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!

New Year's Commitments

As 2014 is drawing to a close, I find myself doing what a lot of us do...planning for a new year. The past several years I haven't done ANY resolutions, feeling like "What's the point? I never keep them anyway!". Well, this year I've decided to change all that. I need an attitude adjustment, and recently I've been experiencing one. I find myself beginning to make goals again, and for this year, I need to devise a system to keep me on track. I just need to become more focused. Much of the time, my health conditions and chronic pain issues keep me held back. I try to set goals, but keeping myself on task is difficult when I can't sleep right, eat right or exercise like I should. 

This is what my human nature says... 

But this is reality...

Just because I have a bad track record of following through with things doesn't mean that I should just give up altogether! Lately, the changes that have occurred in my life have begun to stir a desire within my heart to set goals for the new year. Of course, I have the standard "resolutions" on my list...

• Eat Healthier
• Exercise More
• Focus on my education....keep learning something new every day
• Strive to achieve more in my career.... Etc.

I've already begun making changes that I will continue in the coming year. Just this month, I was able to FINALLY stop smoking! Tobacco addiction has ruled my life consistently since I was 13 years old. One of my first acts of rebellion, and it has tried to rule my life for nearly 24 years now. Well I finally have broken the habit. They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, and December 28th was 21 days since my last cigarette, so I've accomplished that goal already! And I plan to continue! Not only will I be able to breathe better, but it will improve my everyday life and singing voice quality.

The goals I have set for the coming year are ones that I hope to be able to continue every day for the REST of my life. These are areas that I have struggled with for years! Day by day, God is showing me the path that HE wants me to take in life, and that is to help others. 

I've always been a very free spirit, and very connected to others and their energy. I've also always had a lot of health issues. Well, I'm finally beginning to see that God has given me the ability to HELP others too. I am beginning to make changes in my life that will enable me to begin a system of changes for the future. I have an amazing career in hospitality, and I am beginning to read and learn more about the gifts & talents that God has given me to better myself & potentially help others in the future.

So my "commitments" for 2015 have to do with Body, Soul & Spirit.

Body:

• Eat more whole, natural foods
• Do Yoga daily to stretch my painful muscles
• Learn how to ease my pain through Acupressure, Massage & Essential Oils
• Sleep more regularly & with improved quality
• Supplement with herbs & natural healing remedies
• Help heal others with what I've learned & applied to myself

Soul:

• Strive to make connections to other women with common goals - establish positive friendships
• Strive to connect with other couples through couples ministry
• Seek out time to fellowship through bible study or ministry areas
• Begin seeking directions for areas of leadership both spiritually & in my career
• Seek to establish a healing connection between body, mind & spirit

Spirit:

• Spend time daily with the Lord in prayer & personal bible study
• Establish a bible study group with other couples
• Seek to be more active in women's ministry groups
• Actively participate in praise & worship ministry

Finally this is my ultimate prayer....

• Understand that the only person I can fix is ME
• Pray for others, but don't try to "fix" them
• Become more understanding of my differences with others, and APPRECIATE our differences
• Learn to practice Grace, Mercy & Forgiveness in all my relationships with others, and toward MYSELF

I pray that 2015 is a year that we ALL can stop focusing so much on the day to day and learn to see the bigger picture. I hope that we can all begin to see where God is challenging us to change and grow for His purpose is greater than we will ever know. Friends, I pray that you will have a desire to make "commitments" for the coming year that are realistic and that you will keep. I pray that MY commitments are ones that I will finally focus on keeping. May everyone be safe and blessed in the coming year. 

All My Love, 

A New City & A New Start For Us

On October 1, 2014, I decided it was time for a new start. My husband & I had been dealing with a lot of problems where we were living in Arizona, so I felt a change of scenery & pace was in order. We had been preparing to move back to Clovis, New Mexico, where we lived when I initially started this blog, but for some reason I didn't feel that was where we needed to be just yet. So I drove...

1300+ miles later....I arrived at my sister's house in Missoula, Montana. This was the most difficult decision I'd ever made, but has turned out to be the best decision. After a month's separation, my husband flew to Montana to join me, and now nearly 2 months have gone by. Our marriage has been restored! We both still love each other tremendously & we are so glad we didn't give up on us!

What's more is that we have found a new church home that is amazing. One of the first things I did upon arriving to Missoula was Google 'Celebrate Recovery'. There was only one location that had it, and I began attending immediately. Since his arrival here, Mark & I began attending together. We then decided to try out Sunday services to see if the church itself was one we felt comfortable in. The spirit was so strong there that we decided to make it our church home. 

Mark has become an active part of the sound team and I begin officially singing with the praise & worship team today. I'm so excited! We have been greatly blessed already by this amazing church, and we invite you to come join us at the Christian Assembly Foursquare Church, 1001 Cleveland Street, Missoula, MT 59802. You'll find us actively serving there several days a week!

Update.....Sorry it's been so long!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe that I've been so forgetful to post to my blog for so long! So much has been going on in my life. We returned to Globe, Arizona, my hometown, on June 1st, 2013. So much has happened since then. I began a new job on June 6th and haven't had any internet at home, so I've just forgotten about posting on here for so long.

NOW THINGS ARE BEGINNING TO HAPPEN!

God is showing me more and more what it is HE wants me to do! I am still in the planning/goal-setting stages, but Heavenly Father has been giving me visions of what He wants me to do with my future.

I am currently in the process of working with the Head Pastor of the church we currently attend in Globe, Arizona....Living Waters Community Church....in preparation to launch Globe-Miami's FIRST Celebrate Recovery program! Hopefully our program will launch after the first of the year, 2014. This is a project I am assisting with, and hoping to be involved as a leader at. However, it is not where I will stay. I'm sure we will serve there for 6 months to a year, but our ultimate goal is to finish our education so that we can embark on completing the visions that God has given each of us.

WE PLAN TO GET INTO MINISTRY!

God takes everything in our lives and turns it around for good. (Romans 8:38)
As many of you know, I spent years living a life of drug addiction, homelessness, spiritually broken and in the depths of hell due to my own choices. I realize that much of what I went through was due to the choices I made for myself, but a lot of those choices were because I didn't know how to deal with the issues that I had within.

So God has given me a vision to get a degree in Christian Counseling. I plan to minor in Praise & Worship pastoring. My husband spent 9 years in prison (literally) due to a bad choice that he made. God has given him a heart for prison ministry and he hopes to be able to develop a jail/prison ministry and also get a degree in Sound Engineering. We together have a vision to develop our own Christian non-profit organization that will be geared toward the healing of souls through various ministry efforts. We are also hoping to form a Christian Contemporary band to work within our organization, which will allow us to praise and worship Him through music, and share the message of Jesus Christ through the talents God gave us!

So now we are in a season of preparation. As the holidays are upon us, we are working toward forming our goals for the coming year. We are working on getting back into school in January, to continue working toward our long-term goals.

I have embarked on an online journey, and am currently seeking certifications through Christian Leaders Institute online, which will help prepare me toward my education in ministry. I will be using this blog as a communication tool for my education, and I WILL be posting more often! I hope you will check back to see what I've posted! Thanks for following!