#251 - Democrat or Republican?

Deuteronomy 15:10 - You shall give to him freely without begrudging it; because of this the Lord will bless you in all your work and in all you undertake.

Proverbs 19:17 - He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him. 

Proverbs 22:9 - He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor. 

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].

We are on the eve of a very important day. The day we vote for who will be President #45 of the United States of America.

This morning, I'll just be honest with you, in my quiet time I was heavily rebuked! Put your stones down for a minute and I will be transparent with you. In my heart and in my mind, I have extremely strong convictions where politics is concerned. Granted, I don't take the time to study all of the in's and out's like I would like to. I think it would be so fun and interesting to really get into the details, but at this stage in my life, time does not allow. Nonetheless, I still have strong beliefs as a Christian. In the past, as I would be driving and get behind a certain bumper sticker shouting the opponent of how I vote, inside me it was like this different person would come out, almost like I wouldn't recognize myself. I would feel like I would get road rage, and immediately decide I did not like the person behind the wheel of this other car. I know, I know.... put your stones down, I know that that is not the right attitude to have. On the contrary, I would see someone with the other bumper sticker, the one whom I'm voting, and I would immediately think, or even say out loud to Tyler, "Oh look, there is one of my friends." I would classify them as one of my friends without even knowing them.

This morning, I was heavily rebuked. As I spent time listening to the Holy Spirit, in a rather unexpected rebuke, he said the bitterness and almost hatred I was carrying around was dark and hurting me. He said BOTH candidates needed prayer! And He is right. As it stands and according to my Christian beliefs, I'm pretty sure that neither candidate has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There is something to pray about!

As I received my rebuke and asked for forgiveness for the bitterness that I had, He gave me direction, He told me when I saw either bumper sticker that I am to PRAY. But what He said next was what got me really excited!!! Check this out!!!

"Amy, pray for the godly to rise up in politics. Your prayers DO MOVE things. The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. Pray for a nation after Me. Pray for the RIGHT people into office that this nation would come back towards Me. Amy, I forgive you, but I need you to turn the rage into compassion. Prayer. A nation after My heart! A leader, spirit filled who can hear my voice, receive a plan and implement it! I CAN get this nation out of debt. I can bring the country out! Imagine the President pulling together a Pastor's Conference and asking the Pastor's, based off the Word of God to put into place programs that would financially help the poor. That a plee would go out to Christians to budget in their finances to give to the poor. To help the widows and orphans and poor. What if the President would speak in churches across this nation pleeing, preaching for the BELIEVER to take the responsibility to help the poor. The widow. The orphan. Start with YOU!"

Whoa. Honestly, I would consider myself a "good Christian." I have a regular Quiet Time. I spend time daily trying to listen to where the Lord would have me and doing what. I do my best to help people. We give our tithes and offerings gladly. I love Jesus! I have a passion for Him and growing and learning. But honestly, even as what I feel I was, a "good Christian," we have been dropping the ball in this area. We do give to our church, and I know they support ministries that give to the poor, but we have never fully taken that responsibility on as our own. As THE BELIEVER, we have never owned that responsibility. BUT, it is rightfully ours! As the BELIEVER, it IS our responsibility to help the poor, the widow and the orphan.

Imagine.... if believers across the nation were to take 5% of their income and give to the poor. Allot that money to the needy... or even $10 per month! Imagine the hundreds of thousands of Christians giving. Do you think that we would need a welfare system long? If believers were giving like that, and millions of dollars were going to programs that would help the poor, just IMAGINE what would happen! The trillions of dollars that this country is in debt with, would dwindle. Imagine a country FREE of debt! Wow! Imagine the burden that would be released if just YOU were out of debt. What a grand scale for our nation to be out of debt.

Whatever your political affiliation, as a believer I'm going to ask you to do three things.

