Hi All!

Sorry that I've been gone for so long! If you read my other blog, Gates of Crystal, you know I've been busy!

I used to wonder if decorating my home was ok with God. I wondered if I was laying up treasure in the wrong place and valuing the wrong things.

I started decorating when I was a kid. I would rearrange my furniture in my bedroom and it was important to me that my room was clean. It was a reflection of 'me' even then. I remember finding out a friend's mom was selling a piece of furniture that I liked and telling my mom. My mom bought it for my room.

When I was in high school, I picked out a new bedspread and had my mom take me to the store for paint. I painted my room by myself on a Friday night. I was an only child and my mom worked full time so I was home alone a lot. I would clean and get things perfect and then enjoy the house. (I never liked to cook!)

When my husband first got his PhD, we moved several times before he got a tenure-track position. We rented homes in two different states we lived in and it was really hard for me that I couldn't paint the rooms. I had learned by then to sew slipcovers so I would match my furniture to the carpet of the house. I also loved garage sales and estate sales and that's when I started finding furniture at prices I could afford. I babysat children from our church so that my kids would have playmates and we would have the extra money.

My family has thought that I was a little obsessed at times. But being a stay-at-home mom for so many years and homeschooling (which requires you to stay at home) it was the thing that kept me sane. I could control my environment.

And that's what brings me to this thought. When we visited The Mises Institute in Auburn in March, I sat in on several of the talks. The Mises Institute is a Libertarian based think-tank and a lot of the people involved are Christian. I love attending the conferences there and often times will hear the Holy Spirit teach me while I'm listening to a lecture.

I was listening to a gentleman give a very informative talk about how our government is causing farmers to not be able to own land and to farm when the Holy Spirit began to enlighten me.

One of the first commands God gave was 'to be fruitful and multiply and take dominion over the Earth.' Without apology, I will say that I don't believe that God's intent was that we take dominion with guns or force but His intent was that we take dominion over evil with love and salvation.

If you read the Old Testament, many of the stories are exactly this: take dominion over the Earth. Obviously, the story of the Children of Israel being set free and taking the Promised Land would be the big one.

I believe we're each given a 'realm of influence.' For some, it may just be their families but for others it may be a Bible study, a neighborhood, a congregation. For some, it will be a world-wide influence. All with the same goal: take dominion, in Jesus' Name, over the Earth.

Where the enemy has brought destruction and chaos, we are to bring healing and love. Where there is lack and loss, we are to bring love and covenant relationship. Where there is ugliness, we are to bring beauty.

Whatever we touch should be better off for having us there. We are the light of the world. Joy, love and beauty should be the fragrance we leave behind when we go.

I believe that ALL people are creative. They ALL were made in the image of God and God is a creator. All children love music, love to move to music and dream of 'making' something. My grandson wants to be an inventor when he grows up and he's always talking about what he's going to invent. (My daughter doesn't have a microwave because of the negative health issues it causes and one day he said he was going to invent something that heated your food real fast! Ha!)

I never want to value the things I own more than God or the people He's put in my life. Therefore, I give a lot of things away. It doesn't bother me one bit. God has asked me before to give away things that were the most dear to me~ my Bible, a banner that I took everywhere and was like an extension of my arm, all my worship dance dresses~ those were the things that were hard to give away. They represent my heart more than my house.

But I believe that God spoke something into us when He told us to take dominion over the Earth and in a lot of us women, we express that with our homes. This is our territory where we express ourselves and want to have a perfect representation of who we are. And God is the creator of color and beauty. God wants our homes to be an oasis in a crazy world.

I ask God when I want a specific piece of furniture and He always brings me the most amazing deals! The Word tells us that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He brings us the desires of our heart.

love and blessings~

Hi All!

Sorry that I've been gone for so long! If you read my other blog, Gates of Crystal, you know I've been busy!

I used to wonder if decorating my home was ok with God. I wondered if I was laying up treasure in the wrong place and valuing the wrong things.

I started decorating when I was a kid. I would rearrange my furniture in my bedroom and it was important to me that my room was clean. It was a reflection of 'me' even then. I remember finding out a friend's mom was selling a piece of furniture that I liked and telling my mom. My mom bought it for my room.

