January Thoughts from 2012 for 2013

I always knew that keeping a journal was a good thing, and today I have been blessed by that spiritual discipline. God nudged me to look back through some of the meaningful thoughts from January 2012, and in doing that, I decided to write them down. I hope, as you read through these, they might inspire you as you move into 2013. The thoughts come from many preachers and places, but in reality they all come from God. Let Him move in your heart and life, and let these caveats of wisdom find a place in your thinking. Happy New Year! “Every mess I’ve made has been a space for grace.” Beth Moore, James study “God always goes ahead of us, even when it looks like nothing is going right. He has a purpose for us, and He can use everything --- even things intended for evil – to prosper us in His will.” Jean Burden “God used (and uses) some really messed up people to accomplish His will.” Jean Burden “Any stronghold of Satan can be destroyed by holding the blood of Jesus upon it --- I have this as a legal right.” Jean Burden “Adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God.” Charles Stanley “We can use our stories to change the world.” Barefoot Church “Do I love others the way God loves?” Scott Johnson at Union United Methodist “What do we need to repent so God can use us completely?” Joyce Meyer “God is still in the business of redeeming our sons and daughters! Now we have the blood of Jesus to provide a new protection---His blood is on the doors of our houses!” Jean “Leverage what you have to help others. These become future deposits in our eternal home.” Clay Nesmith at Barefoot Church “It takes more than words to show our love for God. It takes action --- born in the heart.” Jeff Dunn at Christ United Methodist “God, break my heart for what breaks yours.” Jean “Sometimes we wouldn’t get into trouble if we would be where we are supposed to be.” Joyce Meyer “Bear fruit so others will want the God of your life.” Joyce Meyer “Trusting in things and people and churches will leave you empty. We must trust in Christ.” Clay Nesmith at Barefoot Church May you place your trust in God in 2013. You will never be sorry!

Putting Things in Perspective

Favor2012. It's been a foundational thought for me all year. I started this past year expecting God's favor, and I surely have received it. But in the past few days, I found myself a little somber, focusing on some things that haven't been so great this year, especially lately. So in a moment of needing God with an audible voice, I called my friend, Pam, and this is what she said: "Go home and worship. By yourself. Just worship and praise Him." Then she asked an interesting question: "How long has it been since you played your piano just for you and Him? Not in a service, but just for Him?" My answer? Forever. I rarely do the thing I love just as an act of worship and thanksgiving to my Father. I let distractions and lack of time take me away from something in which I find great joy: music. I will change that in the coming days. And since my wise friend helped me to re-focus my thoughts, I have been pondering the creation of a list: could I go back through 2012 and remember every time I have found God's favor in my life, every month of the year? Maybe my journal will jog my memory, and maybe, in taking time to sit still before God -- no distractions -- He will call to mind the things for which I owe Him my praise. And so, before midnight on December 31, I will be working on my praise list. Nice to be thinking wonderful thoughts because as much as we might think we can multi-task, the brain cannot. If I am praising Him and remembering His favor, I simply cannot focus on the negative. It's not scientifically or spiritually possible. I will begin with this and the rest will come later: my whole family of children and grandchildren will be together this afternoon for the first time since August. That's enough favor to last me a very long time. Thank You, God.

Reflecting

It's the day after Christmas. People will be rushing from store to store, jockeying for sales so they can have more "stuff." Probably stuff they don't need. Am I tempted? Yes. Am I going? No. I have a house full of things that need to be sorted, discarded, and given away, so I definitely don't need more stuff. I just need some time to think. Anybody else there today? Christmas was quite different this year. One daughter and her family are in Texas, and we haven't had Christmas with the extended crowd yet. This is a first, and I guess it won't be the last. We had a new baby to celebrate, which is always a blessing, and I did some things differently this year. This is the first time in years that I haven't been directly involved in Christmas music, instead choosing to be a spectator and worshiper. I was a little sad, wishing I could sing somewhere for Christmas, and God provided at the last minute. Wow, He never fails, and His timing is always amazing. So now what? Now I'm pondering my life, where I am, what I'm planning for 2013, how I need to change my life since I'm getting ready to be married to a retired man. I have spent the last year of my life, visiting churches, loving worship, and asking God to guide me to where He wants me to be. That answer is elusive, and this morning I feel a little lonely, but here's what I know: when God is ready for me to know, I will know, and not a second before then. In the meantime, He has blessed me with wonderful Christian friends who really love God and live like it. He has answered prayers, and He is already planning for ways to answer some other petitions. He is faithful. I might be a little somber, but He is faithful, and my joy in Him is complete. So why am I sharing this? Because you might need to know this morning that God has always answered prayers, and He hasn't changed. He is still in the business of answering prayers for every one of us. We just need to ask. We need to cast our cares on Him and let Him shoulder the burdens. And when the answers seem slow in coming, know that He has a reason for the delay, and in His timing, there is no delay. He knows exactly what needs to happen, and He is putting pieces in place for you because He loves you dearly. Trust Him today. Let His joy fill you completely, and know that you have a heavenly Father who has plans to bless you in 2013. Give Him your heart and ask Him to open the storehouse of blessings. You will not be sorry you did.

