Just like The Screw Tape Letters by C.S. Lewis, this is again, a reminder of what is really going on in the spirit realm, the battle that really is waged against us. Do we find ourselves asleep, or are we going to wake up to the fact there is a real enemy...the devil....who is out to destroy us? Whether it is with complacency and indifference, or blatant attacks against our stand for The Lord and what He has called us to do....there is a villain, and we can not afford to be naive of his motives......


"The question is not, Are we spiritually oppressed, but Where and How?

Think of it—why does every story have a villain?

Little Red Riding Hood is attacked by a wolf. Dorothy must face and bring down the Wicked Witch of the West. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi go hand to hand against Darth Maul. To release the captives of the Matrix, Neo battles the powerful “agents.” Frodo is hunted by the Black Riders. (The Morgul blade that the Black Riders pierced Frodo with in the battle on Weathertop—it was aimed at his heart). Beowulf kills the monster Grendel, and then he has to battle Grendel’s mother. Saint George slays the dragon. The children who stumbled into Narnia are called upon by Aslan to battle the White Witch and her armies so that Narnia might be free.

Every story has a villain because yours does. You were born into a world at war. When Satan lost the battle against Michael and his angels, “he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Rev. 12:9). That means that right now, on this earth, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fallen angels, foul spirits, bent on our destruction. And what is Satan’s mood? “He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (v. 12). So what does he spend every day and every night of his sleepless, untiring existence doing? “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against . . . those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (v. 17). He has you in his cross hairs, and he isn’t smiling.

You have an enemy. He is trying to steal your freedom, kill your heart, destroy your life." (Waking the Dead , 150–51)

Walking with God

Wow, you must go to this new website for John Eldredge and listen to the webcast about his new book. It is an entire evening and message about 'Hearing from God'! It is absolutly phenominal! Sign in and listen. I am ordering the book. I want to draw closer and hear from Him more intimately. You will be blessed and inspired to walk even closer with Him after you hear/read this new book. Just click on the title of this blog to take you there. I am also including it under my friend list to the right to get to this site.

There is no lack...He has provided everything

There have been some challenges of late, to say the least. My job ended, but it was God opening a door. Through prayer and counselling with treasured prayer partner-friends, I saw the light and stepped out by faith to trust God to take me in the direction and next step He wanted me to take. I don't know where that's taking me, I honestly don't. Whether it is to stay here, move somewhere else totally, move into another area of work, relationships, life. I am not sure, but what I do know is I am available, ready and willing for whatever direction in every area of my life that He wants to take me.

Four things that really ministered to me and spoke to me in the past week I wanted to share.

First: I was listening a series by TD Jakes called "Divine Strategies" over the weekend while on the way to my parents. On one of the messages he talked about the children of Israel and Jericho. It was amazing what they went through, not unlike things we do today. What he was pointing out was that God is not a cookie cutter God. He does not get in a rut and have people do the same thing over and over so that He can be figured out. He had them walk around that wall every day. Joshua chapter 6. God told Joshua to walk around the wall one time each day for 6 days. So naturally, they thought the 7th day would be the same, but it wasn't. On the 7th day he told them to walk around the city 7 times not once as before. Not only that, Joshua told them they couldn't even make a sound that day, until he told them to shout. Can you imagine that many people walking around that city, 7 times, and not one peep, not one sound coming out of their mouths. You know they thought Joshua was crazy. God asks us to do what seems like crazy things sometimes, but He is working all things together for our good. So they obeyed, they received God's strategy everyday for where they were and what they were to do and sure enough, when Joshua told them to shout and sound the horns on that 7th day, the walls fell just as God has promised. What TD was saying about that story that moved me so much was that they were in a hard place, going through some rough things, but when they made that place they were in a sanctuary, and began to worship the Lord in the middle of hardness, in the middle of that "hell" they were going through, God gave them HIS strategy. And they obeyed that strategy and God delivered them so far out of that place they were in, that even to this day, Jericho can not be found by archeologist! What he said was that no matter how hard, how rough the place we have been in, if we will worship God, in the middle of this rough place, He will give us His strategy of what to do and He will deliver us so far out of what we have been going through, so far out of the place we have been in that our children and grandchildren will not be able to find any evidence of those hard places, those challenges in our life, but by our testimony only!!!! We will be delivered, moved by God, so far out of this place we have been in, and so blessed and serving God that our children and grandchildren won't be able to identify that we were ever in this time of difficulty!!!!!! Glory to God! Haleluiah!

