God Wins

Man… We all have our assignments, don’t we? Love is a big part of my assignment. I am to be a safe haven for people. I have the ability to speak plainly and lovingly at the same time. I don’t mince words or sugarcoat, but I am not brutal and cutting in my delivery. My stature and disposition are such that I tend to be accepted by most. I can talk to just about anyone and get on just fine. Although I am a Christian, I am able to be an open, loving and safe person for literally anyone to come to for prayer, no matter what faith or lack thereof, they possess. I have people who are atheists, agnostic, witches and more, all of whom I love dearly, come to me for prayer, knowing full well it’s Jesus all day over here. I seem to get passes in places and spaces and hearts where others are irrevocably shut out, and God has blessed me to be able to do it while not compromising who I am at all, not even one iota. I love it. Well, I mostly love it.

Sometimes, I want to fly off the handle a bit. Sometimes, I want to just brutally state things that I know are true, but that is not my assignment. I seem to be a go between of sorts for people on their way to the Father who would never go to some others I know. I wish I could be as snarky as I feel in some moments, but I know that would destroy things in ways that frankly, I’m not willing to. My ability to be loving has to override my need to be right. It’s sometimes a difficult place to be in but God is faithful. He gives me words and more love than enough and even safe people of my own to rant and vent to when I have let Him have an earful.

I wrote another (probably cryptic) post on my Facebook wall today. It’s interesting- I’ve been doing it for a while now and while I can clearly see where some people’s hearts are, they don’t at all realize where they are in the moment.

There are things that are about to take place and I am praying. My latest post is as follows:

“I know I keep saying this, but I will be praying. Lotta hurt coming for some. Some will enjoy and have their popcorn and cake, while others will be scared, angry, confused and utterly shocked. For those who will find themselves in the latter group, I will be praying for you and sending you love. All will be OK even though it won’t feel that way.”

Inevitably, some who I know (in my heart) will fall into that latter, hurting group, show they don’t have any idea, nothing in them is stirred to see what’s right before us. It is for them I pray most, as it seems they will be the most hurt. What seems so obvious to some, just isn’t for others. It doesn’t make one better though. We can and have all been deceived at times.

Another post I wrote was about a brother who asked God why others didn’t see what to him is completely obvious. God told him that those who love the truth, see. How sad. Even more than ever, I believe 2020 was about exposure and clarity of vision. Either way, I will celebrate as God has placed in my heart some serious celebratory vibes, lol. And, I will also be praying for those who won’t enjoy the plot twist that is to come. It really is a great thing for us all. Simply because God wins.

I’m A Little Teacup (Apparently)

All my life, I have had what I now recognize as a prophetic gift. I would inexplicably know, hear or sense things. There weren’t many people I could openly talk to about any of it but it was there, showing up at various times in my life, over and over again. Sometimes, I’d blurt something out, other times, I’d just know. There were even times, I acted on what I knew and all would work out beautifully.

I don’t believe my gift is just for me, but I now see that it is not just for others either. I enjoy ministering prophetically, and I do so, not just in “appropriate”, church related areas and events, but wherever I am, whenever I feel I should. I feel compelled to do what God leads me to do, even if others don’t like it or agree. I just do, and I don’t apologize for that.

God gives us what we need as we are able to handle it. He is so good, He wouldn’t give us something good that we couldn’t handle, only to have it crush us. I got pretty good at ministering prophetically to others, it would get especially interesting and fun when I’d be paired with my oldest daughter. We have a sort of “Wonder Twin Power Activate!” kind of thing when paired together. We often see parts of the exact same message God has for people we minister to, and have been known to give really nice, more full pictures of things for people. It’s nice.

After some years of ministering to others, a group of friends and I began to focus on hearing God for ourselves more. We all agreed that hearing for others felt better, more accurate. When hearing something for ourselves, it got tricky. So many questions come to mind. Am I making it up? Is this me just telling myself what I want to hear, or is this really God? Lord, can you give me confirmation through something or someone else? Am I hearing you right? Can I trust that I am hearing from you, but for me this time?

I (low key) enjoy challenges, so along with my friends, I began a journey of getting to a point where I am more confident in hearing God for myself. I’m still on this journey and others, of course, but I am definitely not where I was and I believe it was all a massive set up, by God.

