Walk of Faith "Part II"

 The COVID Mountain, The Third Mountain

     This mountain caught me by surprise! I had been quarantined for months! Because of the Stem-Cell process, I expected to be on quarantine for around a year just as a general part of recovery, that was something I had started before Corona/Covid19 had started! 

     Now I started dealing with a new set of symptoms, I still thought this was part of the recovery and maybe I had just backslidden or something? My symptoms were kind of echos of the same thing, but with a slight variation. I was more clear-minded now, I could consider what I was dealing with instead of just trying to survive! I realized I was "chilling" and then we took my temperature and found I was running a fever (not a good thing in my position!). We checked the fever rating a total of four times to make sure we weren't in error, then called our home health care nurse and informed her of the elevated fever I was running. Her immediate advice was "Go to the hospital!". At this point, I was weak enough that I had fallen when I tried to get ready to go and we had to get help from my son and daughter in law to get me up from the floor, down the stairs, and into the backseat of the car to lay down for the trip to the hospital.

     At the hospital, Lane went to the door to let them know our situation. They took his temperature but still wouldn't let him in the hospital building, but followed him to the car when they were suited up to receive me! I was put in a wheelchair and rolled away from my covenant partner! Even physically wiped out that is a hard thing to go through, it was my second time of having to be separated like this! 

     In the Emergency Room of the hospital, I was taken great care of, I became a patient of this hospital quickly! I was gowned, blood tests, X-rays, Covid19 test, everything they needed to do to access my health status was put in action, it really was reassuring! I was in a fever mind stupor, it felt good to know I was under clear-minded steps! It was soon decided that I was at least dealing with Pneumonia but they weren't sure if they were keeping me or sending me back to the Stem-Cell hospital for them to deal with me. I carried my own complications from the Stem-Cell Transplant that concerned them. When they were out of the room I started praying and then I decreed that I would not be sent back to that other hospital! It felt like the choice of being sent back to a death trap to me! I decreed in Jesus' name I would stay at this hospital and that they would treat me and I would recover! I could feel God in this decree! It was not just me, I was speaking the Lord's authority over the situation! Thank You, Lord! They kept me and moved me upstairs, that was a mountain I climbed, Faith decreed over the situation!

Faith won the battle!

     Upstairs I was set up as a more permanent patient than ER goes through, I had a room of my own, a bed not a gurney, second-floor armbands, nurses with routines, time frames, it was a comfort! I was still so weak that I had to be helped anytime I needed to step away from the bed. Weak as a kitten comes to mind! But the Lord was sending me people constantly, encouragers, interceders, compassionate nurses, people speaking words from the Lord that I needed to hear! Hour by hour I started gaining life! I was given IV's with hydration that was building me back up, hydration is so important! 

     I had been told that my COVID test would take a few days to come back, surprise it came back quickly! I tested positive! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! I knew I would test negative, I had not been anywhere to get it! We had been so careful! I had been quarantined when other people were out living their lives! NO, NOT KIDDING!!

     I started crying, where was my Faith walk right now? I did cry for just a few moments but then I was reminded that the Lord had already carried me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and if He needed to, He would do it again! He has given me a purpose and a calling and I have not completed it yet! I have asked Him to not let me leave my assignments unfulfilled! I do not want to stand in front of Him in Heaven and try to have an excuse for not doing the things He gave me to do! The Holy Spirit reminded me that the Lord was with me and had not forsaken me, the tears dried up and I pulled myself away from the fleshly thoughts, I do want to mention

the gift I had in a Godly worker that encouraged me, she would say so quietly "He is with You", "He has this", "He is saving you"...I almost thought I didn't hear her but my spirit did and it grabbed those lifelines! 

     However, the Lord had an encounter with me when I closed my eyes to try to sleep. Tears started shooting, I mean SHOOTING out of my eyes! It took my breath away! I had been able to stuff everything down, but sometimes like now, I still needed that special visitation from the Lord! He told me I had climbed the mountain of "Stem-Cell Transplant" but that now I was climbing 2 more mountains, the second mountain was Pneumonia and the third was Covid19. He told me there was a purpose to this and to pull the courage and strength up around myself. He had instructed me in the beginning that I was to request prayer for strength and Courage, not healing! I was already healed but that I would need strength and courage on this path, I asked for Peace also, Spiritual Peace! The Lord told me that new Altitudes of His authority would be reached by climbing these higher mountains. Knowing that there was a purpose and reward at the end of the mountain climbing struggle really helped my vision and understanding.

     So to condense this one encounter, the Lord let me release all the tears of fear and confusion that I had squashed, showed me a purpose, and replaced the tears with Peace, Courage, and Strength, Remember, this is what we had prayed for, right! I did not sleep all of this night, but My Walk of Faith was in place! and then.....

     The very next day, one of the nurses mentioned I had brown COVID lines show up in the CatScan they had done. Boom! More tears! How can you deny medical facts? Brown lines in my lungs! Are You Kidding ME! NO, no kidding! but I was ready faster this time, The Lord is in control, this is not a surprise to Him, He's the Lord of each mountain I've climbed, He has carried me when I could not walk myself....Walk in Faith, not by sight, brown lines do no matter to Him! I am the healed! Pull up Strength and Courage! I have realized now that when you

have those first two, Peace is the natural by-product. 

