It's been a while...

I cannot believe it has been four years since I last posted on this blog.  Where has the time gone?  This evening I really felt God's urging to share, so here I am blogging once again.

This past weekend I was invited to attend a 72 hour retreat called, "The Great Banquet".  Wow!!  A weekend surrounded by strangers who became dear friends and a community of believers who loved each of us so extravagantly.

One of the sessions we discussed the story of Jesus and the rich young man found in Mark 10:17-27.  It was a familiar story I had heard many times.  Yet this time, I saw 7 words tucked into verse 21 that literally leaped off of the page and pierced my partially hardened heart.

"Jesus looked at him and loved him."

The young man in humility knelt before Jesus and at the same time full of self righteousness he proclaimed he had kept all of the commandments since he was a boy.  A man wanting to be sure that heaven would be his home, but whose heart was divided and steadfastly anchored in the materialism of world. 

Before saying one single word, Jesus looked at him..., and loved him.  As I stared at those words in my Bible, I knew that Jesus was looking at me too.  He knew that I had allowed some of my priorities to get out of balance.  He knew that I needed to say, "I forgive you" to someone dear to me.  He knew I needed to have a long conversation with Him and to allow him point out a few things I had been avoiding.  But at that very moment, Jesus was looking at ME..., and He loved me.

Just like Jesus loved the rich young man too much to let him stay in that condition, He gently began to get to the heart of the matter with me as well.  Through many tears and much time alone with God, He began shining the light of His grace, love and forgiveness on all of the neglected, dark places.  I can tell you for sure, to feel the deep, deep love of Jesus is far greater than anything else we can experience here on earth.

Thank You Father for drenching me in your abundant, grace filled love once again.  My heart is over-flowing with passion once again.

An Event of a Lifetime

Does anyone else feel really blessed and content today? I feel like my joy is over-flowing. This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to fly to Houston for the Siesta Scripture Memorization Team Celebration presented by Beth Moore and the wonderful ladies of Living Proof Ministries.


It was my first opportunity to hug the necks of women who have taught me and encouraged me through through their blogs in what has been a very trying year. And yet God used every minute of it to draw me closer and closer to Him.


There's Patty Williams,
Beth Herring and Yolanda Rogers,
Melena Cummings with Miesta Moose,
my new friend Georgia to name a few.

What a time of laughter, fellowship, worship and digging into the Word.

Thank You God for providing me with this opportunity to go and the means to make it happen.

The highlight of the entire weekend for me was the brief moment that I had to share personally with Beth Moore just how much she really means to me. She is a woman of integrity and honor. A woman who has caused me to want to dig deeper into God's Word, to desire to know Him better, to want to love Him with all of my heart.

As her Pastor shared with us Sunday morning after service, "She is the real deal, no pretense. The same person you see on the stage is the same person off of the stage". What a blessing she has been to my life.

I am excitedly, looking forward to the next Siesta gathering in 2012. There are so many of you that I have yet to meet. There is nothing better in the entire world than time spent with women who share the same passion and love for the One True God. Thank You for making my first live LPM event an 'Event of a Lifetime'.

Thankful Thursday #34

It's Thankful Thursday and I am again joining Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey once again. Click on the button above and feel free to join in with 5 items of Thanksgiving.

1. Thank You God for unexpected blessings. I love how You love me. I love how Your desire is for me. You know my needs and you meet them one by one.
2. Thank You God for friends who reflect You. Friends who encourage. Friends who forgive. Friends who love deeply. Friends of Yours who are friends of mine.
3. Thank You God for my husband. You are restoring him day by day. His passion for life and his passion for ministry are beginning to beat again more strongly. Our family devotion and prayer time has been such a gift from You. Thank You for restoring what satan attempted to steal.
4. Thank You God for Your promises fulfilled. Your Word has become life and breath to me. You have spoken it. I believe it. You are true to Your Word. Your name is FAITHFUL and trustworthy!
5. Thank You God for allowing me to go to Houston. I am so excited and can't wait to meet so many of my blogging friends. More importantly, I can't wait to see what You are going to do in each of our lives.

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Irrevocable

29for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

How has God gifted you?

• Are you able to pick up His Word, open it up and share it's truths with a class room of learners?
• Has God placed a melody in your heart that you can't help but sing that draws others straight into the throne room of God in worship?
• Do you do battle on your knees in prayer on behalf of others?
• Are you able to minister to those in need, to the "least of these"?

