Faith Exercise

1. Write down 3 things that God has done for you. 

2. Take time to meditate and feel thankful for each one.

3. Write down 1 need that you have. 

4. Look up 3 scripture references that pertain to this particular kind of need and write it down. Ex. Scripture on healing, forgiveness, peace for the anxious, comfort for the broken-hearted. 

5. Write down your scripture references. This can include the complete verses, passage the verse is in, or just book, chapter and verse. 

6. Read the chapter these verses are in. 

7. For help with particular words or phrases look them up online at Blue Letter Bible.

8. Write down a prayer for this need including words and phrases from all three scripture references.

9. Keep your prayer nearby so you can pray on it throughout the day. 

10. If you don't already, invest in a prayer journal so you can check off the prayers that God has answered as he answers them.

Written by: Lisa C

Hard Fought Hallelujah

I love the song, 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' by Brandon Lake. When I listen to this song I am reminded of all the storms that God has brought me through. The worst storm of all was losing my daughter. Praise and worship are our defense and meant to encourage and uplift us as we praise and worship a holy God. When your heart feels crushed and you think you're life is in a million pieces it can be hard finding that place from within where praise comes from. You may have to fake it to begin with and get loud and have an ugly face and tears, ripping through the pain looking for something good. But keep bringing to mind all the other things God has brought you and your loved ones through.  Think about how his mercy is renewed daily for our benefit.  Think about his grace that he's covered is with. Think about how he must have felt when the exact opposite of his love and will for us, when the powers of principalities and darkness, nailed his son to the cross. Think about the pride he must have felt when his son gave his life to destroy death and the damnation we were destined for until Jesus GAVE his life to give us salvation, eternal life, and sonship rights. Jesus holds the keys to death. In Christ, we are no longer condemned but reborn as son's and daughters of God. My daughter's spirit is in the bosom of my heavenly Father. Her spirit is free to worship and praise our Father and bask in his light. We always have something to be thankful for and happy about. Keep fighting for your praise. It will come!

Written by: Lisa C

Analogy of Our Father's Love

Have you ever watched a child learn how to walk. Watching my children learn how to walk was a blessing to me. The word blessing doesn't even begin to describe how I felt as I watched my children's determination to walk no matter how many times they stumbled or fell. 

I watched them catch their balance when they stumbled. I saw them stand back up and try again and again. I loved how they persevered. 

Now in comparison, think about how much our Heavenly Father loves us and his parental pride in us. God loves us with a perfect love. The definition of him in the Word is 'God is love'. His love is described as unconditional. His love knows no boundaries. 

He gave his Son so that we can have eternal life with him in glory. God's son, Jesus Christ, being unjustly murdered was the epitome of sin. Jesus giving his life for us so that through faith in him and what he did for us so we will be saved is the epitome of love. God's love is perfect. 

Our Father who knew us and knitted us in our mother's womb and gave life to us watches us as we learn to be more like Jesus Christ and learn how to put on the mind of Jesus Christ. 

God sees us catch our balance when we stumble. He sees us correct ourselves every time we make a mistake. Jesus said we are to forgive our brother seven times seventy times when he sins against us. The mistakes we make trying to be more like Christ are just that, mistakes.

Our words and actions, even our way of thinking comes from a place of memory. Our body remembers the muscles we use to catch ourselves when we fall and to stand back up after we've fallen. We speak and act instinctively. Our heavenly Father sees us training our minds as we learn to replace a mind of carnality with the mind of Christ. He sees our struggle as we correct ourselves over and over again. He sees us try every day to be more and more like him and he has a father's love, watching us learn to be more like Jesus Christ. 

God's mercy is renewed every morning. The salvation that we're given comes from what he's accomplished not through our own efforts and works. If we could attain salvation on our own then Christ died in vain. If we think we can earn our way into heaven we're not glorifying Jesus and putting God where he needs to be in our minds and hearts. We're minimizing him with our self-righteousness instead of glorifying him as we walk in his righteousness and the righteousness and holiness that is ours through his sacrifice. As a loving Father God watches us as we learn to put on the mind of Christ and replace old habits with new habits. 