He began to tell me things for and about myself. He’d then confirm them in many ways, oftentimes, before I would think to ask for any confirmation. Without going into a long story, He has walked me through some unimaginable stuff, telling me exactly how to do it- and it didn’t always make even a little bit of natural sense- but it has been nothing short of glorious. The faith that I have in Him has grown exponentially. I’m pretty buff in the spirit, hahaha! With Him and because of Him, I am able to walk pathways not many can walk, and I am able to do it with my joy, peace and strength in tact. Perhaps these are stories I will tell someday. For now, let’s just say, I am one who looks nothing like all I’ve been through. When some hear my stories, they are shocked because again, you’d never know if I didn’t say anything. That’s how gracious God is though.

As long as I live, I will do what He wants me to do and say what He wants me to say to others. Right now, I’m just grateful that it isn’t just for others. It’s for me too.

I’ll end with a vision God showed me a few days ago. I eagerly sent a message to my Gary about it the next morning. He interprets dreams and visions… Here’s what I wrote:

“Good morning beloved Dad! I had a vision as I went to bed last night. I saw a white teacup. It was tilted over to pour and what was pouring out was crystal clear rivers of waters. It was an impossible amount pouring out of this small teacup, but it poured continuously and vigorously. Basically, a river pouring from a little white teacup, hahaha!”

Lol, I can still see the teacup. That water was not slowing or stopping. It was gushing forth with no end in sight.

Do you know what my dad said? His reply was simple. He said, “The teacup is you.” How sweet is God?!

You Dropped A Bomb On Me (Baby)

In my blog post entitled, What’s On Your Plate, God basically told me I was co-dependent. I put it on the shelf so to speak, mentioning it again in my blog post To Share, Or Not, I mentioned the word, but at that time, I didn’t go too far into the subject. Now I am delving deeply into it and I am learning a ton.

While at a meeting a week ago, the table was filled with papers with various affirmations typed on them. As I sat listening to people sharing, I glanced over at some of the affirmations and started reading a few. One affirmation in particular distracted me so completely, I stopped listening to the speaker.

The affirmation read something like, “The most important person in my life is me.” I was instantly shocked and thought, “WHAT?!?! That can’t be right! This has to be one of those situations where the world says one thing and God says the opposite!” I was indignant. In my head, God comes first, then my husband then my children and on and on. I put that affirmation on the shelf, where I’d previously put codependency and paid attention to the speaker again, but that affirmation kept messing with me all week long.

It came up again after I finished writing a journal entry. Upon finishing it, I found myself starting to write it. I stopped, closed and put the journal down and said, “Ok Abba, let’s talk about this. This can’t be right can it?” I heard a very simple, “Yes.”. In my typical argue- with- Almighty God fashion, I said, “Ok, no, that’s not right. That’s selfish and wrong.” Then I heard, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” At that, I burst out crying, but I was not done arguing with God yet. I said, “Oh my God, that’s in the Bible. No, no it’s not.”. Mind you, I know full well it is, but I was majorly offended. I told my daughter to google the verse. When she read it and told me where it is, I burst out crying again.

The reason I cried is because God knows me. He knows my co-dependency is such that I tend to others and exclude myself. I’m ok if you’re ok, I will just suck up whatever I’m dealing with to make sure you’re good because you matter more, you matter most in fact.

Love your neighbor as yourself. My goodness Friend, if I treated you as I have treated myself, you would not like me at all. Not even a little bit. That hit home in a huge way. And, because God and I have a relationship that is not devoid of silliness, it was as if He put change in a jukebox somewhere because I suddenly heard the chorus to the song, “You dropped a bomb on me, baby, you dropped a bomb on me.”

At that, I could only giggle through my tears and lovingly say, “Abba, you are so stoopid.” Religious people should read “stoopid” as “silly” if that helps settle the spirit. I assure you, God can handle little ole Patrice. He is teaching me, and I love Him for it.

Who’s Speaking?

This blog post comes in response to one of my dear readers, Selah Vita. Both Selah Vita and God have recently brought up the conundrum many of us find ourselves in when we “hear” something. We wonder, “Is it me? Is it God, or is it the devil?” I thought I’d share my thought process on this confusion, in hopes of helping someone.

