#120 - Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
At our Uncle's hanger for the Family Christmas party. 
Santa showed up so we decided to grab a picture with him. 
Doesn't my husband look handsome!!?! :-)

Good morning! I pray you are having a great day so far! Are you ready for Christmas? I would be very interested to know how YOU include Jesus in your Christmas traditions. Would you share in the comments? Now that we have Tyler Jr.... we have really been thinking about what we want our family tradition to be.... and the big question.... what are some fun, unique ways to make sure the emphasis of Christmas be on the birth of our Savior Jesus. Please share your traditions... maybe we will adopt them as ours too!

Proverbs 21:5 - The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want. 

Proverbs 21:29 - A wicked man puts on the bold, unfeeling face [of guilt], but as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].

I just have a few comments this morning. Both of these verses just really stood out to me. The power of diligence. There is a book out there called, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It basically talks about the power in diligence. It would have to be the #1 book I read in 2010... and would probably rank in my Top 1-2 life-changing books I've ever read. It applies to everything in life and encompasses Proverbs 21:5. The thoughts of the steadily diligent tend only to plenteousness. I would anticipate that the steadily diligent also put action behind their thoughts. They make their thoughts a reality to progress forward in life. Because of their daily, steady diligence, they reap PLENTY. They reap abundance! That is my goal for 2011. To continue in steady diligence. To steadily progress in my walk with the Lord. To steadily progress in operating with a LISTENING ear to HIS Voice. To steadily progress in helping people, offering a business to them that can help change their finances. Offering an opportunity that can bring mommies home from work to be mommies! To steadily progress in filling a need in people's life with products that they can use, that they need & that can help them..... an ultimately change their life. Like the Nutrilite products have changed my life with my weight loss. I have lost and kept off 30-35 pounds!!! My goal is to be steadily diligent in helping people experience FREEDOM! Freedom in whatever area of life they need! Financial freedom. Freedom from the bondage of weight challenges. Spiritual freedom. Freedom in their relationships. My goal is to be steadily diligent in 2011 to HELP people! 

What is your goal for 2011? Have you been thinking about it? 

Then... check out verse 29. Wow! That is good stuff! The upright, he considers, directs and establishes his way with the confidence of integrity. Wow! That is powerful! The upright establish their way with the confidence of INTEGRITY! They know that they are going to be blessed, they know that God is going to work in their favor because of their integrity. They have CONFIDENCE in the blessings of the Lord because they walk in righteousness & integrity. That is good stuff! His way is established with the confidence of integrity! 

Well.... so much to think about as we enter into Christmas... a time of being thankful. A time of praising God for sending his son Jesus into this world. What a time to be joyful & thankful. I pray that as you are in this season... over the next few weeks you would really meditate on all the things that you have to be thankful for. That you even list them out, verbally or on paper and just tell God what all you are thankful for. Even the little things, a car that runs, heat, food, clothes. The blessings that your NEEDS are provided for! We live in such abundance and it is only God's desire to bring us into further abundance. The blessing of the Lord, IT maketh rich and He adds NO sorrow to it! (Proverbs 10:22) I pray that during this season, see where you can be a blessing. Whether it be just listening to a friend in a time of need, blessing a family with gifts or money, prayer for someone you know needs it, joy of a smile to a stranger. May Jesus shine through you this Christmas season and always. May YOU be the light of your world! May YOU be like the light on a hill to those around you. May they see Jesus in YOU today & this year! 

With that.... I am going to be signing off for 2010. I am going to enjoy this time and season with my family.... call it hibernating. Hibernating from posts, but NOT hibernating from my time with the Lord.  I look forward to diving into 2011 with you and the Word! Come back and visit then... bring your friends with you, your thoughts & comments. 

Praying blessings upon you and your family! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Tyler Jr wasn't a real fan of Santa Claus. 
I guess that's OK since Santa isn't the "REAL" 
reason for celebrating Christmas.

Yes... Tyler Jr did NOT want to sit on Santa's lap. 
LOL. So funny.  

Uncle Marvin & Aunt Val do things up right! 
They even had a couple bouncy's for me the kids to enjoy! 
So fun!

Merry Christmas! 

#119 - Avoid the TRAP!

Good morning! Actually... good afternoon! We had a wonderful weekend. Celebrated Mama's 90th Birthday in Georgia, and had the Ewing Christmas party! (Tyler's mom's side of the family) It was fun. We actually stayed in a 2-bedroom hotel suite with a full kitchen. That was nice. It allowed us to be close to the parties, but also allowed Mama to do some baking! Apple pie, pumpkin pie & mashed potatoes was my contribution to the Christmas Party. They did get good reviews, so I was happy about that! Thank you Grandma for your pie crust recipe that continues to live on! Love you Grandma! 