When I was in high school, I picked out a new bedspread and had my mom take me to the store for paint. I painted my room by myself on a Friday night. I was an only child and my mom worked full time so I was home alone a lot. I would clean and get things perfect and then enjoy the house. (I never liked to cook!)

When my husband first got his PhD, we moved several times before he got a tenure-track position. We rented homes in two different states we lived in and it was really hard for me that I couldn't paint the rooms. I had learned by then to sew slipcovers so I would match my furniture to the carpet of the house. I also loved garage sales and estate sales and that's when I started finding furniture at prices I could afford. I babysat children from our church so that my kids would have playmates and we would have the extra money.

My family has thought that I was a little obsessed at times. But being a stay-at-home mom for so many years and homeschooling (which requires you to stay at home) it was the thing that kept me sane. I could control my environment.

And that's what brings me to this thought. When we visited The Mises Institute in Auburn in March, I sat in on several of the talks. The Mises Institute is a Libertarian based think-tank and a lot of the people involved are Christian. I love attending the conferences there and often times will hear the Holy Spirit teach me while I'm listening to a lecture.

I was listening to a gentleman give a very informative talk about how our government is causing farmers to not be able to own land and to farm when the Holy Spirit began to enlighten me.

One of the first commands God gave was 'to be fruitful and multiply and take dominion over the Earth.' Without apology, I will say that I don't believe that God's intent was that we take dominion with guns or force but His intent was that we take dominion over evil with love and salvation.

If you read the Old Testament, many of the stories are exactly this: take dominion over the Earth. Obviously, the story of the Children of Israel being set free and taking the Promised Land would be the big one.

I believe we're each given a 'realm of influence.' For some, it may just be their families but for others it may be a Bible study, a neighborhood, a congregation. For some, it will be a world-wide influence. All with the same goal: take dominion, in Jesus' Name, over the Earth.

Where the enemy has brought destruction and chaos, we are to bring healing and love. Where there is lack and loss, we are to bring love and covenant relationship. Where there is ugliness, we are to bring beauty.

Whatever we touch should be better off for having us there. We are the light of the world. Joy, love and beauty should be the fragrance we leave behind when we go.

I believe that ALL people are creative. They ALL were made in the image of God and God is a creator. All children love music, love to move to music and dream of 'making' something. My grandson wants to be an inventor when he grows up and he's always talking about what he's going to invent. (My daughter doesn't have a microwave because of the negative health issues it causes and one day he said he was going to invent something that heated your food real fast! Ha!)

I never want to value the things I own more than God or the people He's put in my life. Therefore, I give a lot of things away. It doesn't bother me one bit. God has asked me before to give away things that were the most dear to me~ my Bible, a banner that I took everywhere and was like an extension of my arm, all my worship dance dresses~ those were the things that were hard to give away. They represent my heart more than my house.

But I believe that God spoke something into us when He told us to take dominion over the Earth and in a lot of us women, we express that with our homes. This is our territory where we express ourselves and want to have a perfect representation of who we are. And God is the creator of color and beauty. God wants our homes to be an oasis in a crazy world.

I ask God when I want a specific piece of furniture and He always brings me the most amazing deals! The Word tells us that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He brings us the desires of our heart.

love and blessings~

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”Says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17

The Lord has reminded me of this verse often in my life. It's a powerful truth that we need to employ when fighting against the enemy. Some translations use the word 'confute' instead of 'condemn.' It means 'to prove wrong.' 

The enemy's attacks can take a lot of different forms - gossip and slander, sickness, financial troubles - but we need to understand that we can close the door to these attacks with the Word of God. If our actions have gotten us into trouble, we can still repent of these things and then call on the grace of God to close the door on the enemy.

"Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."—Ephesians 6:17. Even Jesus fought with the Word. When He was tempted by the enemy, He quoted scripture. (Matthew Chapter 4)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8  

I like this translation because it says that the enemy looks for "whom he MAY devour." Don't let that be you!  Satan is the accuser of the Brethren and we know that when we gossip and slander others, that we've aligned ourselves with him. 

