to regularly for prayer and focus on God whenever you're there. Try to find a quiet place where you can be alone: a nearby church sanctuary, a corner of your backyard, a room or part of a room in your home, etc. When you travel, designate part of your hotel room as your prayer place. Dedicate your special place as sacred to your time with God.

Pray at a certain time. Schedule a regular time to pray -- first thing in the morning (which is ideal, if possible), during lunch, or even before going to bed at night. Establish a minimum length of time to pray daily, as well, to keep other demands from intruding. Guard that time when you plan other activities, and intentionally neglect your to-do list while you're praying so you can get the full time with God.

Speak body language. Express your prayers in physical ways, from lifting your hands and eyes upward, to bowing down in reverence before God.

Use prayer guides. Compile a custom-made prayer guide to help give structure and consistency to your prayers. While some days you'll want to pray spontaneously, other days you can use a prayer guide that lists various people and situations to pray about, plus reminds you of how God has answered past prayers.

Minimize distractions. Do your best to focus your attention completely on God when you're praying. If your mind wanders, ask God to help you focus. Write down thoughts that persistently pop up in your mind, so you can deal with them later. Pray for people whose names come into your mind. If any sinful thoughts (like those based in worry or lust) distract you, confess them as part of your prayer time.

Deal with unanswered prayer. When God hasn't answered one of your prayers and you're struggling, consider whether or not something may be blocking His answer. Do you have enough faith to believe He will really answer? Have you confessed sin in your life? Have you forgiven everyone you need to forgive? Do you have inner wounds on your psyche that need to be revealed and broken down before their effects can be overcome? Are you harboring self-pity in your heart? Does your whole lifestyle agree with your prayers? (If you're praying to be healed of an illness, have you stopped smoking or overeating? If you're praying for financial provision, are you avoiding debt and giving generously?). Are you asking for a blessing in order to hoard it, or to share it? Has Satan been infiltrating your life? Are there any strongholds of ungodly thoughts or behaviors in your life? Consider, too, that God may still be planning to answer your prayer but is just waiting for the right time. He may also be punishing you for something, trying to teach you something, testing your faith, or letting a natural order of events take place. Ask God to help you understand why He hasn't answered your prayers. Even when you don't know why, commit yourself into His hands and trust Him to eventually do what's best, letting your unanswered prayers lead you see Him more.

Wrestle with God. When you're facing a difficult situation about which God hasn't yet answered your prayers, grapple with God over your desire versus God's will. Have the faith and tenacity to say to God: "I won't let you go until you bless me." In the process, God will change your desires so that they line up with His desires for you.

Be both a sprinter and a marathoner. Running the race of faith sometimes calls for sprinting (being quick to pray when opportunities arise) and sometimes for enduring a marathon (continuing to pray for people and situations when God is taking a long time to answer).
Keep asking God, boldly and persistently. Don't worry about trying to be polite with God. He actually invites you to bug Him -- forcefully and often -- for what you need. Rather than assuming that your request must not be God's will if you pray and don't see anything happen, keep on knocking loudly on heaven's door until an answer comes.

Engage in spiritual warfare. While the battle against evil is ultimately God's to fight, He wants you to participate by exercising your authority against the evil you face. Pray God to protect you and give you the power you need to confront and overcome evil.

Agree in prayer. When you pray with at least one other person and God leads you how to pray together, your prayers will have more power than if you were praying on your own. Agree with God, making your requests in harmony with His will. Agree with the person or people with whom you're praying, placing your expectations all at the same place when you pray and believing that God will answer.

Serve those for whom you pray. Ask God to show you specific ways in which you can serve the people for whom you pray. Then you all will experience the power of God's love at work. Also, the more you serve those you pray for, the more you'll be motivated to pray for those you serve.

Write it down. Write down answers to prayer you receive, mental impressions from the Holy Spirit, prophecies, and anything else that might help you to pray more effectively. Consider using a prayer journal.