Well... let's get started... 

Proverbs 20:25 - It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it]. 

Proverbs 31:16 - She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

I think this is a very appropriate topic with New Year's around the corner. I'm sure you have been thinking about what you want to change for your 2011. How do you want to improve? Who do you want to be? What projects to you want to start & finish? Pounds that you want to shed. It's that time of year when we think about CHANGE. IMPROVEMENT. 


Well, as it says in Proverbs 20:25 & 31:16, I want to CAUTION you when deciding upon your upcoming goals or changes you want to make. Picture the YELLOW FLASHING sign that reads, CAUTION. Look at the warning in Proverbs 20:25, and look at how the Proverbs 31 woman applies this verse to her life! In Proverbs 20:25 we could read it this way, An impulsive vow is a trap (The Message Bible) or Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost. (NLT) A VOW is more than a promise. It is a SOLEMN promise. It is a pledge. It is serious. 


Let me tell you a story about that. I have been taking two groups of people through a program called New Way New You. On a weekly basis I meet weekly and teach/coach each of these classes. One in person, one via conference call. The program involves proper nutrition, exercise, supplementation, weekly goal setting and changing one's mentality about themselves. It's a FULL program that encompasses everything that leads to Optimal Health. It's been a very eye opening experience for me as I have watched people who were very excited when we started and wouldn't you know it, week by week, many of them have disappeared. Sure, I know sometimes life gets in the way, other obligations come up and maybe some did not fully "commit" from the beginning. 


Personally, when I am looking to add something to my plate, the Holy Spirit and I have to have a serious talk. I don't want to add something in "vain." I don't want to add something that I cannot see through, or be committed too. I definitely do not want to do something if I am not suppose to do it because then it would definitely be TOIL! What is toil? The dictionary defines it as: to move or travel with difficulty, weariness, or pain. That is NOT my idea of a good time. When you commit to something on your OWN without the direction or approval of the Holy Spirit, it begins the series of disappointment. Let's just take a fitness goal. When you make a commitment or goal and then do not see it through, what does it do to you? It takes a hit at your self-image. And each day as you do not do that "thing", whatever it is, your self-image takes another hit. You go to bed thinking, "Oh dang it. I didn't do it again. I'm going to bed another night and I did not complete my goal. Arghhhh. I feel terrible. Dang it." Some people may have this battle in their head of thinking they are a loser. All of it could have been avoided had they not made a commitment on their OWN. By making a vow or promise that you are not suppose to make Proverbs says that you are setting a TRAP for yourself. You set the trap, and you walk into it. 


I recently had a really great opportunity. An opportunity that could have been VERY VERY profitable. As I was asking the Holy Spirit about it, I continued to have a lack of peace about moving forward. The Holy Spirit continued to tell me, "You will not have time for it. You will not have time. It is to great of an obligation to take on. I have other things for you that will be better." I continued to question him because it did sound like such a great opportunity, but peace never came. So... for now, it is something that I am passing on. 


The Proverbs 31 woman expands PRUDENTLY. She expands, yes. But, she does not expand before it is taken into careful consideration. Does she have the time to do it? Will the other obligations REALISTICALLY still be able to get done? Does she have the energy to do it? Does she have the resources? The faith? I would anticipate many things come into play when she is CONSIDERING expanding.... taking another thing on.... adding one more thing to her already full but productive plate/time. 


As you go into this New Year. CONSIDER what your promises are. Consider what goals you should set. Set yourself up for VICTORY not for FAILURE. Be realistic about your goals. If you are not working out at ALL right now, maybe you shouldn't set a goal to work out 6 days a week. Maybe your goal should be 3 days/week. That is AFTER you have asked the Holy Spirit about it. 


Avoid the trap of over-committing to the wrong things or even overcommitting to the RIGHT things, but at the wrong time! Set yourself up to win in 2011 & every year that follows!

Hello! Hope you all are doing well! I am traveling today so was not able to post a blog. I pray u have a GREAT weekend!
- Amy

#118 - I forgive you.

Good morning! Well... it's been a good morning so far. Not completely normal, but at least partially on schedule! SO... I have a pretty great "lesson" from yesterday. If you noticed, yesterday I did not post anything.... also... it was NOT my Day of Rest. I feel like after yesterday I know what a lot of people feel like EVERY DAY when they do not have a "Quiet Time" in the morning. 


So... let me lay out my day. Got up and ended up sitting at the table with the lap.... one thing led to another and I started finishing up some Christmas presents, doing this or that. 10 minutes turned into 1, 2, 3 hours. And before I knew it my morning was GONE! GONE! By the time I sat down, it was 1:15 in the afternoon! Sure, I got out my Bible, read a little. But really, when I opened up my journal, the Holy Spirit had things to say to me right away. This was what he said, "This is why you don't do other things in the morning. It will get you off and you will not have time for your Quiet Time and blog. It's OK. I forgive you. But LEARN!"


