Something we all need to remember!

I saw this video on Facebook today and I just HAD to share it. We all need to watch this and remember that wherever we go and whatever we are doing, He is there! So often we find ourselves overwhelmed and overcome by the stress and doubts of life that we forget that He is right there! He is always whispering in our ear and prompting us in ways that we never understand.

One thing I really love about this video is how it shows him rejoicing with us in our happy times, and comforting us during the hard times. How different would our lives be if we all remembered that He is always by our side! I think that we would be able to have much better quality of life.

I am trying daily to change my perspective on the world. Yes there is a lot of bad in the world, and Satan surely has his grasp on the world. But those of us who have a daily relationship with Christ KNOW that we have the AUTHORITY to overcome anything from the darkness! And for those who don't know Jesus, we need to share His message with anyone we have the opportunity to! We might be able to change someone's life in immeasurable ways that we have no idea about!

Remember that He loves you and is with you always!

Where My Bible Opened To Today - Job 8-11

         I was planning to copy & paste Job 8-11 here from my bible but it would just take up way too much space, so I hope you will take the time to read it. 

         How many times do we sit around with our friends or acquaintances and talk to them about our problems or trials and they want to accuse us of doing something to "deserve" what we are dealing with? And how many times do we hear people say "GOD is giving me way more than I can handle. I despise GOD for everything I'm going through."? Instead of realizing the source of our trials....that the Lord is allowing the devil to TEST us, we try to turn it around. And how often do we have "friends" who try to make us feel like what we are going through is OUR fault?

         I really enjoyed reading these chapters this morning, because here we have someone hundreds of years ago who struggles with the same feelings we do? How often do we feel like we are alone in our suffering? Here we can see someone who went through SO much but never blamed God or himself for the things that he was going through. The Lord allowed the enemy to take everything from Job....his family, his possessions, even his health. Yet Job never stopped loving God. 

         I think this is a wonderful example of how we should deal with things that we are going through. This life is a test! God wants to see that no matter what hard times we fall upon, we will turn to Him for our strength! We have our advocate, JESUS CHRIST, who has already paid the price for our sins, and HE is wanting us to allow Him to fulfill what He has already done. We can turn to Him and receive peace during difficult times.

          One last thing that I would like to point out about this excerpt is the manner in which Job's friends treated him during his struggles. I pray that we as Christians who follow Christ will NEVER treat others unkindly or try to make them feel like they are less than an amazing child of God when they are dealing with trials. I pray that we will have a heart like Jesus....to lift them up and remind them that God loves them, and that Jesus came to the world and gave His life so that we could live everyday with the knowledge that God is good! He selflessly gave his only Son so that we could be redeemed for our imperfections.

         I pray that you strive to love others as He has loved us. Happy Sunday, my friends! May the love of the Lord be with you in all that you do!

God is showing me the way...

For quite some time I've been asking God to reveal to me what my "mission" or purpose in life is. I've been down so many broken roads and difficult paths (all self-inflicted)...I've changed my major and my career goals so many times I often have wondered which way I should go. The more I get into working in Celebrate Recovery and other areas of ministry that I am involved in, the more it seems like the Lord is leading me into ministry.

A couple years ago, the Lord gave me a vision for a project that seems insurmountable, but it is DEFINITELY doable with the right education, networking contacts and financial support. I've talked to people about it, and everyone says that I should pursue it. I tried talking to several people about it, including ministers and even legislators! People were giving me an amazing amount of encouragement, but because of lack of funding and community support we just weren't able to get it off the ground, so I put it on the back burner for a while.

Just the other night at bible study the Lord began putting it on my heart again to do the ministry I had been inspired to do. My husband and I have started attending the  Valley School of Ministry & Leadership at our church here in Missoula. I'm starting to think that the Lord has put us here to show us what he wants us to do with our ministry. I'm starting to think that this entire move to Missoula was so the Lord could get us out of the hell we were living in and put us back on the right path.

I'm grateful for the things that the Lord does for us that we don't even realize at the time. One thing I'm most grateful for is my RELATIONSHIP with the Lord, and that by staying connected with him I am able to slowly grasp what His plan for me is. I wish I could know everything right now, but I'm grateful for the process of the things He is showing me and teaching me everyday.

Bless you, my friends, today and everyday. Thanks for tuning in.

It's About Time!

