A Godly Heritage

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. - II Timothy 1:5

Last night as I was sitting on my pew at church, listening to my parents sing one of the hundreds of songs my dad has written, I lost it. Literally lost it. The tears began to flow nonstop. The emotions I was feeling were a mixture of earthly and heavenly. A pinch of pain, quickly engulfed by the peace & love of God. And thankfulness. Lots of thankfulness.

I have listened to my parents sing more times then I can count. I have probably listened to them sing the same song they sung that night more times than I can count. So what, you may be wondering, made the difference this particular night? The song they were singing was about God turning the tables around. The chorus goes "When it's God's time He'll turn the tables around. When it's God's time He'll turn them upside down. There's no power can prevail, none on earth, nor in hell. When it's God's time He'll turn the tables around."

The reason I "lost it" so to speak is because I know my parents. I know what they face day in and day out. I also see day in and day out their Godly character and faith in God shine through, no matter what the circumstances may be.

What began as one of the best years of my life turned into one of the worst years. It has also been one of the worst years for my family as a whole. However, I am thankful to have such a Godly heritage...parents that truly believe, and are an example of Job when he said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

My mom was raised up 3rd generation Pentecostal, her grandfather having helped build the church with his own hands in the tiny town where she grew up. My dad was 1st generation; his family came to truth when he was a teenager. His step-father being healed of cancer at a local tent revival brought the whole family to truth.

Many years later,after my parents had been married for a short while, my mom who had always been raised in church, but never received the Holy Ghost or been baptized, did so during a 3 week revival that took place despite a snow storm. My dad had been quite involved in singing for the country music industry up until then. At this time he also recommitted his life to God, leaving the industry behind.

This was all many years before I was born. All my life I have known that, if I walk down the stairs around 6 in the morning, I will either see my dad praying or reading his Bible. If I'm still home an hour after my mom has woke up, I will no doubt hear sounds of praying coming from their bedroom....A Godly Heritage.

As a little child one of my strongest memories is visiting nursing homes, going door to door inviting kids to Sunday school, and playing outside during Women's prayer...

Every other Saturday: 3 different nursing homes. I loved it! They loved my squeaky voice. And, of course, always wanted me to sing. I remember us all laying hands on many of them in prayer.

Door to Door Visitation: Dressing up in cartoon characters costumes and having random kids bring carrots on Sunday to my dad..who had been dressed up like Bugs Bunny.

Women's Prayer: Every week coming in after playing outside with other church lady's kids to see a group of consecrated women standing in a circle, hands joined, praying....for the lost child of the lady who stood next to them, or for the sick mother of the other lady, or for the one whose finances were in crisis....Sometimes I would walk in and a tongues interpretation would be going forth...
A Godly Heritage.

After moving to Arkansas, when I was 10, I have also learned many other things due to my parents. Through my participation in Bible quizzing for 9 years I have learned what commitment, discipline, support, and teamwork really mean. My mom was assistant coach, in charge of fundraisers, the person I quoted my verses to daily, and, of course, at all my tournaments. My dad also found a way to be at all the important ones as well...A Godly Heritage.

As I've grown older, my parents have been a huge source of support to me in regard to my calling and all the preparation I have felt necessary to go through because of it. They are, indeed, my greatest cheerleaders and most dependable prayer warriors. Most of all, they are my greatest example of faith. Pure and Simple Faith. If through the years I have managed to glean half of their Godly spirit and attitude, I consider myself very blessed.

A Godly Heritage. If you are blessed enough to have this, count your blessings and please, whatever you do, don't let it go to waste. Pass it on yourself. It doesn't have to just be passed to your physical children; those who are babes in Christ need Godly examples as well.

If you haven't been blessed with a Godly Heritage, it's never too late to find a mentor and glean from them all you can. But when you do, whatever you do, don't let it stop at you....A Godly Heritage. Pass it on.

I Want to Be a "Giver"

New Year's Resolutions are an interesting thing. Some people swear by them; others make fun of them. I've realized through the years that the ones that swear by them are usually the ones that accomplish them. The ones that make fun of them...well, they tend to make fun because they haven't been quite so successful at fulfilling them and perhaps have stopped trying all together.

I personally fall somewhere in between the two. For one thing, I don't think it takes a new year starting out to decide to make a commitment to doing/ not doing something. Also, some years there is something I really feel to focus on...other years I'm more set on general improvement, rather than something that specifically is standing out screaming "work on me!"

This year I have decided to focus on one. This year I want to become a better giver. I want to give of myself to others like I have never gave before. As the baby of my family, this is not something that comes very naturally to me, but it is a trait I want to pursue.