The easiest one for me to knock out quickly is the enemy speaking. In John 10:10, Jesus said that the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. So, if what I am hearing goes along those lines in some way, or makes me feel guilt ridden, condemned or some other horrible emotion, that’s very likely not God and is most likely inspired by the enemy. Romans 8:1 says there is no therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There’s so many verses that speak to the character of the enemy that once you have that knowledge, it isn’t so difficult to discern the tricks of the enemy.

The same is true for Abba. When you know His character, it’s easier to discern when He is the one speaking to you or even through you. One cliche that rings true is that God is good all the time. He truly is good. He is all, in all. He is good. He is love. He is peace. He is life. You get the picture. One habit I picked up several years back, is that I literally blame every good thing that happens on God. This one habit ends up having a ripple effect that is amazing. Something good happens, I give Him the credit for it which makes me more grateful, joyful, happy, etc. Then, it causes me to be on the lookout for more evidence of Him, which makes me more tuned into Him, which makes me see even more of Him, and on and on. He is literally all over the place, in all the details.

While away on vacation, we visited a Trader Joe’s store. A clerk with a gorgeously wild, red, curly mane gave my children a bag filled with lollipops and me a free reusable Florida bag. I blamed God. Like most children, I have 2 in particular, who are crazy about Trader Joe’s lollipops and I happen to be just as crazy about reusable bags. The man didn’t know this, but God does, and, that man offered himself to God (whether he knew it or not) to be used to love on us with things we enjoy while away. It’s like kisses and hugs from God, reminding us of His everlasting presence.

So again, I blame every good thing that happens on God. That gets me to the “suddenlies” that occur. When I am looking for something and suddenly envision where I last put it and find it. When I suddenly have a thought or idea that follows no logical thought pattern that I had going- it’s typically God. When I, a staunch believer in not just homeschooling, but unschooling, got a thought about a nearby trade school and my middle daughter, no question, that was God, lol. I even said to Him aloud, “Ok. I will check it out.” Only He could have orchestrated that and known that my girl, who has never attended school, would be excited to go, even if it’s only 2 hours a day.

Sometimes, there’s a feeling that goes along with Him speaking. There are times I hear Him and feel compelled to do or say something. Other times, I feel a sense of excitement, joy, or even negative emotions another person feels. This is the way He has me relate and open conversations with others at times. I have felt the impact of accidents I wasn’t involved in- not with the pain included, just the shock of it all and the knowledge of the vehicles involved, things like that. This has happened several times and each time, I would begin to pray in tongues and would eventually find out exactly who I was praying for and how they miraculously came through the accident unscathed. I like to call that, Holy Intel. There’s so much I could say!! God is so creative and exciting. He speaks in so many ways and uses literally anything. We have but to be tuned in.

The last one, “Is it just me?” can be easy at times and tricky at other times but because God is good, I trust Him to give me a good old stop sign if I am heading in the wrong direction. One such time was when my husband and I felt it was time to move from New Jersey, back down to Florida, where we married and started our family. We were so excited to head back down there, we prayed, and had it on our family vision board. We marveled at how often we saw Florida tags while driving along in New York and New Jersey. My husband put in for transfers to several locations in the state of Florida. We just knew it was time to go. We even packed some things in boxes in our garage as evidence of our faith to move back to Florida. Basically, God said, “Not yet.” Because of the connections my husband has and more, the move should have been super easy and smooth. We should have had the “problem” of having to choose which location we wanted to accept in Florida, but God closed every single door and you know what? We are eternally grateful. We needed to remain here and make the connections we now have which are so vitally important to us and even in the Kingdom of God. We may still head to Florida someday, but we are quite happy to be here at this time, because we know it’s where we belong. It’s where God wants us.

In this example, where it clearly was not God’s idea for us to move, we lost nothing. We operated out of faith and did many things that are very positive and hope building and more. I say that to say, don’t let fear of “Is it just me?” stop you from stepping out in faith. Move forward knowing God is with you and will help you. We learned a lot of things that God would use later, so even in getting it “wrong”, a lot of good came out of it.

There’s also times when it’s obvious that a thought is so not God. Thoughts that are selfish, rude, mean, etc. Again, there’s so much that can be said, but I don’t want to write too much here. As always, you can also simply ask the Lord to help you to better discern where thoughts are coming from. He is more than happy to help because as stated before, He is good!

