We’re gearing up for our Dangerous Women’s Conference. At last year’s conference, so many had an authentic experience with God. Multitudes of healing, both in the physical body and in the mind, occurred in our sessions. We’re expecting so much more this year! Take time for yourself and come to this year’s conference…you will walk away changed. Check out the promo video below:
what’s influencing you? from Dangerous Women @ Life Christian on Vimeo.
Who Are You!
Well I’m back at it! I’ve missed blogging and sharing nuggets of what I’m studying or getting from God’s Word. I thought it would be a great exercise if together we can explore the Word as to who we are in Christ. The more I focus on who I am in Christ the less I’ll focus on what I’m not in myself! There are so many scriptures that reveal how God sees us now through His son. Why is this so important? We will accept and be what we believe about our selves. We all have a tendency to see ourselves based on our past- the good, bad and the ugly. God sees us totally different. God sees us through His son- blessed, healthy, prosperous and full of purpose. I believe if we will take the time to see what God says about us in His Word and begin believing it, our lives will take on a whole new dimension of abundant living.
The first thing we must see about our selves is that we are forgiven and loved:
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
Those that received much from Jesus in His earthy ministry were those who recognized they needed a savior and could not save themselves. Jesus was ever moved by their sinful behavior because he recognized that sin had dominion over them; Jesus was coming to break that! Unfortunately it was those who had grave outward sin who seemed to receive the most from Him (the tax collectors, prostitutes, liars and cheaters). Those who prided their self-worth on their behavior or keeping of the Old Testament law did not feel they had need of a savior and so they died in their sin. Jesus took our place; what was due us He took. He used His own body to be a ransom, to purchase us back and to free us from the power of sin that ultimately destroys our lives and even more so, separates us from God’s love. Once we receive Christ, Christ’s Spirit comes and indwells us. Christ’s Spirit is there to overcome every obstacle life throws at us. The big problem is that many times we don’t FEEL forgiven especially when we make mistakes. We are still forgiven and loved in our mistakes. We may experience some consequences but those mistakes do not separate us or put us in a state of unforgiveness for Jesus death paid for our past present and future sins (Hebrews 10:14).
God sees you in His son not separate from Him therefore in Christ you have redemption the forgiveness of sin!
Say, “In Christ, I have been redeemed and forgiven of all sin- past, present and future”.
Be lead
As I’ve been pondering my journey of coming to Naples Florida, the word that comes to mind is “being led”. God has led us into incredible journeys! Jesus promised us that after He would leave, He would send the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. The Holy Spirit would do what Jesus would do if Jesus were physically present! Jesus said the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth and show us things to come (John 14). The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Grace. So this wonderful Holy Spirit wants to lead us in and through God’s unmerited favor! Even though I can look back and see that God has been so faithfully leading us, it didn’t always look like it or feel like it! This is the problem with so many of us. Just because it doesn’t feel as if God is leading does not mean He isn’t! I have found that I have to trust Him when it doesn’t make sense and some how God backs His Word! I am personally desiring more, in 2012, to be led by the Holy Spirit; I believe it is the way we can be not only more effective as followers of Christ, but actually enjoy our life more!
I’ll be at Life Christian Troy this Sunday and then Monday night for the Real Women’s meeting at 7:00pm. I look forward to seeing many of you!
What exit did I miss!
In Chapter 12 of Genesis, God promises Abram that If Abram would simply go to a land that he knew nothing about; God would bless him in every area of his life. God actually told Abram that He would make his name great, He would bless Abram to be a blessing and that Abram would have children that would bless the world. So Abram sets out obeying God. He gets to this land that God tells him to go to and then shortly after, a famine hits the land. I can imagine Abram saying to himself, “Did I not hear God! God didn’t say anything about a famine”! We read how he ended up coming out of the famine a very wealthy person. I gain such encouragement when I read about Abrahams life because there have been many times in my life when I launched out on something I truly believe God said and then obstacle after obstacle presents itself! In that place we all begin to question God. As I’ve examined myself I realize that what I’m really questioning is Gods goodness, His faithfulness to fulfill His Word, and that He really has my back. This is what life and the enemy tries to do to us-question God’s love for us. We have these stories in the Bible to encourage us to trust God when everything looks completely opposite of what He has said.
