What About The Splinter?

Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. Luke 6:42

Mesquite trees are one of the toughest trees known to man. They can reach up to 50 feet tall with a branch spread of 40 feet or more. Their thorns are as tough as nails. They are big and strong and they can also kill you… You can move the beam of the tree completely out of the ground. It can be totally removed and yet one small trace, a splinter can get in your hand etc. and kill you. The thorns are poisonous and it is the splinter that will kill you…

There seems to be a new trend in the church or is it really new? I think that it is just re-packaged and re-labeled as being godly. (You have a beam in your eye, so you can’t even talk about my splinter)

I rarely speak out on controversial matters because I feel that it is more important to try and spark people to be inspired to change. I only speak now because I have seen so many loved ones in the church hurt, myself included while sitting on a pew. This message isn’t to point fingers or to say I am better than you. On the contrary I know without a shadow of a doubt that I have failed God probably more and in worse ways than most of you who will read this blog. I am a failure, a sinner, a former backslider, and was once lost. I had a beam in my eye.

But… what about the splinter?

Now, I am free, a sinner saved by grace, on fire for God, and I have been found. There is a great divide in the church for people like me. I was raised in church and walked away for several years. Then when I came back home I was welcomed with open arms like the prodigal daughter. The welcome party was short lived. Then there was a wide assortment of criticisms. It broke my heart literally. To think that I was so on fire for God and I just wanted to please Him and here I was made to feel like I wasn’t good enough. That I would have to do penance and (16) hail Mary’s and then it just might be possible to be used of God. It may sound like I am being bitter or hateful but I am not I am only trying to share how hard it is for a person to come back to God while on display. There is an expectation placed on your shoulders to be the new perfect saint and it is hard to live up to. Sadly, I feel this is why so many backsliders do not come home. They can’t face the judgment. I am sharing this to be an eye-opener to the church not to be another person turning reverse criticism, what would be the point?

So what happens when a backslider feels so much criticism? What happens when you are ostracized by those who are supposed to love you? What happens when you are stumbling and about to fall? What happens when people sit back and say, “Look at what they are doing” they aren’t changed?

The answer is: They fall while sitting on the pew….

A friend told me recently that her pastor told her, “You can’t expect to be a 30 year saint in 2 years of coming back to God.” I don’t know why these words have spoken to me but they have resonated into my soul. The same is for me. I may have been raised in church but I walked away from God. I lived a life of sin to the fullest.  It has taken three years of constant consecration to God for Him to re-program my mind. Friends you can’t input that much sin into your life and expect that just because you came back to God that you won’t still be struggling. Give yourself a break and stop being so hard on yourself. It is a process and you will fail God once you get back into church. You will more than likely fail Him really bad and you will think that you can’t make it. Sadly, people will tell you that you can’t make it too.  

I am here as living proof that you too can make it!!!! I have learned the really hard way that not everyone is behind you. Not everyone is your friend. Not everyone sees the good in you and who you will become. But it is a lesson worth learning, so that you too do not become a splinter pointing at a beam in someone else’s eye. You can choose today this very moment to stop the cycle of disdain. You can stop the criticisms and begin to pray rather than judge the beam in another’s eye lest you grow a splinter that will become infected. A little leaven leaveneth a whole lump. So don't be a part of the lump be a part of restoration in the body! 

You set the tone and atmosphere for your life. You can change the world you live in by reaching out to those who are hurting. You too might be the next one to fall and you might need the same help up as your brother or sister.  Make the choice to change. When we truly become one body and change toward the love of Jesus, that is when we will be able to move toward revival. How can we truly love new people if we can’t love those who we know?

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

1 John 4:20

There is a splinter in the church and it is infecting the body. Just because you don’t have a beam in your eye, doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I want to point out in love that just because you sit on a pew and your sins aren’t as open as (mine or someone elses) remember pointing fingers at others doesn’t diminish your sin. Ouch that is strong language! Please note that I am not being a reverse-judge mentalist. I am only trying to point out some pitfalls that we have all been guilty to fall into these categories.

So what can us as church goers do to change how we treat others?

