Eyes Of A Lion

//When we follow Jesus, we can’t settle for partial victory because we’re exhausted. His plan is always for our full deliverance and sometimes that comes only in the last half hour, when we are frustrated, tired and can’t go one more step. Here is the long and short of it: We are not a people who are called to seek comfort and pleasure, to seek to have every blessing handed to us. We are called to do battle. We have to get on our knees and we have to go when He says go. Whatever he calls us to do, He will supply all strength to accomplish.//David Wilkerson

The other night in my suffering this terrible sore throat I was awakened by pain and sadly sleep escaped me. I laid there staring at a big sign on my wall, a gift I bought for myself, illuminated by my daughters night light and decided to use the time in the quiet and darkness to pray. The Holy Spirit began heavily speaking to my heart. It was so much and I was so attentive to what He was telling me that I grabbed my phone and started writing it all in my notes.

We have to PRAY like our lives DEPEND on it, because they do.

We have to FIGHT.

PRAYER and God’s living Word changes our perspective on life. (gives the eyes of a Lion.)

Just like fighting to eat healthy or fighting to lose weight. We have to FIGHT for the renewing of our minds; DAILY.

We have to be disciplined.

When we have an off day we cannot let it derail us. We determine to get back up and keep swinging.

We have to focus on the end. We have to keep our eyes on the cross as Jesus did. He came MISSION minded. He had a goal. He had a PURPOSE.

He daily stayed focused on why He was on this earth. He daily stayed in close proximity to His Father. He resolved to be obedient. He didn’t get swayed by the seductiveness of this world and He stayed built up by abiding in constant prayer.

We have to pray about everything and pray often. We should take the MOST care of our communicating with our Father. He longs for this relationship with His children.

When we do this His purposes become crystal clear.

We can FEEL His presence and HEAR His whispers.

PRAYER is the key to not only seeing all and everything through the scope of FAITH, but it opens our eyes to the God’s sparkling Kingdom here on this earth. Through prayer you will become ALIVE and open to the Holy Spirits guidance. You will look and be lead.

I have this image tucked in my mind… like the “whisp” lead Merida in the movie Brave. The Holy Spirit will light up your path leading you in all decisions and in all PRAYER.

We have to FIGHT not to slip back into the world and into bad habits.

Think of how we strive to diet, eat healthy, stay fit, exercise, fight the temptation of non healthy eating… etc.

It’s a BATTLE.

We have to resolve and fight daily to keep our minds renewed, our purpose clear, our agenda open to God’s agenda for our moments, our days, our dreams, our lives.

Be transformed by the renewing.

Be transformed by Gods word.

His ways are not our ways.

His thoughts are higher than ours.

We must intentionally replace our thoughts and thought cycles with His! He wants us to live HIGHER!

This is His PLAN for His children! He is FOR us! He GIVES us a way. We have to choose it!

Prayer is what gives you the eyes of a Lion.

Prayer helps us to SEE spiritually.

Is it enough to go sit in a gym?

Is it enough to just eat healthy?

No.

We have to resolve to be disciplined, stay on track, do what we don’t FEEL, ignore fleshly cravings, prepare in advance, shop and purchase with intention. Get to the gym or the track, the class or the outdoors. We practice self denial. We push. We fight.

So it is with FAITH.

We MUST fight against our feelings.

We are human. When we fail.. it’s ok. Get back up and walk. Walk in what you KNOW to do. Collect your thoughts and feelings and replace them with His.

We hear God on a regular basis when we read Gods word and pray on a regular basis.

Gods presence is the reward!

What is the reward of being healthy and fit?

You fight daily for it!

It’s a lifestyle. It’s work and discipline!

We have to resolve to be spiritually fit before anything else so that we can walk in the lives He planned for us all along.

I don’t know about You but I don’t want anything else but His way for me. I want to put more discipline into my relationship with my Father than in anything of this world.

I had these thoughts on Valentine’s night in the middle of the night as I lay next to my husband. I went to bed frustrated at our differences and expectations of the day and after this listening to the Holy Spirit instead of letting those negative feelings fester and take root, I laid my hand on him and deeply moved by my love for him prayed for him and our marriage.

This is what praying and replacing our fleshly thoughts does.

The weapon God gave me for this battle is 1 Corinthians 13:4-5. He whispers it to my heart often and I cling to it with determination to FIGHT against my flesh.

When we walk out His Word we claim the victory that is ours.

We MUST be BRAVE enough to fight.

February 2017- Recently, all I believe in, and all God has entrusted me to share, began whirling around in my spirit. Like fuel being thrown on the fire inside of me, the flames grew fierce.

This is why I FIGHT. This is why I share. This is WAR. We live smack dab in the middle of a battleground; spiritual warfare. As Christians we cannot live blind to this profound truth. Being blindsided by death makes me feel like I got suckerpunched and rouses the fighter within me. Little did I know that most of my life I had been fighting the wrong battles and in the wrong strength.