1. Make sure to VOTE tomorrow!
2. Pray for both candidates. Pray for both parties. Pray for the godly to rise up into position. Pray that right as we speak, the godly would be moving into position, they would be raising up wherever they are, that we could see the hand of God move on this country. Pray for the people running our nation to KNOW JESUS. To come to know Him as their Savior if they do not now. That ultimately the great commission, Matthew 28:19-20 would be in effect and people everywhere would be getting saved! "GO! And make disciples of ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." 
3. Choose to GIVE! We are FINALLY making this a priority in our lives! Today, we are beginning our monthly giving to Oliver Gospel Missions. Feel free to give to this ministry, and/or pray for how and where you are called to give. Though, the responsibility is now known, need I point out the blessings that are coming back to you for abiding by the Word?!? :) Proverbs 19:17 - The LORD will repay you for giving to the poor! That's good stuff! Proverbs 22:9, you will be BLESSED for giving to the poor. Deuteronomy 15:10 - When you give freely not begrudgingly, the Lord will bless you in ALL your work. EVERYTHING you undertake, (ie: the new business, losing weight, your marriage, your relationships, your finances, writing that book) in ALL you undertake YOU WILL BE BLESSED! 

Wow! That is good stuff!! So... friend, believer.... let's get in the flow! Will you join me? 

#172 - "Stick with Me!"

Good morning! It's a blessed day and will be a blessed weekend! Today, PRAISE GOD is SUCH a GOOD day! It's GOOD FRIDAY! Today is the day that Jesus DECIDED to go to the cross for us, to suffer & endure the pain, knowing it was the only way that we may be able to enter in to heaven, knowing it was the only way that we may experience the FULLNESS of freedom! Praise the Lord for Jesus! Praise the Lord that He was WILLING to sacrifice for us, to give up His will & that He didn't just call a legion of angels to rescue Him off the cross. What selflessness! Fully man on earth, He sacrificed it all for us that we may have life. It is a good day. Actually here in Columbia, the weather is even representative of what it may have been on that day, overcast, cloudy, no sun visual in the sky. The great news? SUNDAY IS COMING! When our Jesus rose victoriously & defeated death, hell & the grave! He defeated Satan! He WON once and for all, and because of His victory, WE TOO can now experience victory! He defeated Satan for us and now, as believers, by just ONE Word, "JESUS", Satan is under our feet! PRAISE GOD! Thank you Jesus!

Well... let's get going...

Proverbs 22:12a - The eyes of the Lord keep guard over knowledge and him who has it...

Proverbs 22:17 - LISTEN (consent and submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge.

Proverbs 22:29 - Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 31:25 - Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future [the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it]!

Where to even start?? "Stick with Me" is what I heard the Holy Spirit saying to me this morning. "Stick with Me." As I was reading through Proverbs, again amazed at how the Holy Spirit can string scripture together, and bring it together in a way that we have never seen before, though our eyes have read and re-read those very verses countless times. He simply is amazing!

I was interested first of all to notice that the Lord keeps guard over the man or woman who have knowledge, who possess knowledge. I thought, "Well, I want the Lord to keep guard over me!" Right? Isn't that an obvious thought. Of course we want the Lord to keep guard over us. Keep us safe. Keep us in a position of favor. Keep us, period. Keep us on His path, traveling the right way. Keep us in His will. Keep us moving in success, moving in divine favor, moving in accordance and in the TIMING of the Holy Spirit. Because "timing" can be pretty important, right?!

Aside from being in the Word, allowing the Word to speak to you, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you, I believe Proverbs 22:17 gets us some additional insight into gaining knowledge. "LISTEN to the words of the wise." Listening to the wise provides one avenue to gain knowledge. I find it interesting that it says, "LISTEN" to the wise. LISTEN! It doesn't say "TALK" to the wise, it says "LISTEN". Have you ever been in the presence of someone and EVERY time you are with them they are talking about themselves? They are talking and talking and talking, barely even taking a breath. Telling you everything they are good at, what they do, their background, where they came from, everything. You don't even have to ask them any questions, they will keep the "one-way" conversation going, if you will just not interrupt. Proverbs 22:17 reminds us to "LISTEN." I heard someone say once, "There's no need for me to talk, I already know everything I know. I may actually learn something if I listen." Good listeners are hard to find.

Gaining knowledge? Gaining wisdom? One beginning step, seek out some who is wise. They may possess wisdom in ONE aspect of what you are looking for, they may not be the "whole" package, but they may have wisdom in: business, raising kids, finances, the Word, marriage, relationships, communicating, writing, sewing, potty-training. They may not have it all. But seek them out for the wisdom that you may need at this time. It's called, "The BODY of Christ." We are a body for a reason, to help one another. Seek out someone who you can buy a cup of coffee, who you can just sit and LISTEN. As you do, you will be gaining knowledge.