1)    Love our neighbor as ourselves (It really is the most important thing)

2)    Pray for our brother or sister when we see them in a pit

3)    Don’t put your brother or sister in a pit and cause them to fall

4)    Love our neighbor as ourselves

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4

We cannot put condemnation on those who are no longer walking after the flesh and who are now walking the Spirit. I am so grateful and humbled that the Lord saw fit to pull the beam out of my eye and am now missing an eye. I pray every day to reach for others in their pit so that they too can have the beam pulled out of their eye. I strive toward the mark of not letting a splinter fester into an infection within my own person. I choose to not spread the infection throughout the body of believers. Will I be perfect? No. I am only aware and with awareness bring the ability to be proactive to combat against the enemy of self. I choose to love in spite of fault. I choose daily examine my life for splinters. I pray this blog opens eyes not in judgment but in awareness! 

What’s Trust Got To Do With It?

What’s Trust Got To Do With It?

The struggle is real, learning to trust God to be God, to do all that He has said He will do. I have a dream, I have a vision, and I have a calling and you do too! I think you like me have let things from the past and often in the present daunt us away from our future. We speak, “How can I do it? Why would He choose me? I am not good enough. I have failed too much. I have somehow lost the promise because of my failure.”  We speak anti-trust when we allow it to become about what we can do, rather than what He can do in our lives.  I will tell you the truth if you think you can’t do it then you are absolutely correct!

YOU CAN’T DO IT!!!

I think that this is the hardest lesson that I have ever had to learn, “I CANNOT DO IT.” Ouch! That hurts! It may be the truest lesson because it is about learning to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts. We say we trust Him, but do we really?

 It is hard to walk in faith knowing and not seeing. But isn’t that the definition of faith?

“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

We can quote it, we can read it, we can turn to it, we can believe it, but how can we live it?

At church a few weeks ago precious lady spoke into my life in Sunday school and brought forth a timely message. She spoke about Hope, Trust, and Faith. The Lord had been talking to me about trust and putting my confidence in Him all month. So when she spoke her words it was like they burrowed into my soul. It is not enough to trust God but we must also put our confidence in Him. I can trust that you may be a good person but I don’t have confidence in every good person to come through in my life. God is a God of confidence and we must allow our trust to become confidence in Him, for He will do what He said He will do.

 When you let Him order your steps and take Him out of the box we have put Him in in our minds, I think that is when He can truly blow our minds. I want to live a life with the Lord where my trust is without borders. How do we live without borders? We have to die daily to the cross. We have to pray the prayer not my will but thy will be done Lord Jesus. We have to say guide me Lord, order my steps Lord, show me Lord, and let me not be deceived Lord. He is our daily bread and He desires to be the center of our lives. I told a dear friend this week that God is a jealous God and He desires us more than we desire Him. He is leading us to a place of trust and understanding so that He can give us the best gifts. The best part is that if God never does it, if He never fulfills His promise, (which I don’t believe because He cannot lie), then you will have surrendered to a God who will love you unconditionally.

If you haven’t experienced the kind of love from God I am talking about you too can have it. It is a process it doesn’t happen overnight. Often you will fall into utter failure but it’s when He picks you up out of the pig pen of your mistakes that you will find His love. When you couldn’t get up by yourself, when you had no place else to go, when there was no way for you to be set free from your failures, that my friend is when you will find His love. I am not saying you have to fail to find His love, but I am saying when you fail He will be there to lift you up. It is when you realize that He really does give and take away and that lifts up and takes down, and that the Master of the universe is holding you in His arms, you will know love.

The Key Principles of Faith by Sis Martin:

1)   You have to have hope

2)   You have to know it’s not your own abilities

3)   You must be fully persuaded

I have a hope that surpasses all understanding. I now know that it is not my own abilities. I am fully persuaded that God will fulfill His promises in me. God has brought people into my life in the past few months to speak about my heart’s desires. He has spent the last month unraveling my mind and teaching me to trust Him. He led me to Proverbs 3 and I think I have read the chapter every day for a two weeks.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” Proverbs 3:5-7

You must first have faith in order to trust. You must then have trust in order to have confidence. With confidence you will seek after wisdom. With wisdom you gain understanding. All of these attributes must be born in prayer. The ultimate understanding is that no you cannot do it!!! It is God who does it all, but it is us who let’s God do it! 