Death is what shook me from the comfort and complacency of my lukewarm faith to help me see this reality. God allowed me to see crystal clear through the eyes of a Lion, and to see that my life was destined for impact. All I had to do was take hold of it.

Heaven is our true HOME. This world is not. We should be living this life as pilgrims on a journey with heaven being our destination.

After I tasted death and grief in a personal way, God gave me a gift. In my groaning, I asked Him every day what the true meaning of life was. What is our purpose here? God graciosly answered my heartfelt cry for understanding.

The answer He gave me, and the vision He gave me, changed me forever.

Our purpose is to share the Hope, and to glorify God until all things are made right. We have a mission.

Jesus is our HOPE and our ANCHOR in this fallen and corrupt world. He is our Compass and our Light. He is the Lion.

I LOVE how Pastor Levi gave this analogy. He likens it to Iron Mans suit.

“As a child of God you have been entrusted with the Holy spirit. The SAME Holy Spirit that RAISED Jesus from the dead now lives in your heart and is ready and waiting to be activated. Greater energy courses through you than can be measured with horsepower. As often as you ask, the Spirit is prepared to surge afresh into your soul, like the power coming from Iron Man’s glowing chest piece, turbocharging your efforts as you RISE UP to do ALL God wants you to do.”

Without the suit, in his own efforts, Iron Man was powerless.

We are ambassadors. We get to represent God with our lives. We can represent in all POWER wearing the suit, or represent God carrying the suit and carrying unmet potential. Suited up our potential is unlimited. God’s desire is to do through your life “exceedingly abundantly above” what you could ask for or even think of (Ephesians 3:20)

We are to DEFY “NORMAL.” Disrupt the status quo.

It is possible to live a saved but wasted life; un-met potential, power not tapped in to, cozy and comfortable, NOT radical, audacious, BIG FAITH. We are capable of moving mountains in Jesus name, and for His kingdom here on earth. We are called to follow Him, and lay down our own lives for Him.

As Christians, we ARE NOT called to compartmentalize our time, devotion, and relationship with God. He wants, and ask us for ALL our heart and soul, not SOME of it.

Complacent is where the enemy wants us. Appetites settled and quenched with the WORLD and the things in it instead of being hungry for God.

He wants to dull our spiritual senses, and keep us comfortable in our lives so that we make no progression in our walking and running in faith. He will do anything he can to distort your vision. This is why DIFFICULTY and GRIEF often helps us be shaken out of comfort and complacency helping us to see more clearly God’s purpose for our lives. Not only does difficulty often give you vision, but it also helps to train you for the WAR. God uses the difficulty, or fire, to refine and strengthen, and to prepare us for the WAR to further His kingdom here on Earth.

Each STEP in following Jesus will eventually lead to picking up the pace in a rhythm of victory and joy until we find ourselves beginning to run.

Don’t look back! Keep your eyes to the skies! Cut off every sin that entangles your feet. Every weight that weighs you down AND RUN!

Cut and Run.

Ask God today what He might cut from your life (maybe even a good thing) that might be holding you back or weighing you down.

Or perhaps what good thing or good habit you might need MORE of.

Ask. Then listen.

Are you living your life in FAITH? Faith is an action. Faith seems risky. Faith steps out blindly trusting God. Do you take action everyday believing what is there? OR what God says is there? You must NOT rely on the NAKED EYE, but bravely step out and go AGAINST what feels safe and comfortable, allowing God to work through you. This is what it’s like to hand over the reins; submitting your life.

It looks a little like this. Train, obey, listen, step. Train, obey, listen, step. Train, obey, listen, step. And before you know it, you will be running.

Focus on the day you are in. Don’t look ahead or behind. Be focused, intentional and CONSISTENT.

All this training and taking action takes self-control and discipline. But don’t fear. The Holy Spirit is there to help and strengthen you. Our flesh is weak, but He is STRONG.

Public victory comes from private discipline.

We were created and destined to make an eternal impact on this world for God’s glory. We have to suit up, and step out in the faith that He’s called us to, like mighty warriors. We are in training FOR the battles we face.

As Pastor Levi says in Through the Eyes of a Lion, “Right NOW is the time to strengthen your faith. TODAY is the day to put down roots in a local church and sew yourself into the fabric of the body of Christ. Sing your guts out to the Lord as a drowning man cries for air, even when you don’t feel a need for Him. Open your Bible and seek God’s face each morning, on both the days you don’t get anything out of it and the days when the verses jump off the page. Have family devotions with your kids regularly. Don’t wait. Do it today. Keep your ANCHOR on a short leash. Be diligent and consistent until it becomes your nature. Eventually you won’t have to think about what to do; your spiritual memory will be honed. You will not faint in the day of adversity. Your trial will not be easy or over quickly, but you will get through it. Your anchor will hold within the veil, and one day the forerunner will bring you safely to the other side.