10-4! Eye, Eye Captain! I did reap the consequences of it though. I went about my day and it seemed a bit like a whirl-wind of chaos and busyness. Sure, I was still productive and got a lot of things done, but by 8:00 I was truly just exhausted. I was ready to go to bed. I don't typically feel exhausted at the end of the day. Normally, everything just is great, my day is great, I feel happy & refreshed throughout the day, and when it's time to go to bed, I happily hop in to snuggy with my hubby. But yesterday, it was most definitely different. Exhaustion & I felt a bit ragged. I have some friends who it seems like that is how their every day is. Just being in their presence I feel the spirit of chaos versus peace. And...I know that they have allowed life to steal their Quiet Time with the Lord, they have told me so. Well.... from experience, I have determined, it is MUCH better to have a quiet time than to not! SO, I'm posting a BLOG today! :-)

Proverbs 16:16 - How much better it is to get skillful and godly Wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Proverbs 16:32 - He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he who rules his [own] spirit than he who takes a city.

Get skillful & godly Wisdom! You can do this any time of the day. Sure, an actual Quiet Time, time spent with just YOU, your BIBLE & journal, & the HOLY SPIRIT,  is a great time to receive skillful & godly Wisdom. It's a time when you are in a position open to receive, ready to receive & ready to write down WHAT you have received. It allows you to track your progress, your emotions, what you have read in the Word, what you feel like the Holy Spirit may be saying to you. (Don't know "HOW" to listen or hear His Voice....maybe this devotion will help too? "Who do you Follow" talks about how I learned to Listen.) 


Slow to anger. Have you ever know someone who just seemed mad all the time? Whenever you talk to them, they seem annoyed or angry about something. The word "joy" is NOT the word that comes to mind when you think of this person. Being "angry" is not always bad. If you remember, even Jesus got angry and went through a RAGE of turning over the money changers tables. He was angry because they were perverting the house of God. (Matthew 21:12-13) Anger becomes a problem when the seed of it takes root and controls your spirit and life. When forgiveness is forgotten, and anger takes control. 

• Ephesians 4:30-31 - And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). 

Did you GET THAT? Bitterness grieves the Holy Spirit! Quarreling, evil-speaking spite grieves the Holy Spirit! Let's rewind even a little bit further, you can see where you can be ANGRY without SIN! Really?! Check it out: 

• Ephesians 4:26 - When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.

SO... are you angry? Well, if it's gone longer than 24 hours, we need to get OVER it! The spirit of anger will make us miserable! Day in & day out, the spirit of anger will cause us to walk in misery on this earth. So something happened to you that wasn't fair, are you going to allow that situation to make your LIFE miserable? Are you going to keep going back to that event and replay it in your mind. Replay it with your words? Retell the story of the injustice done to you? What about forgiveness? The seed of anger begins to eat at your heart and your joy and the spiral affects of it can be detrimental. The ONE thing that would hold someone back from forgiving is pride. (And I know of a verse, have you heard it? - "Pride cometh before the fall.") Forgiveness doesn't have to mean that you agree with it. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you have to believe what someone did was right. But forgiveness does allow us to walk in the blessing of the Lord. When we walk in forgiveness we are saying, "God, I'm walking in obedience to you. I am forgiving this person of the wrong that was done to me."  Unforgiveness is a BLESSING-BLOCKER! When you walk in unforgiveness you are holding something against that person. Jesus won't even LISTEN to you! Do you want to see scripture to back it up?! Matthew 5:24 - Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift. - Jesus won't even ACCEPT our gift to him if we hold unforgiveness in our heart. He tells us to, "GET UP! Go! When you have forgiven that person, THEN you may come back to me and offer a gift or ask for something. But right now, I DO NOT HEAR YOU!" 


Anger. If you are walking around in anger, there is someone you need to forgive. Maybe they didn't know better, maybe the situation was out of their control, maybe "HARK" maybe they just got into sin and said something or did something ugly - they are not perfect either! Or maybe you are walking around in anger with yourself. Maybe you are mad at something you did. Then today is the day to FORGIVE YOURSELF! Stop beating yourself up! Cut yourself some slack. 


Anger & unforgiveness only lead to the PROBLEM and do not lead to the SOLUTION. 


We are so close to Christmas. It is such a great season to be joyful. Choose this season, before Christmas that you are going to forgive. Forgive the wrongs done. Forgive the words said. FREE YOURSELF to be able to walk in the blessings that God has for YOU! HE is just WAITING for YOU to forgive. YOU CHOOSE. You are in the drivers seat of whether God is going to bless you. YOU choose to walk in bitterness, and no blessing or walk in forgiveness and the blessing! Today... who is it that you need to call? Who is it that you need to go see? Who is it that you need to say, "I forgive you." 