I know many people are questioning so many things today in the aftermath of the shooting yesterday, but here's one thing I know: God didn't do this. God didn't ordain this. God allows us the power to choose, and yesterday someone chose evil. I also know that He is the Great Healer, and He will be with those families and that community every second of every day. He will watch over them and give them His strength when they have none. God is the not the problem; He is the solution. In this country we better figure out that having a serious relationship with the God of the universe is more important than anything else. We better get serious about reading scripture and understanding what He needs us to know. We better let Him be our Guide, our Comforter and our Savior. Without Him, we are lost, and even people who claim to be Christians are often not in a relationship with Him. He wants to hear from us every day, and He has things to tell us every day. It's not enough to show up for church. Get serious about loving God and sharing that love. Get serious about living on your knees to pray against evil. Get serious about making God the center of your life, not just something on the fringes. Too many people have pushed God to the side, and then we wonder why the world is a mess. I teach school, and every day I live out my faith before my children. They feel and know my unconditional love, they experience my forgiveness that comes readily, and they know my tough love. My prayer is that every day, they "see" Christ through my actions and behavior. This issue is not about gun control. It's about life control. We need to give control of our messed-up lives to God; He is the great Transformer of lives. WE need to pray for lost souls and be willing to witness to them. WE need to step out of our comfort zones and we need to stand up for Christ. It's time. And one last thing: Christmas is going to be different this year for the people in that community in Connecticut. Let it be different for you and your family, too. It's not your birthday. It's not your children's birthdays. Put the focus where it belongs: on Christ. Pray with your children, pray for the families who have suffered such loss, pray for God to be with us. He is faithful.

All I Need to Know

Do you often feel like you have more questions than answers? I surely feel that way today, and as I revisited some devotionals I wrote a few years ago, I heard my own voice circling back to me: maybe I know enough for today. So I want to share this piece which helped me this morning, and maybe it will help you, too. I pray that it will. “I don’t know much, but I know I love you, and that may be all I need to know.” These are the words of a memorable duet recorded by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt . . . boy, that dates me! It was one of those songs that captured my attention from the first time I heard it and I can even remember where I was when it first came on the radio: the parking lot of Myrtle Square Mall, which also dates me since that mall doesn’t exist anymore! I loved it because it was romantic and because I love melodic duets, but recently God used those words to speak to me in another way. I have been in a very hard season lately . . . a stagnant season, a dry season . . . and through it all, I have learned some urgent lessons, but the most important one God has shown me is this: life must be about knowing Him, about seeking His face, about just loving Him first and foremost. And in the words of the song, “That may be all I need to know.” Right now, I don’t know exactly what my future holds, but I know that I am passionately, tenaciously and gloriously in love with God. I am hungry once again to know His word because it helps me to know Him. I am content to linger in His presence and know He is there. I have accepted that He is not going to show me everything right now, but Christ, the light of the world, is going to give me enough light for where I am today, enough light to see where I’m standing right now and just a tiny bit ahead. Enough light to see into a God-given dream. The Bible tells us that when we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart, and I desire to know Him. I also desire to serve Him through music and testimony, and I know that He will honor that in His time and in His way, and it will be exceedingly and abundantly more than I can ask or think. I am dreaming big, but His dreams are bigger, and so it’s enough to know Him. To call him Father and Friend. To share my thoughts, concerns, and dreams. To converse with Him . . . the maker of the universe and the waterer of my dry season. He will do that for all of us, salvaging our arid deserts in the dry season until the rains come, and they do come. So for now, I don’t know much, but I know I love You, Lord, and that is definitely all I need to know.

I Love a Good Storm!

