Yes, You have tenderly brought to light whom I truly am to reflect as; the Groom holds my gaze, and the periphery has vanished asunder... and my longings are for Him alone! No niceties allure the gaze that holds me firm; Beloved’s answered me, and assault has come to naught. I see the thread of Your revelation in living out, speaking of, and standing in the promises that stand, as You Lord are everlasting! I look out to meet Your gaze and know Your pleasure. To know You is to glean into the depths of delights profound, and then share of such marvels with thee. Song of Songs 1:12-14 TPT As the king surrounded me at his table, the sweet fragrance of my praise perfume awakened the night. 13

Today I was in prayer pouring out my heart and I found myself wrestling with the question of why I feel out of place sometimes in choir. I love it don't get me wrong. I would prefer to be up there and never to leave because of the closeness with God and the anointing over the people around me. This being said, we all get into our own heads sometimes. Me especially. I find myself angered or hurt over what? I don’t know. I mean I know but it's pretty stupid things. There are times I wonder if I'm on American Idol auditions and I'm that so you think you can sing reel where everyone is like, “awwww” but at least she is trying. Now come on I know I'm not the only one who has questioned where the

I, the Lord, from the commencement of the world... had fellowship and relationship in mind. To admire and partake of My creative doing, and enjoy this wanted company and familial exchange. Never are My thoughts that I would be better without you; thou the world continues to insist in it’s own ways, apart from the truth, and in total unbelief of deity! My heart has always been and remains that none would perish, but come to the knowledge of God, who WAS, and IS, and IS TO COME! My yoke is easy and My burden light... for I lighten and ease the load you carry, in trust of Me you can persist, endure, remain and accomplish! I am your strengthener, your believer, your sound council in all things.

“Larry, check my hair, what is this?” I asked my husband while trying to remove some white substance from my hair. “I think it’s spider web clumps from working out in the garage.” “Yes, you’re right. I’ll try to get it out.” “Ow, that hurts.” “I’m sorry, but this stuff is stuck tight. You’re going to have to wash your hair.” In thinking about the sticky stuff, I am reminded that sin is like the spider webs. When we allow ourselves to indulge in sin, it sticks tight and a washing in the Word of God is necessary to remove them. The cobwebs of worry penetrates my reaction to life events until I remember that we are to cast all our cares on God (1 Peter 5:7). When the stock market takes a plunge

Not a product of random choice Psalms 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Have you ever questioned your significance? Or you felt like you did not fit the mold of others? In scripture, we are told that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our creator. What if we changed our way of thinking? What if when we get the feelings of inadequacy or insignificance, we start praising Him for who we are in Him? Pastor Sam recently stated from the pulpit “Who you are in Jesus is ENOUGH”! We need to start living and believing that we are enough in Jesus and do not have to the fit the mold of the world. In Romans 12:2, we ar

But now you also put off all these: Anger Wrath Malice Blasphemy Bad Speech “Lie not to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him.” Colossians 3:9-10 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering: Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another: if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things…put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Colossians 3:12-13 “Put On” is the term for putting on clothes or garments.

Having a science background my mind often gravitates towards litmus tests. I find myself looking for “proof”. As we pursue God what will the outcome be? What is the proof? I believe the root of the theory will be salvation and sanctification. One leads to the other through faith we are saved but it doesn’t end there. Sanctification is our faith and salvation exposed in our daily lives. It is the action from the stimulus. Jesus makes this process very clear. He gives us a road map. There are 2 steps and 1 consequence/negative response. Love God (John 3:16) Love people (even imperfect people) (John 3:16) One saves and the other grows us closer to being like God. If we choose not to, Rev

I work at one of the major entertainment complexes in Branson. We have a stated purpose of providing an enjoyable and memorable experiences for our guests and I’m proud to say that we succeed most of the time. We have a dedicated crew that cares about what they do, and it shows. As a part of what we do, we are always dealing with plans. We look at what we’ve done (and what we hope to do) and then we reject and reform old plans and make new ones as necessary. Things often come up unexpectedly and surprise us. Aren’t you glad it’s not that way with God? No matter who we are or where we are in life God has only one plan for us. We were created with a need for God. We were created to respond to

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20:7 We are studying the 10 Commandments in Children’s Church. Our recent lesson on the third commandment really spoke to my heart. We spent a great deal of time discussing the fact that our words tell who we are. If you were to say, “I need to work on my lesson plans.” Chances are good that you are a teacher. If I overheard you talking about paint colors and cutting in trim, I would guess you to be a painter. What we say, gives others clues to what we are. Not just our occupation but the condition of our hearts. Carol Mader in the Kid’s Travel Guide