#117 - SHOW YOUR FAITH!

Good morning! It's been quite an interesting day already. Seems like things have gone a bit backwards.... but nonetheless, it's been a great morning. I guess when you wake up late, things aren't always "on schedule" like normal. The boy enjoyed a bath this morning.... fun. I must say, he is such a joy. Sometimes I just feel like I'm a broken record.... well, OK, all the time! Every day I just say how much I love him and what a blessing he is. He is SO good. After breakfast, he played for awhile, then went back up to his room to put him in bed and let him have HIS quiet time. Well... at first, he whined for a second when I put him in bed... mom was taking too long getting his books and toys. Well, the SECOND I put his books in his bed, he immediately grabbed one and just started looking through it... reading of course (ha!). And then he waved bye to me. He's so funny! Blessed! Blessed! Blessed! Early on we determined that WE, Tyler Sr and I, were going to set the tone of our home, and set the schedule of our children.... the verse in Joshua rings clear "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And we ALWAYS want our kids to know what the MOST important thing is, and that is Jesus. So far, so good. :-)

Proverbs 14:14 - The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights].

Proverbs 31:16 - She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

We recently came out of a period in our life that they only way I can explain it is as a "Sabbatical." A period where we took a few years "off" so to speak. We were not really aggressively "in the pursuit" of what we knew God was calling us to do. It was almost like we needed a period of time to renew our mind. Tyler especially during this time was really changing. I would come home from work and in the evenings just be excited to hear about what he had been learning. It was as if God was gradually changing so much of our old thought process and renewing it with a proper mindset. I wish I could say that during this time we were still progressing forward with some of the important areas in our life, but in all reality, a lot of things stood still and were put on hold. So much was churning in our heads. We were learning a lot spiritually, but God was doing a really great work in us. A great and a deep work. It was like a digging down to create proper thought process. Out of that, came a lot of new revelations, a new fervor and a more complete belief and acceptance on the subject of faith and how it works. 


James 2:20 says this (AMP), "Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and ineffective and worthless?" Or commonly read in the NKJV, "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" During the couple of years we were on our "Sabbatical", we most definitely learned a lot. We were still operating in faith, but we were not AGGRESSIVELY operating in faith. Our faith was accompanied by good works, but not aggressively so. More recently, this old concept, has become so new to me. New in a way that combined with some other great truths I have been learning, it has really started to allow a "NEW ME" to emerge. A NEW & BETTER Amy to surface. An Amy that does not hold back, does not fear, does not hesitate. But an Amy who takes FAITH at it's word and applies action to it. A faith that says, "GOD does indeed have EVERYTHING under control. He has ALL things planned out. He is carrying out the good work that He began in me as it talks about in Phil. 1:6. GOD is bringing my desires to pass. He is setting me up!" A faith that says, "GOD, even more than ME, wants me to accomplish MY Calling that is on my life." Me accomplishing the calling on my life, only feeds into GOD accomplishing HIS calling for mankind. It allows Him to trust me to do my part as a piece of the big puzzle. MY Calling is part of the BIG PLAN. MY Calling is part of God's big plan that He has to evangelize all mankind and bring us all home. 


Before, MY works were not accompanying MY beliefs. I believed, but I was not showing my belief by my actions, therefore, like it says in James, my faith was dead. Since my faith was not being backed up with actions my faith was INACTIVE, INEFFECTIVE & WORTHLESS. Whoa! That's a hard pill to swallow! Well, let's read the tale end of Proverbs 14:14 again, a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts... - Notice the word: actions. Sure actions are first accompanied by thoughts, but what I was excited about was this.... it was all prompted by the HEART. During the few years of renewing, I did not know HOW to get to the next place in life, I didn't know how to get that fervor back, or the excitement. Praise the Lord for a godly husband, he is much to thank for our coming out better, stronger and more excited than ever, more planted, more prepared, more ready. The consistency of taking in the Word, whether it be through reading, devotions, listening to CD's, online media broadcasts, or just sitting at dinner listening to the newest revelations that Tyler had, the Word was taking root. The WORD was doing it's part. The WORD was working! 


