Brokenness

 Toiling in the garden, hoeing and digging up weeds is just up my alley. I love the challenge of transplanting a bush or plant that molds into the colorful design my mind has created. While I am clipping and pruning I cannot help but notice the mixed barrage of odors the shrubbery releases into the atmosphere. One single clip can bring forth a massive amount of challenges for your olfactory skills.

Plants have a way of communicating to us that isn’t too distant from the way we ourselves relate. When they are thriving they bloom and usually smell sweet while waving about in the sunshine. When they are clipped, they seem to rebel while giving off an offensive odor as mentioned previously. Some have said that this is the way the plant cries in relation to the crime. Others have said that the odor itself destroys other plants so many feet away. When the plant such as roses are cut and placed in water, then left by itself, sooner or later the roses become stagnant and give off the stench of death. Yet, roses love to be pruned so they can produce more blossoms. They also gobble up food as quickly as it is given. The rewards can be obvious when we count the numerous buds on one single bush.

Being totally broken is a humbling experience, even in the plant world.  I once had a Pastor friend who I admired and always said: “I never trust a man who doesn’t have a limp.”  I second that!  Many of us can easily say that because we have that storehouse of memories. We find that most of our negative reactions that we are discontent with today can be because of the selfish decisions of yesterday.  

God draws near to the broken and crushed because it is that time when we are open to receive His truth. We cannot truly be humble unless we are broken. Before a stick is broken, it bends. Only then, are we able to look up. Sometimes, a door has to be broken and beat down in order to get inside of the house. For such a time when our wound is open, our ears are open and our spirit is open and we can feel disoriented with emotional pain and the sensitivity of the damage to our souls become heightened. I believe The Holy Spirit opens up our eyes and allows us to see just how far we have fallen. Alike the plant, we give an odor as we cry out from within.

Being broken to tears has many scientific health benefits.  When we weep over our heartbreak many things begin to happen in our body, such as the release of those valiant hero’s called “endorphins” that go after the toxins in our body.  Yes, we are purged and cleansed just by our sorrow and grief.

http://www.drjudithorloff.com/Free-Articles/The-Health-Benefits-of-Tears_copy.htm

http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/blogs/7-good-reasons-cry-your-eyes-out

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-freedom/201007/the-health-benefits-tears

When our eyes tear up and physically cleanse us, we can see better.  We see the depth of our actions because we chose to humble ourselves. We chose to be honest in our heart and admit our wrong or perhaps staying in an area of our life that continues to depress and degrade the life we live. We stop lying to ourselves.  When we do this, we are at last; honest with God.

God honors broken vessels!  There are many plants that I snip off and push the stalks right back into the soil where they take root and grow. But, first they must be broken in order to force themselves to take root, be strong and know what they must do!  Yes, even the plant world is broken to be strong.

Without the scars we would not understand the battleground.

Two verses:

The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart, and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.  Psalms 34:18 amp

My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin  and humbly and thoroughly penitent] such , O God, You will not despise.  Psalms 51:17 amp

Whatever your need, when we sincerely humble ourselves before God, we experience a divine encounter.  God our Father draws near to you and listens. He hears your heart.  He sees your pain and all the wounds that are involved. He sees the people involved and all their hurts. There isn’t anything that is not uncovered in His presence. The closer you begin to draw to Him, the nearer He comes to you. Your honesty becomes a threshold of truth that will open many doors in your life; doors of forgiveness, healing and much joy.  The joy will create strength; strength to forgive that will free your spirit and you will receive your much desired healing by faith.

Where you once never danced in the Lord, you will twirl! You will sing from your soul as your spirit links with The Holy Spirits. Little do you realize that a choir of angels stand alongside you;  celebrating  your humble heart,  as the handwriting of ordinances that were held against you have been totally blotted out!