As I am sitting in my study corner this morning, I am listening to the most beautiful of storms. The rain is falling right outside my window, and I can hear the thunder in the distance. I have loved storms for a long time; there's something both peaceful and powerful at the same time about a thunderstorm, and it reminds me to be amazed. The "Manas" of my women's Bible study talked last night about amazement. In this fast-paced world, too many people have ceased to be amazed by the things God does every single day . . . things like a beautiful sunset, a gorgeous sky, the consistency of the tides and the beauty of the ocean, the grandeur of the mountains, and yes, the magnificence of a storm. God created every one of these and more, and if we stop being amazed by the intricate and yet simple beauties of nature, we miss out on so very much. But there's another lesson here, too. As much as I love a great thunderstorm, I must love the "storms" in my life as well. Really? Love the troubles in my path? Love the pits into which I fall? Love the battles I must face? Yes. Emphatically, yes. Scripture says that we must be thankful in all things . . . not for all things, but in all things, and there's a difference. Need an example? I am dealing with a difficulty with the IRS right now, and it's a real mess. It's their mistake -- not mine -- but I am forced to deal with it. Now, I'm not thankful that I found this problem in my mailbox, and I'm not excited about the hour or more I expect to spend on the phone after work today, trying to clear the problem, but within this minor irritation in the scheme of my life, I can still thank God. I am thankful that I found my paperwork to fix the issue. I am thankful that God provided for us while we seek resolution. I am thankful that God is teaching me about the dangers of procrastination. (Too long to explain that one!) I am thankful that I serve a God who is bigger than the worldly troubles that attempt to throw us in a pit. I am thankful that I am anticipating an IRS agent who will help me fix this issue! As I look back over my life, I know that with every storm came growth. Sometimes the growth was painful, and I fought my way through it, and yet, I grew. And one of the things I have learned clearly in recent years is to continue to be thankful and praise God in the midst of the storm. Remember the words of the song: "I will praise You in the storm, and I will lift my hands, for You are who You are, no matter where I am." God never changes, and He has a plan for the storms in our lives, a plan that is weaving an incredible tapestry that needs the light, joyful threads as well as the dark ones to create a masterpiece. Let God work through the storms of your life today; choose -- yes, choose-- to be joyful right in the middle of the storm. And maybe, just maybe, you'll give Satan a nervous breakdown when your victory is God's victory in your life!

Just How Hard-headed Are We?

This is going to be short and to the point: just how hard-headed are we as a people of God? I am in the middle of reading Jeremiah, and I am bogging down in their disobedience and their foolishness. And yet . . . it surely sounds like today's world. I look everywhere and see people who are not willing to put God first -- people who are not willing, in the words of Clay Nesmith at Barefoot Church -- to "get off their duff" and do what God requires of us. And it shouldn't have to be a requirement; it is a privilege! To quote another dear friend, Pam Muise: "God gave everything for us -- everything! How dare we do any less and call it okay!" (I paraphrased!) If we, as genuine Christians who are walking in relationship with Christ, would do everything He has asked of us, this world would be different. But what I see is a lot of people who show up on Sunday, get involved in committees, and yet aren't doing anything to win lost souls to God. Our "busy-ness" doesn't impress the God of the universe unless it's His business. Just doing a lot is not the answer; we must do what He says -- what He has called us to do. It might mean going to some difficult places. It might mean praying more than ever before. It might mean worshiping in places that aren't as beautiful as we like. It might mean getting down and dirty with hurting, broken people -- people like us. It might mean stepping out into something radical. It might mean letting other things in our schedule go for the sake of the kingdom of God. It might mean loving people who have hurt us, let us down, or ignored us. It might mean being open and honest about our failures so God can use them for His glory. And NONE of this is even close to how much God has done and continues to do for us. So I ask again: just how hard-headed are we as a people of God? I hope we're extremely hard-headed but only when it comes to doing His will and tenaciously seeking His face. Be blessed and be radical. Be in relationship with Him, the only one who can save us.

God's Word Is True . . . We Just Need to Read it and Believe it!