And now? I'm thankful to say, more than ever I KNOW what faith means. Yes it means to believe. But more than that it means backing up my beliefs with ACTION! It means BELIEVING and ACTING! God has already provided EVERYTHING I need, want & desire. NOW all I have to do, like the Children of Israel collected manna. They collected food for 6 days, on the 6th day they collected enough for the 7th day. On the 7th day they fully rested. On the 7th day, there was no manna to collect. Manna was not on the ground when they walked out on the 7th day. AND GUESS WHAT? My PROVISION is out there too! God has put my PROVISION (manna) out there for me to collect each day and I am COLLECTING IT! And, I am excited about it! We are changing people's lives. Helping them change their finances. Helping them improve their marriages. Helping them live a life of victory. And, helping change the WORLD one person at a time. Our calling is sure. Our calling is definite. If you do not know what your calling is, I encourage you, link your belief up to someone who IS doing great things for God and watch God reveal to you the details of his plan for your life!  

#116 - GET VIOLENT!

Good afternoon! It's officially afternoon here! Living a blessed life, are you? Well, strap yourself in for this one, it's a good message that has been stirring inside me for awhile and church yesterday added fuel to the fire. The Holy Spirit is doing a good work and I'm excited to be EXCITED about life! Let's get into it!

Proverbs 13:2a - A good man eats good from the fruit of his mouth...

Proverbs 13:19a - Satisfied desire is sweet to a person... 

Psalm 103:20 - Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 

The message? Get VIOLENT! "Get violent? What?" You may be thinking. And, YES! Get VIOLENT! Now is the time. I want you to think about some things. We are in the middle of this Christmas season, with New Year's quickly approaching. I would guess, in the midst of your Christmas shopping, planning of parties, baking chocolates and goodies, and looking for the perfect gift for your spouse and family... well, I would anticipate that somewhere in the back of your mind you also have some floating thoughts about New Year's resolutions?? Maybe thoughts like, "I want this year to be different. I want this next year to be better. I just want those positive changes that I've been thinking about, wishing and wanting to come to pass in my life." Well friend, NOW is the time to get VIOLENT with it. Now is the time to take these thoughts and bring them out in the spoken word. It is time to get VIOLENT with your words!


I want to share some things that my Pastor talked about yesterday. It was one of those messages that was SHOUTING material it was so good. He was on a roll! So... on behalf of Pastor Jenkins, THANK YOU for the WORD Pastor! Now... let me share it with you all! 


Our words are extremely powerful. In Proverbs 13:2, it talks about how you will eat GOOD, you will have good OUTCOME because of your mouth. Friend, if you are not speaking, NOW is the time to begin. If you are not putting LIFE to your situation, your dreams, your goals with your Words, you are missing out! Verse 19 tells us that a desire is sweet when it is SATISFIED! When the desire has come to MANIFESTATION! That is when the desire is truly it's sweetest! "Your deliverance is in your MOUTH!" Job 22:28 says, "You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God's favor] shall shine upon your ways." 


Decree. What is decree. Here's the definition in the dictionary: a formal and authoritative order, esp. one having the force of law: a presidential decree. In the Bible when a King would make a DECREE, he would be setting a LAW in place. Whatever HE said or DECREED became law. Became what the people would them follow. When the King would DECREE a law or an order, servants would go out on his behalf and see that it came to pass. Friend, as co-heirs with Jesus who is THE KING OF KINGS.... He is KING and Lord over US. He is King and Lord over us, Children of God, Co-Heirs with Christ, and Kings in this time and land. Friend, WE, believers, when we got saved now have AUTHORITY to DECREE things on our behalf. And ANGELS are waiting to go out and ESTABLISH the WORD, but they need to have instructions. The WORD has to go forth, therefore, YOU NEED TO SPEAK THE WORD TO EMPLOY ANGELS. Psalm 103:20 - "Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word." ANGELS OBEY the WORD of God. If you are NOT speaking the WORD, you are not giving them something to do. You are not giving them an assignment to accomplish. They obey the Word to bring it to pass. The King (Jesus) of Kings (believers), has given US authority to DECREE things ON EARTH that they may come to pass. 


OK... I know if this is the first time you have ever hear any of this, it may be a little bit deep. I hope you are following with me. 


Since you are a king, it is time to put your WORDS to WORK! It is time to begin DECREEING over your situation! It is time to get VIOLENT and AGGRESSIVE with your Words! It is time to DECREE! We, believers are not DECREEING ENOUGH! We are not SPEAKING enough! We are TOO QUIET! It's time to get loud! 


My pastor talked about Breaking down the enemy with your words. Think about it, kids do it all the time! Not saying that parents are the enemy... but check this out... how often have you heard something like this: 

• "Mom, can I have a cookie?" 
• "NO" 
• "Aww mom, please can I have a cookie?" 
• "No. Not now." 
• "But please mom, just one cookie. please?" 
• "I said no." 
• "But why mom?"  
• "Because I said NO."
• "But please, just one cookie. I've been good all day."  
• "OK fine, just one."