     The Lord has revealed so much of Himself to me through these three mountain climbing experiences and through the people, He has brought to me. People have prayed for me, I have prayed for them, these are not chance encounters. We are entering a season and battle that we are going to be needing each other in a whole new way. We need to be prepared to pray for our brothers and sisters that are just passing through our lives, not just the people we've to know our whole lives. Pray Strength and Courage for each other! Do not fear, the Lord's Kingdom needs your participation! You were created for such a time as this! 

     This is not just about are you going to Heaven, this is about whether you are completing the assignments you've been given! Go into all the world and make disciples! Yes, we want people saved, but then Jesus said to make disciples! He didn't say come be saved, He said behold the Kingdom of God is at hand! We have been given so much of His authority to walk in, but it is according to our Faith, Faith is a free gift from God, ask for more of it! He will strengthen your faith and you will need to take it and grow in it! You will need to be available to walk in it! But if you want to carry the authority to change the world you will have to live and breathe it daily! 

Faith Walk!

Walk of Faith "Part I"

      I have been on an extreme walk or path of faith for almost a year now, by the time you hear this it may have been more than a year, you know our words go on through eternity! 

     I am currently laying in a hospital bed disappointed I wasn't able to set up a face time call with my husband, but that means I was given the opportunity to write my testimony. I don't need wi-fi for that! I was admitted to the hospital this time on September 19 because I had started running a fever and for someone in my situation a fever was a dangerous thing. But to keep from getting ahead of the full path walk that is my testimony I'm going to back up and start in 2019.

     For a few years, I have dealt with a health problem that several doctors and other medical experts were not able to help me with. I was told everything from the idea that I was depressed to the idea I was just getting old and would have to deal with the slow-down of my strength and energy. I did receive some medical treatments that no doubt would have helped if they were the sole issue but there was a deeper problem that none of them dug deep enough to find. I do have to admit I probably did appear depressed, I was grieving the loss of my mother, but that was in addition to what I was losing of myself! I knew I appeared as a woman facing life after "mid-life", to put it delicately! But this weariness was beyond normal aging, one of the current nurses I have dealt with in the last couple of days has told me I'm a fighter and I told her "yes, I am", I was not willing to just accept I was getting older and tired! I knew the Lord has things for me to do and this was not the time for me to lay down and take a nap! (even though I would have enjoyed that nap!)

     I found a doctor, I really believe the Lord led me to. This doctor was an internalist and she is like a Pitbull when she gets hold of a problem! She is good to her patient, but she goes after the problem! She was just changing her practice to work in her hometown down the road from my hometown. I had heard enough good reports about her that I set up the appointment with her. She requested blood work and lab tests to be run to look into the complaints that I had given her as my reason for my appointment. The blood work came back with suspicious questions but the test she had given me a “yucky” test to complete at home, it was one I easily put on a shelf and tried to forget. I finally completed it but not really to my best ability! I did not want to be involved in that yucky test! I returned it but drug my feet long enough it was not effective! I had to pick up supplies and do it again. This time I put it off until I saw the end of my "yearly deductible" about to hit time to start over, so I made myself get this test done before I had to pay another deductible! 

     I took the samples that they requested, causing her office to call me back to set up another appointment before that day was over! I went back the next day and had another blood test run and was advised I needed to go to the hospital immediately for a blood transfusion! Every time I seem to get a word like this my automatic response seems to be "Are you kidding me!?" and I can tell you now after all of this time they usually are not kidding!

     So I arranged to go to the hospital and receive a four-hour transfusion that would bring my blood count back up to a survival level, evidently, I was dangerously low in the parts that carried the life-giving oxygen to different parts of your body. 

     Part of me was not surprised by these turns of events, I had been in a conversation with my husband and had shared with him that I felt like I had been caught in an "undertow" that was pulling me away from life! We had lived at the beach so this was a very real thing we recognized, an undertow is powerful! Now I was being shown what caused the undertow that I was experiencing. 

     After my blood tests, transfusion, and other less desirable test results were examined I was given my diagnosis over the phone, but being a big chicken I was not able to put a name on it for my husband, I told him it was a blood disorder, which it was but at that point I knew a little bit more but I was not able to put the name on it that would cause him a deeper level of pain. The next day we went into the doctor's office and she gave the stomach punch diagnosis that I should have tried to soften, I was diagnosed with a blood cancer. My own bone marrow was trying to destroy the blood cells before they were able to do their life bringing job. (Isn't that just like our enemy? (wanting to destroy life!)

     Anyway, that began a dedicated walk of Faith for us! Lane and I know we are healed, through Jesus' stripes! Isaiah 53:5 but we also know that sometimes our faith has to be "walked out" spoken of as we know it is, not as it currently appears. Hebrews 11:1

     This new dedicated walk of Faith was a new maturity growth step for us and there are times when the Lord lets you surround yourself with prayer warriors but there are times you step out on the path with Him and Him alone. Remember when Jesus went into the desert after His baptism? It was Him and the Holy Spirit. This was a path for Lane and myself, we did share with a very few people that really needed to know, but it was very few! We probably appeared more like Hansel and Gretel wandering around than 2 of God's disciples, but we followed His path to the best of our abilities! We prayed we listened to doctors, we took each step we were advised to after praying about them. We already "knew" I was healed but how many steps did I need to go through to complete this path? We started regular blood work tests and chemo treatments, as chemo started I had to pull out of my regular activities because my immunity was being destroyed. We tried to be quiet in our steps but our Spiritual Family is a very loving family and it is hard to slip away from, so we shared I had a blood disorder I was being treated for. That bought more time and we naively thought we'd be done with this in a few months....let me tell you a faith walk can stretch out a long way! 