As Christ follower’s death does not have the final word. It has been defeated. We keep on running our race, getting closer and closer to heaven, carrying our loss with heavy hearts, but triumphantly, knowing every day we are closer to seeing them and living with them forever.

Living this kind of life and living in Christ means having the hope that,

Jesus has ABOLISHED DEATH and brought LIFE and IMMORTALITY to LIGHT through the Gospel.

2 Timothy 1:10

Heaven is our HOME. Suit up! Let’s FIGHT and RUN towards the roar until we get there!

I’m going to share a little something personal this morning.(That just made me lol. “ME” share something personal?)

This is something that I ran across this morning from 2012 and it warmed my heart. But besides warming my heart for my kids that I wrote about, the Holy Spirit made me take note of the DATE. And then taking note of the year this idea of being passionate and seeking popped in my mind. It was unexpected affirmation.

You see, I have naysayers.

I don’t want to focus on THEM, but SOME people along my path have had resentment toward my passion, and even had someone I really looked up to who knew nothing about me, basically tell me that my passion was a condition that happens as a result of losing (only 3 years ago) a loved one. Of course I knew and know better.

Naysayers.

If you are passionately following God with ALL your heart… you are going to have them. You will have friends who drift away and just don’t get it.

And that’s OK.

I hear God whisper all the time to me, “Erin, where does your identity come from? Are you going to get it from THEM or ME?”

I make up my mind in that very second.

It’s my thought that if we are not standing out then we might just be blending in.

I’ve been relearning a lot, by no coincidence lately, about being BOLD.

One of the boldest things I try to do on a regular basis is share my faith. And I do it because God wants us to.

When we share our faith and our testimonies we encourage others and we are testifying to the goodness of God in our lives.

My passion, that has even annoyed me over the years, is a gift that I’ve learned to embrace.

It’s MY gift. It’s who God made me. It’s for the purpose in my life and it’s my job to use it for His glory.

I will admit that I can learn to make better use of it and channel it better as with any gift, but I was definitely born with it and given to use it.

We FIGHT this fight and journey with Him daily for the JOY set before us!

Don’t even gaze at the people who will try to squelch your zeal. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Stay the path. The BEST IS yet to come.

— February 13, 2012

This morning my heart is about to explode with joy. Just pure joy and thankfulness. I was talking to my babies about being “doers” of God’s word, and Holy Spirit just took over. You know when you finish speaking and you have no idea where such wisdom came from! That happens to me a lot. I’m so careful what words I choose with them. I want so badly for them to have a fire for living God’s word, but I don’t want to overwhelm them, or have them resent me. I want it to be out of love, so I always ask the Holy Spirit to speak through me to them…in His perfect timing…in His perfect words, and this morning He did. Boy did He speak, and I know that they will never forget His words! It’s moments like these…when I SEE Him at work, that I almost can’t contain the love for Him in my heart.

Doers…I want to be a doer. Today and everyday. I want my babies to be doers. I want my babies to WANT to be doers. I feel it in every once of my flesh that God has something special planned for all three of them, and how lucky I am to get to be the one getting to plant His seeds.

When you ask the Lord to open the eyes of your heart…be ready to have the eyes of your heart opened.

And “Once our eyes are opened we can’t pretend that we don’t know what to do. God who weighs our hearts, and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.”

Proverbs 24-12 I memorized that!!! ❤ Yes I get excited over little things.

One thing I’ve for sure learned about living this ‘fresh life’ is that there are NO COINCIDENCES only God’s PROVIDENCES.//

This morning on my Facebook this picture of Lilly was the first picture on my ON THIS DAY from last year. It is of her swinging looking over some land of which is now the land of some good friends who are in the process of building a new home there.//

The very next post was a post of something that a dear friend posted also one year ago.//

This is her post:

“Truth … life is hard. Especially when you experience the loss of a loved one… your child… your flesh and blood. But I have also learned through grief and pain that life can be fulfilled again once you give it to God. Don’t give up … don’t settle for “this is my life now” after you experience tragedy. Trust me, I’ve been there. Experienced tragedy. Experienced heartbreak. Experienced loss of my child. Thinking this is it for me… but then I heard God’s voice. Telling me to NOT give up. Do NOT lose faith. And I didn’t… and I’m still here. Still loving and missing Cassidy every day, but becoming a better person by listening to God. Every single day is a struggle, but it becomes less of a struggle when I put on my armor of faith. Don’t lose sight of the big picture… our final home. This home is temporary. Live your life to the fullest… always keeping in sight your “dream home” in heaven.