If you asked my mother, husband, or probably anyone else that I know what my biggest flaw is they would probably most DEFINITELY say that I am the WORST person at managing my time. And they'd be right. Just about the only place that I am good about time management is at work. During my 8 hours I have developed a routine where I have a time for just about every chore that I need to do, and I always get it done. So during my personal prayer time I was asking the Lord to help me devise a plan to help me manage my time better.

This is what I got.....

We have 24 hours in each day. Of that time, we NEED to sleep a minimum of 6-8 hours. So with that in mind, this is how my schedule should look every day.

This is how long things SHOULD take.

Wake up, take medicines & check blook sugar....10 minutes
Prayer & Personal Scriptures..... Time with God...30 minutes
Yoga & A.M. Walk - 30 minutes each = 1 hour
Shower - 20 minutes
Get ready for my day - 30 minutes
TOTAL = 2.5 hours

Work - 8 hours

Personal Enrichment Time - Study/Learning - 4 hours

TOTAL= 14.5 hours

This leaves 1.5 - 3 hours for traveling, eating, relaxing, etc.

Then for sleep..... 6-8 hours....so....

It takes me about 30 minutes to wind down from my day.
Plus another 30 to fall asleep. 
This leaves me about 4.5 hours to enjoy REM sleep (if I'm lucky)
I like to set my alarm half an hour before I'm supposed to be up, with a snooze alarm 15 minutes prior to wake-up, so that I can wake up slowly. I'm not a person who just jumps out of bed.

This daily routine is something that I want to get myself into this year and make it a habit for me. I really NEED a routine to help keep me on task. I'm nearly 37 years old (in a week & a day), and I should have learned to do this years ago. Oh well, I guess better late than never!

Maybe this schedule will help someone else out too! Let me know if it does!

I love this song!

More Than You Think I Am- Danny Gokey

This song really speaks to me & what I know about my Savior. He's so much more than we think he is. He will meet us wherever we are. I know this personally, because when I have been at my lowest HE was there! I hope that everyone can relate to this song, so I'm sharing!

I Dream of Singing to a Crowd like this Someday, all to His glory!

Every singer dreams of the kind of venue they might fill someday. Personally, I hope that someday I might be able to sing to a crowd like this, with everyone praising the One who blessed me with such a great career. Someday it will happen.

Jan. 9 - My Thoughts on Ezra

How might this book in the Bible apply to my life? As I read the scriptures, I try to apply them to my life.

Sometimes God puts desires in our hearts for things we'd like to do, just as the people in Ezra's time desired to rebuild the temple, but things don't always go as planned. Everything we try to do gets put on hold or we run into road blocks left & right. We often don't understand why things aren't going the way we want them to. We start questioning if God had truly put the desire on our hearts to begin with.

In my life I believe this applies to my desire to start an outreach worship ministry. For a long time, God has put a desire in my heart to begin a band that will sing Christian contemporary music. It seems like the desire has been placed in my heart, but finding the right musicians & singers to join me has been difficult.

Does this mean that it'll never happen? No. It just means that it's not time yet.

So whatever the Lord has put upon your heart to do for His glory, keep your vision focused on what he wants you to do and watch for his signs to see when His time has come for you to do it. Don't lose faith.

Just as the people finally finished the temple, we will be able to fulfill all that the Lord has planned for our lives. Keep your faith strong, and keep on keeping on!

Where My Bible Opened To Today- The Book of Ezra

Where I Opened My Bible To Today....1 Corinthians Chapter One

For time's sake (I don't have a lot of time to post this, as I'm at the library) I'm going to post 3 videos that I found on YouTube that teaches this chapter. It may take a while to listen to, but if you have time, I'd ask that you do. I will type out what I truly want to later, as it really DISECTS the chapter to help put things into perspective, including using scriptures from various translations.

THIS SECOND VIDEO IS THE SUBJECT OF MY BLOG POST TODAY.....

What is the point of denominations????
I was raised a "Latter-Day Saint" AKA "Mormon", and I have grown up through my life's experiences to prefer to worship as a Non-Denominational Christian, with a HEART for REVIVAL! I was not raised to be celebratory in my worship, but (shhh!) REVERENT. Today, I am learning to experience JOY in my worship.

I've learned to put my entire HEART into my worship, because I BELIEVE EVERY BIT OF IT!