Being humbly broken can mean:

1. I was wrong and that God was right.

2. It can be admittance that there is a God after all and that Jesus is Lord.

3. It can mean that your way was not the right way after all.

4. It means a decision.

5.  A surrender.

I appreciated the way a well known Apologetic  Dr. Ravi Zacharias described brokenness.  As I can remember he was saying:

“Have you ever heard Physicians talk about a clean break in the bone? When this happens, given time and properly attended; the bone will knit perfectly back in alignment. A clean break aptly describes the separation from God because of sin. Yet, this clean break can be knit back in perfect alignment once again when perfect attendance is ministered.”  

Today, right where you are at; The Holy Spirit is blowing upon your heart and saying: “Come back child, to that which you know is truth. Give yourself to me this day and I will take you the rest of the way.”

Pray:

Heavenly Father,

Forgive me. I realize that I have made such a mess of my life. I need You and do not know how to pray or what to do. Please forgive me my sins [confess your sins] . I want to be born-again, a new person in Christ.  Show me and help me Lord to walk the straight path. I need to know how to love. Give me strength, I need your strength. Open up my eyes so I can see your truth. Set me free. Send me your messengers to help me grow. I believe and accept that Jesus is Lord. Direct my ways. I choose to walk by faith and not by sight. I choose to trust you with everything that is inside of me. Thank you Lord.  amen.

If you have prayed that prayer, please buy a Bible so you can begin reading and studying. Find a good Bible believing Church to meet those who have walked through this same porthole you just walked through. There are no shortcuts to glory. Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life…no one comes to the Father except through Him.

God Bless You

Pray for the Body of Christ

I am going to climb into the picture that I have posted and walk in the snow for awhile.

Pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

We praise your name and call you the Holy one of Israel! Blessed is your name. We are thankful we can freely come to you. We ask that you would forgive us for taking things for granted. Thank you for your love that you have so lovingly given to us and our loved ones. Forgive us. Thank you for your mercy that comes to us every new morning. We ask that you would remove all stains from our hearts that we are not aware of and we thank you for that.

We lift up your precious Body of Christ Lord. We ask that your Holy Spirit would touch those who agree with this prayer. We ask that you would intervene where they need healing. You said that healing is ours and that if we pray believing that it is done, it is done. We thank you ahead of time. Comfort those who need consoling and refill them with the faith they need to get through this time of testing. Strengthen your people Lord. Make ready your army to be a bold beautiful Bride that is fearless and one who stands upon your Word in any situation that comes up. We thank you Father for preparing us for this day. Thank you Father for giving us your sword and knowing your angels are all around us and are going before us and making the way.

Thank you for giving us this day! A beautiful day! Thank you for the rain!

In your son we pray..amen

Pray by faith

If we aren't careful, we will step into the season to reason ourselves into a worry caused by assuming. What if this happens or that?

But, what did Jesus say?

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 Also read Mark 11:24, 25

Whatever we pray for we must believe that we have received it, and that it will be ours. Can we believe that our request is already done? Start thanking our Father today and expect to see it in the physical. Expect every minute and hour every day to see the outcome of our prayer. Look for it! Walk around the corner and seek it! Talk to people and listen! Read the word! Speak the word and pray the word! Watch for the entrance of your answer! Things always happen in the spiritual realm first before they are manifested in the physical.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your promises. We thank you how we can request our deepest desires to you and then know you have answered. We ask, you listen and hear our hearts and nod. Thank you for giving us this faith and for showing us the right way to walk. We choose to follow you above all. We choose to trust in you, your guidance and direction in our lives. Thank you for always listening, always being right here and never leaving us. Thank you for your great love. In Jesus we pray,

Pray for Israel

We pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. We pray for completeness. We pray that peace would be on Israel! Shalom aleikhem! 
We lift up the nation of Israel today and ask that your angels would continue to guard that nation from the east, west, north and south. We ask Oh Father that you would keep your people completely safe. Watch over them, continue to give them your wisdom to do this. I ask that we would heed what their rulers say during this time and follow through upon their instructions. Open up eyes that need to be opened and ears that cannot hear. Thank you for speaking to your people. Thank you Father..in your son's Jesus we pray.

Be thankful and be strong

Hold fast the faith that has been given to you! You are stronger than you think!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the freedom of being able to pray to you at anytime, even here on the internet. This morning we thank you for insight, for opening up our eyes continually so we an see the other side, the purpose of your actions. We thank you for strengthening us in those weak spots in our lives.