     The chemo treatments turned out to be more than a few months, they turned into 5-6 months, with me isolated at home, still sharing this path with very few people, but sharing it constantly with the Lord! Then we learned the whole point of this 5 to 6-month treatment was to prepare my body for the next step! "Are you kidding me!?!" No, they weren't kidding! 

     The next step was way more difficult and a length of time would be involved that made 5 to 6 months look easy! The next step could be a year!! Are you kidding me!!  NO! No kidding!! And still no release from the Heavenly Father to share this path with our Spiritual Family or physical family! I truly believe that He put it on some people's hearts to pray for us even though we weren't free to share it, He speaks to a lot of people, especially His intercessory prayer warriors!

     During all of this part of our path, a new enemy came to America, Covid-19. I kind of felt caught on a tightrope with an umbrella and a hurricane whipping up around me between the chemo and COVID-19. I was given the next step of the treatment, it was called a "Stem-Cell Transplant". At first, I was really concerned that the doctor had brought me to a point that I might have to reject immediately, I was aware that aborted baby parts were used in some medical procedures, this was a line I would not cross. My Oncologist Dr assured me I would use my own stem-cells and none others!

     I was really happy in that knowledge but blessedly blind to the process of harvesting my own stem-cells! Talking to my Oncologist Dr I was recommended to the Stem 

Cell Procedure Dr. in Oklahoma City. That meant an appointment at OU Medical in Oklahoma City. It is a prestigious Clinic, recommended by my Chemo Dr. 

     Lane and I prayed and followed the path to this next step. However, facing the Hurricane of CoronaVirus(COVID-19) we prayed an extra, extra lot about this. We both had to be in agreement, yes or no! This was a path for both husband and wife, not just one or the other. We had taken every step together and this would be the same. I did have nurses tell me that it was for me and that I had to do what was good for me, but as a Christian Couple, Lane and I are one! It had to work for both of us. We did pray and we felt the Lord had brought us to this and that the Corona Virus was not an issue to stop us at this point, there would be no "knowing" when it wouldn't be an issue and I had prepared for this next step for over 6 months now! We agreed to move forward! Path of Faith! 

     