Second: I was talking with a special, anointed man (you are meant for amazing things), about things that are missing from the Body of Christ. Especially in certain areas. Where are the revivals? Where is the Unity of churches worshipping and serving God as one, as followers of Christ. Where are the miracles, healings, salvations that are the foundation and Core of The Word of God. He has been working in us and calling us to more, something greater. He has been stirring us to wake us up (notice the increased earthquakes, tornados, tsunami's, cyclones) He needs us to step up to the plate and move to a new level of trust, a new level of faith in Him. There is a world out there to reach, and putting that first and foremost brings all of the other things into our life that we need and want and that He wants to give us. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you! People need us to bring Jesus to them. They are hurting, they need us to be ready to pray for them to be healed, delivered, set free, dicipled. Our jobs, our "stuff" doesn't matter, it is about putting The Kingdom of God first, putting people first, being His eyes and His hands and His ears and His mouth.....His Heart. To love unconditionally and be His handmaidens and servants and He will draw the people to Him. It is all for His Glory.....not ours. To shine for Him and lead people into the throne room of God so they too can be in and have a relationship with Him. A heart of worship draws people from every walk of life to Him. We have that heart of worship...........

Three: Right along with this, you can see a theme here that God has been revealing, one step at a time. There was another couple that I have known for a while and watched their lives. I was talking with the wife the past few days as well. They have one of those Jericho testimonies. They have been delivered and so far removed from the "hell" that they were going through, that you can not tell, their grandchildren have no way of knowing, where they came from. 12 or 13 years ago, they were seperated, neither were saved or living for God. He was having an affair, and she was just coming to the Lord, just learning about him and was praying for her husband, praying for their marriage. They were in an amazingly difficult and challenging place. A very long story, and tremendous testimony made shorter, she got saved, prayed for him and God brought him back, he got saved, they started going to church together and began to share about the amazing deliverance God had given them in their lives. They began to be a witness and testimony of God's faithfullness and goodness and sharing with other couples and God began to use them to minister to other marriages, to other people about God's faithfulness and deliverance for them. I watched them from the time they were saved to now grow stronger and stronger in the Lord and in their marriage. Together overcoming every obstacle the enemy tried to throw in their way. Committing their lives to the Lord and to each other to work together for the Lord in whatever capacity he called them to, never looking back. They have raised their family and the very small amount of money they have lived on over the years, God has mulitplied to what I am about to tell you. There has never been much money, but because they have walked out "seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you" they have a home, all new furniture, everything they need is met, but on paper it does not make sense. They have been good stewards of what God has blessed them with, so seeking a high paying job is not what is necessary. I have seen this testimony and it lines up with the first two points above. They have walked with the Lord, being a witness and light, giving their testimony and putting the Lord first, and their life is a living testimony of all of these things God has been showing me this past week. I want to be in this place, and have a testimony that glorifies God like this. There is not much money at all, but there is no lack in any area of their lives...........it makes me cry because of His faithfulness.

Fourth: God showed me in the past couple of days, there is no lack in Him, in His Kingdom. There is no lack of finances, there is no lack of spouses, there is no lack of babies, there is no lack of health, there is no lack of restoration, no lack of jobs.....there is no lack of ministry to be done, there is no lack in Him, and we are in Him and we are his children. So as our Father, He wants us to step into the flow that is already there and let Him carry us in all of His abundance and provision to our next step. In seeking Him first, He can't help but keep His word....and all of these things will be added unto us.

He gave me Finding Nemo as an example. The currant that flowed under the sea that Nemo's Dad had to find so it would carry him to Sydney where he could find his Son, was the key. That currant is the kingdom of God and His way of doing things. Nemo's Dad had worked so hard and labored and toiled and done everything he knew and was getting no where; then he was told about that current, he eventually found it and when he did, all he had to do was jump into it and it carried him to where he needed to go. All provision was in that currant, he didn't have to swim, or toil, or fight, all he had to do was let the current take him there. It didn't mean that he didn't have to work and search to get to the currant, but once he got there the way was already made. (God's strategy, Jerhicho, supernatural provision) He had to step into that currant, that flow by faith! It was an amazing analogy that God gave me and I am so blessed.