This morning I want to give YouVersion.com a shout out! I am to-do list girl; I love to accomplish things in an organized way, and YouVersion.com has given me a great way to stay on track with my Bible reading. If you haven't been able to get into a plan and stick with it, try this website, and let them help you move forward. I personally like the One-Year Bible Plan because it allows me to read Old and New Testaments at the same time. It also keeps track of my reading for me, so I have one less thing to remember! And I need one less thing to remember . . . I'm just sayin'. So why do I mention this today? Well, as I was reading this morning, this passage was laid before me: "A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." I've read and heard this passage hundreds of times, but today, God gave me a fresh word: Jean, you have everything you need to withstand Satan and the darts he is throwing into your life. You just have to use the weapons you have been given. Wow. It is so easy to get lost in our problems and forget that God has already provided a way to stand strong in the midst of trials and disasters that look impossible. He has already given us a clear set of directions for how to live tenaciously and victoriously; we just have to do what He says! I heard a sermon by Clay Nesmith at Barefoot Church a while back, and he used this illustration. A man bought an electric chain saw because his friends told him how much easier it would be to cut his trees with this saw than with a manual one. The man bought the saw and began to use it. After some frustrated attempts, he returned to the store, telling the clerk, "I just don't get it. This saw is no easier than the one I already had, and I am wearing myself out trying to cut my trees." Well, the clerk looked at the saw, checked for signs of malfunction, and then cranked it. The customer was shocked, and said, "I didn't know you had to pull that cord. No wonder I had no power!" Sounds like some of us, doesn't it? We have the power of God living within us, and we have the armor of God available to us, but we never "pull the cord" to access the full power that is within our grasp. Today, read this scripture over and over if necessary, and ask God to help you put on His armor so that you may live a tenacious life, not giving in to Satan's attacks of discouragement and depression. We serve a mighty God, and He will uphold us with His hand if we just pull the cord and unleash His power in our lives. Be tenacious in Christ, Jean

I Received a God Wink This Morning

Do you remember times when you have been pondering something -- praying about it faithfully -- and God just steps in when you least expect it to give you a nudge forward? I love those times because they are confirmation that I am heading in the right direction, and in the words of Stormie Omartian, they give me "light for the step I'm on" right now. I have been praying about a women's event, a time when women of God might worship together, pray together, and hold each other in our brokenness. I have also been praying about a promise He gave me a few years ago that hasn't come to fruition. Well, this morning, I heard a message loud and clear, and it came through Ruth Graham on Life Today. There is so much brokenness in our world, and yet, there is very little transparency about our pain. God has given me a heart for women, especially mothers, who are struggling with brokenness in life ----- broken by disappointment, broken by Satan's attacks on their children, broken by loneliness, broken by crumbling marriages . . . it matters not what it is. It only matters that we must all know we are not alone. But for us to really know we are not alone, there must be two things: first, we must learn that God is our Father, and He is our Healer. He is always available to us, and we must seek Him first. Second, we must be transparent enough that we can allow others to love us and pray for us when life seems impossible. Just yesterday, as I walked into work, people asked the normal question: "Morning. How are you?" And of course, my answer was, "Great!" And don't we do that all the time? We give the automatic response that we've been trained to give: "Wonderful." But the truth is that we are often not wonderful, and we must let others know when we need their prayers and support. Now, I am not suggesting that we need to tell our stories to every person we meet or spend our time at work focusing on our pain. However, there has to be a balance between telling nothing to anyone and telling everything to everyone. Sometimes when the question comes, we need to trust God enough to say, "You know, I'm not fine today. I could sure use your prayers." I want to close with some things Ruth Graham said this morning on LifeToday. God used her to speak to my heart, and maybe something she said will speak to yours. "Transparency ministers to people. People can't identify with perfection." "God wants to build on our weakness." And finally, "Our security comes from Christ." And she is right on the money. This morning I will place all my trust in Christ, and I will love others in a way that allows them to be imperfect, just like me, and it will be a very good day.

What Breaks Your Heart?

It is early in the morning, and I need to get ready for work, but I want to ask you to pray and ponder with me: have you asked God lately to break your heart for what breaks His? I have been praying that since June after studying Kelly Minter's Nehemiah Bible study with a wonderful group of women at Trinity Methodist Church in Conway. Nehemiah's heart was broken for the city of Jerusalem and its people, and God enabled him to do the miraculous. God is still in the business of doing the miraculous today when we give Him our hands and feet and ask the question: what is it, God, that breaks Your heart? What would you have me do? If you think, "Well, I can't do anything by myself," you may be right. But one person -- with God -- can do the impossible. And the other question we must ask is this: God, what are you already doing in my community, my workplace, or my world that You would have me join? Often, God is already at work around us, and when we ask these two questions, He will be faithful to direct us to the work He has in store, and He will give us the supernatural ability to make a difference. So ask yourself: God, what is breaking Your heart today that should break mine, and what would you have me do about it? Please pray this with me in the coming days -- every day. I believe a mighty move of God is coming in our community . . . healing rain.

