What Happens

What happens when the people of God step forward?
The people of the living God,
The people who know they have purpose in life,
The people who know God is on their side, and no weapon formed against them may prosper,
What happens when  the people of God step forward?
The people of God who are covered with the blood of Jesus
And surrounded by His glory and favor,
The people of God who know they have the host of heaven on their side...

What happens when the people of God step forward,
The people who are confident that their God goes with them and protects and guides them...

The earth shakes...
That is what happens,
Satan trembles in fear and enemies are destroyed,
And a shift happens in the atmosphere...

When the people of God march forward
With their God as their constant Hero and companion...
The impossible suddenly becomes possible,
The light begins to reign,
And the sound of hope abounds...

Yes, when the people of God march forward with confidence in their God,
Things happen,
Things change,
Goodness abounds,
And love wins!

Heavy Hearted

Precious one,
Is your heart heavy with desire
Desire to see a loved one free?
Free from the enemy's grip,
Free from the wandering,
Free from the experimenting with all the world promises to be delightful.
Is your heart heavy as you carry your loved one's pain, wounds,
And as you watch those waves of despair flow in and out?

Oh, how your heart longs to see this dear one bloom, with new growth,
Oh, how your heart yearns for their springtime of awakening to the Father's love to arrive...

My friend,
The Father does not want to see you burdened with this care, worried or anxious.
He wants to transport you into the heavenly places with Him
Where together, with Him, you can see as He sees.
He knows, sees, and has been interceeding for this dear lamb of His long before you have...
He is confident... because He knows the good work that He began in this dear one
Will be perfected!!
He sees and knows the "how' and the "when."

Friend,
Continue your prayers with much hope and joy in the Lord.
Look into His face and hold unto those precious promises...
For your hope is in Him!!!

Yes, that is how it is possible
To lay that burden down...
To pray and declare with confidence, eventhough the picture looks otherwise...

Allow Him to transport you
Right next to Him,
The Prince of Peace.
And He will give you supernatural eyes
To hope, believe, and rejoice in His goodness.

Trust

When my trust is in myself,
In the natural, the obvious, in my ability, in money, education, my job, or a person...
I become fearful, anxious, frustrated,
I question the circumstance,
Strive for protection and provision,
I waver and become shaky.
Suddenly, I am not sure if I am doing the right thing,
Or believing the right thing...
I begin to doubt the faithfulness and goodness of my God,
And peace seems far away...

But when I trust in my God
The negatives flee.
And I allow Him to do what He loves to do...
Open the storehouses of His riches in Heaven,
And abundantly, He pours out His grace and meets all my needs!!!

"When our trust is in You, God, we are unshakeable, unmoveable. When our trust is in You, You  wrap Your presence around us and protect."  Psalms 125

Gentle Care

Today, I looked at my tomato plant and thought,
This is a true miracle,
I remember the day I planted this tiny seed into the dark soil,
It seemed impossible at the time that anything could result from this seemingly worthless action.
But instead I erased that thought and hoped,
Pictured a bountiful crop of tomatoes,
Pictured those canned jars of tomato soup, salsa and remembered the taste of tomato sandwiches.

Yes, my hope was in the life that was within the seed...

So although my natural eye was telling me one thing, I chose to believe in the life within the seed.
And hope blossomed,
And I became a gentle gardener over those tomato seeds.
Carefully, I watered, and exposed those seeds to heat and light,
My hope was rewarded when I saw the green begin to pop through the dark soil,
With faith building...
I gently transplanted each little skinny sprout, watering and exposing it to sunlight.
As the temperature got warmer outside, I began giving them an hour, then 2, then an afternoon
Gradually weathering them for the outside temperatures.
As that plant continued to grow, I transplanted it again, giving it more room to spread its roots...
But then I looked at the calendar...
And began to fear...
Are these plants going to be ready by mid-May when I want to plant??
But I continued to believe in this miracle and gently garden those plants,
And today I am looking at them...amazed and delighted!!!