“You’re doing better than you think you are … and God’s doing more than you think He is”.//

And after THIS post… 2 YEARS ago to the day was a reminder that it was the day that I became Facebook friends with Bert Snyder.\\

Bert was the first person/stranger that I ever handed out a copy of Through the Eyes of a Lion.— After His first Sunday preaching at the Loft my family and I left church and saw him shaking hands in the lobby. We started pulling out of the parking lot and I made my husband turn around because I felt strongly that I was supposed to give him one.— It was an awkward moment, but I felt relieved because obeyed that prompting.//

Bert would later send a sermon ( about the book ) to his friend Kim Hess who had lost her daughter to suicide.//

At this time God had planted a dream/seed in my heart. After receiving it my heart was literally on fire to do my part. A friend who knew of Kim said that I should contact her thinking she would be a great person with influence to share this fresh life living with our community.//

I friended her on Facebook but just couldn’t make myself reach out yet.//

A few months later Kim Hess contacted me and asked if she could participate in my Through the Eyes of a Lion study.( I have to interject that this was a complete thunderstruck moment.)

I got to know Kim through the study and I’m still watching her life and mission in awe of how she is a true warrior in every sense of the word. //

My friends who are building a home are approaching the one year anniversary of losing their beautiful daughter who was in high school to a car accident. It has been heavy on my heart that my friend meet Kim for a source of strength. Sometimes you try all you can then you just have to step back and let God.//

Just a couple of days ago it was on my heart to try again, but schedules were conflicting.//

TODAY I woke up to these post all together one after the other.//

God is weaving a beautiful masterpiece. He is the EXPERT at divine appointments. He is in His perfect timing connecting all the dots and if we see life through the eyes of a lion… we get to witness so many of these magical glimpses.//

One thing is for sure, I could not make all these stories up. I am honestly NOT this creative.

Yesterday morning I accidentally grabbed this Lion necklace by mistake that was hanging next to my other “key” necklace in my closet that says “PRAY” on it. I wear my pray necklace daily. (JESUS and PRAYING are key!)

I didn’t even realize it for a good while so even though it wasn’t the one I wear everyday, I kept it on and let it be a ‘remembrance for the day’ of what it stands for.

A very dear friend who speaks over my life gave me this necklace, a key with a Lion on it, before I took my trip to Montana to visit Fresh Life Church.

It was a reminder that “God has opened the doors” and that He goes before me and is leading me into my purpose. It reminded me that I didn’t need to do anything but WALK into the adventure and open door obediently and humbly. It most definitely was an effective reminder especially because of who it came from.

God was everywhere on that trip. He showered us with miracles everywhere we turned. We literally were so dumbfounded sometimes that we were left speechless: NO WORDS. Thunderstruck. In awe and wonder. (Can I tell you a secret? I think the KEY to that was that we prayed together numerous times throughout the course of our days there. I think God literally gave us the eyes of a lion, and a taste of what could be our everyday reality if we pray like crazy.) We saw God and felt Him so heavily that it felt surreal.

God, in His cleverness and creativity, has used Fresh Life Church and the idea of “fresh life” (a new perspective and fresh way of living intentionally for God: having the eyes of a lion) to lead me, but has also given me a vision and dream of having a Fresh Life Church here in our community. His desire is for me to be obedient in BOTH and letting HIM lead. Getting to walk with Him keeps me in a continuous state of awe.

God has been teaching me that my obedience to Him and intimacy with Him in my personal life goes hand in hand with what He is preparing me for.  He is working things out in my heart to strengthen me. It is perfectly and beautifully intertwined. If we are obedient in what He gives us, He will give us more in which to be obedient. This becomes a pattern in which He leads you in His will. In surrendering and being obedient  He is opening one door of opportunity after another and leading you into your calling. Every time I obey He leads me to the next step. Blessings always follows obedience. And I am finding that the blessings often look like favor, assurance of His presence, divine appointments, prayers answered, more opportunities and influence to point the way to Him,  many-many-many- “God winks”, and SO MUCH MORE! It is the most amazing, exhilarating, adventure of a lifetime! It looks dramatically different from the patterns this world begs us to have set in place in our lives.

The “dream” of Fresh Life here in my community one day is from Him and for Him. It was a gift. I didn’t ask for it, it was just given. It has nothing to do with me personally except that I “get to” be a part of it. And I get to journey with Him and be used by Him, and THAT is the highest honor. The dream of having a Fresh Life house here in the The Woodlands is also not my purpose. I find my purpose in being so close to Him daily that I don’t miss a whisper or a nudge to be used by Him however He deems. And the only way to stay that focused is to make a HABIT of praying in such a way that it never truly ends, and instead of just reading through Gods word, letting Gods word and the stories in it apply to your life. God wants to be personal with us. We cannot just read a positive scripture and apply it when things are grim, or read the stories and not ask Him how He wants to apply it to our lives . We have to allow God to lead us through His word and allow Him to speak it INTO our lives. We have to EAT it and DIGEST it. I open the Bible everyday with anticipation and excitement of what He might speak to me. We also have to make the most of every single day by loving, reaching out, working hard, and not let moments to do any of these pass you by. When you get into this pattern of praying and meditating on God’s Word, one of the miracles you will start to experience is that DETAILS MATTER in your life. Pastor Levi from Fresh Life Church said that every detail of our lives is infused with eternal significance. I have found this to be true and it has changed my life. Somehow through praying, and hearing God through His word you will begin to see that ALL the moments in a day have significance. Life suddenly becomes the opposite of boring or mundane. Following Jesus is the best adventure!