One verse that I've always thought is neat, and used to think was impossible was Proverbs 22:29. Imagine, being so skillful in your trade that you stand before KINGS! You stand before world leaders! You stand before the President and the First Lady! You stand before your hero's in ministry. I was reminded this morning, on my path to gaining wisdom and knowledge, this is no longer something that is impossible! And the Proverbs 31 woman, ALSO rejoices over the future, maybe she rejoices over knowing that even THIS is a possibility for her! Standing before a King because of her gift? Wow! Just imagine. I was thinking this morning how amazing that it would be to stand before the Queen of England, to be in her presence and be called by name. Wow! What an honor that would be! That is when I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Stick with Me."

Ephesians 3:20 - Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. 

MY FATHER will do "SUPERABUNDANTLY" more than I dare even ask or think? INFINITELY beyond my hopes or dreams. Standing before a King or Queen would be pretty amazing. WOW! But imagine being a "counselor" to them, a "friend!" WOW! That would be beyond my dreams. But, I can THINK it, so God can make it come to pass! Maybe YOU write or speak, make bags, design clothes, make baby items, golf, love training leaders, are a great cook, can turn wood into something amazing with your carpentry? This morning I thought about Prince William and his fiance, Kate, carrying around one of my books. To have a real PRINCESS reading a book that I write. That would be cool. And I'm sure just the media exposure alone, would be awesome for the book. Whatever it is for YOU, GOD can do what you could NEVER imagine! Whatever it is that you are skillful in, God can BRING YOU before KINGS! So START IMAGINING!

Have you always wanted to do something great? Deep in your mind you've thought, "Man, I just want to make a huge impact! I want to be different! I want to do something radically great! I want to change things for the better. I want to help people." Deep in your heart and mind, have you desired to be more than just average? Well.... I believe the Holy Spirit's word to you is what is was to me too.... "Stick with Me." Stick with the Holy Spirit. Stick with God. Stick with HIM! It is through HIM and HIS guidance that He will direct you to do what you are called to do, to do what you were designed for. He will bring you before GREAT MEN with your gift. So commit today to excellence. Commit to seeking wisdom and knowledge. And as the Holy Spirit said, "Stick with Me."

#40 - Who do you Follow?

Buenos dias! How is everyone's morning so far? Things here in Columbia are quite swell. Had a good time getting some instructions for my week from the Holy Spirit.  Praise the Lord that we can rely on Him versus rely on our own understanding, or our own direction. His way is so much better, less things done in vain when we listen to the direction of the Holy Spirit! Listening. Listening is a very valuable attribute to acquire. Learning how to LISTEN to the voice of the Holy Spirit is something that is available to everyone who is saved. When we accept Christ into our life as our Saviour we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Our "spirit" is "re-born". That is why they call it being "born again." Our spiritual compass has been reset to things of God. We have the "still small voice"... aka: the Holy Spirit, living inside of us wanting to direct us & guide us. At first... it may take awhile for you to really feel like you are "hearing" correctly. I remember developing that ability to listen. I remember working on it, working on listening. Let me tell you how it happened for me....


I was a Spanish & Bible teacher at a private Christian School. During my prep period in the morning, I would go to the library and spend time in the Word and journal. As I began to try to listen, I remember I would often get so distracted by ANY noise I heard. I would feel like it totally threw me off track. I had to try so hard to listen. I remember sometimes I would even close my eyes & plug my ears just so all I could hear was the "emptiness" inside my brain. I wanted SOOO bad to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. I wanted so bad to experience the relationship & direction of Him. One of my struggles when I tried to listen was thoughts like this: "Oooh. I need to call Tyler to see if he got our conference tickets." - "I need to swing by and pick up some chicken so I can make chicken casserole tonight for dinner." - "Oh yah, I need to remember to return the ski pants to Robin." Literally, I felt like my time of listening was the time every reminder would pop into my head! It was very distracting & honestly kind of annoying. Eventually, I remember going through this practice each day to try to empty my mind of thoughts, and it actually worked! I would close my eyes, picture a truck... it was a truck that had a cement wall on the front of it (lol! for real!). I would picture this truck with it's cement-wall front driving very slowly and pushing all the thoughts out of my brain so my brain was empty. After all the thoughts fell off the side... cliff... whatever... my brain was a clean, empty slate ready to listen. I would say, "Good morning Holy Spirit." And I would hear back, "Good morning Amy." And there is where it began. I wrote down everything that I felt like the Holy Spirit was saying to me, instructions, things to do, stories to remember, verses to look up. Sometimes I felt like I didn't know if "I" was actually hearing Him, or if it was just me. Well... one morning, the Holy Spirit was heavily talking about a particular subject... I was writing it all down... he just kept on this subject. Then when I opened my Bible, I felt led to turn to this certain chapter, and there it was! ALL the scripture backing up everything I had just finished journaling. All the instructions, right there. Just to confirm to me that I was hearing correctly, the Holy Spirit directed me to "confirmation" in His Word. How exciting. Today... I don't have to close my eyes, squint really tight and plug my ears to hear. But, we all have to start somewhere. And, that is where I started. 