Oh! Before I forget! To my dear Selah Vita, this is your year honey. I know the New Year has come and gone but this is a new beginning for you. I believe you have lots of surprises in store for you this year. Some things that you have thought about and wanted, and others that weren’t even on your radar, all coming your way, this year. I also believe this year you are receiving what I can only reference as a tune up to tune in, to Him. You will find that by the end of this year, you have less and less of an issue discerning exactly where thoughts, ideas and phrases are coming from. Write, Selah Vita! Write down those thoughts and dreams and visions you are getting. They all mean something. In fact, some of the guessing will be addressed and answered in dreams, so write these things down. You are building a log book of faith, lol. You will have all these instances and situations that you can look back on and see how very much our Abba loves and speaks to you and through you. Have fun with this and pass on what you learn!! You have so much to teach and offer others. Love you!

Holy Spirit Led Learning

We are an unschooling family. Although I grew up traditionally schooled,  I can look back and see that, even when I didn’t know anything about the term or that it even existed, I was always an unschooler at heart. If I had an interest, I explored it until my heart was content.  I have always loved learning, but I did not love school.

Before my oldest was 2 years old, I met a homeschool mom who I know God sent my way to set ablaze the path we were to take concerning my child(ren)’s education. Frankly, at that point, I dreaded the day I would have to officially send my child off to school.  We had so much fun learning together. I didn’t want to miss anything.

Unschooling was and is very natural for us.  After having lived it for almost 20 years now, I am definitely a believer.  A quick definition is that unschooling is simply child led learning.  It is gaining an education for a child that is fully centered around each child’s individual interests. I enjoy following and facilitating activities centered around what each of my children are interested in.  It makes for quite an adventurous life that one would be hard pressed to plan or duplicate.  For us, it is very much Holy Spirit centered and led as I know Holy Spirit is the one who keeps me abreast of what’s next for us.

This way of life is not for the faint of heart. It’s not for everyone, and certainly not for those who feel more comfortable following “the crowd”, doing what most everyone else is doing.  Child led learning can freak out such personality types, “How in the world will they ever learn to ______________!!!” There’s so many things one can insert in that blank, lol.  We are never without options for freaking out, I suppose.

Anyway, something interesting happened to us within the last week.  As I stopped to get water, not thinking of anything in particular, the Lord dropped 2 things in my spirit, my 2nd daughter Jenai (pronounced jen-ay) and a vocational-technical school nearby.

Here’s the thing.  My children have never attended school and I don’t know very much about schools here in Jersey as I grew up in DC.  When I received this download from my Abba, I said, “Ok, I’ll check it out.”  Jenai, like both of her parents, is all over the place with regards to interests and talents.  She sings, she draws, She makes video movies with dolls.  She is very handy around the house and loves to put together whatever comes in the house. She makes doll furniture and accessories and designs the set for her doll videos.  She builds things with cardboard boxes, like atm machines and vending machines that actually work.  She cooks, she does animation, dabbles in contortionism, loves doing nails, writes penpals making them pocket letters… You get the picture.  All over the place.

I talked with her about the school and explained that they offer a wide range of programs including green construction, animation, cosmetology, culinary arts and so much more.  She would be able to go for  2 hours each day, for whatever program she is interested in as a share time student and still be technically homeschooled.  I explained this to her, shared the website with her and let her know that she does not have to go if she isn’t interested.  I just felt led to check it out as I told Abba I would.

What was interesting for us, was that the school was having an orientation for students interested in attending in September and it turns out that Jenai is the exact age that they are ideally searching for.  Of course, Abba knew all this. I hurried and signed up for the orientation which was to be held days later. Interestingly enough, it was held on a day and at a time when we are typically not available, but that week, we were available.  God was up to something.  I told Jenai that we’d go and check it out.  At the very least, I told her that she would get resources to help her further her education outside of the school (impromptu prophesy, lol).  That happened and more.

While there, we did a 30 minute general information session, after which, we were given a folder that included a map of the building.  Each program was listed with classrooms where students and parents could go and get more information about as many programs as they chose.  I told Jenai to lead the way.  I wanted her to check out every area that was of interest to her.  I enjoyed following her lead and was happy that it was just the two of us. After attending 2 of them, we made our way to see the graphic design teacher.  My heart jumped with excitement as the teacher spoke. I knew this particular program would speak to Jenai’s heart more than the others had.