In part, to fulfill this goal, I want to stay more connected. Not connected as in being on every networking site out there. But rather as in realizing who those people are that I want to make sure I stay more connected with and being the type of friend/ family member that they deserve. I'm referring to those people that years from now when I'm possibly living in Timbuktu (figuratively speaking I hope:o) I won't find myself thinking "I wonder how they're doing?" or "I wonder what ever happened to them?" But rather that I will know and will have been in enough contact with them to have rejoiced with them when they have rejoiced and have been there for them when they have gone through trying times as well.

A few years back a dear friend of mine, who knows way more people than myself and is one of the busiest people I know, decided he was going to do this. He told me he was making a list of all the people (including people like his grandma) that he knew he needed to talk to more often. In this case he was even going to assign certain days a month to call them. While I don't intend to go to this extent, I have seriously been thinking about who those people are that I should be putting on my "list".

I've been asking myself questions such as:
Who have been my closest friends in the past?
Who am I closest to now?
Who would I like to grow to know better?
Who do I feel I can learn from?
Who do I feel may be able to learn from me?

While this is my New Year's resolution, due to choosing to spend this year in a job position/ ministry that consumes a lot of my time & energy, I have already started off a little off track. Talking all day for one's job makes one less likely to want to talk once he or she goes home...and thus less likely to pick up the phone. However, I am determined. I have some awesome friends and family members who deserve my time. And, if I don't feel like talking sometimes, who cares? I can always listen. Listening's good..Listening's better anyway.

So, dear friend, if you haven't heard from me in a while, feel free to call me and remind me of this fact...I won't be offended and will be glad to hear your voice. And once you confirm to me that you fall into one of the list categories above I will be glad to call you back. (Kidding ;o)

Hope you're having a blessed New Year!

Godly Fear...

..."For Our God is a Consuming Fire".





When one hears the phrase "Godly fear" various thoughts may run through his mind: Godly reverence; Being in awe of God; Literally fearing God (He is after all "The Judge"), and so on...

To me,though,this phrase has taken on a new meaning as of late. A while back I confided in a friend about some serious decisions I felt to be making and if she would simply pray that God would take away any fear, due to my not wanting it to affect my making the right decisions. She shared with me how due to the environment in which she lives, fear had been a major battle in her life and how it is important to never let it creep in and that it must be conquered through prayer and not have place in my life.

It's easy to become fearful...
Fear of leaving family
Fear of being misunderstood
Fear of being alone
Fear of change
Fear of failure
Fear of disappointing others
Fear of the unknown

The list could go on and on.

These are all earthly fears.

Revelation 21:8 says, "the fearful...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."

Now, I'm not trying to give you yet another reason to be fearful. However, it is true that God does not accept or appreciate His children living in fear. He hates it. He wants you to trust Him and realize He has your best interest at heart. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows the desires of your heart. His thoughts are above your thoughts and his ways above your ways. When you feel a close friend doesn't really trust you, how does that make you feel? Now, imagine being their Savior, the one who created the universe, and knowing that....Are you getting the idea? I think it's safe in saying that God finds it offensive; therefore we shouldn't do it.

That's not actually what this blog is about though (took a detour :o)...

Sometimes you know that you know that you know that you've heard from God. You know it's God's will for you to do a certain thing, say something, go somewhere, not to do a certain thing, etc. ---At times like this Godly fear should be so strong within you that it overrules all else...all other earthly fears.

You see, to me "Godly fear" has came to mean fearing God more than earthly circumstances. It means having a greater fear of disobeying God and therefore removing myself from under His umbrella of protection (aka: stepping out of his will), than a desire to stay within the familiar, within my comfort zone.

God's not always going to be telling you to move or to do anything drastically different...BUT, when He does, and I believe everyone encounters times like this,..when He does, I pray you'll let Godly fear order your steps, and cast earthly desires and fears to the wind.

And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:27-29

The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. - II Samuel 23:3

But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God. Nehemiah 5:15

The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. - Psalm 36:1

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God - II Corinthians 7:1.

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. -Ephesians 5:21

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:9

Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. - Psalms 37:4

Amazing Grace

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

An evangelist preached at my church today. He gave his testimony. Raised in an evangelist’s home, seeing all kinds of miracles while growing up, at the age of 17 he decided he didn’t believe in God anymore. For the next 20 years he was away from God; getting mixed up in some of the worst drug situations possible. Eventually he found himself facing 40 years in prison, as a plea bargain for dealing drugs. He never even began the first of those 40 years. When he turned to God and promised Him he’d do what God had called him to do a long time ago, God took control. God can, after all, do anything He wants. God took control and rescued this prodigal son from impossible circumstances; circumstances that were of the son’s own making. Through the miraculous process of God delivering him from both drugs and the extreme legal situation, many people were saved, and, no doubt, all connected learned what God’s glory is really all about…and what His grace is about as well.

