I Speak to the Mountain

Love in action is wisdom

"Real wisdom, God's wisdom begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.” - James 3:17-18 The Message

I love this verse ! I really believe this is the season much of the church is living in. We are learning to love our neighbor's as ourselves, and allowing Jesus to teach us a better way.  Loving one another has always been important, but somewhere along the journey of “evolving” as a church we’ve become more self-focused. We care more about getting blessed and less about being a blessing. It’s left much of the church with an entitled attitude, saying “What can I get?” instead of, “What can I give?”  This mentality hinders unity and stops us from forming the type of community God has intended for the church.  

As Christians, the church is our family, and like family we have a tendency to treat strangers better than them. We save our sweetest, most respectful face for those we barely know, all the while being careless, harsh and unforgiving to those we have to live life with daily. 

I believe God is challenging us to rise up higher in this season. Maybe a few seasons ago He’d let us slide by with some things, but in this season I think “Love”, true love, is coming to the forefront. I mean, everywhere we turn, the secular world has the word “Love” slapped on everything from bracelets, t-shirts, backpacks. It’s all about, “Love”.  They throw that word around more than ever, and yet people feel less loved, less appreciated, less accepted than ever before.  Maybe it’s because what they are calling “Love” is not love at all. Maybe the deep void for love, has them using the word love to try and fill the hole, without understanding what love is in action.  

There is no better time than now for the church to rise up with REAL, GENUINE, PASSIONATE love. It’s like fishing in a pond of hungry fish. We know we have what they want, we just have to throw the line out and be accessible. 

I also believe God is challenging us to rise higher in this season for another reason, and that’s so we will be recognized as His. The Bible says in John 13:34-35 The Message, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."  When we love each other, when we put unity first, when we make the effort to protect the hearts of our church family, we are marking ourselves as His.  That’s another reason why I love James 13:17-18 The Message, because it shows us a small glimpse of what love in action is, in relation to our church family.  

“Real wisdom, God's wisdom begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.”

We can make a small list to keep in our hearts just from this verse alone: 

-          -Holy life

-         - Getting along with others

-          -Being gentle and reasonable

-          -Overflowing with mercy and blessings

-          -Not hot one day and cold the next

-          -Not two-faced

-          -Treating each other with dignity and honor 

Father God, make us more like you. Your word says that you are the vine and we are the branches and IF we remain in You, that we will bare good fruit. Continue to prune us, and mold us into everything You want us to be, for Your glory. We are willing to be changed. Purify our hearts and cleanse us from deep within that we’d shine with Your light. Build a hunger and passion in our hearts for unity. Teach us Your ways, that our church would thrive the way You desire. In Jesus Name. Amen

Painting Pictures Of Egypt

This song is beautiful. I think we've all felt this way at one point or another. Seasons come and go, but we have to remember God is always moving us forward. "Painting pictures of Egypt" is easy because we forget everything it lacked. Keep looking ahead and KNOW that ALL things work together for good. Your past holds purpose, but your purpose is not stuck in the past. That's so important to remember!

When God takes us to the next level, and begins to show us what He wants us to do, it can be really tempting to pack up and head back to Egypt, the land of "comfortable", but when we get back to Egypt, we realize we don't fit. We have no choice but to move forward, or wonder around the desert.

Anyways hope the song ministers to everyone who listens. May God continue to stir your heart forward in all the great things He has planned.

Your destiny is AHEAD not BEHIND. :) :)

Working on my 2nd book

I'm trying to get organized so I can finish my second book by the end of July. When I say "finish", I mean all the writing. I'll still have to edit, and all that fun stuff. It'll be a huge challenge to finish by July, but I already know what I want to say, and share in this book. The key is FOCUS. Pulling all the inspiration and mumbo-jumbo in my head out is the first step. Then organizing it into a understandable, readable, and enjoyable format of some sort, comes next. This is already  proving a bit challenging. IT ALL MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD! ha-ha. Luckily, I'm already about 40-60 pages in! 

I must say I'm super excited to be working on a new project. It's refreshing to say the least. This book is completely different than my first book. Everything from the audience I'm addressing, personality, style, layout...everything! I'm pumped! My first book has more of a devotional layout. Each article is short, and to the point. I love that! My second book however, has chapters, ten to be exact. It's also more focused on one particular topic, whereas the first book is very miscellaneous. Each are special in their own way, but after being so consumed with one project for over a year, I'm thrilled to be doing something new!

I can't wait to share it with you!!!!!!!!!!!!

