#203 - RAIN Your Words!

Good morning! Today I officially begin my 3rd trimester carrying Trinity! It's amazing the things you forget about being pregnant. Like, not needing an alarm clock to wake up! All is well. I call my sleep SWEET every night in Jesus Name. :) The Word promises it, so I'm going to receive it for myself.

OK.... let's get started. Maybe I can catch a quick nap before Junior gets up! (***yawn***)

Proverbs 11:25 - The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.

2 Cor. 9:6,8 - [Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings. And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

Proverbs 31:16b - ... she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

I was reminded this morning of the question: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" As I sat thinking about sowing and reaping, I began to just ask questions of the Holy Spirit with a desire to receive some direction, some insight. I was brought back to the beginning. What really came first? If we think back all the way to the beginning of time, WHAT really came first? It all started with THREE words. What three words? "And God said." The WORD came before SEED. I've went over in my head the physical aspects of sowing & reaping, but also want to know the spiritual aspects of sowing and reaping. There are similarities, but also differences. The spoken WORD plays an important part in growth of spiritual seed. Physical work is part of sowing and reaping, but rain, watering is also crucial. 


In my quiet time before church yesterday, I thought on the subject. I thought about the multitude of "seed" we have planted over the years. Be it time, money, belief, friendship, love, whatever seed it was at the time, I envisioned actual "seed" going into the soil. Just part of the work involved in receiving a harvest. As I continued to ask questions and press in to the Holy Spirit for insight, an picture came to my mind. If a seed was planted in soil, but never watered, the seed would remain dormant until the environment was right for growth. Action brings planting. Obedience brings sun. Words bring rain. Thankfulness waters the seed that are in the ground. The greater the conditions, the greater the harvest. WE have the ability to change the conditions at any time but it takes WORK to WATER too! I realized in certain areas of my life where I have not received a harvest was because seed lay dormant in dry soil. Dry. Dry. Dry! My words nor my thankfulness had been watering my seed enough if at all. Sure... I speak goals, and confessions but here's the kicker.... BELIEF, ENTHUSIASM & THANKFULNESS! Rote words often came from my lips, memorized and spoken on schedule... but true gratitude and emotion did not accompany my words. 


Let me give you an example. July 1998, I met Tyler. Shortly after meeting him, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that he was going to be my husband. As we returned England, where we met on a mission trip, I began a period of 18 months until I would finally see him again. Often I would go months without hearing from him, not an email, not a call, not any contact. Every day that went by, EVERY day for 18 months I remember crying out to God, "PLEASE God, Let him know that He is going to be the man that I marry." I would proceed to THANK God that He revealed to me my husband, but DAILY I would water the seed that was planted in my heart. The word that was planted in my heart July 13, 1998 that Tyler McCart would be my husband, I began to DAILY water it with my words. It took 18 months for that seed to finally grow up! It took 18 months of WATERING while I WAITED for Tyler to realize that he wanted to pursue me. I saw him for the first time again on December 23rd, and from that day forward, he began to pursue me. July 13th, 2000, EXACTLY 2 years from the day God told me he was to be my husband, he proposed. "Would you be willing to be #2 in my life for the rest of your life? Will you marry me?" And the rest is history. For over 10 years, I've been married to the man of my dreams. 


The difference between what I did 10 years ago, and what I've done with some "un-harvested" seed that has been in the ground? PASSION! Every day, for 18 months, I did not recite a rote goal card, or list of confessions. I was PASSIONATELY engaged with the words I cried out to God. I was passionately engaged with the NEED & DESIRE for my words to come to pass. From the depths of my heart, I NEEDED Tyler McCart. My heart longed to be his wife, his completer. 


What about your goals? Is there passion behind them? Are they being WATERED consistently? Or have they been left in dry soil only to lay dormant. Frustration often comes from lack of harvest. The Holy Spirit told me something very empowering... let me repeat it to you... The greater the conditions, the greater the harvest. WE have the ability to change the conditions at any time but it takes WORK to WATER!


Like the Proverbs 31 woman... her vines were FRUITFUL. To receive a harvest, WATER is required on your seed. RAIN your words today! Engage your passion & words. Watch your harvest come to pass!