This little miracle made me think of my Gardner, the Father, my Maker,
He has such faith in me as He plants me here on this earth.
Gently, He tends to my every need, without me even being aware of His touch.
At first, I rest in His care, child-like, carefree,
But then the disappointments of life begin to show up,
And I begin to doubt His gentle care over me as I fear, worry, and complain.
But gently He reminds me that He planted me...
He knows what is in the seed,
He knows what is needed to bring me
To that place of fullness, that place of maturity, that place of fruitfulness.

Yes, so many times these natural eyes and finite mind cause me to reject His care,
To fret, doubt, or fear...
But gently He restores, strengthens my branches again
Allowing me to receive His kind, compassionate care...

Yes, it is all a miracle
The process of a seed growing and maturing into fruit,
And the process of growth in my life...
All resulting from the gentle care and abundant grace of our Father!

Springtime of Passionate Love

Did you know that if you are in Christ,
If you have said,"Yes" to Jesus,
That you are planted in the valley streams where the orchards of the King grow and mature?

The valley beds that are next to the river or stream are rich in nutrients.
They prosper from the nourishment of abundant sunshine and water.
The Lord has planted you here friend, in this valley stream,
So you could grow, prosper, and mature.

To our eyes,
This does not appear to be a place of growth,
Here in the valley.
The mountain top seems more preferable.
Here in the valley,
Life can be harsh, hard, difficult, painful...
But the Lord has planted you here with purpose.

It is those hard times friend,
That turn us to the stream,
For nourishment, for help, for answers, for refreshment.
This stream has life in it,
Because it flows from the throne room of God Almighty!
It is the river of His perfect love.

We can have as much of this stream, this river as we like.
We can wade in it a little, duck our heads in once and awhile...
Or we can swim in this river of His perfect love.
He gives it to us freely, willingly,
Offering it to us in our every need.

Yes, friend,
It is the rough times that turn us to Him, the stream, the nourishment, the Help,
It is the hard times that keep us hungry, keep us thirsty,
It is the hard times that allow us to see our need.

When we enter,
He does all the work,
Pursing, forgiving, washing, transforming, renewing, beautifying...
Yes, He comes and lifts those branches up into the embrace of the Father's heart,
And new growth appears as His love is absorbed.

The blooming of springtime comes
When I receive His passionate love,
And life becomes Him and me...
Not just me.

The Sparkle

They will sparkle
In the land,
His chosen ones,
His beloved ones,
His rescued ones.

Yes, beloved one,
Chosen and rescued
By the King of Kings, the Lamb of God,
You sparkle...
You have been rescued, delivered, bought
With the precious blood of Jesus.

His righteous blood
Won the battle for you.
His perfect, powerful blood
Makes you sparkle...

Sparkle in your world,
Like a jewel in a crown...

You did not realize it did you...
That as you drove to work... you sparkled,
As you walked into your office...you sparkled,
As you ran to catch the bus...you sparkled,
As you prepared breakfast for your family...you sparkled,
As you paid for your groceries...You sparkled,
As you worked in the yard, went to the gym, conversed with your neighbor.....
You sparkled...

You did not know,
But the oppressor saw the sparkle
And trembled in fear
Of the potential danger your sparkle would have in his plans...

You did not know,
But the One who rescued you saw the sparkle,
And He rejoices with great delight
In His jewel,
His delight,
His glory.

Zechariah 9:16

Tender Love

Thank you Lord, that Your tender love is blended into everything You do.
Your tender love is blended into Your beautiful creation.
Your tender love is in my relationships,
Your tender love is in the gifts and talents you bestow upon me.

Tenderly You protect me,
Tenderly You provides,
Tenderly You comfort and encourage,
Tenderly you teach and instruct me,
Tenderly you shepherd, anoint, commission,
Tenderly You heal,
Tenderly You embrace me with your hugs and kisses,
Tenderly You whisper Your endearments and sing your song over me.
Tenderly You continue to love...without accusation or condemnation.

Yes, Your tender love is blended into everything You do...

But you are not tender with the enemy, the accuser, with that spirit that attempts to harass and harm...
No, powerfully You destroy and command justice.
Powerfully You command the enemy to leave, to get off Your property...
Powerfully You defend, protect, fight, preserve and rescue me...

Yes, powerfully and tenderly You take such good care of me!!!