Not only did Jenai get information about the program there, but after telling the teacher a little about Jenai, she told us that industrial design is something that sounds right up Jenai’s alley.  She said that graphic design is a great foundation for industrial design.  She also told us about a nearby college that would accept credits from Jenai’s time at the school and those credits could go towards a degree in industrial design if she chooses to attend college.  She went on to invite Jenai to spend a day at the school next week to see what a day is like.

Between you and me, I am super excited.  My spirit is really excited for Jenai about it all.  I drove home to her that the Lord loves her so much that He would speak to me about her in this way.  She seems to be really excited too but whether she goes in the end or not, I am very happy that she knows God singled her out like this.  I am happy to have taken her somewhere, to look into things solely for her.

She’s funny, she said to me, “Man, the only drawback is that this is gonna mean I am no longer an unschooler, because I will technically go to school.”  I laughed and said, “Girl, this will make you an unschooler times two!! You will be going to school 2 hours a day, yes, but, you will be going to do something that is of interest to you, only because you choose to.”  That’s unschooling.

Sweet Happenings

I enjoy most types of prophetic activation. In truth, I haven’t done one that I didn’t enjoy, I just feel there may be one I am not particularly crazy about.

It is important to me that my children have a strong, solid foundation of not just knowing that God speaks, but that they actively hear from Him as well.

I want my children to have experiences with the Lord that will forever change and mold them. I want them to know Him in such a way that there is not a shadow of doubt in their minds that not only does He exist, but He speaks, to them.

Every now and then, we do different prophetic activations together. We will sit with and listen for what He is saying, together, and share what we heard, felt, seen, etc. It’s a lot of fun.

Lately, I have been working with them on watching people to see what they can hear, see or gather. I want them to be on their toes so that when the Lord wants them to give someone a word, they hear Him clearly. I want them to get accustomed as children, to be tuned in to Abba’s frequency.

It’s not always a thing of such dire circumstances, sometimes it’s as simple as an opportunity for some fun.

I recently had one such experience and my children were all in attendance so it was pretty perfect.

I love life stories. I love telling them and hearing them equally. My grandfather was a great story teller. I loved hearing his stories, new and old ones; it never mattered. I miss him and his stories so much and the Lord, knowing this, had a sweet surprise in store for me as I visited my favorite Trader Joe’s store recently.

While shopping, an older gentlemen who worked there spoke to us. We spoke and kept shopping. When we were ready to pay, we ended up being in a line where he was the one to check us out.

He smiled and said, “It’s you again!” We laughed and before even thinking, I heard myself blurt out, “You seem to be one with the ability to tell wonderful stories. I wish we could put a couch in the middle of the store and just sit and listen to you.” He smiled and said, “I have been known to tell a tale or two.” I smiled and thought of my grandfather and felt all gooey inside imagining this mans stories when suddenly, as he checked out our items, he said, “Here’s a quick one for you… There once was an old saloon…” I stood, captivated and completely delighted as this man told my children and I a funny tale.

I take these instances as ways God chooses to play with me, be sweet to me and give me what He knows I miss or long for. I can’t wait to see that man again. I plan to tell him how much he blessed me and my children. It all happened because I spoke on a prophetic inkling I got while speaking to him.

I look forward to more opportunities like this with my Abba, He is so sweet.

Be on the lookout for nice experiences like this and more. I know I’m not the only one Abba is blessing in this way, and, if you have a moment, write me and tell me about it. I love stories!

On His Mind

My Abba never ceases to amaze me. Focusing on the fact that He would not only create me but would long for an intimate relationship with me is more than I can comprehend.

Celebrities don’t really do it for me. My mom once took me and my cousin to a concert. I had a poster of the group in my bedroom and admittedly loved their music. I think my mom may have been more excited than my cousin and I. As the group performed song after song, and the audience screamed, stood and sang along, my cousin and I sat and watched the show quietly. I remember my mom being surprised. She figured we’d be among those singing and hollering and being all excited. It wasn’t that we didn’t enjoy it; We did. It just wasn’t that serious to be all up in arms about it. I felt like, I came to see the show, so I watched it. I don’t feel compelled to fawn over people. I prefer to stand back and watch, see what I am really dealing with.

In Christian events, it’s the same thing. There are some people, who, anytime a known name comes, they feel the need to seek that person out and speak to them privately at some point, when possible. I see no need. I don’t need to shake their hand or meet them any further than having been in attendance. I don’t know, it’s just not my style. Again, I prefer to sit back, watch and discern.