Chapter 2 Stem-Cell-Transplant We called and arranged our information appointment at the Medical Center that would coordinate and perform the whole procedure. This did have a very surreal feeling to it in the fact that everyone was required to wear masks just to talk about going through a procedure that would remove every ounce of my immunities to any disease I had ever dealt with and we were wearing masks to deal with a new virus that nobody had immunities too! We were overcome with all of the info that the doctor and his team were giving us. Overcome with info overload and innocent ignorance we took the info they gave us and went home to pray about this choice ahead of us. The doctor's advice from both of the leading doctors we were dealing with was this Stem-Cell Transplant was the best and only choice for me. Facing that info and praying we did not get any hold back from God, it was time to move. The Stem-Cell Transplant process can be searched out and read about but let me tell you, it should not be entered lightly! The process changes so much about you, it can not be predicted how you will react. Their purpose is to delay any return of the Cancer that you fought. They can give you percentages of how likely that will be, but the side effects of the Chemo that is involved in the whole Transplant process can not be predicted. They test every aspect of your health and will not allow you to go through the process if they do not feel you are capable of surviving it and that is about what you are told, you will survive, oh, and you will lose your hair and feel horrible. I can tell you, all of that is quite true! I did survive the process, although at times I would have debated with you if I was alive. My hair almost melted instead of just falling out, but it did both, melted and fell. As I went through the process my self fulfilling body functions became the only part of me that kept going. I could not drag myself out of the hospital bed, I could not eat, could not drink, could not take any medicine by mouth....but I did pray when I was coherent. I prayed that I was under the Father's Wing and that He would protect me and keep me safe. I could see myself as a little helpless girl pulled back under His wing as far I could pull back! And protect me He did! The Doctor highly recommended me being sent home early to prevent a Hospital Pneumonia, which I have learned since then is an issue they do struggle with! I had felt that I was being drug through hell and just wanted out of there anyway. I was in a facility that did not do well caring for an individual that didn't fit with their program and that was me! After talking to Lane and even though we both knew I was not ready to be released to be cared for at home we agreed I was going home! I just wanted out of that hospital! It felt more like an escape than a hospital release! I had not been able to see Lane during all of this time because of the CoronaVirus Quarantine, and towards the end I was too sick to really talk to him on the phone for any length of time. The hospital was giving me pain medication and stress medication to relieve my pain and allow me to sleep. I just wanted out of there, whether I was ready to be at home or not seemed like it wasn't the issue. I had to escape that place before it was too late! After arriving home the couch was the furthest destination I was able to attain. I laid down and passed out. I really am not aware of even all of the rest of the details before there were some home health care people called in, I was told they did not expect me to live, but God did!! He was still protecting that little girl under His wing! I know Lane was tortured trying to do everything He was advised to do but yet he was still facing seeing his wife on the couch wondering if she would even live! I will ask him to write some for this area! ******* I do remember being woken up and moved to the backseat of our car, I think I know what a zombie in the movies feels like! I was moved to a local hospital where they moved quickly to save my life! It makes me cry now because I know God was in control and He put all of this in action, but these people were His instruments used to save that girl that looked to Him for safety! They had to move quickly to get me hydrated, to get my body functions moving correctly again! IVs were started, nurses stepped in, I was revived! It took almost a week to get me back on my feet, but they did it! I heard my first Doctor was the one that found my diagnosis was the one that stepped in and put me in the hospital and turned the whole downward spiral back into climbing towards life! I told you she went after a disease like a PitBull! She also fights for her patients, I know that she is definitely an important woman that the Lord uses in His battles against the schemes of the enemy. You know the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy, so you can see how valuable a Christian Doctor is to the Lord! Yes, the Lord does do miracles but He also uses people to perform His work! Anyway, this team of wonderful people was used to drag me back from the brink of death. When the first nurse that came to our house told me that she did not expect me to survive, the Lord showed me a Spiritual picture of myself and Him. It was a picture that went with Psalm 23, Yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death....except He was carrying me! I could not in my own strength walk anywhere, especially through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but when I could no longer walk, He carried me and I came out the other side, alive, still with a long path of Faith to walk out, but now I knew I had my part to do, but when I couldn't do anymore, He would carry me and/or bring His people to me that would minister. He had told me through a word in the beginning that this was "Not unto Death" my part was to walk it out by faith. I do need to admit even though I have walked it out in faith I have cried plenty of tears and plenty of "Pity Parties!" I'm not proud of them and I want to have those things out of my life but my flesh still has weak moments! After the recovery time at the local hospital, I reached a point that my Doctor felt I was able to go home and start my "After Stem-Cell Transplant" life and that's exactly what I did. I went home and moved into a small area of bed, restroom, and recliner where I spent my time. Daily I was trying to get some muscle strength back. Surprisingly it was a challenge to get myself into our bed, we had to arrange a stepstool and strap handle for me to manage this with! It turned out that some of my muscles were dealing with partial paralysis, my legs weren't quite working right! As they have woken up bit by bit I realize there are some muscles that I am going to have to work very hard to wake up, but I realize this is a walk of faith, and my faith is that the Lord will help me walk everywhere I need to go! If I am unable to walk there He may opt to carry me, but I really believe by the time this is over, I will be restored to Whole! I am the healed! His word promises it and I stand on that promise! Now onto the next Chapter~ Covid-19 Chapter 3 Covid-19 Are You Kidding Me?! No!! After slowly increasing in appetite and strength, and I do mean slowly something started not feeling right! Remember I have been in quarantine for months and months! I never dreamed I would be someone exposed to Corona/Covid-19! Within a short time, all of the appetite I had tried to build up to eat an egg a day and maybe a cup of soup was gone, the food smelled bad, looked bad, tasted bad, I could not even begin to eat it, the very things I had been learning to live on! Because I couldn't eat or drink I couldn't take my prescriptions either, all the things I needed to do to grow stronger and healthier were quickly growing out of my reach! I have become very in tune with stages in my body now, the reactions I have to different things in my world! One morning I woke up and didn't want to get out of bed, so I didn't. That was a bad reaction for me to give in to, something was definitely going wrong! Continued on next page~

Carry or Struggle?

 People think the Lord will carry them through all of their trials~

     He won't. 

Some trials are for us to struggle through and thereby grow stronger! When we do find a trial that is too great for us He will strengthen us and then when we have struggled with the last ounce of our own strength  He will carry us, but we have to put our own effort into the struggles first before we start looking for Him to carry us.  

Uncomfortably Arranging =D

     I've recently been in a situation where I encountered a person that was busily trying to do everything "right". They had to get the environment "right" and chatted nonstop about themselves. They were actually there to see to my wellbeing but their business caused issues with how I was actually doing. This was used as a lesson from the Lord for me. I also tend to try to get everything "right" and have to ask myself to what expense for other people? Do I consider only myself? And we can stretch this a bit further and say for the Lord's bride,  "Are we trying to serve others or are we trying to get things arranged the way we think they should be?".
     I have more questions than answers right now, so think through this with me and ask yourself "Am I here to serve others or to uncomfortably "arrange" things? Am I trying to look like everything is right with me or am I trying to serve others?" I could go on, but you probably get the idea, in the Kingdom, it's not about me, it's about serving "others".<3 p="">

What Can the Church Give the World?

   I had a dream~ I was in a large facility, it reminded me of a bus station where people were coming and going. In the facility there were sleeping bags laid out on the floor that appeared to be where different people claimed it as their own space. People had different objects in their spaces that showed each one was different. Most people walked around the spaces and a few carelessly kicked some of the things, not purposely, just carelessly. 
   As I walked through the area I noticed that most of the people were young men of all different appearances. Everyone seemed to move in the area without interfering with the others but they were not "friendly" either. I did not feel any violence or fear myself, but I felt the young men had a "live and let live" tension among them.
   Moving towards the exit door one of the young men stopped me by touching my arm, I knew he wanted something but I wasn't sure what, so I stood patiently as he spoke to another young man. As their conversation ended he turned to me like I was the one starting the conversation, then he realized he was the one reaching out and touching me and that he wasn't really sure why he had done this! He was surprised that he had really grasped my arm and was keeping me there. He told me that he didn't know why he had stopped me and I realized it was a moment to speak to him about God. As is the habit of many Christians I started to say something like "God loves you!" but the Lord stopped me. In that moment I realized that telling him that God loved him would have no effect whatsoever! The world has heard that "God loves them" so much, they are numb to it. 
    It was easy to see that he was looking for something more than himself, that he needed more than the "cliche" the church is guilty of giving. The words that the Lord formed in my mouth were that "God is Mighty and Powerful, He is the great Creator of all things and that He is always ready for us to turn and recognize Him." This young man needed to know that there is a force beyond himself. A force powerful enough to change his world. A force that will fill the emptiness in his life. He needed to know the power of Yahweh.

