When I was younger, I never enjoyed correction.  I still don’t love it, but I do appreciate it now…when the Lord is doing the correcting.  I’m in a season of truly feeling loved when God takes the time to correct me.  It now has become clear that correction from God is the most loving thing.

When we allow someone to continue in a bad or destructive behavior, we are not loving them.  It’s quite the opposite.  There’s a reason that people who are deep into delusion are so hostile.  They feel abandoned.  They are like the toddler who is pushing the boundaries just to find out where they lie so they can live in safety.  Why do they scream and demand and protest?  Because the toddler side of them has never been shown not only where the line is, but also had someone in their life brave enough to hold the line. 

To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.  The Lord approves of those who are good, but He condemns those who plan wickedness.  Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.  Proverbs 12:1-3

When we allow those we love to live out their wickedness, then we are allowing them to be under God’s condemnation.  How is that loving?  When we simply ignore wickedness, we condemn people to lives that are unstable.  We are just turning a blind eye to the life that won’t have roots.  Meaning, when troubles come, because they always do, they will have no roots to hold them steady.

I stand corrected. 

I choose to allow God to correct any part of me that He deems as misdirected, unnecessary, hurtful, irreverent, etc.  I give God an all-access pass to correct me.  I want to have roots.  I want to be in the grace of God, not the condemnation.  This is a choice.

Do you stand corrected?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God had set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame.  Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.  Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.  After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.  And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children?  He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He correct you.  For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.”  As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children.  Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?  If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all.  Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?  For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how.  But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness.  No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening- it’s painful!  But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.  So, take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.  Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.  Hebrews 12:1-13

I believe that as children of God we are all capable of being exceptional.  Does that seem like a bold statement to you?  I think it’s just an obvious statement.

When we become part of God’s family, we are adopted in…grafted in.  We become a child of God.  How can a child of God not have the potential to be exceptional?

I believe we need to press into what it means to be chosen.  Set apart.  Grafted into God’s family. 

The world is under the influence.  Intoxicated by the enemy and all his schemes.  The church has been in a stupor of slavery to poverty spirit. 

Shouldn’t the family of God be the ones influencing the culture?  Shouldn’t God’s kids be the leaders, not followers of the world?

Shouldn’t God’s family be establishing and running the businesses that employ the masses?  What would change in our culture if that was what was happening?  What if we led the world in the economy? 

We are supposed to be exceptional. 

Today, I encourage you to ask God to reveal to you His dream over your life.  I encourage you to believe Him for the best in your life.  The best antidote for the many ails of the world would be for us to invade the marketplace and media.  We are meant to be the influencers.  The longer we stand by and pretend we are less than, the longer the enemy will inhabit those places. 

What if today you asked God to do “beyond anything you could imagine” in your own life? 

As He reveals His plan for your life, then allow Him to mold you into what He desires.  Give Him the freedom to do with you as He pleases.  This takes courage and humility, but it’s so worth it.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.  “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.  The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.  They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.  It is the same with My word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  You will live in joy and peace.  The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!  Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.  Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.  These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of His power and love.”  Isaiah 55:8-13

There are moments in prayer when I will feel compelled to intercede over very significant and deeply rooted things.  Our government is one example.  There have been multiple times when I have been drawn deep into intercession over things so grossly demonic that I felt frightened to pray about them, lest I become a target for enemy attack. 

I had one such moment earlier today.  I was out walking when I felt suddenly drawn deeply into intercession over our government.  I was seeing and exploring the capital in this vision and prayer.  As I began to pray, I felt stopped suddenly and shifted to praying in tongues.  It was a sudden shift.  Then the Lord reminded me that when I pray in the Spirit, only the Spirit knows what I’m saying.  He showed me that He’d released tongues over me during that prayer, as protection.  I knew as long as I continued to pray in the Spirit, I’d be fine. 

In that moment I was reminded of the movie, Lord of the Rings.  I saw the all-seeing eye looking around, until it was swiftly destroyed.  I also saw Frodo.  He slipped the ring on his finger then was invisible to the earthly world and saw in a different realm.  Something that reminded me of the spiritual realm.  I knew God was showing me that praying in tongues was like putting that ring on my finger and becoming invisible to the enemy.   

Who wouldn’t want to access prayer like this? 