The Day I Died...

The day I died…

I was praying a few weeks ago and God began to speak to me about a fish being caught on a hook, the flow of a river, and about a turtle crossing the road…

Fish:

He began to show me that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of fish in the water but that one fish is caught on the hook at just the right moment. This is how we are to be with fishing for men. He told the disciples that they would be fishers of men. He showed them how when they tried to get the fish on their own, in their own merit they failed. But when God told them to let down their net they had an overabundance and were filled to capacity. So the fisherman on the water gets that one fish at just that right moment, and it was his time to die. Jesus is leading each and every one of us to die at just the right moment. Everything is ordained of God and He knows just exactly when you are going to die. The first time you die, you die through the salvation process. This is the Death (Repentance), Burial (Baptism), and Resurrection (Holy Ghost) which is speaking in other tongues as the spirit gives the utterance. (Acts 2:4, Acts 2:38). When you died in salvation you died at just the moment God had ordained for you to die. If you haven’t experienced this kind of death then I encourage you to study the scriptures and see for yourself what I am telling you to be true. I would begin reading in the book of Acts because this is where the beginning of the church began after Jesus was resurrected on the cross.

Today, I am really talking about a different kind of death. I am talking about dying to self. We come to God we receive salvation but that really is only the very beginning of it all. We begin on a road a journey really and we have to learn to have a relationship with God for ourselves. We have to die to the old man and become a new creature in Him. This is a process and it happens slowly and steadily over time. The more we want of Him the more He will show us and then honestly the more He will require of us. He never takes something from us that He knows we are not ready to surrender. Every time you surrender to His calling and give up a part of yourself to Him, then the more you die a little more to your flesh.

We keep walking or flowing in the spirit until He leads us to our death….

The River:

God gave me a personal analogy of me flowing down a fast moving river. The push of the current was moving me forward and there was only one direction. In the river there were bumps and bruises along the way. I hit a tree stump, I hit some debris, and I bottomed out on the rocks. I was tossed to one side of the river and I even tried to grab onto a tree branch and hold on. Yet, I was still being pushed forward. One time I stood up and tried to walk backwards and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t go backwards. I tried and I fell and was still being pushed forward. I was wet, cold, and all alone but still the river has pushed me forward.

Then I went over the edge of the waterfall…

The day I died it hurt and I cried out to God, “Help me God!” And He did… He was at the bottom of the waterfall with His loving arms and He placed me in the river below. This new river is a gentle flow. It is not rough, it is not pushing, and I am not fighting against the current. Because this time I know I had to reach my death in order to flow freely in the river in the spirit. 

The river is our walk with God. We are flowing in the spirit when we are walking with Him. We often hit the rocks and we think we did something wrong even though we are flowing in the spirit and walking with the Lord, we forget how to trust Him, or we've never learned how to trust Him. The rocks and the trees are God’s way of trying to correct us back onto the flow of the river. He is teaching us to trust Him and that means we cannot hold onto the branch of the trees. Even if we try to keep holding on for as long as we can, the current is so strong it will rip us from the roots and keep moving us forward. We try to do it on our own so then we try and go back to what we once knew. We stand up in the river and move backwards and we stumble and we fall, instead of letting the river in the spirit wash away our past. So we walk in circles in the current, not moving forward and never making it to what was behind us.

All along the river He is speaking, “Trust me.” “Lean not to your own understanding.” “Ask for what you need.” “Seek me and you will find me.” “Knock and the door will be open.” He is a God of love and He will not force you to die to self. He might let you live in a whirlpool of your own making for a time but eventually you will die one way or another.

There are three ways you can die:

1)   A spiritual death where you walk away from God and never come back

2)   You can die willingly and submit to His will readily

3)   Or you can die at His hand (He forcefully takes it from you)

All three are choices that you choose for your life. You can choose to walk away and live a life without the spirit and nothing more will be required of you. You can die willingly and this is the best option because you choose straightway to set aside your past and the things of this world. Then there are the rest of us…

You pray the prayer, “not my will but thy will be done.” But you struggle and you fight the spirit because either you don’t understand it, or you are hard headed and think somehow you can live in two places. I am here to tell you, YOU CAN’T! Once you pray the prayer, “not my will.” You give up your rights and give over your free will to the Lord, and then that is when He orders your steps. I implore you to die the easy way!!! When the Lord causes you to die, well let’s just say it is not pleasant.