For as long as I can recall, God Himself is the only one I totally go nuts over. He is the one who amazes me when I come across proof that I am on His mind. He leaves me awestruck, time after time, giving me just the right words at the right time for people whose situations and lives I am so utterly clueless about.

One such time happened on a recent Saturday, at a children’s conference that I was a part of. It was a prophetic conference geared towards ages 7-12.

We had some older and younger children come along with siblings, and since they were present, we sought to include them as much as they wanted to participate. It was wonderful.

We taught on identity, hearing God’s voice and prophesying. We did prophetic activations with the children and had them up prophesying and all, it was such a blessing to witness. At the end, we had all the children line up to individually receive prayer, prophecy, healing or whatever was needed. As I stood in front, to receive people to minister to, I looked at the children and saw a 16 year old boy. He was disinterested to say the least. I got his attention and told him to come to me. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to speak with him.

When he got close to me, he asked if I would pray for him. I said yes but stopped short of saying anything more. I just stood there, looking up at him (at 4’10”, everyone is taller than me). We just stared at each other for a long while, it was like we were both really seeing each other, like we were reading each other, gathering information. I loved him immediately and immensely. Thankfully, at that time, my oldest, who often ministers with me, was ministering to someone else, so he and I had this block of time, although surrounded by many, all to ourselves. After a while, I said, “Ok. I need to hug you now.” Now, I am excellent at hugging. I hug with love and sincerity. I don’t like what I call little pissy, pitty pat hugs, where you barely touch. I’d rather not engage in that type of “hug” at all. Not knowing what I will get in return doesn’t matter, I always seek to really hug people when the opportunity arises, and with this being a teen, and a boy, I really had no idea what would happen.

This child hugged me just as I hugged him. I unashamedly cooed over him, telling him how sweet he is and just poured out everything in God’s heart towards him that I was feeling in that moment. I feel it even as I type this.

Anyway, we hugged for a good while and then my daughter came into our conversation and we blasted him with an encounter with God that I’m sure that child (nor I) won’t soon forget.

The thing is, I was just being me, or so I thought. I was just following what I felt led to do. I had no idea who this young man was and how he got there. I had no idea that this young man’s grandfather raped his grandmother and that is how his own mother came to be. My God!! Talk about destiny! And the thing is, we talked a great deal to this young man about his destiny. We stressed his being here being very purposeful and so much more. We had no idea about the struggle he’d had on both, the night before, and day of the conference. He didn’t want to come, but not only did he make it, albeit reluctantly, God called him out and met him there, and we got to be a part of that!

I love that God does that to me. Often times, I’ll be somewhere shopping or ministering at an event. I will look out and see someone who is just working or trying to shop. I will inevitably see someone who has no intention whatsoever in coming up for prayer (at events), but God will have me leave the line of ministers, He will have me turn around in parking lots, hunt people down in aisles at stores, whatever it takes, to get to that person that He is longing to connect with on a very personal level.

Sometimes, it’s the person who just feels invisible, other times, it’s a person who isn’t even looking for Him, yet, they are on His mind. I love that!!!

As if having these opportunities weren’t awesome enough, my Abba recently did this for me as well. I received a call from an 11 year old girl in our youth group. She’d had a vision about me the night before. In her vision, I was getting married. I was dressed in white and my bouquet was that of white roses. She saw a figure standing at the alter waiting for me, she knew he was my groom, but couldn’t make out his features. I walked up the aisle towards him, looking at him. All around me, the people that were there were in utter chaos. As chaos reigned around us, my groom and I were completely unaffected. We just focused on each other as if nothing was happening at all. As I walked towards him, I began to sing. As I walked down the aisle singing, each person began to turn into angels, one by one.

What an amazing vision!!! I was so impressed that she would contact me to share it with me. What a confirmation of John 6:29 truly being my life verse! I have prayed so fervently for Him to be more real to me than anything or anyone around me.

It also reminds me of the phrase about one being, “so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” That’s such nonsense!! The more heavenly minded one is, the more earthly good one can become!! The world has things so backwards!!

All this to say, it just amazes me how much we are on His mind. He will stop everything and do anything to get our attention and confirm things in our hearts. What love He has for us!

I will end by sharing two interpretations I got for the vision from my little girl.