I always find it amazing how I can find biblical references that AGREE with my personal convictions. I don't understand why EVERYONE who knows and LOVES Christ cannot just forget about the differences of each denominations' doctrines, and FOCUS on what we all AGREE on.....that by JESUS CHRIST we are saved. That HE is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.

We believe in God the Father,
We believe in JESUS CHRIST,
We believe in the Holy Spirit, and he's given us new life!

We believe in crucifixion,
We believe that He conquered death,
We believe in the resurrection, and HE'S COMING BACK AGAIN!

We should all focus on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone we can. Don't focus on what church is right. FOCUS ON HIS WORD (The Bible) and take the message of our salvation through JESUS CHRIST to all the world!

Because we are in the LAST DAYS, and we need to bring a revival of faith to all that we can, so we can all CELEBRATE together when He comes again!

Where My Bible Opened to Today....Acts Chapter Two through Four

One of my goals for this year is to spend more time in the Word. I've begun to just open my Bible to wherever the page lands and I feel drawn to read. Today I've decided to start a little excerpt on my blog about Where My Bible Opened to today.

Acts 2 - 4

Having grown up in a religion where tongues were not spoken, the first time that I encountered the speaking of tongues in a spirit filled church I kinda freaked out. I thought to myself "Who are these people and why do they seem possessed?" I now understand, being filled with the spirit of tongues myself, I understand that the Spirit of God has ways of our prayers being led by HIS guidance. We just have to allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit. I now allow myself to be taken into prayer in the spirit. I have no idea what I'm saying, but I know what I'm praying, and it's like a wave is washing over me. My head tingles and my heart is filled. It is by these feelings that I know that God is leading my prayers in a way HE wants to. As I pour out my feelings in prayer and let HIM guide my desires This has been but a small way that my testimony has grown since being led to a spirit filled church.

Acts Chapter 3

I have been the recipient of tremendous healing by the spirit of the Lord. I function now at about 85-90% most of the time, but chronic pain and physical problems have plagued me for years. I have not been COMPLETELY healed, probably so I'd remember to call upon my Savior for help. Most of the time when we are completely healed we forget to remember the source of our healing. I am actually grateful for the moments that I NEED HIM, because sadly, my human nature is the same as yours. If I didn't have any pain I probably wouldn't need to lean on Him as much as I do.

I have the desire to heal people with the amazing power of the Spirit. How amazing would it be to speak His name & watch the lame leap and the tongue speak. I guess you cannot believe it is possible unless you've been healed yourself. And I have!!! But I am still learning now how to speak the Word of God BOLDLY! It is my desire to teach others how to harness the power of the Spirit, but for now I am still learning myself.

I've recently had dreams of running into a particular friend of mine who has lost his way. He was once a true believer and follower of Christ, with such an amazing testimony. But through years of drug abuse, this amazing man has become possessed by a very demonic spirit that has managed to separate my friend from EVERYONE who knows and LOVES him. He's convinced himself of some very amazing things, including the thought that his life is like "The Truman Show" with Jim Carrey. He is convinced that people are being paid and made rich by watching his every move and profiting from his misery. It's so sad. Recently I have dreamt that I've run into him and laid hands upon him, and have had the POWER OF THE SPIRIT enough to DELIVER him. What joy would fill my heart if I could bring my dear friend back to his TRUE self....a believer full of strength & power in the Spirit.

I'm truly overwhelmed by the amazing power that God has given us IN JESUS' NAME. We can do ALL THINGS through CHRIST who STRENGTHENS us.

We are the light....Let Your Light Shine in 2015

 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and they will recognize ... honor ... PRAISE & GLORIFY your Father Who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:16 (AMP)

I grew up in a religion where works were "expected" of its members. That in order to reach "the highest degree of heaven" (where God the Father & Jesus Christ are), you have to DO certain things. The idea of doing good works was so that you could achieve more in the kingdom of heaven, like you would reap more rewards by doing good things than someone else...that because you accomplished all these great things you were by some measure better than others. Growing up, I never felt like I could possibly measure up to all the expectations that the church put on me. 

So I rebelled.

I ran as far from God as I thought I could get. I ended up smoking, drinking and seeking attention from all the wrong people. I thought that by hanging out with people who were "popular" that I somehow would be popular too. But I wasn't. I ended up getting myself into addictions that would take decades to take control of, and ultimately betrayed my true self, because I was trying to seek satisfaction in all the wrong places. Ultimately, I ended up alone. (But I wasn't truly alone.) 