I’ve noticed a number of TEST disguised as trials or storms where God is testing my faithfulness to fully submit my life and ways to Him. OFTEN I will be looking at the problem and praying about it only to get to the other side and figure out that He was correcting and growing something IN ME! I was able to receive that revelation by being relentlessly obedient. Blessing always follows obedience. Being molded  and sometimes sand-papered into who God has planned for me to be is a BLESSING! I found those test and trials to be necessary. They serve a purpose if we can change the scope in which we view them!

Meanwhile I hold on lightly to the dream He planted within me, while following Him closely. Doing that,  I KNOW I’m being available to be used for His glory. I TRUST that He is making something beautiful while in the WAITING. Something I cannot “see” but trust and believe in WHOLLY. And I just keep whispering, “not my will but Yours be done, ” and I obey whatever He speaks to me. He literally leads me daily. Sometimes I hear His voice much more clearly than others, but He is always leading us on through  His Word if we have the eyes to see it, ears to hear it, and a heart open to receive it. God’s word is alive and active and just waiting to be activated in your life! You just have to say YES and STEP even though sometimes you have no idea WHERE you are going. Thats a picture of submitting. You TRUST and STEP in blind FAITH. Just a week or so ago I was struggling with something and I felt STUCK and I heard God tell me as I was trying to get through a rough day, “JUST WALK”. And by that I felt like He meant, don’t STAY stuck… just take the next step chin up and GO! I was getting too focused on the storm.

This new way of living really became activated in my life during an extremely difficult season. I asked for revelation and understanding of life at a time when I was completely void of ‘self’. I was numb to the world around me, but felt closer to God more than any other time in my life. The world around me was silent, but God’s voice was loud and clear. There is much truth to the scripture that says blessed are those who mourn. That time in my life was sacred and will be treasured. So if you find your self depleted or in grief, lean into God like never before. He will birth something beautiful from your pain. Callings are often born in times of crises. I’m thankful for those times. All pain and trials I am learning are sacred and never wasted. Seek Him in your pain! Know that from ashes He can spring forth something beautiful if you allow Him.

Immediately after pouring out my soul to Him, He gave to me the gift of a VISION. It is not the only vision He has given me in my life so I recognised it was from Him right away. Just a few days following He led me to Fresh Life Church, and a book by Levi Lusko called, Through the Eyes of a Lion.  Then about a year later deposited a dream inside of me that came just in the form of a spark that set fire to my soul. When God shows you something…when He gives you such a clear holy image of something, how could anyone not give it their ALL to be available for Him to use. Gods dream is salvation of lost souls. It’s freedom from bondage for His people who He loves SO much that He sent His son to die on a cross for us. This dream is for THAT.

Within this journey of being recklessly obedient and devoted, He has been leading me on, through His Word, moment to moment and day to day, glory to glory and miracle to miracle. Most days I’m so in awe of His goodness that I’m overtaken by this awareness of His presence. I KNOW in that painful time, God gave me the eyes, heart, and roar of a Lion. I had begged Him to show me the meaning and purpose of life and He showed me a Lion and pressed upon my heart, THIS, is the meaning and purpose of LIFE. I received it and never looked back to the ‘good Christian way’ I was living before.

During the same summer of this transformation to change the way I viewed life, I heard God tell me to TEACH. His voice was unmistakably clear. I had NO earthly idea what that was going to look like and I had no degree in teaching or any experience teaching anyone but my children. But… God does not call the prepared, He prepares the CALLED.

God had a plan even though I had NO idea what was ahead or what those plans were, I just had a STRONG inclination that I better obey. So I stepped out in faith and went to the only place that I knew to go; The Woodlands Methodist Church.

That was the beginning of a gift or passion that I didn’t even realize was in me. God deposited it or watered it because it sprung forth with force and was full of passion. Thus was birthed my passion to share and teach all I’ve learned.

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I believe that He loves us SO much and wants this ‘fresh life’ of surrender, searching, doing, and obedience, so that we can be a generation and raise a generation of  BOLD Jesus followers that are intentional about the way we choose to do life. I believe He loves us SO much that He wants to do crazy unimaginable, powerful, things THROUGH us right here right now with exactly what we have in our hands.

I have always had a soft heart for teens. Reaching them and helping them has always been a DESIRE in my heart for as long as I can remember. I would attribute this desire to my extremely trying teen years. Now as a mother of teens, a lion roars inside of me to not just ‘have a soft heart for them’ but to fight for them as they find their way through these dark and confusing times. Knowing what I know now about my Father in Heaven and His intention for our lives, It has become a personal mission of mine to turn off the dark in their world and lead them to the Light. Even if that means one sweet young soul at a time.