He has so much more for us than we can even imagine. God is ALL provision! Halleluiah! He is saying to us, relax, trust, surrender and by faith jump into His ever flowing current, where all the provision is, and allow Him to carry us there, where He needs us to be and where we desire to go. We don't have to fight (I'm not talking about keeping our guard against the enemy, because we do have to be Warriors and Princess Warriors where the enemy is concerned), but totally relax, surrender, trust and "be not afraid....only believe", and He will take us there.

I have learned His provision is always there and has always been flowing, I just didn't know how to step into it. He has shown me that we can't ever get our eyes on the "need", because when we do that becomes bigger than everything else and our focus gets off of Him and His "strategy and plan". But when I surrendered, I allowed myself to just fall into it, all of me, lock, stock and barrell! Just like jumping off a cliff and all you can see is clouds below, but knowing and trusting that the parachute is going to open (His hands) are there to catch and carry us to the next phase, the next step in our lives.....but it is always for His Glory and for His purposes. I Praise You Jesus!

Spring.....Suddenly.....Habkkuk 2:2-3

"Can it really happen? Can things in our lives be green again? No matter what our creeds may tell us, our hearts have settled into another belief. We have accepted the winter of this world as the final word and tried to get on without the hope of spring. It will never come, we have assumed, and so I must find whatever life here I can. We have been so committed to arranging for our happiness that we have missed the signs of spring. We haven’t given any serious thought to what might be around the corner. Were eternity to appear tomorrow, we would be as shocked as I have been with the return of spring this week, only more so.

Spring here is really a wrestling match between winter and summer. It makes for a long time of waiting. You see, the flowers are pretty much gone in September. In October, the trees start turning gold and drop their leaves in a week or two. Come November, all is gray. Initially, I don’t mind. The coming of winter has its joys, and there are Thanksgiving and Christmastime to look forward to. But after the new year, things begin to drag on. Through February and then March, the earth remains lifeless. The whole world lies shadowed in brown and gray tones, like an old photograph. Winter’s novelty is long past, and by April we are longing for some sign of life—some color, some hope. It’s too long. Such as can be a promise we are waiting for, manifestation…just like Spring.

I rounded the corner into my new neighborhood, and suddenly, the world was green again. What had been rock and twig and dead mulch was a rich oriental carpet of green. I was shocked, stunned. How did it happen? As if in disbelief, I got out of my car and began to walk touching every leaf. The birds are back as well, waking us in the morning with their glad songs. It happened suddenly. In the twinkling of an eye, and it made my heart sing.

My surprise is telling. It seems natural to long for spring; it is another thing to be completely stunned by its return. I am truly and genuinely surprised, as if my reaction were, Really? What are you doing here? And then I realized, I thought I’d never see you again. I think in some deep place inside, I had accepted the fact that winter is what is really true . . . And so I am shocked by the return of spring. And I wonder, Can the same thing happen for my soul?

"Forever and ever? That’s it? That’s the “good news”? And then we sigh and feel guilty that we are not more “spiritual.” We lose heart, and we turn once more to the present to find what life we can. Eternity ends up having no bearing on our search for life whatsoever. It feels like the end of the search. And since we’re not all that sure about what comes after, we search hard now. Remember, we can only hope for what we desire. How can the church service that never ends be more desirable than the richest experiences of life here? It would be no small difference if you knew in your heart that the life you prize is just around the corner, that your deepest desires have been whispering to you all along about what’s coming. You see, Scripture tells us that God has “set eternity” in our hearts (Eccl. 3:11). Where in our hearts? In our desires.

The return of spring brings such relief and joy and anticipation. Life has returned, and with it sunshine, warmth, color, and the long summer days of adventure together. We break out the lawn chairs and the barbecue grill. We tend the garden and drink in all the beauty. We head off for vacations. Isn’t this what we most deeply long for? To leave the winter of the world behind, what Shakespeare called “the winter of our discontent,” and find ourselves suddenly in the open meadows of summer? Suddenly ready to embrace all that God has for us, bursting out with newness of life and sharing that life with others, especially that special one.