I ask for continual safety for those who read this and agree with me; for their families and their friends. Keep them sharp and alert while they drive back and forth. Help them renew their minds in your love, your strength and your wisdom. We ask that you would bring the auto-recall in their minds upon the things they have studied, to know what to say and make the right decision in you. We ask that you would place your ideas of blessings in these hearts, so they will be able to bless you and give you glory.

Thank you Lord,
amen

Small praise prayer

Praise prayer

Heavenly Father we praise you because you are the only one true God. We praise you because you first loved us before we even knew you. We praise you because you are holy and we give you honor. We give you praise because you are the only one that is worthy to be praised. We lift up your name in our hearts, our soul, our minds and in our spirits. We praise you and love you Lord. We say, "I will bless the Lord with all my soul, with all my heart and with all my mind. Everything within us will bless the Lord and give praise to him! As we go out and come back in we sing "glory to your name Oh Lord."
Selah

Can you accept correction?

“For whom the Lord loved He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Proverbs 3:12”

“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:2

The exciting thing about receiving correction is that it is all for our benefit. Every time we accept a word regarding improvement, God gives the nod; opens the door and we are blessed; because we chose to follow it through and be obedient. We are blessed because we accept the correction from our Father. Faith accepts in love. Doubt accepts fear. One keeps you moving, the other will keep you paralyzed.

Nations are corrected but few accept this honor. Being corrected is an honor because when you are corrected you know that God our Father is still moving upon your behalf. Are you listening America? We are as a young spoiled brat unwilling to admit; we will do anything to continue to do things in our way instead of God’s way.  Even dogs are corrected and are blessed. If a nation has become so prideful and spoiled and will not humble itself;  God will humble that nation.

Whether you are young or older, there will always be words of correction given to you. Be open to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying in your life.  Every time we accept His truth, we draw nearer to God's light and see His will clearer.

Morning Prayer:

Precious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for sending those that can see things that we cannot see and hear things that we cannot hear. Thank you for your correction’s today. We thank you for your continual divine link that you have given to your people. You are always here. We can call upon you at any time and know without any doubt; you are listening. We thank you for your deep love and for hearing all of our prayers. We thank you for direction. We thank you that it is your will for us to be in that place of rest and trust in you in every area of our lives. Thank you for the honor of being corrected in every area of our lives. Keep us tightly in the palm of your hands. We speak to our souls this morning and say “Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within us! We bless your Holy Name.” Amen. 

We get pictures of the Kingdom of God

I was walking on the beach about a week ago, or was it two weeks ago? Time seems to chase us in some kind of vengeful pursuit from week to week. The sun was shining and the sand was warm and I was thinking once again upon the goodness of God.

Just ahead was the most beautiful Blue Heron standing by the seashore. I have no doubt he was looking for his breakfast. Tall and stately, I would have to pass by him and thought about his options as I neared.  I figured he could fly at me, fly away, walk away or stay put. I prayed he would choose the latter. As I approached him and had the thrill of only being about 3 feet away from him, I marveled over his beauty and his bravery. When I slowly walked about 10 feet away I wanted to jump up and shout with excitement over what had happened. Once again I had the good pleasure of experiencing the goodness of God and His coming kingdom right here on earth.

The heron knew I was there, but he must have sensed I would do him no harm. Can you imagine a world where you will always be able to walk by these gentle giants without them flying away? A place where cats play with squirrels and a dog befriend deer and a small child able to play with a snake? We are given the reality of the new world coming to the earth. Could it be compared to a musical? Our hearts sing. It is easy to continually see the dark side, as we are bombarded with bad news daily.  Why not concentrate on the lighter side? The side that warms your heart and draws you closer to God.  Jesus is Lord!

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." Re. 11:15

Cash, Slow computers and Weak coffee.