3 Doors to Shut!

There has been a spirit of "deception" that has been running rampant in our world for quite a few years and it has opened a door for its partner, "fear", to come in and operate through the Corona Pandemic. That spirit of "fear" that has entered across the Earth has opened the door for other spirits to be loosed now also. A spirit of "hatred" has now come in through the open door.
We can see that people that don't know the Lord can be susceptible to these spirits, but as God's body we are not to be! We are the watchers on the wall! We are to rebuke these spirits and close the doors and gates!
How do we do this? To remove deception seek and share only the truth, that will battle "deception". If you share things on social media make certain that you are remembering to share "truth". Yes, that means you have to research it before you share it. Scripture tells us we will be held accountable for careless words and if you share things that are not true you have left a door open in your world for "deception" to enter freely. Spoken words and electronic messages have to be examined carefully, let your words be "Truth and Truth only". We have also been given the authority to bind and remove the spirits of the enemy, this authority was given to us from Jesus our Lord! So deal with the spirit of deception in this way. "Spirit of deception I bind you from manifesting in my life! I send you to the foot of the cross! In Jesus' name and through His blood. Go Now!"
Next, we have to deal with the spirit of "fear". You don't have to listen long to hear it speaking through so many people today! Especially our News sources. Do not give in to "fear", it is a bully that plays on even the smallest fear you may show. The Lord has spoken to us directly about this spirit! He tells us He has not given us a spirit of fear! You need to realize that you can not walk in faith if you are giving in to fear, they are in direct opposition for your attention and soul. Kick this spirit out now! "Spirit of fear, I bind you from manifesting in my life! I send you to the foot of the cross! In Jesus' name and through His blood. Go Now!" Trust the authority the Lord has given you and stand on it!
Now it is easy to see the growth of hate in society, the only tolerance that is encouraged is for the things that are on the agenda of our spiritual enemy. Tolerance for morals given by the Lord, integrity, holiness, purity, righteousness, and devotion to God are not encouraged. The enemy hates these things! When he sees you carrying the attributes of the Lord and a devotion to Yahweh he wants to destroy them and you. The way to defeat this spirit is through the love of our Creator, it is not a love that we can stir up only by ourselves we have to ask the Lord to strengthen it! It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit so it can grow in us! Love covers a multitude of sins. Love never gives up. We have to walk in love, always and in all ways. Leave no room for hate to enter our thoughts or our hearts. If we have any unforgiveness it must be routed out that we have no footholds for hate to enter in. Then we go through the same declaration as for the first two spirits. "Spirit of hate, I bind you from manifesting in my life! I send you to the foot of the cross! In Jesus' name and through His blood. Go Now!"
We have to deal directly with these spirits and remember, they will try to sneak back in, so stay on guard constantly! Close any doors or gates in your life that the enemy would enter and refuse him entrance!



Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 1 Timothy 1:7

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Make Straight the Path of the Lord

     

There are scriptures that speak of making the path straight for the Lord, lately, they have demanded my attention!

A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3


He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ John 1:23

Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts; Psalm 68:4

     In having my attention demanded I had to ask, "What does it mean to make straight the path for the Lord? To Clear the way? To Cast up a highway?"

     I searched it out and found that in Isaiah 40:9, it says to 
  'Go up on a high mountain, you joyful messengers of Zion, (this means you and me! and the high mountain part for Oklahoma just means not hidden away) and lift up your voices with power(Be bold!). You who proclaim joyous news to Jerusalem, shout it out and don’t be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”' (Tell people who God is! The Great Creator of all things!)

     

     We can see here that witnessing to the truth and goodness of God is one way to make His highway smooth! Shouting it out even!

     Then in John 1, John the Baptist was testifying of Jesus and baptizing people for the repentance of sin. "but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” So, again we have testifying and here we add repentance makes the way straight for the Lord! 

     And in Psalm 68 where it talks about casting up a highway for the Lord, it is done through praise! 

  Sing to God, sing praises to His name, cast up a highway for Him Who rides through the deserts—His name is the Lord—be in high spirits and glory before Him! (Praise!)Psalm 68:4

     This gives us 3 ways right off to be able to make the Lord's path straight or to create a smooth highway! There may be more, I will be looking for them! But this is a good way to start using your life to make the path of the Lord straight!

•      Witness and Testify Boldly!
•      Walk in Repentance!
•      Praise the Lord!

     (The scriptures have promises from the Lord of how He will make your paths straight also, but I'll save that for next time!) 