"...from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." James 3:10 Did you know that when you speak against someone, you are cursing them?  I've heard before that Christians are the only ones who shoot their wounded. We need to recognize that even if we disagree on some points, we agree on an awful lot, and we're supposed to be on the same side! 

One of the most amazing things happened to me several years ago.  I used to suffer from migraines. (I found out after several years that they were a result of an injury to my neck during a car accident. Weekly visits to my chiropractor keep me from having them.) 

But I've also had spiritual attacks that have resulted in terrible headaches. I had a man say something to me once and was immediately hit with such a severe headache that I had to have help to get out of the church. I could see the demon attached to my head and people were praying for me but my head hurt so badly that I couldn't tell them to rebuke this demon. I started speaking in my head and finally got it off.

During this same season, I was hit with a terrible headache while I was at home, that sent me to bed. As I was lying there, I spoke before I planned on speaking. It must of kind of been like the donkey in the Bible that spoke~no conscious thought of what I was saying~ but God moved my mouth! 

I (God) said, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper!" It was honestly one of the most astonishing things that I've ever had God do! But obviously, He was interceding for me and teaching me how to fight.

Lately God has been reminding me of this truth and convicting me to declare this verse. I have literally been going around saying it 100 times a day! And as I say it, I begin to feel the strength of God and His protection and energy rise up in me and around me. 

"No weapon that is formed against me will prosper; And every tongue that accuses me in judgment I will condemn. This is my heritage as a servant of the LORD, And my vindication is from Him,"  (turned around to first person) 

That is not to say that I am right all the time. We need to ask God to 'judge us and correct us' daily. As we do that and repent from any wrong doing, the enemy has no legal right to attack us. 

We are always going to encounter people who are unaware that they are being used by the enemy. We have made that mistake, too, so we have no room to judge them. We need to walk in love, overcome evil with good, bless them and not curse them, and learn to protect ourselves.

I hope you have a day filled with joy and the love of God!

love and blessings~

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”Says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17

The Lord has reminded me of this verse often in my life. It's a powerful truth that we need to employ when fighting against the enemy. Some translations use the word 'confute' instead of 'condemn.' It means 'to prove wrong.' 

The enemy's attacks can take a lot of different forms - gossip and slander, sickness, financial troubles - but we need to understand that we can close the door to these attacks with the Word of God. If our actions have gotten us into trouble, we can still repent of these things and then call on the grace of God to close the door on the enemy.

"Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."—Ephesians 6:17. Even Jesus fought with the Word. When He was tempted by the enemy, He quoted scripture. (Matthew Chapter 4)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8  

I like this translation because it says that the enemy looks for "whom he MAY devour." Don't let that be you!  Satan is the accuser of the Brethren and we know that when we gossip and slander others, that we've aligned ourselves with him. 

"...from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." James 3:10 Did you know that when you speak against someone, you are cursing them?  I've heard before that Christians are the only ones who shoot their wounded. We need to recognize that even if we disagree on some points, we agree on an awful lot, and we're supposed to be on the same side! 

One of the most amazing things happened to me several years ago.  I used to suffer from migraines. (I found out after several years that they were a result of an injury to my neck during a car accident. Weekly visits to my chiropractor keep me from having them.) 

But I've also had spiritual attacks that have resulted in terrible headaches. I had a man say something to me once and was immediately hit with such a severe headache that I had to have help to get out of the church. I could see the demon attached to my head and people were praying for me but my head hurt so badly that I couldn't tell them to rebuke this demon. I started speaking in my head and finally got it off.

During this same season, I was hit with a terrible headache while I was at home, that sent me to bed. As I was lying there, I spoke before I planned on speaking. It must of kind of been like the donkey in the Bible that spoke~no conscious thought of what I was saying~ but God moved my mouth! 

I (God) said, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper!" It was honestly one of the most astonishing things that I've ever had God do! But obviously, He was interceding for me and teaching me how to fight.

Lately God has been reminding me of this truth and convicting me to declare this verse. I have literally been going around saying it 100 times a day! And as I say it, I begin to feel the strength of God and His protection and energy rise up in me and around me. 