Cash and dawdling computers can be as hectic and frustrating as weak coffee. I feel hopeless. Am I entranced in a trance? Did I eat the wrong thing?  I am obsessive with saving some of my dearest life’s treasures inside the pages of books or neatly folded into little boxes and then, securing them into a safe place. Never to be found again! Gone!  Where’d they go? As I gaze upon our bookshelves I wonder, what book was it? Better yet, what did I save?   

I refuse to spend the money to get a new computer when this one only takes a couple of hours to warm up.  I can have that cup of weak coffee while I am waiting, right? Maybe the water was too weak. Maybe the water was watered down.  Hey! We are starting the day out good! If weak coffee insults your brain cells, I have nothing to lose.

Outside of all that, I’ve discovered that everyone is looking for the real deal of a lifetime to stretch the dollar. This happened to me! One bright sunny dandy day I was at the right time at the right place! I was ecstatic, this was my day!  This was back in the time before people stopped wearing slips and panty hose. I boldly walked into a factory and bought 12 pairs of panty hose for only a dollar! I was so jubilant I felt the earth had shifted on its axis.  Next Sunday I had one of my prized panty hose on in church and while shaking hands and smiling; I felt a pop in the mesh of the hose, then another pop and another then felt the material widen over my legs.  This was a happy day! What are you going to say in church, but continue to sing; all is well?  

My real deal wasn’t so real after all.

But isn’t that the way life is? We think something is real, but we learn that “nothing is ever as it seems.”  That includes the pot of coffee.

Through it all:  

“For thou wilt light my candle; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.” Ps.18:28

We are walking Miracles

I can always tell when it is a full moon, because I toss and turn all night long. During this time, I drag myself up; look at the clock and leap back in bed. Yes I really do leap.  I am an early riser, but draw the line at 3:30! I can get up at 4:30 because I justify it by thinking; “well, it is really 5:30 because of the time change and that means it is almost 6:00. The lines of justifying and stretching the truth can be like a rubber band during a full moon. Like some kind of magic wand the moon light once again sprinkles its hypnotic rays into my bedroom. I lay wide awake with eyes closed, hoping that sleep will overtake me.  My cat Funstable re-snuggles into his comfort zone once again and I begin to replay the past,  dive into the present and reason the future. I pray a little bit and my thoughts lean towards those who are walking in faith and are speaking to the mountains in their lives to be removed.

Every person I know is struggling with something.

In the present I think, “I will sleep by faith!”  But the mysterious Luna activity swirls about the room like a phantom, landing inside of my head. Then, I think; “I will get up and write!” Now, I begin to argue with myself. On it goes.    

We get God’s attention when we step out in faith, even when we fall flat, on our noses.  Although your obedience may not be seen in the physical yet, your actions will be rewarded in His timing; not ours. Listen!  I can almost hear our Father say: “See there! That’s my boy!  That’s my girl!”  We may have stepped out and crashed but our Father honored our obedience, love and faith in Him and smiled and even applauded!  

Think about it for just a minute. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior there was a big celebration because your name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Be that walking inspiration that can bring hope in the hearts of those around you. Run to encourage! Run to pray for those that hurt! Run to bless! Run to love! Run to give! Be that faith-walking celebration of your yesterdays, today and tomorrow. We are walking miracles!

“But without faith: it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” He. 11:6

Look behind the hello's

I believe we are given, incredible power in our lives when we purposefully look behind the thin layer of "hello's" and see the goodness of God working in the lives around us.

Would you like to pray with me this morning?

Heavenly Father,

We are so thankful you have given us choices: To see goodness or not so good. We can build strong houses or unstable houses. We can cast our cares upon you or we can keep them in our hearts and continue to fret. We can hand pick what we want to believe and live our lives in your love or we can choose to listen to other voices. We can put you first in faith or we can fight it with doubt. We can choose to hear what you say or we can close the book. Because of you, we can choose to live a life of love instead of fear. We ask that you would forgive our hearts of any doubt, any unbelief, wrong words, wrong motives, selfishness, pride, ego, and most important any love that we do not give away. Point us in the directions of those who need your love and give us the understanding and know how to scatter it in ways that will bring glory to you.
Thank you Father, in Your Son.
amen

Your gift is special

As I see it, all colors are neutral. I have yet to see a wrong colored flower that does not go with the adjoining blooms on other plants. The Creator’s hand knew what He was doing when he designed all those gorgeous colors.  Even though we have been hand selected and are privileged to live in this eye candy colored world, the majority of the population chooses to retreat into Sahara beige when they go inside their homes. Beige sofas, walls, curtains, carpets and even beige colored ceramic tile. We get excited when we accessorize with brown, wine or even turquoise.   