What if we were no longer afraid to pray.  What if we became bolder than ever, but also wiser than ever.  God gave us the gift of tongues at the Pentecost.  It was the moment that the world had been waiting for…Jesus had died, been resurrected, and ascended and the apostles were waiting as He had instructed them to do.  Then suddenly the Holy Spirit flooded the room, and they began speaking in tongues.  Wow!  I wish I could’ve seen it. 

The gift of Holy Spirit is quite literally the gift that keeps on giving.  Holy Spirit leads, comforts, directs, consumes. 

I encourage you today to lean into the Holy Spirit and ask Him how you should pray.  What is on His heart?  Is He leading you to pray for and about things that frighten you a bit?  Do You trust Him?  Will you choose to pray how He leads? 

“Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you.  Show love to the Lord your god by walking in His ways and holding tightly to Him.  Then the Lord will drive out all the nations ahead of you, though they are much greater and stronger than you, and you will take over their land.  Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours.  Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.  No one will be able to stand against you, for the Lord your God will cause the people to fear and dread you, as He promised, wherever you go in the whole land.”  Deuteronomy 11:22-25

I got a rare time alone at home this week.  I honestly don’t remember when I was last here alone for an hour, much less, overnight.  I was very pleasantly surprised by this gift. 

While I was spending time sitting with God after a beautiful time of worship, I kept thinking about other things I could be doing.  You know how it is when you rarely get a break, once you do the time often gets gobbled up by trying figure out the best way to spend that time instead of just enjoying it.  It can be a frustrating exercise in attempted rest.  I know my fellow moms understand exactly what I’m saying.

As I sat and wrestled with what to do with my time, I heard God speak to me that the wrestling was drawing me away from being present. 

Suddenly, I felt grounded and centered.  I felt very present.  I felt focus wash over me.  There was such a release that came with being present.  After this encounter I was able to release the day and simply enjoy it.  I stopped stumbling over the fear of missing out and simply rested.

How present are you?

How often do you really engage in the moment you are living?

How often do you truly listen to others when they talk with you…and how often do you not really listen but just think about other things?

We’re all guilty of this.  But in this season I feel God imploring us to rediscover the gift of being present.  It’s by being present that we experience His Presence.  It’s the only true way to find Him.  He longs to be found by us, especially right now. 

It’s like there’s been a game of hide and seek going on, but many of us forgot to go find Him.  Yet He’s been patiently waiting to be found.

Seek Him while He can still be found. 

Today I encourage you to spend time being present.  Turn off all the sounds…all the music even…and sit in the quiet.  Tell the Lord you desire to be present, then wait.  Let Him come.  Don’t rush it or end it because you become uncomfortable, stay present through the discomfort and find Him.  He will be found by you. 

“Is anyone thirsty?  Come and drink- even if you have no money!  Come, take your choice of wine or milk- it’s all free!  Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?  Why pay for food that does you no good?  Listen to Me, and you will eat what is good.  You will enjoy the finest food.  Come to Me with your ears wide open.  Listen, and you will find life.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you.  I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.  See how I used him to display My power among the peoples.  I made him a leader among the nations.  You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.  Seek the Lord while you can find Him.  Call on Him now while He is near.  Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong.  Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them.  Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously.”  Isaiah 55:1-7

What’s more important to you…to be known on earth or known in heaven?

I was spending time with God recently and realized that most people value being known on earth way more than being known by God. 

Be honest…don’t you like it when people praise you and seek you out?  Do you live your life in a way that others are sure to see all your wins and none of your losses?  Do you have a wonderful moment with family and then feel immediately compelled to post about it on social media because obviously the world needs to know about it?  Do you do good things and then make sly posts about it or talk about it so that others know of your goodness?  Do you feel compelled to share every good word you receive from God, with everyone you know, because it makes you feel important or special?

If we’re honest, we’d all admit that at least sometimes we do this.

I was struck by the revelation that we have cheapened our very existence by sharing sacred things with those who don’t even care.  And sometimes with those who hate us.  Casting our pearls before swine, so to speak.

The church seems to have lost its compass.  Valuing things that don’t matter has become the norm.  It’s become more celebrated than a life lived in consecration to God.  In fact, many see a life set apart as an irritation.  I know this is true.  I have seen it in the inner workings of every church body I’ve been a part of and can see from the outside into others I’ve not been inside…all churches are doing it.

We’ve lost sight of the sacred.  We’ve forsaken the humbleness of Jesus.  We’ve stopped trying to mirror what He was really like, and instead what we imagine His fame to be. 