Start a prayer group. Gather some friends to pray together regularly or hold prayer vigils for specific issues.

Expand your horizons. You can change and grow into person who prays more effectively if you expose yourself to the whole spectrum of Christianity. Visit churches of other denominations and learn how people there pray. Then try out new prayer styles yourself so you can experience all that God has for you.

Adapted from Prayer Power: 30 Days to a Stronger Connection with God, copyright 2009 by Peter Lundell. Published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Mich., http://www.crosswalkmail.com/njllpnnzl_sfhyfccdyyf.html.Peter Lundell, a former missionary to Japan, is a pastor at Walnut Blessing Church in Walnut, Ca. He has an M Div and D Miss from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches widely on revival and spiritual warfare. Lundell is the author of two books, and his articles have appeared in numerous magazines.

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2009-02-27T10:52:00.002-06:00

Interesting that the Lord has been speaking to me about what causes weeds to grow amongst believers...some of the words I got were...jealousy, comparing one to another, bitterness and unforgiving, feelings of rejection (expecting others to meet YOUR needs, instead of cultivating that relationship with God) so much more!

Woman especially seem to battle these areas and it really keeps us from walking in the fullness of what the Lord wants us to walk in!

I have been asking the Lord to help me to recognize when I myself am tempted to plant any of these relenting weeds, so that I REPENT, TURN away and walk in TRUTH. One way to do this is to begin to ACCEPT yourself for HOW the Lord made you and continue to let Him mold you as that "fearfully and wonderful" person.

We are ALL different, we ALL have different ways of expression, gifts, etc... We are all on different levels of learning and growing...BUT we can ALL cultivate UNITY and LOVE during our journey.

If you have anything, against anyone...or bitterness and lack of forgiveness in your heart, the wise thing to do is GET WITH GOD and ask Him to help you cultivate LOVE in your heart towards people in greater ways!!!!!

The word below is right on target...the Lord is speaking for those who choose to have ears to hear!!!

Sonja

Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin
SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns --February 27, 2009:
The Lord says: It is My will and desire to bring a people forth who are truly in one accord without comparisons and competition, prejudice, self- exaltation or self-promotion. I am raising up a people who will turn their gaze from one another to seek My face, a people with single focus and divine purpose who will bring edification to the whole body through unity. This process will reveal and separate flesh from spirit and quicken your discernment. Every facet of life and ministry is for the purpose of gathering a people who will love Me whole hearted and love one another. Everything that is not consistent with that purpose will be exposed for what it is. Motivations of the heart are being purified. Take the next step and come higher. Step into spiritual maturity and put away childish things.

Ephesians 4:11-16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Peace...

2009-02-17T10:08:00.002-06:00

Today, as I reflect on the word PEACE...I realize this is a fruit that I need in my life everyday! I know that when I am wrestling with negative voices peace is one of the first things to leave my vessel. Why?

I believe it is because whatever I think or draw water from is where my spirit is being fed! Yuk. I don't mean to "i tell myself". I just don't know what else to do. Give me a break! As if the word of the Lord isn't enough to conquer every invading thought! I just NEED to exercise His word in my heart and mind! Enough excuses Sonja!!!!

Ever been there?

Yes, the excuses we make. Jesus died on the cross to set us FREE! He provided His word to break every hindering force of the enemy...even freeing us from ourselves! Why is it that His word is so neglected? Like a muscle that needs to be pumped in order for it to become BIG and STRONG, our heart and minds are no different. If left unattended the muscle will reduce to weakness and possible not be able to regain strength because of that neglect!

The word of the Lord is active! It's alive and indeed it brings LIFE and HOPE into ones vessel. So, why not drink of it? Take water for example. I myself struggle to drink water but oh how healthy it is to your bones! We take for granted that we CAN drink pure water sources...BUT do we?

I can think of times when I would sit under an awesome message from the Lord and then walk away like I have eaten a nutritious meal...to find myself the next day craving the same! Yes, His word is RICH and I need to apply it a whole lot more than I have been, that is for sure!