From Gary- It shows that it’s important to keep your focus on Jesus who is the bridegroom and not get distracted by people around who have all kinds of issues and so lack focus. Their turning into angels, I believe shows that as you stay focused and in a state of worship, people will see and be affected. Angel is another word for messenger so people will become focused on doing what they are called to do as you stay focused and your example will influence them.

From Russ: You’re going to fall more in love with Jesus and experience more of His nature in you.
Your ministry of helping people experience Papa’s best for their lives is about to become ridiculously easy.

I also think the vision is for the body of Christ. We are entering a new season where Jesus is becoming more of a focus than ever before. And what we release out of our place of oneness with Him will profoundly impact and change people’s lives.

God is too much!! Until next time, dear reader, be blessed!

Life Giving Words

I enjoy encouraging people.  It’s something that comes natural to me.  If I see or notice something about a person, I feel the need to tell them.  Oftentimes, I have taken this compulsion as just a little thing but I am seeing more and more that it isn’t a small thing at all.  There are times when, what to me seems minuscule, means the world to others. Each time I am faced with this fact, it startles me a bit.

See, you never know how one kind word can impact someone.  A person could be having a really tough time, or worse, have suicidal thoughts, and one kind word could make all the difference.

I know of one such time where the words used, weren’t even kind per se, they were just words, but they meant everything, so much so, that a life was literally saved.  If I remember correctly, my brother Scott who told a group of us about this, said the words were, “Yellow flamingo”. If I’m wrong, we’ll just pretend that’s correct.

There was an event (Christian gathering of some sort), and someone got a word from the Lord and it was “yellow flamingo”.  They got nothing else, no insight whatsoever.  So, when the opportunity came for them to get on the mic and say it, although they felt beyond silly, they went.  Imagine, a gathering filled with people and you get “A word from the Lord” like that with nothing else.  Now, there are times that I get what to me is a strange word and nothing more.  Then, when I say that part, the Lord gives me more.  It’s an exercise of trust.  Anyway, this poor soul got nothing else, lol, even after saying it.  So, after getting on the mic and saying, “Yellow flamingo”, and getting nothing else from the Lord, the person turned, intending to return to their seat.

Suddenly, there was a loud cry. The (crying) person was approached.  Sobbing, the person said that they had planned to commit suicide once they returned home that evening.  They hadn’t even planned on attending the event but had the sudden urge to go, and before leaving, they told the Lord, “If you tell someone to say ‘yellow flamingo’ to me, I won’t kill myself.”  Well, that brave person literally saved a life that day.  We just never know how we can help others.

This is why, in part, when I feel impressed by the Lord to say something, anything to others, I just do it.  I’m only responsible for being obedient in giving the word, I’m not responsible for what happens next.  I just need to do my part.  Imagine if the person thought, “Yellow flamingo?  That doesn’t even make sense! I’m not saying that!  I must be just making stuff up!”, and said nothing.  If they had stayed silent, a precious life would have been lost that evening, but God is so good that He told a person who would push past feeling uncomfortable or even embarrassed, and just deliver the life saving words to the one who desperately needed it. Wow!!

God is really good at getting us to step out of our comfort zone, but we have to be willing to go.  The rewards of following His leading in this way are nothing short of amazing but it can also be a quite sobering experience.  You just never know.  I encourage you this week, to unleash a multitude of encouraging words over others.  No one should be safe from getting a kind word from you.  I challenge you to especially do it with one who is being… a bit difficult to love, hahaha.  That’s some real stuff right there! If you find that too difficult, baby steps, give a kind word to someone else.  Have fun with it.  It’s like scattering seeds of something delicious and looking back to see that you have an enormous harvest to enjoy.  It is one of those things that blesses the person and you, and it feels wonderful!  So, go for it!  Bless some people with kind words and watch how things change for you.

God’s Saying Something

I am struggling off and on with what comes naturally in a pregnancy.  Almost right away, this pregnancy has been marked with great exaggeration, “morning” sickness, the growth of my belly measuring a whole two and a half months ahead, the back pain, ligament pain, and more, all very exaggerated.  Everything points to this not being a normal, singleton pregnancy.  Even now, at 31 weeks along, I measure as if I was around 43 weeks along, and being 4′ 10″ tall, this all does a job and a half on my frame.