The truth is, the more I press into God’s heart and seek Him only, the more I treasure the sacred sweet moments.  The more I value my family.  The more I don’t need validation from strangers, in fact, it most often feels disingenuous when they praise people and that makes me feel sick.  Empty praise is offensive.  Platitudes are a waste. 

When in different positions at churches I discovered a whole group of people who only draw near when they think your position will help them excel.  I despise that.  I also discovered those who use flattery to attempt to connect with you, also to angle themselves into position.

It’s shocking to find that in church, but it’s just as bad there as it is in the secular world. 

We’ve lost our way, but it’s not too late.  The season we are in is a season of exposing for the purpose of restoring.  Are you willing to lean into that?  You can’t change what you deny exists.  It’s time for us to lean into worshiping God in Spirit and truth. 

God, would you winnow out every thing in me that is contentious to Your Spirit.  I long to worship You in Spirit and truth.  Please forgive me for anytime I’ve lived in error.  Anytime I’ve valued that which is empty and forsaken You.  Please draw my heart.  Pursue me as I pursue You.  Come and consume all that I am.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jesus replied, “Believe Me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans know very little about the One you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews.  But the time is coming- indeed it’s here now- when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth.  the Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way.  For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  John 4:21-24

It’s funny how God speaks sometimes.  A few days ago we were admonished to “Bang the drum”…and today He speaks about quiet strength.

He’s all things at once, isn’t He.

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.  So many enemies against one man- all of them trying to kill me.  To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence.  They plan to topple me from my high position.  They delight in telling lies about me.  They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts.  Let all that I am wait quietly before God.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My victory and honor come from God alone.  He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.  O my people, trust in Him at all times.  Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.  Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be.  If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air.  Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing.  And if your wealth increases.  Don’t make it the center of your life.  God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times:  Power, O God, belongs to You; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.  Surely You repay all people according to what they have done.  Psalm 62

When we know Who God is, our strength becomes so much more powerful and so much quieter.

Think about it…

When someone gets angry with you and yells, it has an intimidating effect, but it leads to having less respect for that person.

When someone gets angry with you and they fall silent, it’s far scarier.  And you often end up holding a deeper reverence and respect for that person.  Partly because self-control is such a powerful tool.  They exhibited the self-control to keep quiet, but you knew they were still angry.  We are drawn to self-controlled people.

When we truly know God and have a deeper understanding of Who He is and what He can do…we will lead much quieter lives.  We will be far more difficult to provoke.  We won’t be perfect, but we will operate in much more restraint than most others.

Godly living doesn’t mean weak living…no, quite the opposite it means being so certain of Him that you carry authority on the inside and it times of trouble that authority leaks through your pores with nary a word. 

Authority is what we really want.  If suddenly, all the believers began to operate in true authority, we would change the world in a day.

I encourage you to reach deep inside and ask God to become quiet strength within you.  Lean into Him and discover the authority you carry inside because of His Spirit.  It’s time to move in true authority and quiet strength.

The longer I live…the more I see and experience…the more I respect the fruit of life.

The sweetest fruit of our lives is borne not from quickness, but from steadiness.  Just as the best wine is aged, the best fruit of our lives is also aged.  Aged by wisdom.  Aged by living instructed lives.  Aged by adversity and conflict…

Have you ever walked through a season and felt suddenly older as you came to its end? 

I’ve had many moments where I look at myself in the mirror and think, “Wow.  I have suddenly aged.”

These are signs of the struggle in life.  But all fruit must first struggle in the ground before bursting forth with shoots that end up producing fruit.

We can’t avoid life’s struggles.  We shouldn’t. 

I know we’ve touched on this topic in different ways before, but it’s really resonating with me as I watch generations coming up who have no grid for struggle.  They think everything should just come to them.  They believe that any hardship is trauma.  Sometimes we laugh at their fragility, but honestly it should concern us deeply.  What have we given these kids?  We are leading them as lambs to the slaughter…weak and unable to stand strong in the day of adversity.  This isn’t funny.  It’s terrifying.

Everything in scripture, about the last days, makes it clear that we must be solid and built up before that time, if we are to withstand it.  So, why have we neglected the training up of multiple generations?

They must see that the sweetest fruit comes from the greatest and longest struggles. 