When I reached to the edge of a waterfall the current came crashing in and I couldn’t breathe. The force of the fall almost tore me in pieces but that my friends was the day I died…

There were parts of me that I thought had died but they hadn’t. I had hidden chains buried in my life as far back as my childhood. As I was falling I couldn’t see through the water to the other side and I was drowning. The Lord brought me to my death but really it was new life. It was the last of the onion peel of sin that had encamped round about me my whole life. I had to die to self, self-will, rebellion, hatefulness, lust, and all worldly desires. I thought I had given them up willingly but there were walls that were down and I was in the enemy’s camp. I was easy prey and had been deceived by an imaginary idea that wasn’t real in the least.

I would like to insert here at this point. You can be praying, fasting, and doing the Lord’s work and still fall prey to the enemy. The more you step out on faith then the more of a moving target you are for the enemy. I trusted the wrong people. I got too close to imaginary friends and it was used to my detriment. I am not making excuses, I am just saying that it matters who is in your life.  If your defenses are down and you trust too easily, you are prey for the enemy. If you are not praying the right prayers and even setting aside the feelings you feel in the spirit you will be sorry. Not everyone is your friend. Not everyone cares to help you. Not everyone sees the good you tried to do. I only admonish the most important thing in your life is who you let to influence your life.

God has used my pain and my failures to help others. He will use it the rest of my life. He used my pain to gut me to the very core of my being, and mostly to learn to never treat anyone how I have been treated. True love, loves someone whether they can ever love you back or if they will ever love you at all. It is caring for someone no matter how far they fall and be there with a hand to lift them out of the mire. I learned this lesson from someone who changed my life. Then God showed me what it really means to be loved when no one else loves you, when they have all turned their back on you. The ultimate love is from Jesus who is our Father. He died for my sins, failures, pains, and broken hearts.

I found myself back on the threshing floor and God met me like He has never met me before in my life. He unraveled the unspoken parts of my life I didn’t even know existed. So as I am not glad that I failed God, I am glad He finally was able to show me the holes in my armor. This was the day I died. I was the fish on the hook and at the exact moment ordained of God, He changed me and transformed me once more for His glory.

Turtle:

God knows when the turtle crosses the road. He knows where the ants store up food. When the bird will soar in the sky and just when His promises will come to pass. If God knows the exact moment things are to happen for animals and bugs, how much more does He know and order our steps? This is something God has been teaching me in the lesson. He has been teaching me to trust and know that if He says it will happen, that means it has already happened. He is a God who lives in the future, our future! He lives beyond the present and takes our past and uses it for His glory.

This has been hard for me to understand. I have stepped out in faith and then I got waylaid. I have doubted that what I had heard from God was really from God. I know we have all been there. I would like to say at this point that the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. His tricks are all the same. He uses the same ploys over and over. “If it hasn’t happened by now, then it will never happen.” “You aren’t good enough.” “You have failed too much for God to use you.” “No one likes you.” “No one wants to hear what you have to say.” “You’re not worth the effort.” “You will never do what God has told you.” These ARE ALL LIES!!!! He uses them most effectively when we are weak, discouraged, and forlorn but they are still lies.

I asked the Lord once, “Lord, I have failed you so much, how could you love me? How could you use me when I have failed you so much?” He answered, “But I saw your love in the future and I carried you to this point. You will use your testimony to give me glory. You will speak life to the broken, and you will lead them to the cross.” Needless to say I was overcome by so much love. If Jesus the God of all creation who died for my salvation could forgive me and use me, then how much more am I to love and forgive? I don’t care who you are, what you have done, or where you have been, you have a place in the Kingdom. You have a place as my friend. I will pray for you, love you, and help you to the cross.

 "Does God really have His hand on me?" 