"No weapon that is formed against me will prosper; And every tongue that accuses me in judgment I will condemn. This is my heritage as a servant of the LORD, And my vindication is from Him,"  (turned around to first person) 

That is not to say that I am right all the time. We need to ask God to 'judge us and correct us' daily. As we do that and repent from any wrong doing, the enemy has no legal right to attack us. 

We are always going to encounter people who are unaware that they are being used by the enemy. We have made that mistake, too, so we have no room to judge them. We need to walk in love, overcome evil with good, bless them and not curse them, and learn to protect ourselves.

I hope you have a day filled with joy and the love of God!

love and blessings~

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;" 1 Peter 4:12

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;" 1 Peter 4:12

There's a lot of days that I sit down to write and I have 100 different thoughts~all tangled together. Sometimes, one seems to pull itself free and head in a definite direction and then I write, but often I can't sort out what I want to say from the other 99 things that I am thinking about.

Sometimes my emotions get the better of me and my eyes fill with tears and I think how much I would like to be able to impart the love and the grace of My Father. I would love to tell you how lost I was before He found me, how He took me out of the pit and set me in a wide open space. How He gave my life purpose and meaning and how He healed me of my failures. And how much He longs to do that for every single soul that He has created, out of His infinite love.

I wish I could impart that the heart of God sees us as He intended us to be - whole, beautiful, strong - and that He never gives up on helping us become that. I'm crying as I write this because I never cease to be amazed at how much He loves me, how patient He is as He nurtures me and encourages me to go further toward what I'm called to do. In my times of greatest weakness and rebellion, He has shown me His greatest love and grace and He undoes me.

He's the One Who sorts out the tangle that is my thoughts and my questions and my wonderings. He is the safe place that I run to when I don't know where else to go. He is my Great Reward when I wonder if I'm doing anything right or when I just feel un-needed.

The One Who needs nothing, needs me. Because I'm a part of Him.

When I hide myself, He misses me. When I beat myself up, it wounds Him. I am the apple of His eye. My boundaries are ever before Him in love. I am inscribed on the palm of His hand.

There is no sin, no failure, no weakness, that will stop God from loving us. Because that's Who He is. Because He can do no less. Because when He saw us at our worst, He hung on a cross for us.

The work that He needed to do for us on the cross is complete, but that doesn't mean that He won't do whatever it takes to reach us today. That doesn't mean that His grace and mercy stopped when we received His gift. He is Faithful and True and nothing can separate us from His Love.

Jesus is our Sabbath Rest.

My mind never stops. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not weighing myself and find myself lacking.

And then I remember to look at Him. I remember that I am IN HIM. That His grace is sufficient. He is satisfied with me because I have trusted myself to Him.

And He fills me with His joy because the joy of the Lord is my strength. His mercies are new every day.

love and blessings~

There's a lot of days that I sit down to write and I have 100 different thoughts~all tangled together. Sometimes, one seems to pull itself free and head in a definite direction and then I write, but often I can't sort out what I want to say from the other 99 things that I am thinking about.

Sometimes my emotions get the better of me and my eyes fill with tears and I think how much I would like to be able to impart the love and the grace of My Father. I would love to tell you how lost I was before He found me, how He took me out of the pit and set me in a wide open space. How He gave my life purpose and meaning and how He healed me of my failures. And how much He longs to do that for every single soul that He has created, out of His infinite love.

I wish I could impart that the heart of God sees us as He intended us to be - whole, beautiful, strong - and that He never gives up on helping us become that. I'm crying as I write this because I never cease to be amazed at how much He loves me, how patient He is as He nurtures me and encourages me to go further toward what I'm called to do. In my times of greatest weakness and rebellion, He has shown me His greatest love and grace and He undoes me.

He's the One Who sorts out the tangle that is my thoughts and my questions and my wonderings. He is the safe place that I run to when I don't know where else to go. He is my Great Reward when I wonder if I'm doing anything right or when I just feel un-needed.

The One Who needs nothing, needs me. Because I'm a part of Him.

When I hide myself, He misses me. When I beat myself up, it wounds Him. I am the apple of His eye. My boundaries are ever before Him in love. I am inscribed on the palm of His hand.

There is no sin, no failure, no weakness, that will stop God from loving us. Because that's Who He is. Because He can do no less. Because when He saw us at our worst, He hung on a cross for us.