God watches us with joy. He bask in joy over us as we learn to use the instructions he's given us. He watches us with joy as we strengthen our minds and muscles and he's waiting for us to ask him for help. He's not going to take over while we're strengthening our spiritual muscles but he will come to our aid when we need him and ask him to. Jesus didn't instruct us to forgive our brother seven times seventy times when he sins against us then in contrast is waiting to strike us down when we inductively sin. The word says Jesus sits at the right hand of God making intercession for us. He is our advocate. 

As you learn to walk in your shoes of holiness and righteousness remember that God is love. He loves you unconditionally. His love is eternal. Your face is ever before him. Bask in your father's love. 

Written by: Lisa C

Addiction and Recovery

Addiction and Recovery 

I want to share something I learned about drug addiction. One withdrawal symptom from drugs is severe panic attacks, so severe they interfere with breathing. I didn't know this until a long time after my daughter died. I knew she used just enough to keep withdraw symptoms at bay. I knew she had withdraw symptoms but I had no idea withdraw caused her to have the severe panic attacks that she was having. I had no idea how severe withdraw from some drugs can be or that your brain stores a chemical that can lay dormant for awhile then your brain release it and your body go into full blown withdraw again even though you hadn't used drugs for a long time.  

Mazie was given drugs that were laced with an extremely high amount of fentanyl. She didn't use fentanyl. She was using to keep from going through withdraw and given something that killed her. I wish I had known more because I would have been better educated and equipped to help her. If you suspect your child uses drugs, get educated. There's someone out there who can educate you so you can better help your child. 

If you're addicted to drugs and you're reading this, there are Christian Rehabilitation Centers that you can go to that are completely free. There's no shame in having an addiction. If people shame you stay away from them. There's help out there. Get help before it's too late.

Some organizations or facilities want to give you a drug to replace a drug but they can be addictive too and if you lose your Medicaid like Mazie did you may not be able to afford it. God will help you in ways you don't know are possible. He will strengthen you in so many ways. There is a way to use prescription drugs without getting addicted to them. 

Some of the Christian programs are affiliated with clinics that'll use drugs on a tier program so you're not just getting addicted to another drug. There's help out there and I know God will help you. Christian Recovery Centers Inc is a wonderful place to go for help. God loves you and he will strengthen you and if you are strong willed and absolutely know you're done with drugs and give it to the Lord, he'll heal you from drug addiction. But I recommend everyone go through the twelve steps program at a Christian recovery center to get help they need in other areas too like mental illness, depression, trauma, mental abuse, physical abuse, the past, etc.

I was very addicted to cigarettes and was becoming addicted to alcohol and God took it clean away from me. I never had any withdraw symptoms when I gave it to God and it was immediate. I didn't even get irritable or have shaky hands. Before, when I tried to do it all on my own I failed miserably. It wasn't until I completely gave it to God that I was healed. I've talked to people who have been healed from addiction to hard drugs. God will completely and immediately heal you but you've got to completely let go and give it to God. If you use drugs please don't think you have to do it on your own. There are people who know you're lovable, you're a good person and you need help and they want to help and they can help you. Please, just ask!

Written by: Lisa C

Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus

There are many things that I love about Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was born into this world as a helpless little baby and had a childhood and a mother and family, and lived, worked, played, ate, breathed, had trials, dealt with every day stuff, slept as a human being and did the whole life thing; he was flesh and blood like us. He knew the customs, the ways of man to belittle women and yet he chose to advocate for women. There were so many women, some slaves and some free who chose to support Jesus and his ministry in numerous ways. Many women had ministries of their own. People wanted to kill Jesus because he taught people to love God above all else and that took the power of the church officials away from them. Some people used their position to Lord over others for financial gain, prestige, and power. Jesus sought to destroy those positions, the high seats in high places, and put God back on the throne in people's hearts and people in direct contact with God. These women did all sorts of things that could have gotten them killed because they chose to do what they could to help Jesus with his ministry. These were women who had to do and say things in hiding to keep from being imprisoned,, beaten or killed because they stood up for what they believed in and who they believed in, JESUS. Jesus stood up for us and laid down his life for us. Shouldn't we at least tell others about him and plant the seed of salvation. Or water a seed that's been planted by fertilizing it with grace and watering it with love so it can grow and that person be saved. Our words are powerful. We can use our words to build up or tear down, to speak life or to speak death. Wisely choose the words that you will say today and speak them loudly and clearly. This world needs Jesus and we're his hands and feet.