You Want Me

Throughout the day I always type little messages on my phone between God and I. Thought I'd share one I found this morning. He wants us! There is a place you belong, and it's in His presence. Let's give Him our focus today, and everyday. :) :)


You want me God
Oh, how You've always wanted me.
So easily distracted I become,
so foolish not to see
how much You beckon and pursue me.
You want me
You've always wanted me so desperately
To give you my time, my love, my FOCUS
To You Jesus I commit my days, my minutes, my seconds!
Oh, how I love You!
You've always loved me.

True Five Fold

I want to see the true five fold come into their proper role in the church Jesus is building. But when some do not fit the definition of compassionate, vulnerable, broken and functional, in true humility, there is a big die-connect. Those who claim five fold positions but don't have the fruit, make it more difficult for the real ones to emerge. - Don Nori Sr.

My Charm!!

         I finally got the "proposal" charm added to my bracelet! Yay!

              

Reformer

Love it, have you felt like you don't fit in? Are you not secular enough to fit in with other Christians? Is this you? Listen to this video! 

Most of the modern church is living in compromise, using Jesus to make themselves famous, BUT there is a remnant that's been breaking away. A new wave of people returning to the basics. They have pure devotion, loyalty, and fire to run the race to WIN. Their eyes are on Jesus, not money or fame!

Be encouraged! You are not alone! There's an army of people rising up just like you!! :) :)

Dream 5/ 9/11 "Fellow-ship Sinking"

I was in a huge ship in the ocean with lots of people (like the titanic). Then I hear someone say the ship is sinking, and when I looked it was half way under water already. Someone told me that since we (the people I was with) were at the bottom level (class wise, not the cool people) there wouldn’t be any life boats left for us, and that we should jump out and swim while we were close to an island shore, since some could still touch the bottom. I began to wonder if there were wild animals on the island of land we’d have to swim to, or if we’d have to float in the water all night, but what about sharks? All those things popped into my mind but the dream never got that far because I woke up.

I think I know what this means, but I'm open if anyone has anything.I never really blog my dreams here, but I might start  sharing a few of the interesting ones. I miss blogging my dreams! Right now I type, and save all my dreams in Word. (no fun!) 

Speak

What’s your gift?

When you’re full of the Holy Spirit to overflowing how do you release it? Painting, writing, singing, teaching, preaching…what? Figure it out, and SPEAK! Use the expression He’s given you to point back at Him!

He Asked Me To Marry Him

Last night was amazing! My best friend of 12 years asked me to marry him after dating off and on for 4 years.  I knew this day was coming!! YAY! 

The evening began around 8pm, when Newman called and asked me to come over to his place. As I walked up the stairs to his front door I could smell candles all the way outside. I began to wonder, “hmm, what’s he up to?” I knocked on the door, and when he answered I saw such a beautiful display of rose petals and candle light everywhere. It was beautiful, pictures don’t capture it. 

As Newman continued to lead me inside I heard soft music playing and his table set for dinner.  He had warm bread laid out just like the restaurants and served me so eloquently in the candle light. To my amazement he prepared "Miso Salmon" for our romantic dining, my favorite dish from the Cheesecake Factory.  It was so special, and meant that world that he remembered it was my favorite.

After we ate, he asked me to dance with him to the soft music playing the background.  We slow danced for a little while, enjoying the moment and the time we had together.  The dim candles glowing and the smell of flowers were perfect.  

Some time went by, and I told him I had to go to the restroom for a moment. When I came back out he had rose petals leading from the bathroom to the table and our favorite love song, “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw playing. I followed the roses to find candles forming a heart on the table with a huge bouquet of flowers, and a gift bag. I opened the bag, and found a box with a heart charm inside. Engraved on the heart was, “Will You Marry Me?”. I LOVE the charm! Anyone who knows me, knows I wear my charm bracelet EVERYWHERE! So, it's perrrrfect!! After reading the charm I turned to look at Newman, and when our eyes met he dropped to one knee, and proposed.

 I said, “Yes!!” 

 When that was finished, he brought out dessert! Mmm-mmm! He had a red velvet cake cheesecake, and ordered a banana pudding cheesecake for me, which I find pretty neat because all day long I was thinking about banana pudding. So weird! I believe it was only confirmation for what was about to happen. Why else would I see pictures of that in my spirit all day long? Crazy!

I’m so blessed to be engaged to such a kindhearted man of integrity! The best part is, we are BEST FRIENDS! We love spending time together! It’s been that way for 12 years, and I don’t see it changing! I love how he knows me so well. He knows I hate surprises and crowds. He didn't ambush me in some crowded place. He knew to do such a special thing in a quiet mellow place just for me, even though he is more extroverted and likes the theatrics he toned in all down just for me. :-)

Thanks for the beautiful night, Newman! I love you! I can't wait to see what God has in-store!