The work that He needed to do for us on the cross is complete, but that doesn't mean that He won't do whatever it takes to reach us today. That doesn't mean that His grace and mercy stopped when we received His gift. He is Faithful and True and nothing can separate us from His Love.

Jesus is our Sabbath Rest.

My mind never stops. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not weighing myself and find myself lacking.

And then I remember to look at Him. I remember that I am IN HIM. That His grace is sufficient. He is satisfied with me because I have trusted myself to Him.

And He fills me with His joy because the joy of the Lord is my strength. His mercies are new every day.

love and blessings~

The more and more I have thought, unto the Lord, about my last post, the more and more understanding I get. Please don't think for one minute that I am happy about the things that the Lord is revealing to me. But very honestly, I have suspected something like this for years.

More than ten years ago, we were attending a local church. When the Holy Spirit began to move in the worship dance ministry that I was leading, I was pressured out of the church. It was a traumatic and painful experience for me but during that season the Lord began to speak to me in very dramatic ways.

First, He proved to me that I was hearing Him. I could write a book about what happened in that season but let me just say that God began to tell me very 'odd' things. Then He would prove to me that I had heard Him.

For instance, I had been one of the small group leaders for a women's Bible study at this same church. We were just getting ready to start Beth Moore's The Patriarchs when the Lord asked me to step down. I obeyed. Then He told me not to even take the Bible study.

I confess that I was really disappointed because I was enjoying these studies so much.

Immediately after that the Lord began to lead me to read in Genesis and began to give me amazing revelation. I had a dear friend who was still leading one of the small groups. We would talk often and I would share what the Lord was showing me. Then, amazingly, she would get the same thing from The Patriarchs Bible study! This happened through the entire Bible study.

The Lord taught me the same Bible study by the Holy Spirit! The really amazing part to me was the details the Lord told me.

There were honestly some things that God did in this season that overwhelmed me a bit. I began to see angels and demons and become very aware of what was going on in the spirit realm and that took some adjustment. One day, I became so aware of something God had done, that I had to leave the house.

And then God began to break off some religious principles that I had been taught in the church. I'm not going to share these things today because I want the timing and the release of the Lord. It took Him some drama to set me free because I was very ingrained into the ways of the church.

One day, I was walking across my dining room when the Lord spoke to me and  His Presence was like a weight that drove me to my knees. And that still wasn't enough to get me set free of the thing He had spoken to me about. It took months of me saying, "Are You sure?" before I had peace. The Spirit of Religion is a strong and binding spirit that keeps The Body from the joy and freedom that God desires His people to have.

I'm telling you all this because I know that I have said things on my blog that trouble some of you. And I get it. There was a time in my walk with the Lord that I could not have heard the things I know now. I would have become offended and immediately shut the door to what was being said. This is why Jesus talks about us being able to 'hear' Him.

The Lord showed me the spirit of pride once. It had hands over the eyes and ears of a person and it put a hand out in front of them held out in a 'stop' position.  The next day, I was in a 'discussion' with an elderly gentleman and saw him do this same motion!

I do my best to obey the Holy Spirit in my encounters with people. Sometimes, the conviction of the Holy Spirit comes on me and I share what the Lord is putting on my heart and the person is greatly offended and rejects the Word. And I have learned to live with that.

But I know there are people out there who are hearing the Holy Spirit and need encouragement to survive in the organized church and this world.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate those who have befriended me on Facebook and by email and give me such loving, encouraging words daily.

love and blessings~

The more and more I have thought, unto the Lord, about my last post, the more and more understanding I get. Please don't think for one minute that I am happy about the things that the Lord is revealing to me. But very honestly, I have suspected something like this for years.

More than ten years ago, we were attending a local church. When the Holy Spirit began to move in the worship dance ministry that I was leading, I was pressured out of the church. It was a traumatic and painful experience for me but during that season the Lord began to speak to me in very dramatic ways.

First, He proved to me that I was hearing Him. I could write a book about what happened in that season but let me just say that God began to tell me very 'odd' things. Then He would prove to me that I had heard Him.