In those moments when I felt the most alone, I knew I wasn't. I could feel a protection around me. I was protected when I should have fallen into danger. I was comforted when I should have gone crazy with all the worries & problems I had in my life. I went through several times when I was homeless & penniless. Every time I thought hope had run out, I prayed for help. And I always got it.

When I ran as far as I possibly could have and I hit ROCK BOTTOM, even though I should have been I was NOT alone! JESUS was there.
He showed me that there was NO distance that I could run - NOTHING could separate me from His love! NOTHING could "qualify" me to receive His blessings, so I didn't have to worry about measuring up to the never-ending demands I was raised with.

Everything had already been done to guarantee my salvation. The price had already been paid by His grace. I simply needed to TRUST in Him, give my will over to align with His, and step forward in faith. 

Now I live differently.

I try to reach out to those people who remind me of where I once was. When I see someone suffering or struggling, I take the time to show them love in whatever way I can. I try to bring a smile to someone who is sad. I try to reach out to those who are homeless, and even when I have no money to give them, I do what I can. I try to prove to people that there is hope. I invite people to church or to Celebrate Recovery. I pray with them if they will let me. 

One of our goals for this year should be to be a light to someone else as often as possible. We are the light to others when things seem dark. We can bring Jesus to people who don't know Him. I honestly believe that it is because I was raised to know Jesus that I could feel the presence of His spirit with me during those dark times. But what about people who don't know Him? It is OUR job to take the love of Jesus to everyone who doesn't know Him. 

I'm going to make this year be one where I strive to share the light of Jesus with everyone I possibly can. I'm going to try to stop being shy. There are times when I have the opportunity to share a testimony or a prayer with someone and I pass it by. So this year it is my prayer that we will all strive to be the light of Jesus to everyone around us this year. Let us reach out & lift up others and try to make a difference every day, is my prayer, in Jesus' name!

Starting the New Year off right....Hello 2015!

This year, I am proud to say, my husband & I started off in the right place. It wasn't in a bar full of crazy people, although we did go out and enjoy a couple free games of pool earlier in the evening. We went out for a quick stop on UM campus to check out the Butterfly House exhibit, which was pretty cool. But then we went to church, where we spent the evening playing board games, eating good munchies & desserts, and then we ended the evening with praise & worship, intercessory & prophetic word prayer time & communion at midnight.

What a great way to start a new year! It was so fun. One of the cool things that our pastor had us do was write down a prayer list for 2015, write our names on the envelope, date it, and place it in the offering plate/basket. Next New Year's Eve we will receive our envelope back (if we are present), so that we can see how much our prayers were answered during the coming year. One of the associate pastors got his back from 3 years ago this year, and he reviewed with us how God had answered almost every one of his prayers in some way, although some of them took him more than a year to accomplish.

So I thought I would use my first post of the new year to share with you what my prayer list is for 2015.

1.) My first prayer was that 2015 would bring me back to school. I have figured out ways that I can complete my education, and hopefully will be able to make that dream a reality later this year.

2.) Just like most people, I have a goal to become more healthy this year. Except my goal doesn't just involve losing weight. My goal is all about BECOMING A HEALTHY PERSON! I hope to become more dedicated at exercising, particularly with Yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba & aquatic exercise. I also want to become more learned about herbs & supplements that can help me feel better naturally. I believe that God gave us whole, natural foods to eat in order to stay healthy. 

3.) My dream has always been to have my own praise & worship band someday that will perform as a type of outreach ministry. I'm loving being a part of our Sunday worship team, and also helping with worship for Celebrate Recovery every Friday night. Tonight I led worship by myself, singing over the top of a CD, because everyone in our praise team was sick! I thought it went well. It brought back memories of Highland Baptist CR in Clovis. I really love singing, and I'm hoping to be able to increase my music & keyboard skills so that I can be able to play keyboards & read a lead sheet. That way my goal of putting together a music ministry may someday become a reality.

4.) My biggest dream is still to become a mother someday. I'm hoping that the Lord will see fit to grant me my heart's biggest desire this year, and bless me with the gift of motherhood. There could be no greater miracle for our lives.

5.) This month marks 4 years that since my husband & I met...on my birthday. This year (October 1st) we will celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. My final prayer for this year was that Mark & I will continue to grow closer to each other & closer to God in all that we do. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store!

May everyone have a blessed & happy 2015. I know I hope to!