I pray for them a REVIVAL and I pray that revival starts with me and that God would use me and work through me in the fight against darkness in their generation.

I believe He wants to raise up and empower our youth to say YES to Jesus and be warriors that storm the gates of hell together for His kingdom all the while having His blessings bestowed upon them. He wants to fan the flame of passion in their hearts so that they will know the hope to which we are called and will no longer be hypnotized and seduced by the luring darkness of this world. He wants to plant dreams! He wants them to rise up with FREEDOM, PURPOSE and AUTHORITY! He wants to do miracles! And ultimately that He wants them to KNOW and FEEL LOVED by Him finding their worth and purpose in Him rather than in the hands of success, wealth, trophies, degrees, and titles… which I personally believe is a staggering problem in this very community.

I’m praying for a revival within our youth who abandon themselves for this “fresh life”. A MOVEMENT of young hearts leaving what they know behind and making an oath to follow Jesus with passion. A wholehearted devotion. Not looking behind but instead putting all hope into eternity. Choosing to turn off the dark in this world and ratcheting up a fire that makes them want to fight for the next. A revival where all eyes are opened to the spiritual world we live in. And a fire in hearts to long to use their gifts, talents, and lives all for His glory.

The DREAM I believe was birthed . I believe He gave me the gifts of revelation, passion, authority to teach, and a desire to SHARE…for a time such as THIS. Bearing this cross and walking this out I am finding takes much surrendering: Daily surrendering.

It wasn’t a coincidence that the teaching while at FRESH LIFE in Montana was on “suffering well”. I cried while worshiping through the entire message. I’m not sure there is a blessing greater than God giving you words that penetrate the deepest parts of my being, while literally worshipping in the Fresh Life House. -No coincidences only PROVIDENCE.- Obviously the message wasn’t JUST for me, but for everyone who follows and imitates Jesus. Anyone who is faithfully a follower of Him is going to suffer as He did. But we suffer KNOWING what lies ahead. And we learn that in suffering and pressure comes power from on high if we lean into the words He speaks to us and submit to His will and not our own. We mustn’t embrace a world that is safe; one in which we control everything, but we must embrace the suffering that Jesus said life would bring, and hold tight to His promise that He is in it and has already overcome. I have found that He makes a way EVERY SINGLE TIME. It’s amazing.

In the journey there IS SUFFERING! He tells us there WILL BE! But we are not to be afraid OR to take our eyes off Him!

My last blog post I spoke of what it means to endure the cross or your purpose daily. Endure means to SUFFER patiently. Jesus suffered patiently knowing that it would accomplish  His purpose, or the reason He was sent. For the joy set before Him… He was devoted to His Fathers will. As WE should be as well.

Once you realize that this life is NOT about you, and that God wants to use your surrendered life to do something grand for eternity, you will begin suffering by dying to yourself as you let His word work itself out through your life. Things will not seem fair and will feel extremely counter intuitive. You literally have to DIE to your flesh; what you “feel” and your “feelings” for the sake of Christ and the joy that awaits. And sometimes that process causes you to suffer. But we are called to do it! This life is not about you. Our life as harsh as it sounds is not about being happy, but about being Holy, so that we can be used for His kingdom here on this earth. But within that suffering is joy unspeakable!

In this fresh life walk there will be suffering. Just like Jesus we are called to carry out our purpose with endurance FOR the joy set before us. So His kingdom can COME. The VICTORY is ours if we cling to His promises and FIGHT to not be derailed by the storms and trials, keeping our eyes on Him. When we do we are allowed to walk on water WITH Him! We get to be a part of the miracles!

He has a better way. It feels so counterintuitive, but in it is this magical, glorious KINGDOM where God is working and WE get to be spectators of Him building His kingdom HERE in our midst. It’s a hidden GEM. A narrow road and few will find it. But if you become intentional and search for Him and His way with ALL your heart, you WILL find it. You will find THE WAY. You will find the TRUTH, and you will find the LIFE you were destined to live. A life of dreaming, risking, having blind faith, rewards, blessings, and the best…having a part in what God is doing to build His kingdom. And you will find yourself smack dab in the middle of your purpose! Not only THAT, but you will find yourself doing things you never DREAMED that you could do because you have God’s power flowing through you! He wants to USE YOU! He wants to do BIG and GLORIOUS things for His kingdom through your life!

The KEY is JESUS,  FAITH, His Word, and PRAYER.

It leads and opens doors to the purpose of our lives.

EVERY life matters. Every life has a PURPOSE beyond what we can even imagine!

The question is, will you use the key to open the door or will you cling to what you know in this world. We are not called to play it SAFE. We are called to have RADICAL FAITH, to DREAM and to Risk it all for Him!

Jesus is inviting you. Do not put off the amazing life of purpose that awaits you. Together with our keys we can live for eternity today!