For instance, I had been one of the small group leaders for a women's Bible study at this same church. We were just getting ready to start Beth Moore's The Patriarchs when the Lord asked me to step down. I obeyed. Then He told me not to even take the Bible study.

I confess that I was really disappointed because I was enjoying these studies so much.

Immediately after that the Lord began to lead me to read in Genesis and began to give me amazing revelation. I had a dear friend who was still leading one of the small groups. We would talk often and I would share what the Lord was showing me. Then, amazingly, she would get the same thing from The Patriarchs Bible study! This happened through the entire Bible study.

The Lord taught me the same Bible study by the Holy Spirit! The really amazing part to me was the details the Lord told me.

There were honestly some things that God did in this season that overwhelmed me a bit. I began to see angels and demons and become very aware of what was going on in the spirit realm and that took some adjustment. One day, I became so aware of something God had done, that I had to leave the house.

And then God began to break off some religious principles that I had been taught in the church. I'm not going to share these things today because I want the timing and the release of the Lord. It took Him some drama to set me free because I was very ingrained into the ways of the church.

One day, I was walking across my dining room when the Lord spoke to me and  His Presence was like a weight that drove me to my knees. And that still wasn't enough to get me set free of the thing He had spoken to me about. It took months of me saying, "Are You sure?" before I had peace. The Spirit of Religion is a strong and binding spirit that keeps The Body from the joy and freedom that God desires His people to have.

I'm telling you all this because I know that I have said things on my blog that trouble some of you. And I get it. There was a time in my walk with the Lord that I could not have heard the things I know now. I would have become offended and immediately shut the door to what was being said. This is why Jesus talks about us being able to 'hear' Him.

The Lord showed me the spirit of pride once. It had hands over the eyes and ears of a person and it put a hand out in front of them held out in a 'stop' position.  The next day, I was in a 'discussion' with an elderly gentleman and saw him do this same motion!

I do my best to obey the Holy Spirit in my encounters with people. Sometimes, the conviction of the Holy Spirit comes on me and I share what the Lord is putting on my heart and the person is greatly offended and rejects the Word. And I have learned to live with that.

But I know there are people out there who are hearing the Holy Spirit and need encouragement to survive in the organized church and this world.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate those who have befriended me on Facebook and by email and give me such loving, encouraging words daily.

love and blessings~

I read a very interesting blog article the other day. I didn't save it and now I can't find it. But when I woke up this morning, the Lord began to give me some direction that I'm very excited about.

In this blog, this male Christian blogger proposed that the Free Evangelical Church is the anti-Christ. He defended this thought well - the biggest thing I remember is him saying that Jesus had the harshest criticisms for the religious.

I heard a long time ago that the spirit of anti-Christ should also be thought of as 'instead of Christ.' I have felt for a long time that the majority of today's churches have an instead of Christ attitude ~ having a form of Godliness but denying the power within.

When is the last time you attended church and received healing? saw a miracle? a deliverance?

Instead, there are programs to raise money to build a new building and marketing strategies to 'reach' the community. I attended a church several years ago that paid a man, who was a professional church marketing strategist, to create a program to raise money for the church!  I was in leadership at that time and was asked to create part of the service that would kick-off this campaign.

I remember standing in this meeting feeling the grief of the Holy Spirit. The events that surrounded this became the catalyst that God used to set me free from religion.

I was shocked the first time I entered a church and received a 'program' that gave the details of the service. Apparently, no one expected the Holy Spirit to move during the service and I suspect if God had found a way to 'move,' it would have been quenched.

We've all heard it said that the churches don't need the Holy Spirit to do 99% of what they're doing today. And we are the church. It's hard today to tell a lot of difference between an American Christian and anybody else.

We dress the same, divorce the same, have intimate relationships before marriage the same, use pharmaceuticals and doctors instead of receiving healing from God, have the same illnesses, the same poverty, etc, etc, etc, ~ all the while professing Christ. The church has an 'instead of Christ' spirit.

This morning, I woke up about 5 am, which is unusual for me. As I lay there, inwardly grumbling that I was going to be tired today, the Lord began to give me a vision.

