365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 184

I have been reading about a boy named Alex Malarkey who was in a car accident and went to Heaven. This boy has had angels visit him and heal parts of his body and he has been attacked by the devil. My daughter asked me what I was thinking about last night as we relaxed in the spa. So, I told her about the boy and how the devil was attacking him. The boy couldn’t say the name of Jesus and was terrified. But with lots of prayer coming from prayer warriors and his family he was able to fight off the devil and say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. Of course, my daughter asked how the devil was attacking him. So, we talked about how the devil is the liar of all liars and will say anything to us that might change our focus from Jesus to him. We talked about how even though the perceptions of this boy were acute and he literally saw angels and the devil that the more we open our hearts to the Lord the more we will be able to discern when the devil is attacking us. We talked about the armor of God and specifically about the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I told her that we will be attacked by the devil throughout our lives especially in those circumstances when we find ourselves weaker but if we are in the Word of God everyday and his truth is sinking into our hearts, we will be able to fight off the devil and his attacks. This part of our faith is tough for people. It is hard to imagine a war is being fought all around us everyday. It goes against what we see but things are never as they seem. We, as Christians, are soldiers of Christ so like any soldier we must prepare for battle. Put on your armor and fight the good fight.

Here is a good article on the armor of God:

http://www.battlefocused.org/articles/armor-of-god/

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 168

Tristan has been taking a class at church on leadership. He has been doing this in preparation to be a camp counselor. Last week, he had to go to church and interview for a counselor position for summer camps this summer. He was told that there were more girls than boys signed up for the camps this year so the spots for boy counselors was limited and they would let him know. He got a letter in the mail yesterday! He and his sister Faith will be at the same camp this summer. The Lord prepares each of us in all kinds of ways. Some of them are in ways that we didn't think except when we look back in hindsight. Some like Tristan taking the leadership class are intentional. God works and prepares us to do His will. He has a plan for each of us and though the illness you may be suffering through or the problems with a co-worker are challenging or you are struggling with relationship issues. Like a pastor recently said in his sermon, we are being tempered into steel. Each trial, each trouble, each challenge of life. They all make us stronger and are preparing us for God's plan for our lives. I am very proud of my son and his following his heart and doing what God's will is for him. I pray he will continue on this good path following God's will for his life and that he will have fun and learn lots being a counselor at summer camp this summer.
Ephesians 4:11-12 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Here is a quick faithbook page I created using some scraps of paper left-over from some journals I made as gifts to give at my workshops. The photos are of Tristan headed to Winter Camp and Tristan leading a small group of kids which included Faith at church on a Wednesday night.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 32

My praise is for clarity! A lot of my answers and guidance from God comes to me early in the morning when I awaken, perhaps it comes in a dream or maybe my mind needs to rest through the night to mull things over and get the clarity. In any case, my best ideas, thoughts and guidance comes in the morning. My letter for the last couple weeks has been "P". The word that most comes to my mind has been "prepare". So, with January 15th looming over me for the first introductory crop, I realize that my preparation for this is far from complete. God took us through all the old testament times before he had Jesus born to us on Earth to save us. He was preparing the way for Jesus and he did it in his own time. I realized that I am running on "my timing" and I have concluded finally in my mind that that won't do. To be successful with this ministry, it has to be about God's timing and being prepared. Like any good business, the planning is the most important part to it's success and though I have had plenty of thoughts on this ministry I haven't yet really layed down the plans. God has put it on my heart that this is more than a one-person ministry. It will need to be a team effort to be successful so my first step in planning is to build up a body of Christ for this ministry. Each of us has gifts and this ministry will need more than what my gifts are in creativity. Do you have some spiritual gifts that can help this ministry? Do you have friends either in town or far away that may be able to not only participate but be a part of the team. This is a call to action to not only participate in this minsitry but become an integral part of it's success in reaching out to everyone for Christ.
Ephesians 4:12 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.