This is a good one:

The Lord watches over you, the Lord is your shade at your right hand, the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life; the Lord will march over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:5-8

The word of the Lord can also encourage a word of Proclamation and cause a spring in your step when you have been weighed down by the cares of this world! The Lord encouraged me with this scripture the other day and a good one to read over and over again until it literally gets in your bones "like fire in your bones"!

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim PEACE, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion "Your God reigns!" Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for Joy-when the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare His Holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
Depart, Depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and BE PURE, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
But you will not leave in haste, or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your REAR guard! Isaiah 52:7-12

Wow! That is a powerful word of the Lord to His children! For me it gave confirmation of something I have been praying for a while now and it gave me much HOPE inside that no matter what He will give direction and He will be my rear guard!!!!!! I am encouraged by that. How comforting!

And all this to bring us to one more of His promises to us! If we confess our sins...follow Him faithfully with our FULL hearts, be teachable, pliable (hard one for me at times) and meek...He will be faithful to give us PEACE!

May there be PEACE within your walls
and SECURITY within your citidel!!! Psalm 122:7

Yes Lord! I will take that one for sure!!!!

Be encouraged faithful ones!!! Keep pressing into His presence!

Sonja

formation of the Pearl....

2009-02-09T19:18:00.002-06:00

The other day I learned about the formation of the pearl in a mollusk or other known as an oyster. What happens is a foreign particle, or an intruding parasite somehow enters the mollusk and lodges in the fold of it's flesh. This invader creates a disturbance to the oysters normal life cycle. The oyster does all it can do to get rid of this invader but to no avail...exhausted and annoyed by the constant failure, the frustrated mollusk has no choice but to use it's defence mechanism, a substance called Nacre. It secrets this milky substance over and over and over again around the rough edges of the foreign particle and coats it until the particle looses it's original identity or even kills the leech-like organism.
The task of formation to this foreign body, making it into a pearl is a painful episode to the pearl bearing mollusk and as far as it is concerned it is just taking care of it's present need to make life more bearable!
But little does it realize that out of it's own source of adversity a beautiful jewel is being formed! Some researchers say it takes years for that small foreign particle to become one perfectly round pearl! Wow.

Oh, how I can relate to this at times. Possibly I could be a lot like this little ocean mollusk. Trying hard to get rid of the "adversities" in my life, in my own power...only left drained and tired! So, I take another alternative and surrender to the adversity but allowing the Holy Spirit to apply the spiritual Nacre (the milky substance) to my source of pain, or invading particle! Daily, over and over again...sometimes more than once or twice a day...and sometimes over years...BUT, one day...I will BE that "pearl" gradually being formed out of the adversity of LIFE into GLORY!

I like the way Mike Shreve explains it in his book "Our Glorious Inheritance"...

"We can maintain the certitude that God is truly sovereign and thus experience the deep comfort of His presence even in troubled times." If we dare to gaze beyond the veil we will assuredly behold an iridescent and infinite mother-of-pearl plan that has always acted, and will continue to act, as a hard shell of protection around us until that resurrection moment when in us, and through us, the welcome and blissful pearl-product is finally fully formed.
We would then surely understand all the more why the word pearl evolved originally from a Sancrit word meaning PURE. For it is through this pearl-like process of battling against impurity that something utterly PURE is being produced in us...pleasantly pure (bringing restoration of innocence) and perpetually pure (imparting an inheritance unchanging).

Wow! How well written. So, I conclude that my present invaders, irritants, afflictions etc...are working In me a greater outcome for the Glory of the Lord. All I need to continue to do is stop putting up MY defence mechanisms and KEEP allowing the Holy Nacre to spill over and over the rough edges of the invaders! Ok, I got it Lord! One day...when I see you face to face...I will KNOW that all along You were with me and considered ME "your Pearl of a great price". Yes, Lord I got it!!!

Sonja