The other day I posted on social media how God was speaking to my heart through my life verse Hebrews 12:1-2. He specifically gave me the word ‘endure’ to ponder and meditate what it means to suffer patiently.

Yesterday I found myself still chewing and meditating on this word. I was thinking about what it means to ‘FOR the joy set before us’ to suffer patiently through difficulty (locking our eyes on Jesus and His word) and leaving behind the ways of the world and our fleshly desires and feelings. We cut those off allowing our minds to be renewed and transformed by His example and His word. And also what it means to not ‘just’  ENDURE, BUT  to “ENDURE the CROSS.”

I recently was inspired by a sermon by Chris Durso at Fresh Life Church that taught that OUR CROSS equals OUR PURPOSE.

Cross=Purpose

Jesus says, ” If you want to be My disciple, you have to carry YOUR CROSS daily.”

PURPOSE is God’s predestined plan for your life.

God has a predestined plan for each and every one of us.

We have to CARRY out our PURPOSE ‘daily’.

If you want ME to consider you a disciple, then you MUST CARRY out your PURPOSE/CROSS daily.

Jesus life on this earth was a life of PURPOSE. He HAD to walk in or carry out that purpose for the eternal purposes of why He was put on the earth.

We ALL have a purpose. We have been burdened with a glorious purpose to do glorious things FOR God. We were created by Him and for Him, and He is just waiting to fill us with His Holy Spirit and do unimaginable things through our lives. Only things that can be done with His power and might!

If WHAT you are doing on a regular basis isn’t YOUR PURPOSE then it’s not only taking up your time, but it’s a WASTE of your time.

As BELIEVERS (do you call yourself a believer?) we are to walk out our purpose on a daily basis.

Are you walking out your PURPOSE on a daily basis?

WE are a purposed people.

We have a CALLING on our lives.

Regardless of WHAT it is there is a purpose that God has placed in front you.

I would encourage you to take a hold of it, hold it tightly, and CARRY it. Carry it DAILY.

Jesus SAID to CARRY our “CROSS” DAILY.

And may I remind you that WE have an enemy that has primary goal DAILY to derail us from ever even finding our calling and most importantly to be the voice (NOISE) that you hear drowning out God’s whisper to guide you. To hear a whisper you must intentional ‘lean in close’. A whisper is so close to you that even amongst the noise of the enemy’s playground if you intentionally lean in you will hear it.

Intentionally lean in to God’s word and keep your eyes on Jesus. Replace thoughts with His word and His promises so that your mind will be transformed, and walk on. Carry that cross.

You are ready. Make no excuses. Start by dedicating THIS day to Him, and make your focus to hear from Him. Seek Him and you will find Him. Listen and He will whisper. Make Him your number one priority.

He WILL enable you and strengthen you to carry out your calling.

Father, give us the eyes to see not just the world around us, but what You are doing in our life and in our world. Protect us from the enemy, and lead us on through your Word. Help us to suffer patiently the trials of this world as we carry out our PURPOSE all to your glory. Amen!

I wake up before the crack of dawn to spend time with God praying, reading, and listening. I get up at 4:30 with having to start waking kiddo’s at 5:10. I have to peel myself out of my chair at that point. My days DEPEND on that time. I’ve been doing it for years, and I can’t live without it.

This morning I reluctantly got up…stretched my body, and took a deep breath combined with a deep sigh. Another day. Like the movie, Groundhog Day.
As I was walking down the hall to wake up Mitch, some words filled my mind and I went quickly to write them down.

“As your plowing away in the mundane activities of your day, remember that God loves you. He sends the Holy Spirit to walk with you. You were created to make an eternal impact in this world. God’s desire is to bless you and USE you. He can do more “through you” with His POWER and GRACE…MORE than you could possibly imagine.
Surrender FULLY to Him this day and SEEK HIM in every moment, and He WILL direct your path.”

After getting Mitch and Kevin off to school, then comes waking Elysse. Elysse, is a different ballgame. I constantly feel as if I am herding cattle. “Move! Move! WHY ARE YOU NOT MOVING?!?!” The struggle is real getting her off to school EVERY single morning. Sigh…

This morning I got caught up in the craziness, and rushing, and I allowed myself to get frustrated. I raised my voice at her in a angry way,(honestly…I screamed) since it seems to be the ONLY way to get any of my kiddo’s attention. I immediately regretted my lack of the control over my emotions.

In the midst of the commotion while scrambling to get out the door, I said, “have you prayed this morning?” To which she answered, “no.” Lilly said, “let’s pray, mommy!” To which my spirit said..”yes, let’s pray.” We all three raised our hands and I prayed over us.