Be "Wowed" Every Day

It's hard to know where to start tonight. This conference was so full . . . full of worship, full of joy, full of God's presence. I hope I can be coherent as I share my heart and some of my notes from the sessions. Last night Joyce reminded us that if we live amazed, we will never be without hope. It reminded me of a piece I read with my students about the stunning nature of our universe. God created this incredible galaxy, and we should be surprised and amazed every day by its beauty and His face in all that we see. Here are a couple of points she made about being amazed: 1) We shouldn't get too comfortable in our churches that we lose our reverence for God. After all, we serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 2) Make a big deal out of everything God does. Sometimes He is using us in incredible ways, and we don't even get excited. Be amazed! 3) Continue to be amazed by God's grace. Grace meets us where we are but never leaves us where it finds us! And then this morning . . . BAM! Chris Caine. I will never be the same after hearing her message. I'll try to give you the highlights! 1) The promises of God have no expiration date! They do NOT go out of date. You can hold onto hope when you remember that! 2) God's promises are real and everlasting. Emotions and hype will never fuel hope for the long term. We must find our hope in His promises. 3) Faithful = full of faith! We must be faithful in our relationship with Christ, not just a "rusty-dusty" Christian, taking up space in a pew. 4) God cares about the details. I know a person who is very dear to me who would argue that point, but he is wrong, and I am right! God cares about every detail that matters to us, and He can do the impossible. 5) One of our greatest mistakes is putting a due date on what God is not ready to accomplish yet. He knows His perfect timing, and He will accomplish His will in due season. Don't rush Him or attempt to manipulate Him. **This was a big point for me. God birthed a dream in my heart quite a few years ago, and I am in the waiting stage. I know that God is preparing me so when He adds the final ingredients to make this thing happen, I will be ready! Bam! (Thanks, Joel Osteen, for my new favorite word!) 6) Impossible is where God starts, and nothing is too hard for Almighty God! 7) Jesus is strengthening the wombs of our faith so we will not miscarry or abort God's perfect plan for us. I love this analogy because, as a mother and grandmother again just recently, I get it. We surely didn't want our new baby Harper to come too soon, any more than I want God's plans for me to come before I am spiritually ready. 8) The gap between God and us is a "hope gap," and it is full of light. God has no dark side; He is light. He is trustworthy, even if we don't always understand what is happening. Wow . . . and that was just this morning! Chris Caine spoke with passion and authority, and I could have listened all day. FYI to my friends back home: I purchased 27 of her sermons, so get ready! Study time is coming, my Manas! Joyce Meyer ended the day and the conference for us in typical Joyce style: forthright, passionate, and full of object lessons so we can never forget the messages of the weekend. Hope is the anchor of our souls -- the thing that causes us to step out, putting the promises of God into action. We must step out so that God can meet us where we are. He is often waiting to move until we take a step toward him, signifying our hope and faith that He is dependable. Imagine an anchor with HOPE written down the center. When we allow the world and its darkness and people with negative spirits to pull us away from our anchor, God can use that same anchor to draw us back into hope. But friends, we MUST know God's Word if we are going to live with hope. We must read the stories of those who have run the race before us and are now in the stands, cheering us on. We must know scriptures about hope, hiding them in our hearts to keep us strong against a very negative world. Just as God asked Abraham to step out of his tent and look at the stars in the sky (to be reminded of God's promise of descendents), we must "step out" and see what God has in store. Looking at ourselves and our situations too much is like staying in the tent; we lose sight of what God has promised and what He is going to do. Like Abraham, we must hope against hope; our feelings will often convince us to do otherwise, so the lesson is clear: we must listen to God's voice, not our fickle feelings. And my favorite points of all . . . We need to go on a fast: we need to fast pity. We cannot live in a pity party and be the powerful people God expects us to be. Every time we are tempted to say, "But you don't know what I've been through . . .," we must choose to stand up in God's power and say instead, "My hope is in God, and I will be powerful, not pitiful!" And finally, we are anointed for HARD. Don't you love this? I love to be a victor in life, especially when the battle has been hard, and I'll say it again: we are anointed for HARD! We can go home, go to our jobs, and go into our communities and be stable. We can enjoy this journey every day, sharing God's light in a very dark world. Why? Because we serve the God of the impossible, and He has anointed us for HARD! That excites me because if God has anointed me, what more could I want? God bless and stay in hope. I will be sharing scriptures of hope in the next few days, so keep reading. Love you all! Jean

God is so good, and His planning is impeccable!