So in answer to the age old question, If God has his hand on the turtle, then He has His hand on your life too…

Conclusion:

I pray that this blog blessed you somehow. I pray that you too can die to self and that you die willingly…

You are a fish that is being kept until just the moment when God will change you. He is leading you down a river and teaching you to trust Him when all things seem impossible. You are more important than a turtle. He cares for the turtle crossing the road and the birds in the air; but He cares more about you in your journey. He is ordering your steps. He knows where you are and He will never leave you or forsake you! Trust HIM! Don’t let the lies of the enemy destroy you! Don’t let your past dictate your future! Remember to forgive along the journey and be willing to welcome those home who have fallen by the wayside. If you have been forgiven then you too must forgive! The ultimate story of love and forgiveness is Jesus our Master, Savior, Redeemer, and Healer… Share your own story of love and let’s lead as many people to the cross and back to the cross as possible…You have the power to change lives for the good and the bad. What is your choice?

Unplugging the Drain..

Unplugging the Drain…

How many times have you had to unclog your sink drain? I think it has happened to us all at one time or another. Then there was that one time you got down on your hands and knees in the tub and it seemed you pulled and pulled at all the junk clogging your drain. You might have found rocks, dirt, hair, and “oh my” yes, you found some pennies. Is it any wonder the water cannot flow freely down the drain? 

The Lord gave me a scripture in prayer a few days ago:

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38

The Lord reminded me of Jonah and how he was in the belly of the whale. He was in the belly for three long days… He was in with the waste, undigested food, and foul smells. Jonah had to die to self in the belly of that whale! Just as we have to die to ourselves in order to be raised up again. I am talking about salvation but I am also talking about dying to self-will so that God can use us to our full potential. 

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.” (Matthew 12:40-41)

God was making him over and re-shaping Jonah for his purpose to preach to Ninevah. You cannot run from God because no matter where you are, He will find you! 

Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water… 

You have to come out of the belly to live and to flow in the spirit. God has put me in the belly of the whale. I have failed Him and I have come before Him wanting. It is dark, it is lonely, it is smelly, it is foul, it is painful, it is rejection, it is fear, it is doubt, it is travail, it is anguish, but it is necessary. 

How can you flow with living water if you have dead things living inside of you? I tell you, you cannot! You might not even know they are there but the enemy knows just when to pounce on you in the most obscure moments. You think you are where you need to be but God is digging in your drain and He is finding dirt, hair, and pennies. He is digging to the core of your being. He wants all of you! He wants ultimate surrender. 

He wants to get you from whom you thought you were to who you are to become!

Then the Lord showed me unless I had gone through the belly of the whale I would never be able to be used to my full potential. The junk buried in my life from a small girl has kept me from advancing in Him. You see my friend even if you don’t know you are sinning, sin is what separates us from the love of God. It is what keeps us from seeing the supernatural in our walk with God. I implore you to ask God to search you the easy way and let Him show you your faults. I promise you that it is a painful journey to be in the belly. 

Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water…

Now, once you are out of the whale’s belly and you surrender the rivers of living water can flow freely. There will be liberty but there is a cost for that liberty. You must be willing to put all your eggs in one basket: The basket of the calling of the Lord. Are you willing to sell out to see other’s lives changed? Will you be willing to sacrifice so others do not spend an eternity in Hell? I know this is strong language but it is necessary. I have been sifted, I have been found wanting, but I am also an overcomer for the Gospel. 

Who am I?

I am a child of the King, daughter, forgiven, redeemed, called out for a purpose, holding the rod of authority, chosen, loved, apostle, lover of souls, and so much more….

It really isn’t about me. But it is me trying to inspire you to take your life to the next level:

1) Search me Lord show me my hidden sin

2) Daily dedicated prayer (sacrificial prayer)

3) Daily reading searching out the scriptures

4) Fasting (one day weekly)

5) Tithing (10%)

6) Faithful to the House of the Lord

7) Reaching for the Lost

8) Helping the homeless, widows, orphans, the least of these Matthew 25

I would like to encourage you to pray Ephesians 6 by putting on the armor of God each day before you leave your home. I would like to encourage you to pray in the morning even if you just start with five minutes. Be on the offensive in prayer and take the enemy by storm. 

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 

God commands everything and He is in control! You must go through the belly of the whale to get all the junk out of your life. Jesus spent three days in the tomb; He did so to save us from our sins. We too must die to self to be saved from our sins! 