If your struggling right now begin to say, “God you are faithful. I believe you have my back!
NAPLES, FL transition
I‘m so sorry for not blogging in a while. I’ve been in a pretty interesting transition in my life. Recently, the founder of Life Christian Church (my Mom) had the opportunity to reach out and help a distressed church in Naples, Florida. In a matter of a few weeks, this church agreed to come under the umbrella of Life Christian Churches becoming our first official church out of the state of MI. James and I flew down to meet these wonderful people and began the process of setting up the systems that we have at our main campus in Troy MI. We had such a blast working with the people there and fell in love with all of them! Since then James and I have been flying back and forth between both the Troy campus and Naples campus!! We are in the process of setting up a residence there as well. There is much to do in this new campus. It is with much faith and excitement we are going forward to prepare the leadership team there to receive the new people who will be coming to be saved and grown in the ways of Christ. I will be continuing to work in the Troy campus with Women’s ministry, pastoral care and prayer ministry… Pray for me! The ministry, as a whole, has been effortless in God’s incredible Grace; however, emotionally it has been a tough season. I made a decision to have my girls do an online school program this year so that we have greater flexibility. This was hard for them because they are so connected to their school and their friends here in MI. Please keep them all in prayer.
Over the years of walking with God, I have found that God only presents opportunities for our growth, success and destiny. This is what Naples Florida is: an opportunity to be stretched for further growth. I only anticipate great, great, power and success in our future.
I thought I would also give everyone a heads up about a conference we are doing at the Main campus in Troy. We are doing a conference for single women only- divorced, widowed and not married yet. The conference is called “Living Free”. Several months ago, I had such a burden on my heart for those women who are broken from going through a divorce, death, rejected in a relationship, or even discouraged due to not finding the right one. I presented the idea to the leadership team and they were in agreement for us to reach out and do this. This conference will be a time for ladies to truly get free and stay free! We’ll be doing the conference the first weekend in November 2011. Take a look at our promo on YouTube and send to you friends!
God’s Hand is Open
Matthew 6:30
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
I heard a preacher say that faith is taking from God’s extended hand. His hand is always in that position but we don’t always see it that way. We wonder, based on our performance, if His hand is truly extended toward us. It is. God understands we need His resources to make it through every day and He is ready to supply the joy strength, strategies, wisdom, health and so much more each and every day. In the above scripture when Jesus said, “O you of little faith”, He was saying in essence, “Why do you ask for so little!” Yes, God wants to give us so much more but we ask for so little. I’ve actually heard people say, “Well, I don’t want to bother God with that.” God’s love is so consuming! He wants to be intricately and intimately involved in everything we do. I have three teenagers. I love being involved in everything they do and think. It seems as if the bulk of my day is spent listening and interacting with them. I love it! God loves to listen and interact with us in the same way!
Today, through out your day, throw your hands up to God and say, “ I’m receiving for your open extended hand.”
Camp was Powerful
Yesterday, I returned back from a power packed TURN youth retreat! I don’t even know how to explain or express what God did in the student’s lives this past weekend. The very first night God spoke to me that He was doing an intimate work in the student’s hearts and souls by which we would see the residual effects. The students abandoned themselves to Jesus, receiving His love in a very tangible way! Students were being healed both physically and emotionally. The best thing for me was to watch students having words of wisdom and seeing visions. I know I was seeing the next generation of leaders being raised to show the glory of God to a lost generation. Through out the weekend students were saved, filled with the Spirit and connected with their God given purpose.