Anyways... quite a long intro to today's verses... let's get into the Word. 

Proverbs 31:30 - ....but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

Proverbs 26:9 - Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man, so is a proverb in the mouth of a [self-confident] fool.

Proverbs 26 is loaded with a lot of good stuff.... but, as I tried to get past some of the obvious things that jumped out at me... I started to realize how much Proverbs 26 talked about the "fool". In verses 1-12, it talks about the "fool" 11 times! 11 verses talked about a fool. As I re-read the verses several times, I wanted to find out what made someone a fool. That led me to search it out a little. 


As I searched, I found what I would consider the ULTIMATE foundation of what makes someone a fool. Psalm 14:1, 53:1 both read this:  The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.


Proverbs 1:7 - The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.


Our Proverbs 31 friend, we know is not a fool, she reverently & worshipfully fears the Lord. So, big check beside her name! She is on board with being wise. Now let me say this, there is hope for the fool. That's called the GREAT COMMISSION (Matthew 28:19-20). As Christians, that is part of our calling to reach out to these "fools" who say "There is no God." It is part of every Christians assignment to help fulfill the Great Commission, to GO and make disciples of all the nations. Some Christians are called to be missionaries to another country to help the Great Commission be fulfilled, others are called to be a missionary right where they are, in their jobs, schools, homes, churches, malls, grocery stores, right in the town where they live, to be a beacon of light to others, to share the love of Jesus with those who do not know Him. 


As a Christian, I believe one of our greatest responsibilities is to KNOW who to take advice from. Proverb in the Hebrew is defined as sentences of ethical wisdom. And we know by reading our Proverbs for today, that a "proverb" in the mouth of a non-believer is just foolish words. Who are you taking advice from?!? Whoa! A pretty big pivotal point of importance. Who are you following. We know if they are one who says, "There is no God", then we would be a fool to follow them. We would be a fool to take their advise. We would be a fool. Look to who you follow now in business, in politics, in books you read, in music. Are they people who say, "There is no God." And as Christians, we know just believing in God is not enough, even the demons do that and tremble, but we need to believe in the one and only way to be saved is confessing with our mouth that JESUS is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. It is then when we have CONFESSED and BELIEVED that we are saved. Who are you following? Have they done this. Have YOU done this? If you haven't, you can do it now very simply by praying a simple prayer, out-loud, something like this: "Father, I come to you right now and want to ask forgiveness of my sins. I confess my sins to you. I also want to openly say out loud that I DO believe that Jesus died on a cross for me. That I would be saved. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead and that now He sits at your right hand. Thank you Father for saving me. I am now BORN AGAIN! I am now SAVED!" - It's that simple! Now begins the fun of re-newing your mind to things of God. Getting in the Word, studying the life of Jesus (the book of John is a good place to start). 


Sometimes, we may not have complete control over who we follow. Whether it is the president of the company we work for, a senator, governor, President of the United States. We may have some voice, by voting, but if we are following non-believers (aka: FOOL according to Ps. 14:1, 53:1) in any area of our life, it is our responsibility to help CHANGE it! To PRAY PRAY PRAY! For us to say that we followed not in vain, but we prayed. Pray for salvation. 


If you can change who you follow, do it. Don't take advice from fools. 
If you can't change who you follow, change it by PRAYING. 

#37 - What is #1 in Leaving a Lasting Legacy?