What happened here? With his words, this child got what he wanted. He just kept on and kept on and kept on, until his mom, for all intensive purposes was worn down and said yes. The same thing happened in Luke 18 with the persistent widow. She continues to persist with the judge, and because of her persistence, she is granted what she wanted. 


Another example, picture this... a drip of water. Doesn't seem strong, but over time... if that drip, day in and day out is dripping on the same place on a rock....day in, day out. Year after year. It drips and drips and drips and drips. What is going to happen? This small drip is going to wear down the rock. Your Words can act the same way, but with even a greater amount of power. YOUR words are like a PUNCH to the enemy. As you SPEAK the WORD, your goals, your desires, and you DECREE them, you back them up with the Word, it's like punching the enemy. Over and over. You speak them, you speak them, you speak them. You YELL them, you get LOUD with them! You shout them! You get AGGRESSIVE and PASSIONATE about them! The enemy takes each punch and you are making HIM weaker. You are defeating him! Until finally, your words come with SUCH FORCE that your WORDS BRING YOUR VICTORY!!!! YOUR DELIVERANCE IS IN YOUR MOUTH! You can change your finances. Grab some verses (Deut 28) - "You are the head and not the tail in your finances. You are above and not beneath. You walk in abundance. You lend to nations." Put some power behind your Words! Get the WORD behind your WORDS! And begin to speak them VIOLENTLY! 


Get AGGRESSIVE! Make THIS the year where the desires of your heart come to pass! You pay for your house, IN CASH! You get out of debt! You pay for a car, WITH CASH! You walk in complete HEALTH, no sickness or disease in your body! Your relationships are HEALED and WHOLE, better than ever! 


GET VIOLENT with your WORDS! Like you were on stage of a broadway show! Are your words convincing? Is your passion really there! LET IT SHOW! 

#115 - Remember Me?

Good morning.... actually, Good afternoon! I pray you are having a great day so far! We are officially 15 days from Christmas! WOW! How exciting!! A wonderful time to enjoy with family & friends. A wonderful time to really spend time being thankful.

Psalm 40:1-3a - I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.    ²He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings.
    ³And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Proverbs 31:20 - She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit].

Psalm 40 made me think about how much we have to be thankful for during this Holiday Season. The hustle and bustle can cause us to be focused more on the gift getting and gift giving than on the true reason of why we celebrate Christmas to begin with. Now, let me say, I am equally guilty.... sometimes maybe even MORE guilty than most. A book that I would HIGHLY recommend.... actually would even be a great present for the stocking for husband and wife, "Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. Well, in the book as you read through the love languages.... the 5 are this: Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Quality Time & Gifts. Everyone has a love language that they just really feel loved when done... my #1 love language sometimes seems the most "vain"... but it is what it is, GIFTS! I LOVE GETTING GIFTS! I can't help it. I just light up when I get a gift... so for me, Christmas & birthdays are awesome! I even have told Tyler, "Wrap up a pair of Nike socks! I don't care! Part of the fun for someone like me is just opening many wrapped packages." For Tyler I know he would tend to want to put everything in one box for me to open... but for the "Gifts" love language person, that is not as fun! But, one love language is not better or worse than the other. Some are just more evident to point out. Tyler on the other hand is "Acts of Service." When I get him something to drink or make him a meal or pull the covers up over him when he is taking a nap, he feels most loved then.... I'm still waiting for him to use the really cool electronic highlighter that I got him for Christmas last year! :-/ Argh. 


But... the main point is really this... even without the presents, the lights, the trees, the wreaths, the food.... we have SOOOOO much to be thankful for! Even if we took all of that away! We have so much to be thankful for! He drew YOU & ME up out of a horrible pit of destruction, out of the froth and slime, and set OUR feet upon a rock, steadying OUR steps and establishing OUR goings. And He has put a new song in OUR mouths! 


The Almighty God, GAVE US LIFE! Because God sent Jesus, we are able to live with HOPE! We are able to live with JOY! We are able to live free from FEAR because He has put ANGELS all around us to guard us (Ps 91)! Because God gave His son Jesus, we are able to experience a love greater than any person could ever give us. 


If gifts are stressing you out, don't do them. If you feel like things are out of control, do what the famous Napoleon Hill said, "Take your eyes off yourself and go help and serve someone else." Go to the hospital and bring gifts to children who wouldn't otherwise get gifts. An orphanage, a nursing home, an Alzheimer's unit. At the end of the day does Jesus say to you, "Do you Remember Me?" 


At the end of the day what is the FOCUS? May the focus go from self to Jesus. May the actions, attitude and atmosphere in your life and family be on Jesus. And at the end of the day, you don't hear the question, "Do you Remember Me?" BUT, you hear the comment, "Thank you for remembering me!" 

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ - Matthew 25: 37-40

#114 - Are You the TARGET?