You must unplug the drain in your life so that the water can flow freely. Then a well of living water will spring up and carry you to newer heights in the Lord. He will be able to free you from the debris of the junk so that He is able to do what He has called you to do in your life! 

Salvation Message:

John 3:5 (Jesus’ command)

Acts 2:38 (Peter telling the people how to be saved)

You too can be saved… He is reaching for you and He is calling you out of the whale of the belly of life… Feel free to contact me for more information :)

Live With Abandon!

Live with Abandon

I don’t know what other words to use but “weird”. When you sell out to the Lord and live your life with abandon you become weird. Those people who knew you once either sees you as a threat or a liar. “Is that really you, Linda? Or are you faking your life?" So then of course you begin to doubt your heart and you cry out to the Lord, am I faking it Lord? 

I am here to tell you be weird! Live your life with abandon anyways. Your life is but a vapor and you are here but for a moment. Eternity is forever. I know that is hard to imagine but it really is forever. There are so many struggles and pains that go with living your life in abandon. But I promise you it is worth it to live your life with this purpose. It will transform your life into a life of service. And then there will be protection and favor, that comes from the Lord, when you live your life unto him wholly sold out to His purpose. 

And then you will wonder why you ever held back...

How do you sell out you may ask? The first thing I had to do was set aside all my idols. That means I had to clear the clutter from my life. It didn't come all at once and everyone has different clutter, but I promise if you ask, He will tell you. We are to set aside the things of this world and live our lives unto Him. We are to pray without ceasing. We are to mediate on the Word of God. We are to consecrate our lives to fasting. I know this sounds like the same ole and same ole.

But it really is the answer... 

You may have tried it short-term, but have you made prayer, fasting and the Word a lifestyle? You have to do it fully on purpose! It can’t be an afterthought it has to be your focus. I promise it will be painful. I promise you will want to give up. I promise you will feel alone. I promise you will hurt and cry out to God. These are all the promises I make to you, as God will begin to re-shape your life for His purpose. He will begin to peel back the onion layers by shedding your outer layer of skin. He will pour into you, your purpose in Him. His will for your life will become evident.

You will then seek to please Him with all of your actions. You will begin to see through His eyes. You will look around you and realize you have been wasting your life. There will be a passion for the lost that will come upon you. It will drive you to extremes. You will be reaching and searching everywhere you go. You will be weird I am sorry to tell you that’s just how it goes. You will be misunderstood and your good will be called into question.

But I am here to tell you the Lord will be your proof! He will fill all the broken pieces of your heart with His light and His love. He will come in a still small voice and overwhelm you with His love. He will fill your heart with a love that I really can’t even put into words. Then you will be able to share that love with others and lead them to their own life of abandon. I know I am not perfect and it is not me but Him who is in me. I give Him all the glory. You will come to a point when you realize, He really does give and take away. He is the author and finisher of your faith.

He knows right where you’re at! He died specifically at that moment in time so that He could save a man dying on the cross next to Him. Wow! He timed His death at just the exact moment to save another. So when we get discouraged and think that God doesn’t know where you’re at I promise that is just not the case. He is waiting for you to make your move towards Him so He can change your life. He told me a few weeks ago when He performed a miracle for my life on my student loans, “Linda, I can give you anything you desire. I can perform every miracle but I can’t make you move!” This means I have to make a move towards the cross. I have to change my perspective and ideas and I can only do that by living my life in full abandon at the foot of the cross.

When you live your life in abandon, He is going to call you to people and to places. He is going to require a lot out of you. But do not fear for He will not let those things come to pass until you are strong enough…

I have struggled every day since moving to where God called me. I cried out to God and have asked Him to release me from what He has shown me. I promise it is painful. You will be alone. You will doubt your actions but I promise you too if you do what He is telling you all of His promises will come to pass. Mine have not come to pass yet but that doesn't mean I don’t trust and believe Him. Who am I to mess with God’s timing? He saved the man on the cross right at the only moment that man could be saved. He has your moment, He has my moment, and He has His perfect timing. The problem we have me included, we either step away from the promise or we are too scared to pursue them. The trials get too hard or we get too carnally minded.