Ministering To Yourself

I heard a teaching from Bill Johnson, Pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California.
     He was teaching about learning to minister to ourselves. This is something I have needed to hear for a long time! I have wondered how people who are in ministry are nurtured in the things of the Lord and refilled after pouring out for others. I'm talking about bigger things than daily problems or events. 
     Everyone runs into BIG things in life at times that seem to knock them about, they can be hurt, disappointed, betrayed, challenged....but in a ministry, it's not always easy to turn to someone else for an encouraging word. So this teaching was answered prayer! Thank You, Father!
     It is a blessing to have a ministry that feeds people, but how are the ministers fed, built up, refreshed? How do they care for themselves? I believe this would also be good for anyone that does not have a close companion to share your situations with that can speak godly things into your life. So while it helps ministers, it also helps anyone that wants to put it into practice! 
     Bill Johnson shared that he reads the Psalms out loud and he keeps going until he can hear the cry of his heart in the words. That is really good advice for me, I love Psalms and the Lord has had me read through it many, many times. I had not realized that He was using it to minister to me until now though, yes, that does sound kind of like I'm slow on the uptake, doesn't it? Now I recognize it and now I will use it as the tool the Lord has given me to minister to myself! There are many tools for us to use, praise, prayer, scripture, and each one will help but if we know the one that especially touches our spirit we will be able to know what to do when we are needing special ministering for the difficult times we walk through in our lives. 
     This was something that was very helpful to me, so I wanted to share it with you! ~ Lorna
        

Faith

     Jesus had several disciples that walked with Him daily for around 3 years, they ate what He ate, they traveled everywhere with Him, listened to His teaching, watched Him interact with people, watched Him heal people, watched Him when He was exhausted and slept...but they still didn't quite get it. 

     Have you walked with Jesus for years, 5 maybe 10? maybe 20 or more and still not quite gotten it? Do you walk in the words of His teachings? Do you love with His love? Do you think and speak with the faith He taught us to have?

     I challenge you to consider the faith He taught us to walk in. He told us that if we had a small amount of faith that we could move mountains, have you moved any mountains lately? He told a woman that by her faith her daughter was healed, has your faith brought healing to another? On the healing example, I can tell you that I see many people pray and ask God to heal others, but that is not what Jesus taught, He told us to heal them! If the Holy Spirit lives in you then the power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you! That is the same power that heals! Why do you turn around and ask God to do it when He has already put you in place and equipped you for the job?

   And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8

     And I see many people fearful when storms enter their lives, right now we're dealing with a virus that is changing our world in a way we could not have foreseen, I ask you, are you walking in faith or in fear? Are you choosing to believe the Lord or the enemy? The Lord has taught us to not fear, the enemy whispers all kinds of things in your ear to be fearful of, which do you choose to listen to? You have the power to take every thought captive, the scriptures tell us that we can and they wouldn't if it wasn't true!

   For although we do live in the world, we do not wage war in a worldly way; because the weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God’s power for demolishing strongholds. We demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

     In our state we're entering the season we became known as tornado alley for, but I want to challenge you here also! This challenge is based on an example of Jesus with His first disciples, I say first because we are His disciples also, aren't we? Ok then, His first disciples were in a boat with Him and a fierce storm came upon them, they woke Him up telling Him they were about to die....this is the scripture~

   On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Mark 4:35-41

     Notice here that He asked them why they were afraid! They were afraid of the storm then very much afraid of Jesus! What would have been your reaction in this situation? Would you fear? Would you think you were about to die? Would You wake Jesus to calm the storm? Would you tell the Storm/Tornados to "Hush, be still" in your own situation? I can share my personal witness that when you step out and tell the storm to be at peace in Jesus' name, it has to obey! I have heard many forecasts of damage expected in our area and stepped out on the deck and told the skies to be at peace, for the storm to rise back up and evaporate...I do encourage you to use your own words though! I try to not interfere with rain, but I do interfere with any damage the storm may be packing with it! I don't send it to another area of our country, I don't want others to encounter damage either. 

     You have the authority where you are placed to bring the Kingdom there! Think about this, you are a disciple of Jesus, He has empowered you, given you armor to operate in, the Holy Spirit lives in you, He has defeated the enemy! Now we need to walk in the victory that He won! We are the conquering army, the enemy is not! That is the foundation of your faith, now suit up and walk it out! Walk in faith! Bring Kingdom! Calm the storms, whether they be viruses or tornados! You can do this, You were made for such a time as this! 

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15:28 ESV

Pray

Can you imagine the pressure on President Trump right now? He is the leader of the United States of America, the whole world watches everything he is doing. There is an infection that started in a foreign country that our own news media is blaming him for allowing it to come to the US, first he was criticized for stopping travel from the infected area, now he's criticized for not doing enough and now they even are criticizing him for calling it the China virus! People are no longer expected to act like adults and know they should stay away from crowds and wash their hands! They act like they have to rely solely on the government unless it comes to their toilet paper, then they are happy to run out and hoard more than they can use in 6 months, depriving their neighbors and the elderly in our communities from one or two small packs to take care of their own households. Sorry, I digress here...I just think this is not the America I know. Americans pull together to help each other in emergencies, we don't hoard at the expense of our neighbors. Back to President Trump, please keep him in your prayers! He is a man doing his best to lead a country that is under an attack from so many fronts, this disease is just the latest. He has faced attacks from people in his own Republican party, the Democrats have attacked him since his election, the News media relentlessly has attacked him.... it goes on and on, remember if he fails, the US also fails. Pray constantly, protection, wisdom, and guidance for him, his decisions, his actions~

Psalm 2:1-4

Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”


He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.  Psalm 2:1-4

Healing

     Many times when we're faced with illness or health issues we start praying, "Lord, please heal me!" But His word tells us that we're already healed! 
     But he was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins;
the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises, we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

     Shouldn't we be doing more than praying for healing? Shouldn't we be decreeing healing, claiming the healing that the Lord tells us we already have?  Shouldn't we be walking in faith and claiming the healing? 