The theme for the weekend was, ”Jesus loves me and with that love I can be fearless, confident and all that God has called me to be”! This is something every one of us needs to lay hold of! We shared how guilt and shame are the two weapons the enemy uses to stop our pursuit and growth in God. We also showed them how to combat those weapons!
The campsite was awesome as well. The students were able to zip line, rock climb, kayak, canoe, paddle boat and of course get a great tan.
I love going to these retreat….I even got some sleep!
Please pray for the TURN youth students for them to continue in what God has begun in them at camp.
Power in the midst of enemies
Psalm 23: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
When God prepares a table, it is filled with an abundance of good things. He does not spare! Notice how it says in the above verse that a table is set right in the middle of enemies! What does that mean? We live in a fallen world surrounded by the enemies of fear, sickness, depression, poverty…all the negative things that rob us from the abundant life God has provided through the death of His son Jesus. In this fallen world, God has provided a table of blessing and strategies to deal with those enemies in our lives. Enemies will exist in our life until Christ returns. It says, “You anoint my head with oil“. Oil represents the Holy Spirit. God has given the Holy Spirit to help us deal with our enemies. The Holy Spirit has names such as comforter, advocate, strengthener, stand by, counselor, and helper. We need all that in the presence of our enemies! God has such an abundant supply of His Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit can run over in every area of your life. There isn’t one enemy too big for our God who has supplied an abundance of Grace! The key is seeing the table. What is the table? The precious promises of God that we use to destroy the power of enemies in our lives: Through the precious promise of the Word we escape the corruption in this world (2 Peter 1:4).
Today don’t look at your enemy, look to Jesus your deliver that has provided every tool and weapon to deliver you from all your enemies.
Rest!
Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
When a baby ox is being trained to do the various kinds of work that it will one day do continually, he is tied to his mother who is yoked to various machinery. The mother is doing all the work while the baby is simply walking beside his mother. This is the picture Jesus was talking about; simply stay close to Him letting Him do the work. It is so easy to depend on our strength, wisdom and self -efforts while doing our life. However, our strength and wisdom is so limited compared to the vast resources Jesus has made available through is death and resurrection. If we don’t spend time in His Word and in His presence, by default we rely on our limited human strength! There is such an incredible transfer of supernatural resources when we spend time with Him!
Today, as you spend time in His Word, ask your Father to enlighten your spiritual eyes to see and comprehend what God has for you today.
When a baby ox is being trained to do the various kinds of work that it will one day do continually, he is tied to his mother who is yoked to various machinery. The mother is doing all the work while the baby is simply walking beside his mother. This is the picture Jesus was talking about; simply stay close to Him letting Him do the work. It is so easy to depend on our strength, wisdom and self -efforts while doing our life. However, our strength and wisdom is so limited compared to the vast resources Jesus has made available through is death and resurrection. If we don’t spend time in His Word and in His presence, by default we relay on our limited human strength! There is such an incredible transfer of supernatural resources when we spend time with Him!
Today, as you spend time in His Word, ask your Father to enlighten your spiritual eyes to see and comprehend what God has for you today.
Practice the presence of God
I truly believe that most of us would walk in greater peace if we simply had a greater revelation that God is truly with us! In order to walk in this we have to practice the presence of God. How do we do this? We simply acknowledge Him through out our day. So today I was doing some mountain biking.
While I was going down and up some hills I was telling God how much I loved Him and acknowledging how much He loved me. I was just letting God know how much I appreciate Him. At one point, I actually said, “Jesus I receive your love again.’’ At that moment I hit a fairly large tree root and was thrown from my bike. I fell on my side. What was so incredible is that I felt as if I fell on a cushion. I got right back up with no marks or bruises and continued on the trail! God was truly with me! I knew I was in the middle of a miracle. How did this come about? Simply practicing the presence of God. I want to be more aware moment by moment that God is truly with me! I love the benefits that go along with this!
Today, through out your day, simply talk to God, acknowledging how good He is and how abundant His grace is in your life.