Good morning! Sometimes I just marvel at how blessed I feel! What a good boy I have! He is just so good! He did two kinda "new" things this morning. While he was eating breakfast, he took a drink of his drink and then PUT IT BACK in the cup-holder on his tray! WHOA! Go Tyler Jr! That is definitely a step up from throwing it on the floor! ha! AND, he very obviously did the sign language sign for "all done." It was so good! So, we celebrated and clapped and yelled about how good he did! He liked the praise! He clapped too! Then... we went upstairs after breakfast and read HIS Bible... now he is in his bed talking, playing with his toys and reading his books.... and having the rest of HIS Quiet Time! :) He's so good! I never imagined being a mom would be this fulfilling and joyous! Praise the Lord! 


Well, let's get started today! :) 

Proverbs 9:13-18 - The foolish woman is noisy; she is simple and open to all forms of evil, she [willfully and recklessly] knows nothing whatever [of eternal value]. ¹⁴For she sits at the door of her house or on a seat in the conspicuous places of the town,
    ¹⁵Calling to those who pass by, who go uprightly on their way:
    ¹⁶Whoever is simple (wavering and easily led astray), let him turn in here! ....
    ¹⁸But he knows not that the shades of the dead are there [specters haunting the scene of past transgressions], and that her invited guests are [already sunk] in the depths of Sheol (the lower world, Hades, the place of the dead).

Proverbs 31:25a - Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure... 

I thought today's reading was very interesting. In the scriptures above we have 3 different main people it is talking about. 

(1) The Foolish Woman - AKA: Sin, Temptation, Evil, Lust, the Wicked 

(2) The Proverbs 31 Woman - Strong, Sure, Confident, Secure, Stable - Nothing is moving this woman! She is steadfast & knows who she is.  

(3) The Wavering - This person is unsure of themselves. They are unstable, on rocky ground. They are wavering, like the verse talks about in James 1:6-8 - this person is tossed to and fro, has two minds or is double minded, lives in a constant state of doubt. 

The big question... Who is the Target? Who is the Target here in Proverbs 9? Who is the "Foolish Woman" looking for and WHERE is she taking the person she finds? Well, just reviewing the verses above, the target is simple, the TARGET IS THE SIMPLE. The Target is the person who is wavering! They are the TARGET! 1 Peter 5:8 tell us, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." What type of prey would the a lion look for? If he saw a herd of gazelles, which one is the lion going to lock a TARGET on? The WEAK one. If there is a gazelle that looks weak, is hurt, is limping or struggling to run, the lion knows that lunch is just a few seconds away. The devil is looking for the weak! If he sees you are weak, he will attack you in that area. The foolish woman, she was looking for those who look unsure, the wavering, because she KNOWS she could persuade them with her cunning words and get them to come down her path. They lack confidence. They lack vision, they do not know where they are going and since they seem to be "wandering" about anyways, THEY are an EASY TARGET for the foolish woman. So what did the foolish woman do? She locked TARGET on the Wavering, and led them down her path. Unbeknown to them, the Foolish woman's other "invited guests are already sunk in the depths of Hell, the lower world, the place of the dead." As she spotted the WAVERING person, she led them like a calf being led to slaughter, she led them to their death. 


Why is this all so important? As a believer, we can look at this section of scripture and determine, Which one are WE? Has life been a series of instability? Do we really know WHO we are in Christ? If we were spotted, would we look like the WAVERING? Would the enemy lock TARGET on us because we appear to be unstable? Would the lion see us and then seek to devour us because we look weak? 


With New Years coming around the corner, a lot of people begin to think about New Year's Resolutions. Now may be a good time to evaluate if you are truly the Stable, Confident, Unwavering. As you search yourself internally, if you feel like you may be the "Wavering", maybe it's time to determine this year that it is going to be a year to develop STABILITY & STRENGTH. Maybe this be the year that you NOT focus on loosing the same 20 pounds you've wanted to loose for the last 5 years, but maybe this is the year that you focus on being STABLE & SECURE like the Proverbs 31 Woman. Men, like the Proverbs 31 Husband. Maybe NOW is the time for you to determine that the buck stops here, "I WILL NOT BE A TARGET!" 


So... which category do you fall into now? Which category are you going to be in next year?

DOR

Have a great day! :) I'm having my Day of Rest! YIPPEE!! :)

#113 - Don't STAY Down!

Good morning! We have a full morning and a full day! The boy gets to go play today with his friend Harper! Hip Hip Horray! :) This will be a first for the boy and for mama! I will be going to have lunch with a friend & mentor which I'm excited about! Praise the Lord! Today's Word was much needed and refreshing, I think it will speak to a lot of you as well, so let's get started. 