     If you read the scriptures that tell of the healings that Jesus did, there is something to notice, He didn't pray for the Father to heal the people, He simply spoke the healing Himself. Of course, you do need to remember that He spent time daily in prayer, knowing the Father's heart and hearing His directions. That is how we need to be walking also, then we should speak the healings.

     We need to remember that the Lord told us ~ "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give." Matthew 10:8  He wouldn't have told us this if it wasn't possible!

     I would suggest that if You deal with an illness that you claim the truth of His words! You are the healed, walk it out. Daily repeat I am the healed! Then trust in the healing that was already paid for by Jesus' blood!

     Walk in fellowship, live in faith, praise and give credit for His healing blessings!

Thanking! Not Asking!

From May 30, 2012

I'm transferring this post from a different Blog site so I can have them all consolidated.

I received a lesson from the Lord about praying that I would like to share with you all. For some of you, this will be “old news” but for some of you, this will be a new concept.

The Lord showed me a person standing facing Him, holding an empty glass and asking that He would fill it. The person kept praying and saying “Lord, please fill my glass. Father, please give me a drink. God, my glass is empty, please fill it!”. The person just kept facing God and begging for the glass to be filled.

Then I was shown that behind the person was a great waterfall of pure, delightful water and that the person only had to turn around and hold their glass under the falls and it would be full in the blink of an eye. This showed me that God’s blessings are pouring out continually! After the person had filled their glass they needed only to thank our Heavenly Father with a thankful heart!

At the time I was shown this I started thanking God for so many things! I thanked Him for the Godly man He was creating in my husband. I thanked Him for the Godly men He was bringing my sons to be! the Godly woman He will bring into fullness in my granddaughter! I thanked Him for the health and strength that He was pouring into my body! Thanked Him for the provisions He was bringing into our lives!

I went on and on as I realized that I needed to claim the blessings He was pouring out by naming them and thanking Him for them! I was so excited by this new understanding that I wanted to wake Lane up and share it with him immediately, but I did have the grace to wait until his alarm went off and then started excitedly sharing with him the things I had been shown in the night.

This is not to tell you to not pray about a need, but once you've prayed it, start thanking and praising! If you start telling God thank you for the things He is doing in your life then you are walking in faith!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

An example would be if you pray for finances, then start focusing on thanking Him for the provision that He is giving you. Start thanking Him for resolving your financial situation, start thanking Him for His care of you, start praising and thanking Him for providing for your needs.

Psalm 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

This takes a bit to grasp and walk in, but pray and try it, God will bless you and your life will be changed!

Morning Love Letter

I used to go to a thrift store in Kansas City that was connected to a retirement home, so many of the things they sold were from people that no longer needed them. I adopted many bibles and some were gifted to others that didn't have a Bible, but some of them were special to me and I have kept over the years. The one that I'm telling you about this morning is a New International Version. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but this Bible has seen a lot of loving use, the hand marks are on the sides of it where it was held tenderly and regularly. It is a joy to pick up and hold where it has been held before.

     I have several Bibles in different versions, but I have my main one I go to regularly, a New American Standard. I prefer the NASB because it is most precise in wording to the original writings and as my husband says, I am a "word person" so I do prefer "precise" words. I could write about the different versions here but it's not my purpose, I'll try to get back to it in the future!
     This morning I was drawn to the well used NIV Bible. The Lord has created a habit in myself of reading in Psalms and I try to maintain it regularly, so picking up this Bible I flipped over to Psalms and noticed a circled scripture that was out of the order of what I was going to read but I was still curious why I had been drawn to this Bible and this scripture.

     Reading this scripture I found it to be about "healing". I have been dealing with healing in my own body recently and could see the encouragement in the scripture so I followed the noted scripture that was written in by the circled one and found it to be about healing also! This was not an accident or coincidence! The Lord brought me here to read His promises.
     Thinking that the healing path of scriptures would end at the end of Psalms I read through them and found that the path goes on into Proverbs, I'm saving Proverbs for tomorrow and to go back before Psalms to try to see if there are more scriptures noted for healing before Psalms. This is such a treasure the Lord brought me to and I am thankful and rejoicing for His morning "love letter" to me! Thank You, Father, You are such a good, good Father!

Ever Be

This song has been my waking thoughts for several mornings now. The Lord has been doing a lot of ministering to me through praise songs lately, it is re-establishing our closeness and encouraging me. When I'm awake I have praise praying most of the time, but He picks out a lot of songs from ones that I haven't heard for a long time or ones that haven't really stood out. He also chooses certain lines from the songs to repeat over and over. I believe this song was teaching me to praise Him continually!