“Father, reign in our emotions this morning, and help us to focus on what truly matters. Give us spiritual eyesight to see our situation for what it truly is. The devil wants us stuck in these ruts, but we want to choose Your way, with Your strength. Fill us all three up with Your Holy Spirit so we can be overwhelmed with Your peace that you so graciously offer. Help us to keep our focus on you throughout our entire day, so that You can work through us. Help us to not be distracted, but to keep our focus on You. We love You and desire for You to use us for Your kingdom. Please be our words, our decisions, our actions, and our re-actions, and forgive us when we fail and slip up. We love you with ALL our heart! Amen.” (Might have slightly differed, but that is extremely close to what we prayed.)

In that instant, we all three felt His peace, and things were instantly better.

And as I was loading up the car I was thinking… I asked Mitch if He read his devotion as he was walking out the door. And I asked Elysse if she prayed as we were trying to get our ducks in a row (whatever that means). In my flesh I just wish they would like “get it.” I wish they would pray and read their devotions by themselves. I mean…I’ve only told them a MILLION times over the YEARS. You would think they would “get it”, right? I want SO bad for them to desire it for themselves.

But then I was GENTLY reminded for the millionth time to read it WITH THEM, and to “gently” be WILLING to PRAY (WITH) THEM. Geez… When will (((I)))ever “get it?”

As mommies we HAVE to LEAD our children. We have to MAKE time. Instead of expecting them to do it by themselves, we have to lead them until their day comes to step up and have their own desire.

It took me YEARS to “get it” and to walk in my relationship with God on my own. Why do I lack patience for OTHERS to do the same?

It was but once again another lesson for this momma this morning.

I’m thankful that God is patient with this thick headed girl, and I need to be patient with MY children, and quit forgetting to gently lead them.

God is making something beautiful in the process. I have to keep my eyes on Him throughout the craziness of my day.<3

FOR AGES, THE VISION OF THE COMING MESSIAH ONLY EXISTED IN SCROLLS OF PROPHECY AND THE SOULS OF PROPHETS

ELIJAH WAS ONE SUCH PROPHET

…

FEARING FOR HIS LIFE

HE FOUND HIMSELF HIDING IN A CAVE

FEELING ABANDONED BY GOD WHO HAD CALLED HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE

BUT GOD WAS ABOUT TO MAKE HIMSELF KNOWN

A FIERCE WIND SHOOK THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS

BUT GOD WAS NOT IN THE WIND

AN EARTHQUAKE CAUSED THE VERY GROUND BENEATH HIS FEET TO TREMBLE

BUT GOD WAS NOT IN THE EARTHQUAKE

FIRE IGNITED THE SKY

BUT GOD WAS NOT IN THE FIRE

…

THEN FROM THE SILENCE

A WHISPER

GOD’S PRESENCE ARRIVING GENTLE AND SMALL

…

CENTURIES AFTER ELIJAH

GOD’S PEOPLE SAT IN THE SILENCE OF SUFFERING

THEY LONGED FOR A SCROLL, A PROPHET, A MIRACLE

LIKE ELIJAH, THEY FELT ABANDONED BY THE GOD WHO HAD CHOSEN THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE

THEY LONGED TO BE RESQUED

THEY LONGED TO SEE THE MESSIAH BECOME MORE THAN AN AGE-OLD PROMISE

SOME EXPECTED A WARRIOR

BUT THE MESSIAH DID NOT ARRIVE WITH SWORD AND SHIELD

SOME WANTED A KING

BUT THE MESSIAH WOULD NOT ARRIVE WITH CROWN AND THROWN

SOME LONGED FOR A HERO

BUT GOD DID NOT SEND A HERO IN THE WAY THEY EXPECTED

…

IN A SMALL TOWN

IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT

THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE BECAME FLESH

HE DID NOT ARRIVE AS A WARRIOR, A KING, OR A HERO

THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD ARRIVED

AS A CHILD

GOD’S PRESENCE ARRIVED GENTLE AND SMALL

LIKE A WHISPER

…

JESUS DID NOT ARRIVE IN THE WAY WE EXPECTED

HE WAS BORN INTO HUMBLE CIRCUMSTANCES

SON OF A HEAVENLY FATHER

BORN TO A VIRGIN MOTHER

HE ARRIVED NOT TO SIT AT THE TABLE OF THE PRIVILEGED OR THE ENTITLED

HE CAME TO VISIT THE HOME OF THE OUTCAST

HE STOOD WITH THE OPPRESSED AND HEALED THE SICK

JESUS IS THE GIFT WE CAN NOT EARN

HIS GRACE, THE GIFT WE DO NOT DESERVE

BUT HE GIVES IT FREELY

HE SEES YOU

HE CHOOSES YOU

HE KNOWS YOUR STORY AND HE KNOWS YOUR NAME

NOMATTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

HIS LOVE FOR YOU IS JUST THE SAME

…

YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN GOD IN THE WAY YOU EXPECTED

BUT IN THIS MOMENT

LISTEN

HE IS WHISPERING TO YOU

– He whispers because He is close. He is near to the one who will reach out to Him by faith.