Good morning. It's so fun to be a parent. Tyler and I walked in to "the boys" room this morning, as we frequently do... just to look at him. He was face-planted in his bed with his butt in the air. He is so funny! His sleeping positions make me laugh. And now... as we speak, it's funny to hear him... he just started moving around in his bed. He's playing with some toys and listening to himself make noises. It's so funny! He totally makes me laugh!! What joy a child can bring. 

Proverbs 20:11 - Even a child is known by his acts, whether [or not] what he does is pure and right.

Proverbs 31:29 - Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.

So... as I was reading this morning, as these verses jumped out at me, I felt like I had a few obvious observations. Like... if a child is known by his acts... what does that say about me? I am known by MY acts. Right or wrong, people look at me and judge me by what I do. People judge me by what I accomplish or don't accomplish. Am I responding in a situation or "off the cuff" reacting? Like a child is known by his or her actions, I am known by my actions also. What do I want to leave for this world to remember me by? 


Tyler & I have talked and thought about this. We know that we will one day, in a ripe old age, leave this world and go home to be with Jesus. Well... when that day comes, and we are home with Jesus, what will we have left for the world to remember us by? What will we have left for our great, great grandchildren to remember us by? Will we leave a lasting legacy? 


I have heard a lot lately of interviews done with older people in their 70's, 80's & 90's. One of their big thoughts & questions is, "What is the lasting effect that I have had? Has my life counted for anything? Am I leaving a mark?" I think of this because as Tyler & I have talked about it, we reflect on what we know of our great grandparents... or great great grandparents, and it's very little if anything. I'm sure they did good things, but I do not know them nor do I know what they did or if they did anything great. Tyler and I want to be the great-great grandparents that stories are told about... in year 2190 when little Gracie Jo is sitting on her mom's lap, she looks at the picture above the fireplace and asks her mom and dad again.... "Mommy, tell me some of the stories about Great, Great, Great Grandma Amy & Grandpa Tyler. Tell us again about the things they did... about the people they helped and how they changed lives. Tell us one of the stories about them. Please mommy, please." I want to leave a mark that meant something. 


SO... that was my "obvious" take-away... and what jumped out at me. BUT... that was what I saw on the surface. As I started asking the Holy Spirit... he took me a bit deeper and in a completely different direction. To do virtuously, nobly & well... what does that take? Let me share with a story....

A former president was interviewed. As he opened up about some mistakes he had made, some very key factors were revealed in why some catastrophic mistakes occurred. He talked of working late hours, of sometimes staying up through the night to try to handle some of the major decisions that were needed to be made. He made decision after decision, some nights only going off of 2, 3 and 4 hours of sleep. During these critical times some of the major mistakes took place. The reporter asked him if he could change anything, what it would be. He said one thing. One word. One activity. He would change one thing. Sleep. At the time of his most critical points of decision, he messed up partially because he was not alert, he was not sharp. He messed up because he was running on empty. He was running on lack of sleep. He tried to accomplish too much and it caused mistakes. 

There is a great tip to be learned in all that. Accomplishing is important... but rest plays a valuable role in accomplishment. As I was reflecting on this, the Holy Spirit said to me... 

People need permission to take a break. Permission to rest. Resting is important. Some people are too tired, they just need to rest.If the enemy can just get you to KEEP going, he knows when you are tired, he can get you to sin. He wants you working off of fatigue. 

I know for me, firsthand, this is the case. When I am tired, physically and mentally fatigued, I am walking in a danger zone of sin. I need to take a nap. 

So... if it was a Word you needed today... if you are running on empty, take it as a word to you! Take it as the Holy Spirit talking to you. Today, when you get home from work, do something different. Go take a nap (and don't feel GUILTY about it!)


Go take a NAP! There is something not only refreshing about it, but freeing! Especially when you do it GUILT-FREE! NAP! NAP! NAP! 


Do you want to leave a lasting impression on this world, leave a legacy that is a positive one, that generations to come remember you? To do so may mean taking a nap, getting your rest. Or, like the president... you may leave a lasting impression but it was due to the mistakes you made because you were too busy to sleep. Don't make the same mistake and be remembered for your major pitfalls. Get your rest and let the Lord lead you to accomplish what you were called to do! Leave a lasting legacy and start today by going to take a nap!


OK... I'm going to go give the boy his bottle and take a NAP! :) YIPPEE!