Masses of unobtrusive beige and gray cars seem to remind us that we are unable to express ourselves by color.  Inexpensive tones of white, gray, black and beige paint allows their companies to make more money from us, yet; these colors are more dangerous on the highway because they are less likely to be seen. 

Why do we feel we have to be like everyone else, when the truth is; we are not?  Take two flowers of the same kind; they both grow up together side by side. When you closely examine them, you realize that although they both came from the same seeds, no two is completely identical. 

That is the way it is with us.

Not one of us is common place, but unique and original. Yes, they really did throw away the mold when they created you. 

Think about the gifts that God has given to you. Now, think about the one gift that is the strongest gateway to your heart.  Every time you are obedient and use that gift, you are touching a soul. Because we are a people who tend to label everything and measure importance by size, it could be easy to mistakenly think: “the only thing I am good at is being a mother, or all I can do right is clean my home, I get along with animals, I garden well and on it goes. “  

Let’s take a look at those comments:

Gifting as a mother means that you are raising godly troopers that will grow up to carry others over the finish line. This also means that they may never know just how many people they affect for Christ. I hope you are seeing this most important godly link in your life.

Gifting towards animals means that you understand them supernaturally; when they communicate; you know what they are saying.  Because of this, you understand their moods and if they feel sick. Due to natural understanding, training is easy.

Gifting as cleaning means that this has become easy for you, as you know where to begin, what to throw out, have a place for everything and will know the exact time you complete your job.

Gifting with gardening is understanding the soil, the different plants, seeds and knowing when a plant is unhappy and why. This type of gardening involves an unusual empathy as the gardener delights to see the bees pollinating, the herbs growing and making sure everything is run in the natural way that God intended. Happy plants mean happy and  healthy people.

Not everyone has these gifts.

Not everyone can teach, preach, play drums or blow a saxophone, trumpet or flute. One has the grace of a swan and is a ballerina. The other is fixing pipes in the basement so when she dances; it won’t flood. Which is most important?

We all work together.

The only gift that is above ours is the gift that God gave us of Grace for our salvation. Find your Bible and read Ephesians chapter 2.

No matter what your gifting is, you are admired for it. In fact, people will identify you according to your gifting. Do you love color? Wear it with a big splashy sloppy smile!  

I challenge you today to step out of your safety net and accessorize with beige! J

Be that city!

What is it about November that I love! I seem to be able to meditate better. That is, before I moved back to the sunny south. Gray dismal days with damp leaves squeaking at every step. So much beauty! So gray, yet so beautiful. A time to kick back and think about the greatness of what God our Creator has given to us.

Do you realize just how blessed we really are?

The things in our lives that seem so big, are really small and the small things we ignore are big things waiting to happen so we can be a blessing to those around us.

I was visiting with a good friend today and she is a very strong believer and had her job for a little over 20 years and the "powers that be" are trying to push her out of her job in a very nasty way. She is an excellent worker, faithful, devoted and professional. She was crying as she confided in me.

My response was:

Darkness never could get along with light, because light exposes. Darkness has an assignment, just like light. She is part of their assignment. We all have assignments while we are living in this life time. She is to remember that it is all a spiritual problem.

As the old saying goes "hold your friends close and your enemies closer."

Those that are serious about the Lord will always have an enemy. Mt. 10:22

I prayed for exposure. That all the deeds of this darkness would be exposed publicly. (political situation)

We are indeed light, like the city upon a hill that cannot be hid.

Be that city!

Good News

http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/evangelism-missions/14442-when-musiims-see-jesus

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