Why I love Independent Authors

I'm going to make it a priority read more books by Independent Authors. It's the 21st century, and you no longer need a big publisher backing you up to do what God has asked you to do. In the past our creativity was stifled because artists would have to change their message to fit the "big man" financially backing the project, but times have changed. Plus, I find Independent Authors have a lot more fire and edge. They create only to please God, not man. That's a huge thing for me. I'm going to search online for some quality Independent work. When I find something worth reading! I'll share it with all of you!

Until then, be free with what God's put inside of you. Give it away. Don't wait for man to cheer you on, just do it and God will open all the doors as you go!

It's worth it! 

Give Thanks

Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His son. And now let the weak say, "I am strong". Let the poor say, "I am rich" because of what the Lord has done for us. Give Thanks.

Faint Not

When we feel hurt, mistreated or ignored long enough our heart can begin to harden. The things we once cared about don’t matter anymore. Our once sensitive heart toward others slowly changes into an, “I don’t care” type heart toward people. We become careless with our words and deeds, and often injury others the very same way we were injured. 

I have struggled with this myself, recently. I had collected some hurts from a few people and developed the, “I don’t care” attitude towards them. I was on the verge of acting-out this “I don’t care” attitude when I did a self-check.  Did I want an ugly heart? Of course not, and that convicted me. I told my friend I was worried that all this pain we had walked through was hardening my heart, and I didn’t want to develop the ugliness I had experienced in others, in myself.  I was at a crossroads. I could go in the way of the flesh or the way of the spirit. 

Often when other s hurt us, we lash out, “I’ll show them.” When we act from such an ugly place, truly we are “fainting”.  The Bible says in Galatians 6:9 KJV, “let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Do we want to reap the rewards of “well doing”? If so, we must catch ourselves before we faint. I believe when we manifest ugliness from a hardened heart we have taken our eyes off the prize. We have forgotten what we were fighting for. As Christians we fight differently than the world. We fight with love, kindness, and forgiveness. When someone wounds us, we are called to forgive them each and every time. 

I heard it once said, “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for someone else to die”. Isn’t that the truth? Let’s trust God to deal with those that have hurt us, while we focus on pumping the poison of unforgiveness out of our own veins, lest we faint and forfeit our prize.

This is how the Lord encouraged me. He reminded me that those who REAP, are those who don’t FAINT. And allowing these negative feelings to fester was fainting, because those feelings take root and lead to actions.  Even if those actions aren’t HUGE, they are still issues of the heart and God looks at the heart. 

You see, if we read the verse before, we will see why the enemy wants us acting-out from a hardened heart.  Galatians 6: 7-8 NIV says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”  

All sow and all will reap something. The question is, are we sowing to the spirit or sowing to the flesh? 

Continue sowing the spirit and in due season we will reap!

I can't pick!!!!

I've been trying to work on a blog that will encourage those who have been hurt over and over again. I want to inspire them to let go of the pain, so their hearts remain soft, and pliable. I know from experience that once we've been hurt to many times we can easily allow our heart to harden. Anyways, I haven't been able to complete this blog because of the creative freedom on Blogger!!

Omgosh! I've been looking for a new blogging site forever, one with creative freedom, but I never found one that fit me well. I finally ended up BACK here on blogger. I figured I already planted some roots, and might as well stay. The thing is, I NEVER knew about all the creative options allowed by Blogger. I discovered the "html" templates and backgrounds this week!

Now for someone like me who LOVES web design, and making beautiful spaces online, the same as some love making them in the home, this is insane! I can't pick! There are so many options that my creative juices are going bonkers, which leaves my blog a bit disjointed and messy, UNTIL I can settle on something! I'm so excited!

Creative freedom! What could be better!! Yay!

OH and don't worry! I wont forget to post my inspirational blog for the brokenhearted!

Rejuvenate

In prayer I got the word, “rejuvenate”. Then was lead into the worship song, “Running”. If we’ve been distracted by the cares of the world, earthly pleasures that are fleeting and lost our once intimate relationship with God then return today. Sing out to the Lord, “I’m running after you”. There is NO SHAME in returning. He will rejuvenate (make fresh & new again) our relationship with Him.

Great Cloud Of Witnesses

Hebrew 12 ESV has been rocking my world the last few days. There is so much in such a small chapter.

Here are a few of my favorite snippets:

“…Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” 

“…that we may share his holiness.”