As I watch my children grow up, it’s not lost on me that not long ago they were each a toddler wandering around and having to be told “No” constantly.  I had to basically run their whole lives, or they would die.  They didn’t know how to cook and drive and clean…they couldn’t provide their own income…Chris and I were solely responsible for every part of their lives…even their learning about God.  Another important thing we taught them was that life is a good struggle.  A worthy struggle.  That we will struggle with them.  Carefully watching over them, we will not prohibit the struggles; rather we would watch and continue to be a safe place for rest during the struggle. 

Now, I see them capable of navigating life’s relational and social struggles.  We gave them the gift of a solid foundation.  We gave them the gift of disappointment.  We gave them the gift of discipline.  We set boundaries in their very young years, so we could enjoy the freedoms that slowly come as we walk through teens and early twenties.  It’s a beautiful thing to walk into adulthood with your children.  Not blocking their way, rather encouraging their separation.  The healthy separation.  The godly separation.

We are called to be separate.  How can our children grow that way if we constantly force them to conform?  How do you raise warriors and leaders if you never give them room to choose and fail. 

Life isn’t certain.  The only thing that is certain is death. 

We must lead the next generation to conquer and inhabit.  We must allow struggles in their lives to strengthen their minds and hearts. 

We must allow the same in our own lives.  Where we have hidden, it’s time to emerge and conquer!  It’s time to take the land.

Are you willing?  Are you willing to fail and succeed?  Are you willing to be tested and approved?

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.  Proverbs 17:17

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.  How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness?  How can light live with darkness?  What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?  How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?  And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols?  For we are the temple of the living God.  As God said:  “I will live in them and walk among them.  I will be their God, and they will be My people.  Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.  Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.  And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”             2 Corinthians 6:14-18

There are moments of need in every life.  Times when we need financially.  Times when we need relationally.  Times when we need in physical or health ways.  We all have needs.

The difference between many is that often the first response of the heart in seasons of need is to close off and operate from a spirit of poverty.  Clinging only to the help you need, not acknowledging that others also need.  Many believe that if they give in their neediness then they will never have enough.  And therein lies the trick of the enemy, because he knows that the best thing to do when we’re in need is to be generous toward others. 

Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.  The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.  People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.  Proverbs 11:24-26

The Bible mentions generosity a lot.  And it is never dependent upon our own circumstance, it’s more of a mandate to give in all seasons. 

If you don’t have enough financially, give your time.  If you are feeling like you don’t ever have enough time, then give financially.  No matter what your circumstance, you have something to give. 

If you need increase in an area, find a way to give in another.  This is the way to truly discover the beauty of abundant living. 

Freely He gave to us.  Freely He still gives. 

If you don’t have money or time, then call and offer a blessing.  Find a way.  If you see a need, ask God if you are to fill it in any capacity, no matter how minute.  It’s sometimes the simplest thing that speaks the greatest love to someone’s heart.  I know that is true for my heart. 

Sure, grand gestures are wonderful, but the times I remember most are those when someone does a small thing just because they see I need it.  It’s like feeling seen, and everyone likes to feel seen.

We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.  Psalm 66:12b

If we are to live in abundance, then we each must go through fire.  It isn’t the easy way, but it is the way that produces the most fruit. 

Sure, you can live a risk-free life.  Yes, you can choose not to ever give to anyone.  But if you do, you will never have an abundant life.  It will instead, be empty, whether you are wealthy or not.    We see it every day in the lives of celebrities.  Often, they seem to have everything and nothing all at the same time, and they are miserable.  What a horrible way to live.  It is much more satisfying to live outward and abundant towards others and allow your life to have a consistent flow of goodness.

Today I challenge you to ask yourself if you have chosen to be abundant or miserly.  Look for ways to bless others today, no matter how large or small.  I promise it will result in abundance in your own life!

I awoke and heard a drum.  Then in my spirit I heard, “Bang the drum!!  Tell everyone to bang the drum!!”

What does this mean?

I only know in part…but this is what I know so far.

When I saw and heard, “Bang the drum!”  I saw all the troubles currently going on in America.  I saw our rights being torn away by corrupt politicians and foreign influences bent on our destruction.  I felt angry and also helpless to do anything to change things. 

It’s been horrible to see things crumbling in a clearly intentional way, yet many keep denying it and/or just standing idly by because they don’t want to stir the pot or cause trouble…but what’s worse is that most don’t do anything because they feel they have too much to lose.

What more could we lose if we simply hand over America to our enemies?