Your love is devoted like a ring of solid gold
Like a vow that is tested like a covenant of old
Your love is enduring through the winter rain
And beyond the horizon with mercy for today

Faithful You have been and faithful You will be
You pledge Yourself to me and it's why I sing

Your praise will ever be on my lips, ever be on my lips
Your praise will ever be on my lips, ever be on my lips

You Father the orphan
Your kindness makes us whole
And You shoulder our weakness
And Your strength becomes our own
Now You're making me like You
Clothing me in white
Bringing beauty from ashes
For You will have Your bride

Free of all her guilt and rid of all her shame
And known by her true name and it's why I sing

Your praise will ever be on my lips, ever be on my lips
Your praise will ever be on my lips, ever be on my lips

You will be praised You will be praised
With angels and saints we sing worthy are You Lord
You will be praised You will be praised
With angels and saints we sing worthy are You Lord
And it's why I sing

You Choose

     You choose~
     There is an enemy that knows us better than we know ourselves, but once we know he exists we are armed to not allow him to hinder our choice!
     In the world, we will have trials and tribulations(John 16:33), but Jesus has overcome the world, never lose sight of that! Never let yourself believe that you are walking through the world alone. If we choose the path the Lord has shown us in His love and His life then we are walking the same path as He! We are not alone!
     Walking through trials and tribulations is not always an easy thing, but when He walks it with us it is easier than any other option that we may face.
     Do not allow the enemy to deceive you into believing that you are not able to do this, you are! Because you are not alone! Do not allow the enemy to cause you to wear "grave" clothes through your days and life when you are battling for the Lord's glory. The Lord's promises and glory are reflected through your attitudes, words, and outlook. Do yours show your faith in what is happening in your life? Are you wearing a "self-pity" attitude or a "praise" attitude? I list "self-pity" here because it is the one the Lord has shown me is my battle, if it fits you then welcome to my world! If I allow that sneaky spirit to come into my thinking then it can turn anything around to be something to feel sorry for myself about. The tough thing is when you learn to let go of the smaller things and move past those, it starts throwing bigger things at you. In the bigger things you still have to learn to apply the same winning attitude, the Lord is with you, you can trust Him and walk victoriously through the big challenges in life also!
     Pretty much the choice comes down to an easy one,
1. We have a trial or testing and we are being stretched, it may be beyond what we think we can endure.,
2. We choose to either trust and grow through the trial or feel sorry for ourselves and mope through our days. Through scripture, there are examples of God's people being stretched, corrected and then helped to go through the trials they faced. The Lord sent a ram for Abraham to sacrifice after Abraham had proven his faith in His willingness to obey a command that had to try and stretch his very core.
3. We may have to ask for help to actually change our attitude, but we have to make the "choice" to change it. The Lord has sent His Holy Spirit to us to help in areas we are not able to change by ourselves, but we have to remember there is an enemy that is whispering in our ear, trying to deceive us trying to cause us to choose wrong! He will hit us in our weak spots, our children, our bodies, our self-image, our spouses, our friendships, our employment, our finances, wherever you invest your ego is most likely a big target for him.

     Praise is a weapon that we are given to battle the enemy, not just for singing at church on Sunday mornings, but in the still quiet of the nights also. If you aren't able to sing your own praise songs to the Lord find a good Christian CD and play it. I advise against the radio for times you are doing battle because there are a lot of "poor me" type of songs mixed in with the praise and they can really distract you from a praise attitude. Praise is not about thinking about yourself and your situation, it's about the Lord and how big and powerful, loving and merciful He is. Praise is all about God, not man. The "self-pity" spirit likes to distract you with whatever means is available if he can get you to think you are praising while you're really wallowing in self-pity then so much the better! Choose good, strong lyrics about what a mighty God you serve! Not about how wimpy you are and how He will chase all over the countryside to try to save you!
     Once you know you are battling an enemy that has most likely been with you since very young childhood when you learned the words, "nobody loves me", think, who taught you those words? The enemy whispered those poisonous words in your ear! Eliminate them from your very spirit! The Lord loves you! If He stands with you and for you, who can stand against Him? You are a special person! You are a child of the One True King! What better standing can you have than that?
     Now you know your enemy, and he will use any lie available for his disposal. and he has many lies available, he is the father of lies. His first victim was not actually Eve, it was the angels he convinced to follow him in an uprising against our Lord! For their loyalty to him, they have been cast out of heaven and are now part of his forces tormenting us. Our Lord was a victim, but He dealt with him quickly and showed us how, cast him out of our domain! Our lives are our domain, do not allow his presence in your life! Cast him out! Resist the devil and he will flee from you!
     When he comes with tales of self-pity and woe, battle with praise! Have a go-to song that has lyrics that speak to your spirit, that praise our Lord!

"I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm 
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!"

or ~

"Waymaker, miracle workerPromise keeper, light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are
Waymaker, miracle worker
Promise keeper, light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are!"

     There are many songs that sing true words of the God we serve, just make sure the lyrics are about God and not about you. As you do choose to resist the enemy, he will flee from you, the Lord's word has told us this and we can count on it.

      But we have to take the first step and choose to change our "grave clothes" for "praise clothes"! Let your praise be seen in your countenance, in your actions, in your attitudes. Let your life be a reflection of praise to your Father if it doesn't come easily at first, ask the Holy Spirit to help make the changes that reflect your "choice". He is here to teach, comfort and correct. He will step in where we ask for help.