“…it yieldsthe peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

“…lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, andmake straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” 

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” 

“This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicatesthe removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.”

“…let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thuslet us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

If you have time check out the entire chapter! I’m pretty sure I’ll be stuck here a while longer :)

Isn't She Lovely?

Last night while driving home I couldn't help but pray for women. I was so pressed to pray that tears flooded my eyes. I began praying about how women long to be lovely, cherished, and valuable. Yet, the world has taught women to act unlovely in order to get cheap, fast love. I don't think men realize how many things women encounter daily that chip away at their self-worth. The world has failed men as well because it's shown them how to lust after women, but not love them. So many women are living life with their love tanks half full and many times completely empty at that.

It's like trying to fill your car up with water, or olive oil. It may fill the car up, but the car wont run, unless you put the right kind of fuel in it. Same thing with women. There are a bunch of dysfunctional women roaming around with broken down minds, spirits and emotions. Lord bring healing! Awaken a generation of people who love. And cause every broken and hurting soul to come in contact with these awakened people. That their joy may be full. That they'd be rich in EVERY way, as your word says.

We love you Lord.

The King's Way

This song has to be one of my favorites! It's been in my heart all day today. The lyrics take me back to the basics. Jason Upton's music carries such a sweet, sweet, intimate anointing. When we decide to follow Jesus, our will can no longer be our priority. It's about His word, will and way. This song is a beautiful reminder. I pray it blesses you. Love you.

"There is a road that leads to peace, that leads to life, but few will follow. We're at the crossroads, which way will we go? There is not today a more holy way than the steps that lead me to the cross. Where my will can't be the priority, and these crowns I gain I count"

God Is Greater Than Our Hearts

"Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this, we shall know that we are of the truth and can reassure our hearts before him; whenever our hearts condemns us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep His commandments and do what pleases him.” – 1 John 3:19-22 ESV


When we love in deed, we are not only blessing those whom our deeds are extended to, but we’re supplying our hearts the confidence needed to go before God. The Lord knows that our hearts will condemn us because we are with ourselves 24-7. We know when we’ve behaved poorly, when we’ve done something for selfish gain, and when we’ve hidden evil in our hearts toward others. We know it all, for we cannot escape ourselves. Others may not see our poor judgment outwardly, but we see and hear our own hearts.

Because we are so conscious of our own internal motives and hidden deeds that others may not see, our hearts continuously bring those things to our attention, causing us to feel unworthy to approach God with confidence. Yet, it's confidence that we need before God, if we want to receive whatever we ask for in prayers.

THE MESSAGE translation says it like this, “My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that's taken care of, and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him.”

Even if we do good deeds, some of us know that our hearts will still find things to “accuse and condemn” us for. My heart seems to be a pro at that! It’s a trick of the enemy to keep us feeling lowly and undeserving of God’s goodness. Plus, some days are just bad days, and we act as fools. It’s the truth! Some days our flesh wins, and our spirit-man starves. What are we to do then? Not pray? Kick ourselves out of the game, and sit on the side lines? NO WAY! We have to remember from whom our righteousness comes!

I remember a dream I had many years ago. I had just been told, by someone I respected, that I wasn’t good enough, and the dream I had later soothed my soul and changed the direction I was headed in. In the dream, two of the homosexual men I was ministering to in that season, began manifesting demons. They began shouting and screaming at me in such chaos. In the dream, I shrunk back in fear because I kept hearing what that person told me about not being good enough. My heart kept saying, “You’re not worthy”, “You can’t do this”, “You’re not good enough”, “You have too many issues to help anyone”, and on and on with all sorts of lies to make me feel less than God’s best. Then, finally, the Holy Spirit rose up within me, and I stood up and said to the demons, “GO! In Jesus' name! Not because of who I am! BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS!!”, and the dream ended.

This brings me to my next point. Our righteousness comes from Jesus, not by our works. While our deeds may silence our “accusing and condemning” hearts, our ultimate peace should come in knowing WHO HE IS in us. For, “God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.”

Now, when I pray and my heart begins to whisper lies about my “righteousness”, I simply say, “Not because of who I am, BUT because of who YOU ARE. You are Jehovah-Tsidkenu – The Lord, my Righteousness. I’ve been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). You said if I confess my sins, you are faithful and just and will forgive my sins and purify me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).”

So "let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth", as a blessing to others, ourselves, and to God. But let us not forget that if our “accusing and condemning” hearts are not silenced by that alone, that Jesus is our source of righteousness. He died so we can live. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

It’s because of HIM.

He is greater than our hearts!