Well, the Joyce Meyer Women's Conference is all it was advertised to be and more! The music is amazing; we have worshiped with Darlene and Fuzed Worship, and we have listened to the sweet voice of Kari Jobe. It's been exciting and it's been fun, but the most important thing is this: God is here. He had a Word prepared for each and every one of us, and I am hearing Him loud and clear. Last night, Joel Osteen gave us all a new word: Bam! He used an extended metaphor about cooking, saying that we cannot isolate the steps of God any more than we can isolate the ingredients in chocolate chip cookies. (Anything with chocolate works for me! :)) He reminded us that God is constantly adding ingredients to our lives, and even when life is seemingly good, it will get better when God says, "BAM! Here's a new ingredient for you!" Maybe that ingredient is a new challenge, or a new relationship, or a small victory. Maybe it's a new thing God needs us to learn, and He puts just the right book or person in our path to teach us that new thing. Either way, He "bams" us with the next thing He has in store, and God always has something fresh in store when we are faithful. Joel also said that God's calling is irrevocable on our lives, and, according to scripture, if we will pitch our tents in the land of hope as David did, we will see amazing things happen. Joel was an encourager and a strong reminder of the power of hope. And this morning, it got even better! Dave Meyer spoke about our country, giving us a hard and important word. I will share that later . . . I think I feel a letter to the editor coming on! But then came Joyce. And true to form, she had a Word from God. Here are her high points, and the first was written just for me . . . and maybe for you! 1) We must live in a prison of hope. Wow, this has been a word I have carried since 2008, when I talked to the Horry County School District about being a prisoner of hope for children. The Tenacious Life has big plans around this theme, so keep watch! We must be prisoners of hope, expecting and anticipating great things from God. Hope is a favorable and confident expectation, the happy anticipation of good, and hope releases joy! 2) "Together we can make a noise that's going to give the devil a nervous breakdown." When believers gather together to worship and praise almighty God, we shake the foundations, and hell cannot prevail against us. There are over 26,000 women at this conference, and we are making great noise in this city for God. 3) We must DECIDE to be hopeful, even when we don't feel like it. This CAN be done but only with God's power. 4) We can be catalysts in our families and communities and workplaces, turning things around for others. When we are hopeful without fail, we are contagious! 5) According to Romans 15:13, we must have joy and peace IN BELIEVING, that we might overflow. 6) Being a prisoner of hope releases us from other prisons in our lives. That's going to be a teaching at an upcoming study of mine! Get ready! 7) What God gives us, He expects us to give away. We must share our hope with others, and we must share from the riches God has given us. 8) We MUST get over being mad at others or mad at ourselves. Lack of forgiveness is a prison that destroys our hope. 9) We can have double blessings for former trouble, but double blessings don't come to the double-minded. We must set our minds to do what God expects and keep them there, not just when it's easy but when life gets hard and ugly. That's when others can see that our hope is in God because we could not do that by ourselves. Finally, I came here anticipating a Word from God, my Father, about what He expects from me. I came to worship and fellowship, and I came to be still before God. Some of the songs I have not known, but rather than get frustrated, I have used the words of the songs to pray to God. I have used the time --- in the midst of 26,000 --- to get still in my seat before God, to pray as though no one else was around, and I have felt His presence. He is good, He is mighty, and He is faithful. God is still in the business of saving lives, and I pray that some small detail you have read here will reach into your heart as it has mine. Look for more tomorrow, as I am sure He is not finished with us yet! Blessing from St. Louis! Love in Christ, Jean

Anticipating a Word from God

Good morning! This is just an update to let you know what's happening. Ann and I (from The Tenacious Life) have taken a sabbatical of sorts from the website. Ann is in two new ministry jobs and is going to seminary, and I have changed jobs as well. My family has grown like crazy, and life has been wonderful in a very hectic sort of way! Anyway, I am going to return to the blog this week with my trip to the Joyce Meyer Women's Conference in St. Louis. I will be posting the big points from every teaching, and I hope to share some pictures as well. Watch the blog and check my Facebook page. I am counting on great things from God in the next three days! I will be praying for wisdom as I try to compact the messages into a blog format. I will also be praying for you: that you will read something you need to hear at this very moment. Keep an eye on the blog, and have a blessed day! Jean