... every time you come to Me, Mine arms are welcoming of thee. I am the oasis and fullness of peace, trust and HOPE. In the presence of pure LOVE, sentiments and thoughts contending for lordship/pride of place, are displaced and uncovered by truth I have brought thru your searching. I don’t change, therefore- as you have entered the Lord’s season for good, I remain for and with you in spite the shifts! You have Me...I am in your steps, your entrances, in your dialogue, in your meditations, in your prayers, also in your hard places. I have bequeathed unmerited favor Beloved, on your sojourn which has highs and lows, and in every depth and height...I AM yours truly, and you MINE! Colossians 4

The sun is a very powerful tool. It gives us so many great things we need to sustain life here on earth. One of those amazing things is Vitamin D which is very important for our overall health. I found it very interesting in an article I was reading for coaching the other day when it talked about spreading vitamin D to those around you. The emphasis on it was to be the good in someone’s life that you come in contact with. Well, I very quickly came to the verse in John 8:12 where Jesus says he is “The light of the World.” So, as a Christian it became very evident to me that if I wanted those around me to have healthy lives and be stronger they needed the ultimate giver of life. If Jesus

Proverbs 3:26 (AMP): For the Lord will be your confidence, firm and strong, And will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap]. Many of us place our confidence in our education, our looks, our position, our property, our gifts, talents, our abilities, our accomplishments, or in other people’s opinions. Here lies a trap of the enemy because through proverbs 3:26, our heavenly Father is basically saying to us, “No more; it is time to let go of all those fleshly things to which you have been holding so firmly so long, it is time to put your trust and confidence in Me, and Me alone!” Hebrews 10:19 talks of our confidence before God; And now we are brothers and sisters in God’s family becaus

As Pastor’s of the Nursery department, Tammy and I get to spend a lot of time with the babies and toddlers in the church. A great deal of that time is spent just loving them, playing with them and finding ways to show them that church is a place where they want to be. We are blessed with many different kids with varied personalities. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some are still. Others have been blessed with energy. Surprisingly though, no matter what their other differences are, there is one thing that they all seem to like: The Magna-Doodle. I’m sure you’ve all seen one. I’m talking about the toy that’s filled with metal shavings and you use a pencil with a magnetic tip to draw pictures o

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. Psalm 32:11 Donald C. Stamps in the Life in the Spirit Study Bible said, The only truly happy people are those who have received forgiveness of their sins from God... Such blessed peace is open to all sinners who come to the Lord. As a repentant sinner, we are treated as righteous! Not by something we have done or earned but by God’s gift given upon confession of our sins and belief in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose again, defeating death and sin. We are forgiven! Our sin is covered in the blood! We are guilty no more! Our debt is canceled from the record! No

“Look, you blind, that you may see.” Isaiah 42:18b Let’s check out today the different ways we can look. But first…what is the first thing you use to catch something?...Your eyes. Look Back …To remember God’s love and blessings. He saved me, provides for me and my future is bright. Read Psalms 77:11 Look Up …To worship and praise the Lord always! “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.” Psalms 34:1 Read Psalms 103:1 and Psalms 5:1-3 “Look up” Look Down …In humility. Stay humble, always bow! Read James 4:6 God gives grace to the humble. Read Proverbs 18:12 …before honor is humility. Look Forward ...In confidence and hope. Read Psalms 31:

“When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” 1 Samuel 17:48-51 ESV 3.Be

“And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God." And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the

“Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord 's, and he will give you into our hand."” 1 Samuel 17:45-47 ESV Your giant will try to beat

Not so long ago, I had an early start to my day. Not wanting to wake up the household, I thought I would get ready in the closet and not turn on any other lights. The plan went perfectly. I was able to get out of the house without any disturbance. Driving down the road several miles, the sun began to come out. Smugly smiling and drinking my coffee, reflecting on my great accomplishment of not disturbing anyone, I just happened to look down and to my amazement, the white blouse that I had put on…..wasn’t completely white. It was stained. The pale stains didn’t show by the closet light, but certainly did in the sunlight. Isaiah had a spiritual experience in Chapter 6 that was even more r

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Through Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, we have been set free from slavery to sin and made alive and victorious in the Spirit. Our old sinful life was crucified and buried with Jesus. Therefore, we now have His power at work in us to resist wrong behavior. By grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are free to live our lives in holiness, give our lives daily as worship to God, and be transformed in our thinking. I am grateful to be a living testimony to the grace and the Word of God to renew