Amazing Grace…Amazing. Grace.
False Accusations. True Accusations.----
Amazing Grace.
What time limits do we, as Christians, place on one becoming “new” again?----
Amazing. Grace.
1 year?..10 years?...How about 1 second?----
Amazing Grace.
To whom did God give permission to decide that any sin is unpardonable? And to decide which sin that would be?----
Amazing. Grace.

It truly is amazing that God can forgive us of ANYTHING and use us again. Not “anything but…” -----Anything.

Saul killed Christians---lots of them. David had an affair then had someone killed due to the results of his own sin. Peter, who had the privilege of walking with God in the flesh, denied even knowing him, not once, but 3 times. Moses was a murder…Rahab was a harlot…The list could go on and on.

History proves that God not only forgives, but uses those whom he forgives sometimes in even greater ways then He had before. So my question is this…

Who are we as the church to stop God’s process?

Innocent or Guilty should not be the question.

Repented?...Check.
Forgiven?....Check.

That’s where the list must end my brothers and sisters.

Perhaps the next Moses, Peter, or Paul is sitting on your church bench, pastor, and you are too busy dwelling on his past to realize he has an amazing future before him…if you’ll only allow him to walk through that door.

Perhaps, saint of God, that brother or sister who you keep holding back with reminders of who they once were is the individual God has ordained to be the key to the great revival and harvest you have prayed for in your city for so long. Yet Satan has used you to plague their mind with thoughts of worthlessness; any distraction to keep them from their full potential. This is one of his greatest tactics. Do not allow him to use you as a tool.

Amazing. Grace.

Yes, it is amazing how a God so powerful and mighty can love us so dearly, so whole heartedly; how he can forgive so greatly and say “It is finished” before we’ve even had the chance to breath “I’m sorry.”

Who better to tell of His amazing grace than those who have benefited from it the greatest?

Still questioning if God can really use ANYBODY? How’s your faith meter? If this is something you question, it is not a matter of doubting men’s capabilities to change, but a matter of questioning God’s omnipotence.

Fact: We are clay.
Fact: He is our potter.
Fact: He can do absolutely anything He wants with the clay.

The Only Question: Is the vessel willing? (refer to the short checklist above…)

No doubt, if you’re reading this, you believe in God’s grace, and you believe it is truly amazing. Never place limits on something that has no limits.….Amazing. Grace.
….And never take for granted something none of us deserve.



Amazing Grace

Home is Where God's Heart Is

Recently, while talking with some friends about ministry, I had an epiphany. I have never quite been able to explain why, though I have an amazing church family and earthly family, for a very long time now the thought of staying in my hometown and never leaving has been something that makes my skin crawl. I've known, for what seems like forever, that this is not where I am supposed to stay. I realize this is not a "typical" feeling for most people..as a matter of fact, most would think me crazy for even making that statement.

However, I have finally figured out how to explain it...It's like, when God calls you to a certain place, He puts a certain restlessness within you. As long as I am not where He has called me, I will never feel complete peace. While I have a burden for the people in my hometown, my burden for the people where I am called is even stronger. I now realize that God gave me this uncomfortable feeling a long time ago so I could never let myself get too comfortable outside of His perfect will.

Recently I got to talk with an awesome young lady. Her and her husband just within the last year received their calling to the foreign missions field. She told me how, while in the deciding process as to where to go for their first trip, she saw a man from a certain very unfamiliar country praying over her husband and though "NO LORD!!!"..Sure enough...sometime soon they will be headed to that place on their first missions trip. I was thankful though that she shared this with me, because I was able to encourage her that wherever God leads them; that place will feel like home. No matter how different the culture, how distant the place...if that's where God calls them, He'll give them peace.

Lately I have been watching videos from some mission training sessions I was privileged to take while staying in Estonia on the Next Step Program. One day Bro. Lynden Shalm talked about how his wife hadn't traveled outside of the U.S. very much at all, and yet, when they reached the land of their calling, before they had landed, while looking out the window, his wife said that she "felt like she'd come home." She had never been there, yet God had already put something in her heart in advance that she already had a love for those people.

So, I've came to the conclusion that yes, home is indeed where the heart is. One's heart will always be with their family, but one must also follow God's heart...and God's heart may lead you anywhere.