I saw people entering a building and greeting each other in the foyer and talking. But I saw a sanctuary door closed, with a sign on the door telling people that prayer and worship was going on. After they had greeted each other, the people entered the sanctuary quietly with awe and reverence for the Lord and there was a cloud of glory in this room. The chairs were set in a circle with everybody facing each other.  There was no platform and no obvious leader. There was a small group of musicians in the corner playing worship songs as the people prayed and worshiped.

When the Holy Spirit began to move, people began to give Words from the Lord. The entire thing was Spirit led - prayer, worship, what was spoken, and every 'service' would be completely different as the Lord led. There was a 'gentle' leader that would keep order and point to who's turn it was to speak but no one 'screened' the Words. If someone gave a Word that was not 'pure', it was 'tweaked' by those in the congregation, until everyone felt they had heard what God wanted to say to them today.

As the Lord led, there would be prayer for healing, deliverance, etc.

When the Holy Spirit released the people, they went to a meal. This meal was a true communion ~ eating and drinking together unto the Lord, remembering Jesus and honoring the Body of Christ.

I'm not going to add anything to this. I have sought the Lord for many years regarding these things and was blessed by what He showed me this morning. Please let Him speak to you regarding these things.

love and blessings~

I read a very interesting blog article the other day. I didn't save it and now I can't find it. But when I woke up this morning, the Lord began to give me some direction that I'm very excited about.

In this blog, this male Christian blogger proposed that the Free Evangelical Church is the anti-Christ. He defended this thought well - the biggest thing I remember is him saying that Jesus had the harshest criticisms for the religious.

I heard a long time ago that the spirit of anti-Christ should also be thought of as 'instead of Christ.' I have felt for a long time that the majority of today's churches have an instead of Christ attitude ~ having a form of Godliness but denying the power within.

When is the last time you attended church and received healing? saw a miracle? a deliverance?

Instead, there are programs to raise money to build a new building and marketing strategies to 'reach' the community. I attended a church several years ago that paid a man, who was a professional church marketing strategist, to create a program to raise money for the church!  I was in leadership at that time and was asked to create part of the service that would kick-off this campaign.

I remember standing in this meeting feeling the grief of the Holy Spirit. The events that surrounded this became the catalyst that God used to set me free from religion.

I was shocked the first time I entered a church and received a 'program' that gave the details of the service. Apparently, no one expected the Holy Spirit to move during the service and I suspect if God had found a way to 'move,' it would have been quenched.

We've all heard it said that the churches don't need the Holy Spirit to do 99% of what they're doing today. And we are the church. It's hard today to tell a lot of difference between an American Christian and anybody else.

We dress the same, divorce the same, have intimate relationships before marriage the same, use pharmaceuticals and doctors instead of receiving healing from God, have the same illnesses, the same poverty, etc, etc, etc, ~ all the while professing Christ. The church has an 'instead of Christ' spirit.

This morning, I woke up about 5 am, which is unusual for me. As I lay there, inwardly grumbling that I was going to be tired today, the Lord began to give me a vision.

I saw people entering a building and greeting each other in the foyer and talking. But I saw a sanctuary door closed, with a sign on the door telling people that prayer and worship was going on. After they had greeted each other, the people entered the sanctuary quietly with awe and reverence for the Lord and there was a cloud of glory in this room. The chairs were set in a circle with everybody facing each other.  There was no platform and no obvious leader. There was a small group of musicians in the corner playing worship songs as the people prayed and worshiped.

When the Holy Spirit began to move, people began to give Words from the Lord. The entire thing was Spirit led - prayer, worship, what was spoken, and every 'service' would be completely different as the Lord led. There was a 'gentle' leader that would keep order and point to who's turn it was to speak but no one 'screened' the Words. If someone gave a Word that was not 'pure', it was 'tweaked' by those in the congregation, until everyone felt they had heard what God wanted to say to them today.

As the Lord led, there would be prayer for healing, deliverance, etc.

When the Holy Spirit released the people, they went to a meal. This meal was a true communion ~ eating and drinking together unto the Lord, remembering Jesus and honoring the Body of Christ.

I'm not going to add anything to this. I have sought the Lord for many years regarding these things and was blessed by what He showed me this morning. Please let Him speak to you regarding these things.

love and blessings~