Psalm 37:3-7a - Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

    ⁴Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

    ⁵Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

    ⁶And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

    ⁷Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him...

Well, let me set the stage of this mornings devotion. Yesterday, things were going well... all until the evening. Daddy was with the boy, and I teach/coach/lead a class on Monday nights on Health & Fitness. Well... one thing led to another with my evening, what should be a great night because Mama is kind of "off duty" and free to do things by myself after my class, turned into a not so great evening. It all started with thoughts that led to some frustrations. It began something like this..... the need to make decisions of Christmas traditions started coming, thoughts about what we want with our "family" Christmas, how to make Jesus the most important and most evident reason why we celebrate Christmas, gifts, shopping, money, people that I would like to buy presents for, etc, etc, etc. During this spiral of thoughts it was like the devil was just reeling me in, tightening and tightening, causing me to dwell on things that made me not happy. I found myself in Dicks Sporting Goods looking at my favorite brand, Nike, and I was literally almost crying. Just from a series of thoughts. Which, since I was just dwelling on "myself" and "my thoughts" made me completely ineffective in the marketplace. "Ineffective?" You ask. How did that make me ineffective? Well, I know that I am called to be a light in a dark place. I am called to draw people to the light. Draw people to the solution. And I believe I have the solution. I have what people are looking for! Not only from a business perspective for those people who are needing and praying for a way to bring in an additional income stream, but most importantly I have to offer the KING OF KINGS to those who may not know Him. 


So, here I am driving home. You tell me if you have done this before... I'm driving home, feeling bad. Dwelling on things that made me feel even more depressed, and recognized what was going on. I very seldomly allow negative thoughts to penetrate my mind for long, and I realized these thoughts had been continuing. I then began to confess outloud my goals. I have "confessions" that I speak several times a day, and I know that you can not defeat thoughts with thoughts, you can only defeat thoughts with WORDS. (that's worth writing down!) You can not defeat thoughts with thoughts, you can ONLY defeat thoughts with WORDS! So I began confessing my goals. Confessing my affirmations. Confessing the WORD over my life. And after I finished doing it once, I did it again with more enthusiasm. I would like to say that I kept doing that... but I did it maybe several times, then I went back to driving with my thoughts. Negative started weighing me down again. My first thought was, "Who can I call that would be able to encourage me?" Then, from within my spirit, I heard, "Encourage yourself in the Lord." I know that as a believer we can not always count on someone else to "lift us up," sometimes we need to know how to encourage ourself in the Lord. (Don't get me wrong, I'm all about friends and positive people to speak into our lives, and I have them.) This time, I knew it was not a job for someone else. I knew that I needed to encourage myself in the Lord. I had remembered reading a few places in the Bible how to do that, praying in the Spirit, verbally thanking God for all He has done, spending time in Praise & Worship.... all of these things wage WAR against the enemy. 


When I got home, I honestly just wanted the day to be over. I wanted a new day. I didn't go to bed "happy." I was ready for the day to end. Then, this morning when I woke up the first thing that I wrote in my journal that I felt was directed by the Holy Spirit was, "Start over today." Last night, while I was out and even when I got home, I had felt like discouragement had made me loose my "Umph" about life. It got my eyes off of what was important. The Word today is such a perfect reminder! Let's look at it again! "Roll each care on Him" - "Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart!" PRAISE THE LORD! 


So, what did I do? I began to do just that. I began to list out each care I was rolling over to the Lord. "Lord, I roll this care on you........ I roll this care on you....... I roll this care on you.......... " And the list went on and on. I wrote it and I did it out loud! I rolled my dreams, my future, my desires, my cares, even my secret desires, I ROLLED them onto the Lord. Then I took a few minutes to listen.... One thing that the Holy Spirit told me that was pretty interesting was this, "Satan will try to use any tactic to get you down. He plays dirty & doesn't play fair. He will attack you at your weakness, not at your strength. He wants to keep you down long enough that you will stay down. To paralyze you, like a lame animal not able to move. You did right by encouraging yourself in Me. I will breathe life into you. I will remind you of what is true." 


Today, I encourage you.... don't let the Christmas obligations get the best of you. Don't let those things discourage or get you down. Whether it be shopping, presents, parties, family, friends.... Encourage yourself in the Lord. Remember that the true focus is Jesus. But also, keep this promise in front of you. Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart! HE WILL DO IT! The best is still coming! God has GREAT things in store for you! He has GREAT Blessings in store for you! ROLL EACH CARE onto Him and live in joy. Live a life blessing others and being a light. God has VERY VERY Great things in store for you! Defeat Satan! Don't let him get you or keep you down. Encourage yourself in the Lord! SING SING SING! PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE! THANK THANK THANK! 


I am STARTING OVER TODAY and you can too! 

XOXO,

        Amy J