So we back down…

I asked the Lord to send someone else to my promise. The Lord has told me over and over. “You asked me to send another but I always sent you.”  Ouch! It is hard to be still and wait on the Lord to do His part. You will feel abandoned. You will feel lost. But I am here to tell you live your life on purpose, wait on the Lord to fulfill His purpose in His timing. Live your life with abandon! Surrender your life to a life of praise and worship. Worship Him in the storm and He will sustain you until that day and that exact moment in time He fulfills His word in your life.

When it happens it will be beautiful. It will be lovely. It will be in God’s order and His timing. Who I am is of no consequence but when I choose to live my life with abandon and take Him at His word even in the waiting I win. You too will win!!!

The end is near and the Lord is raising up an army. He is reaching for those who are willing to sell out everything to reach His people. He is raising up men and women who will answer the call no matter how much it hurts. He will sustain us all with His love. Every day will bring new miracles and wonders because you are living within the realm of our almighty God!

Will you begin today to live your life with abandon?

Today I am thankful...

Today I am thankful…

It has been a little while since I have put a blog on here but I have been pretty busy. Life here in Longview over the last several months has been mind-blowing. It seems that every step I take has been ordained from the Lord. He has blessed me with favor!

My Apartment

The newest thing in my personal life is that God blessed me with a home of my own right in the city of Longview. I was blessed to live with a lady I consider family for the first 6 months in my new state. Then by the hand of the Lord, He hand delivered me a place to live without much of a fuss in the least. The beautiful thing is that I am 4.5 miles from my job and only 3 miles from church. The moment I moved into Longview proper the Lord has opened door after door.

My Job

The next thing that God blessed me with is a new job. I work in the oil and gas industry as a data analyst. The job is right up my alley because I worked in data management for many years in Michigan at the DMV. I was just hired on completely and converted to a permanent employee. I will have full medical benefits, dental, vision etc. I have been blessed with the whole nine yards. The job is fulfilling with a lot of room for growth and flexibility. I am so excited to be a part of a team!

The Lord’s Work

The best part is the ministry that God has used me in here in Longview. The Lord has opened many doors for me to help with the homeless. As many of you know I began an endeavor in Michigan last year before the Lord opened the door for me to move to Longview. He had called me to Texas and then He said wait. While I was visiting friends and selling my new book Unfolding the Rose.

"You can order the book on this blog to the right through paypal. Or you can order on Amazon which also offers a Kindle Version"

The Lord opened the door for a job working with homeless families in the City of Longview. Needless to say I left for a week and didn't come home.

        Ministry---

It was while working with these homeless families that God has now begun to open up the door now. I have been honored and blessed to have these women contact me months later asking to come to church. I have never stopped praying for these women and their children. I have been able to bring four family units to church!!! God is on the move! One lady has been baptized, one lady is coming every week with her children, and the same lady is in a new bible study with me.

Please help me pray for doors further to be opened at the Women’s shelter. I have an open door that I am pursuing to teach a group women’s bible study in the shelter. I know that this will be another avenue that God can work a miracle in the lives of the homeless in Longview!

Bonnie getting Baptized! 

Longview First Church---

I am honored that God has allowed me to become a part of a church family that has taken me in and loved me from the start. There is nothing like walking into the doors of a church and feeling their love. I am honored and grateful for each and every one of you! I am also honored and blessed to have an amazing pastor and pastor's wife! 

Update!!! 

So excited! This past Sunday my sweet friend received the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues! There is revival in Longview! I am honored to be a part of the Lord's work. It isn't me in the least but to God be all the glory! 

She Received the Holy Ghost! 

My Bible Study :) 

Friendships!!!!!

Nanny and I. She took me and and blessed my life continually for 6 months!

I would also like to give thanks for the many friendships that God has placed in my life in the past 7 or 8 months. I have been blessed with friends who have become more than friends they have become family! Every door the Lord opens in my life is a friendship that is right on time! There are too many to name but you all know who you are! I am here for you, if ever you need me. I am not perfect and I fail often but I am blessed with all of you who love me anyways. Today I am so thankful! 

Family...

Ann and I 

Edith and I 

Faith and I 

Stacy, Sharla, and I 

Mandi and I