All who know Him have been gifted with:

• His grace - a favour we receive without any merit of our own.
• Faith - being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
• Knowledge - to know who He is and of His great love for us.
• Forgiveness - pardon of sin and eternal salvation.
• and so much more.

What is His call upon your life?

• We've all been called unto salvation. The choice is ours. The invitation has been given.
• We've all been called to be Missionaries - to go and tell - whether in our own neighborhoods, our workplace, our homes or around the world.
• We've all been called to be His hands, His feet, His voice as we be 'Jesus with skin on' to those He brings across our paths.

Have you ever thought of these gifts, His call as being irrevocable? The word irrevocable comes from the Greek word, 'ametamelētos'. It means,1) not repentant of, unregretted.

God's gifts and His call on your life are eternal, forever, never to be taken back. What LOVE! Even when we mess up. Even when we've failed. God doesn't look down on us from Heaven and snatch back His gifts of grace or forgiveness. He doesn't say, 'Because you have fallen, you can be of no use to me!' From the depths of my heart I thank Him for being a God of 2nd, 3rd and 999,999,999th chances. He never gives up on us. He never stops drawing us to Himself. He never stops loving us!

Only God can bring about 'a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.' Only GOD! He is a reverser of destiny!

How will you use your gifts in 2010? What is your calling?

Father I thank you for Your wonderful gifts of grace, knowledge, wisdom and forgiveness in my life. I think you that you have equipped me for ministry and placed a calling upon my life to share Your love with a world lost without You. My heart is open and my YES is already on the table as I seek out an opportunity to serve You in my community, outside of the local church. Here I am Lord, send me. Father, be glorified! In the sweet, sweet name of Jesus ~ Amen.

Looking Forward

It's been a while, but I hope that this turns out to be my return to the passion filled world of blogging. I've missed each of you and and the sweet fellowship that we have shared through this powerful medium.

I've spent a little time in recent days looking back over the triumphs and trials of 2009. What a year it has been. Too often we can spend so much time looking back that we forget about looking ahead. I've determined that 2010 for me is going to be a year of 'Looking Forward'.

I am 'Looking Forward' to seeing what God is going to do in each of our lives and the lives of those that we love.

I am 'Looking Forward' to seeing God take what we see with our eyes and watch Him turn it into something totally different in a true reversal of destiny.

I am 'Looking Forward' to falling more in love with Jesus as we take another step out of the shallow waters, into the deep pools of spiritual growth.

I am 'Looking Forward' to a new opportunity of ministry yet to be revealed. My heart is open and my YES is already on the table. Here am I Lord, send me.

I am 'Looking Forward' to becoming the woman of God that He is calling me to be. A woman of integrity. A woman of deep faith. A woman of prayer. A woman of sacrifice and service to others. A woman after God's own heart.

Psalm 27:4 is a verse that I have been meditating on for the last few weeks and is my goal for the year 2010. I hope it resonates with your heart as well.

One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in
the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4

I hope that you will join me in 'Looking Forward' as we journey together. I know that God has great things in store for each of us.

What are you 'Looking Forward to'?

Saturday Steps of Faith #35

What are you believing God for?

Do you trust God enough to take Him at His word?
Not only for your neighbor or friend..., but for you?

Saturday Steps of Faith is our opportunity to publicly claim His promises for our lives.
It is the place where we believe God for things great and small.

Who can take a hopeless situation and turn it around? Only God!
Who can bring healing when the Dr.'s have given up? Only God!
Who can give strength when the journey has become long? Only God!
Who can bring peace when no peace can be found? Only God!

10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
O LORD, be my help."

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Psalm 30:10-12

My God is a Reverser of Destiny. No matter what we see with our eyes, what we hear, what we feel; God is working in the heavenlies on our behalf and will use it to bring Him glory.

I am believing in Him!

How about you? What are you believing God for this week? Will you join me?

• Leave a comment or write a post.
• Copy the button located on the left sidebar and paste it into your post.
• Next write down the promise from the Word of God you are taking a step of faith and believing. • Last, come back here and link up with MckLinky. It's that easy.

Sometimes You Just Have to Praise

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.

O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Psalm 36:5-9

Thank You Father for Your amazing love!

How high, how wide, how deep it reaches to show us your faithfulness.

Your righteousness - there is none like You!

How do we describe your tenderness toward us - Priceless!

And when life begins to bear down on us - even scorch us,

we find refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

You prepare a banquet fit for a King, and you invite us to dine!

Thank You for being my Father, my God.

Amazing, simply amazing!