So, I know that as far as pregnancies go, I still have anywhere from at least 6-9 weeks left; and physically, things don’t tend to get easier the closer one gets to giving birth.  This means, here I am, struggling from around 23 weeks on and I still have,  at the very least, 6 weeks to go until I am full term. In the natural, things don’t look very hopeful at all and I hear the song, “One day at a time, sweet Jesus…” playing in the back of my mind.

Here’s the reality that I am choosing though.  I am not from here.  I am God’s very own daughter.  He has given me the ability to do what Jesus did and greater and I don’t recall Jesus telling anyone that whatever ailment they experienced was a natural result of whatever condition they had, so they should just deal with it.  Nope, he healed them all.

So, I started with making declarations over myself one night.  I declared that in spite of my frame, I am strengthened daily, by my Father and I am more than capable of not only getting through this but thriving through it all.  I had a wonderful time declaring over myself and my babies.

Now, I’m starting to notice other things though.  Once, as I was feeling down, super weepy and frustrated with my inability to do things as before, I heard the Lord ask me, “What are you looking at?”  I understood completely and said, “Ok, Abba, I understand.”  I was focused on my problems and my frustrations.  I wasn’t looking to Him at all and I felt absolutely horrible.

Then, there was a time when my body signaled that it was time to lie on my side (I’m not able to remain upright for long periods) and as I did, I talked to God.  I worshiped Him and just thanked Him and focused on Him and just enjoyed being in His presence, and, as I did, all pain just vanished.  This same thing happened twice more today.  Once, as I just focused on the Lord. As I sang to Him during praise and worship, every bit of pain I felt just moments before, went away and I felt great.

We had to stop at a supermarket on the way home, and the pain of walking was such that I had to have my daughter drop me at the front of the store so I could get a cart to lean on as I picked up the few things we came for.  I had to take off my coat and leave it in the car because I felt I would faint from being overheated.  Once in the store, I fought dizziness a few times (I needed to eat) and as I stood and paid for my items, I struggled to stay upright.  My back was on fire.  The guy who checked me out said he would go on and bag my items and I told him, “Hey, as you do that, let me tell you something.”  I went all the way in, no explanation or anything.  I told the guy about himself, his personality and what God wants for Him and prophesied and well, you get it.  He laughed and smiled and thanked me. He said I’d made his night with the great encouragement I’d given him.  I smiled and thanked him and, as I walked away, I noticed that not only was I walking upright effortlessly, but I had no pain at all and walked to the car happily.

All this to say, I think we take far more than we have to in life.  I for one, aim to change that.  I really believe God is trying to tell me something.

Prophetic Ramblings

I hope you had a wonderful time last week celebrating with family and friends.  I took a bit of a break as I really didn’t know what to say in the midst of several pretty monumental moments of revelation I experienced on and the day after Thanksgiving. I think my Abba enjoys dropping revelatory bombs on me that cause me to stop dead in my tracks from time to time. 🙂

This post may be a little weird or out there for some but I’m going to move right along in it anyway.

I feel very strongly like there’s a lot of new things in store within the Body of Christ and then the world at large.  God is God and He being the Creator, is ridiculously creative, always doing something new that we in our finite minds couldn’t have fathomed on our own.

I feel that we are on the brink of another new and different move of the Spirit.  Mysteries that have been kept hidden until now will be released, people who have never before heard will suddenly hear, know and do things they’ve never imagined possible.  I think those of us who have had a taste and more of some of this are about to experience some things that we may find just plain weird but exciting and totally God, nonetheless.

I think it will begin within the Body and move out towards the world at large.  I see big changes ahead, changes that will propel us in the direction that the Father has wanted us to go in all along.  I see minds renewed as eyes are opened to seeing that some things they thought were one way, are actually something completely different.  I see a changing of the guard so to speak and even people who were once adamantly on one side of the fence in one area or another, hopping over to the other side, never to return. Lots of changes.

I see an end to church branding that seeks to exalt, market and promote that brand or sect instead of exalting and promoting the pure and unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 1;12-17 and 1 Corinthians 3:4-6)

I see a lot of exciting, new and very different things happening in the coming year.  Now is not the time to turn away from the Father.  It’s not a time to allow anything or anyone in your life to command and keep your focus and distract you from Him.  Keep your gaze set on His glorious face.  Allow every circumstance to draw you into a greater intimacy with Him and watch what happens. You will never be the same.