#111 - Peek-A-Boo

Good morning! Hope you are doing well on this fine Thursday! I'm doing great. Enjoyed getting a lot of WORD in last night. Man, it was good stuff. Tyler did a Vlog because of all the great revelations we got out of some of the stuff we learned! Whoa! I'll include the link at the end if you want to go watch it. It was one of those "WHOA" sort of nights! :-) Isn't it amazing that we can keep learning and growing! That we don't "cap out." That we never really "ARRIVE." Like, "Ok, I've learned everything there is to know. I'm done learning now." Praise the Lord for the ability we have to LEARN! 


Ok... well, let's roll! 

Psalm 32:1,3 (NKJV) - Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. When I kept silent, my bones grew old, through my groaning all the day long.

Psalm 92:12-14 (NKJV) - The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.¹³ Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.¹⁴ They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing...

As I was thinking about these verses, the game "peek-a-boo", came to my mind. Tyler Junior is at the age now where he is really having fun playing "peek-a-boo." He is so cute. He will put his hands over his eyes and be peeking out through maybe a crack and we'll say, "Where's Tyler Jr? Where is he? Where's Tyler Jr?" We may say it a handful of times and then he takes his hands off his face, smiles real big and starts laughing as to say, "Mom, Dad, Here I am!" It is so funny! Or, he will even put a blanket over his head and play peek-a-boo. I also know in the afternoon, if we are upstairs and Tyler Jr starts crawling to mom & dad's room, then to our bathroom, then to our closet.... I know what time it is. It's time to play the "Where's Tyler Jr?" game. I will stand at my sink, and he'll crawl into the closet... I'll hear his little knees and feet hitting the wood floor as he crawls, then I'll hear him stop and sit up... just waiting for mom to acknowledge that he is not in a "visual" place where I can see him. I begin to just yell his name. "Tyler Junior. Tylerrrrr Juniorrrrr. Where is he? Where is Tyler Junior? Where is he?" He'll crawl out from around the corner and I'll say, "THERE HE IS!" He will just laugh and laugh and laugh! Like a hearty belly laugh. He thinks it is so funny! This may go on 5-10 times until we both get bored with the game, but we have a good time! :-) 

As I read the scripture today, I thought about how we can at times do that as Christians with God. When we have sin in our lives and we keep silent about it. We try to push it deep down and forget it, or hide it. We keep our lips sealed and don't want "God to know about it" or think if we suppress it enough, maybe He won't find out or acknowledge it. But, just like Tyler Junior hiding under his blanket, the whole time I knew where he was, I could see him. I could see his feet, his hands, I could see the frame of his body under the blanket. I knew he was there the whole time. That is just like God. We may try to push the sin down, ignore it. But the whole time, He sees it. He knows it's there. 

Like the Psalmist in Psalm 32, he talks about how when he kept his sins silent. All the while his bones were growing old. When I looked up the Hebrew, I found out some interesting things. The word "old" in the verse refers too: to wear out, to use up completely. Imagine this, the longer we hold on to the "unconfessed" sin... that unconfessed sin, sits on our bones and begins to pre-maturely wear them out. So we see the person with unconfessed sin, and what their life looks like in old age. Let's look at the righteous. Let's look at the person who has confessed their sin, let's see what they look like in old age. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. They shall still bear fruit in their old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing.  This person is strong. This person is fully alive and living life to the fullest. This person is fresh. They are flourishing, prospering. Even in their old age, they are producing! They are succeeding and making a difference! And I would anticipate, if we took a look at their bones, they would be STRONG! 

Just like the "Peek-A-Boo" game.... we can't hide. When I find Tyler Junior, I say, "I see you!" Most often, when he is found, I pick him up, I bend over hugging him and kissing on him and we are laughing. He pulls back, looks at me and just smiles with his 6 teeth just beaming. And that is just what God wants to do. He wants you to be found. He wants you to reveal what you are hiding. And when you do, that's just what He's going to do. He's going to hug you and kiss you and tell you he loves you. He just wants to bless YOU, his child. Let him bless you. Open up. Ask for forgiveness. Whether you need to ask God for forgiveness, a friend, family member, spouse, co-worker, boss, child, parent.... ask for forgiveness. God already sees, He already knows. He just wants to love on you. 

Have a blessed day! 

                     Xoxo,

                                 Amy J

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Check out Tyler's most recent Video Blog (Aka: VLOG) - It's good stuff!

The Joseph Vlog #3