Teach Grace

Growing-up Loyal to Sin

This morning there are people who won't go to church because of what they did or allowed to be done around them last night. There are parents and grandparents and other care givers who won't take their children to church because deep down they want their children and grandchildren to be like them. In homes where there are drugs and alcohol and abuse children are taught to be fiercely loyal. Eventually, the children will be influenced and allowed to drink alcohol and use drugs from a young age thereby fitting in and ensuring loyalty to the family members. 

I know this because of my own experience with my dad. He loved me the best he knew how. The easiest way for me to get along with him was to drink with him. When I stopped and started going to church with my boyfriend the intensity of the verbal and mental abuse was magnified. Thankfully, I have the peace of knowing that before my dad died he learned the meaning of grace and understood he was loved unconditionally. 

He lived his life trying to live by the old covenant, the covenant law, which no human being can do. He felt shame and self condemnation because he struggled with the disease, alcoholism. Before he died he told me the family members who coerced him into drinking at a young age and how that impacted him and his life. He was thankful that I stopped drinking and didn't become an alcoholic or allow it to take hold. When we are set free we are free indeed. 

We are none without sin. It is the human condition. But through Christ we can live under grace, in a loving relationship with our heavenly Father who gave his son to fulfill the old covenant so that we can live free from sin and death under the new covenant. I don't mean a completely sin free life; that we're perfect or expected to be perfect. We are expected to try, to do our very best, but are forgiven when we don't. I'm talking about perfect love, forgiveness, and cover for our sins because Jesus loved us enough that he gave his life for us so that we are no longer under the curse of the law. No, we won't be perfect. No, we can't go a day without sinning in our mind or actions most of the time. But by giving our heart to Jesus, being saved, and filled with Holy Spirit, God can change us little by little. 

I know my own growth has taken years of undoing the strongholds in my heart and mind. But God is faithful. We change little by little daily to be more Christlike every day. And when we fail to be like Jesus he covers us with his love and grace. He makes atonement for us. He sits at the right hand of our Father making intercession for us. He has compassion on us and covers us with grace. 

We are loved unconditionally. We are not judged by our sin. God judges us according to our heart. If you struggle with going to church or standing up in front of your peeps and saying I got saved, I'm a new man or woman, then you don't understand grace yet. Ask someone to explain it to you so you can live life free. There's nothing that compares to the joy, the perfect peace, the contentment, and the stillness in the soundness of your heart. 

Written by: Lisa C.

Take Your Child to Church

Parents, take your children to church. If you can get your kids up and ready to go to daycare and school on time you can do the same with church. Sleep late on Saturday. All week they're getting life's lessons from around them; and they're hearing and seeing the things the world wants to teach them. Take them to church to hear the word of God taught on their level of understanding. They'll receive materials and do crafts, and be taught lessons about God and the Holy Bible in words they can understand. They will be a part of a group of children who have someone in common, God, their heavenly Father. And they will be a part of a community or church family that worships and praises God together and learns God's word together. There was nothing more important to me, and no one I needed more then my heavenly Father from when I was real little right on until today. God has always been there for me. He has always given me hope, peace, and a true friend (himself) all these years. He has never left me nor forsaken me even when I stopped living for him and lived rebelliously for a while. Praise God for forgiving me. God is merciful, loving, forgiving, understanding, and the best leader and teacher you could ever hope for your children to have. Teach them early.

By Lisa C

📖Matthew 19:14 AMP

[14] But He said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”