WAKE UP!!!! Bang the Drum!!!!  We are being invaded.  Wake up warriors!!  Pray without ceasing!!!  Follow the leading of Holy Spirit.  Don’t back down.  Don’t give up!!! Stand and fight!!

Train up your children in the Lord.  Teach them His precepts.  Lead them, lest they be led by the enemy.  Lead them in the fear of the Lord.  Lead them in the truth, in Scripture.  Lead them!!!

Ask for God’s mercy.  Ask for God to arise and defeat this clear enemy.  Ask Him to protect us!!

The enemy seems enormous, but still…pales in comparison to our God.  The Mighty One.  The God of angel armies. 

Arise bride of Christ!!  Arise and fight without ceasing.  Pray and fast and walk in continual communion with Holy Spirit so you will know the way forward. 

Bang the Drum!!!  Stop being afraid of the gospel of Christ.  Stop allowing the fearful church to guide and direct your steps.  Follow God alone!!  Follow God!

Bang the drum!!!!  Wake the dry bones.  Cry out for the resurrection of America and our power in the earth. 

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord.  With my whole being, body, and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.  Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near Your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!  What joy for those who can live in Your house, always singing Your praises.  What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs.  The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.  They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.  O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.  Listen, O God of Jacob.  O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!  Show favor to the one you have anointed.  A single day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!  I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.  For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.  He gives us grace and glory.  The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.  O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in You.  Psalm 84

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how completely self-centered we all are these days.  It’s almost overwhelming how much we all think about ourselves.  How much we only do what’s comfortable.  How often we avoid all forms of inconvenience.  How much we hate anything that appears difficult.  It’s made my generation and those before and after it very weak.  Weak minded.  Weak spirited.  Weak to the enemy’s ploys. 

It’s time for a change.

As I considered this, I thought, how do I use Jesus as a standard?  Immediately, I saw people in Bible times and thought about what was important back then…when Jesus was walking the earth.  I realized that we have missed so much because we’ve become so haughty.  We each think we are amazing.  The first person to ever know such great things.  The first generation to “get it right”.  It’s absurd.

Think about this…

In Bible times, what was the most important thing?  God and Family.

It’s an easy answer.  A veritable no-brainer.  Everything revolved around God and family.  Having lots of children and teaching them the ways of God.  Lots of land.  Lots of livestock.  Generational living was the norm.  Generosity was also the norm.  God spoke about helping others and how and when to do that.  We’ve lost so much generosity because we each think we’re more important than anyone else.  Generosity of time, money, etc. requires a sacrifice and many refuse that.

Living life in the right order…God, family, then everything else…makes it easier to be generous.  As it is, most of us are facing each day with lack in our heart and relationships.  This lack makes reaching out to others seem infinitely more impossible. 

In Bible times, they arose with focus.  God first, family second, then an intentional generosity.  They faced life as if it had significance.  Their daily lives felt significant.  That’s a huge difference from today where we are all “searching” for significance.  Open your eyes!!  Significance is in your home. 

Back then, daily family life was the main thing.

Oh, how I ache to create a life like that.  Where fathers and mothers taught scripture and how to pray.  Mothers taught daughters to raise children and come alongside them in the day-to-day life as helpers.  Where fathers taught their sons how to be men.  How to provide and protect.  There was a beautiful order to things. 

A healthy family dynamic empowers every person…but we don’t choose to see it that way.  The devil put leaven in the bread of family, and it has perverted every original design it ever had. 

We’ve become so haughty inside that we believe making an impact means traveling and ministering to thousands of strangers, while leaving our first fruit…the family, behind.  When we put “me” about family, we all lose.

It’s time to lay down all other pursuing and return first to family.  Live from family.  Live with family in mind. 

I’m going to keep saying this until I’m blue in the face.  The world doesn’t need you more than your family does.  God, family, and then everything else.

What does it matter if we gain the world but lose our family?  Those first entrusted to us.  The gifts God gave us to steward.  They’re not merely an inconvenience…they are the reason.  God made family. 

I encourage you to reflect on your family dynamic today.  Ask God if you are out of order.  Let Him show you the good and bad that you are doing.  Then ask Him to adjust your heart so you can proceed forward with a family minded heart.  It’s the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do.

Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.  Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.  1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

And He gives grace generously.  As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  So humble yourselves before God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come close to God, and God will come close to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.  Let there be tears for what you have done.  Let there be sorrow and deep grief.  Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.  James 4:6-10