Place of Freedom

What do you do when you find yourself in the middle of a crisis?

I used to run. 

I used to run far away.

Not physically. But emotionally and spiritually I Always did.

Guarding my heart (as if i could stop heartaches and pain from entering, you only accomplish to harden your heart, not guard it) Putting up walls, checking out, or how about behavior wise: drinking, drugs... been intoxicated is a form of running. 

But i don't seem to recall a single moment when running actually made me feel better, solve the problem, or made me a better person.. 

I recall the very opposite... 

Tonight for worship I struggled hard to get there... 

I am going to be transparent for a minute, I was struggling emotionally and spiritually. NOT Physically {for those who know that i have RA :)}

I just didn't want to go.

Like i said i WAS good Runner..

BUT against my flesh i pushed through and we made it there. Gods Grace IS sufficient when you are weak.

And im gonna boast on my weakness..

2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me"

Point A: When getting out the car i saw Jael be led by the worship music coming through the speakers and she made it to the front doors... She didnt follow us, she led us to the music, she ran up ahead.  (that ministered to me)

Point B: Family, They always greets with a smile and love. They welcome us. Yes they are probably going through something but loving Family is Important to them. Giving a smile can brighten up a heart. 

Point C: Worship, It transcends all pain hurts worries confusion depravity any lack any circumstance any crisis. His Glory is transcending. Worship leads you to his presence.. See why Jael walking up to the door following the music ministered to me??? :) Worship leads you your knees. Worship opens up your heart to him. Worship allows his Goodness and Grace fill your heart.

Point D: Praying. Praying allows for you acknowledge that He is bigger than any circumstance in your life. The prayer of a righteous man avails much.. 

Point E: Surrender, When we RUN TO HIM instead of FROM HIM, we are able to give him Everything.. everything that burdens us, everything that spoils our faith,  Everything. And then the most Glorious things Happens when We Surrender, He turns things around for His Glory..

One song stood out and touched my heart, it overwhelmed me and i couldn't contain it and tears flowed from my heart.. Everything was laid at His Feet. Everything.

Surrender. Freedom

"Theres a calm that covers me, When I kneel down at your feet,

Its a place of Healing Its a place of Freedom

Theres a place my eyes cant see, Where my spirit longs to be

Its a place of healing Its a place i live in Freedom

Im gonna LIFT my Hands Till I can REACH HEAVEN

Im gonna SHOUT YOUR NAME, till the Walls Come FALLING DOWN

Ive come to worship, Ive come to worship"

~Place of Freedom~

My crisis's may seem small in comparison to yours, in fact i Know some of y'all are dealing with much tougher and harder crisis than i ever will.

But i'm sharing this to encourage you to RUN to HIM. RUN!!! 

And Fall on your knees. Its a Place of Freedom a Place of Healing.. Its a calm that covers you.

Ive heard this saying that says 

“The longest journey a man must take is the eighteen inches from his head to his heart” 

Allow God to walk by your side through it all, and strengthen you.

(the story about the footsteps in the sand comes to mind <3)

If your wondering about the song i'm posting a link, Its a Beautiful song take a minute to listen

 http://youtu.be/aMxcmoSFZ98

If you've never heard the story or read it ill post a link to the story about the Footprints..

http://www.footprintspoem.ca/

God is exceedingly beautiful and giving.

He is All you need.

Lift your hands Till you can Reach Heaven... Be persistent Be relentless

Shout his Name till the walls come falling Down. Unashamed, Shout it till you cant Shout no more

We've come to worship, We've come to worship... Surrender it All To Him..

And yes thats why I can say 

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I Delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

A little DIY experiment

Been a stay at home mom has taught me alot of things.

A few things ive learned are routines, and schedules, and how to be gracious.

Routine... 

How to do things again and again on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.. like chores... im doing something daily BUT im not ALWAYS cleaning MY WHOLE house daily. It keeps me from going insane.

Schedule..

Planning in advance, even if it doesn't happen. If you Fail to plan, You PLAN to Fail...

Knowing what you are doing in advance keeps you from been over scheduled and tired by the end of the day, week, and month. Its all about balance.

Gracious...

When i would spend all day cleaning, spilled milk was something worth crying about... Literally..

As the children get older, it gets easier to pass on responsibilities.  You spilled the milk you can clean it up.. No more angry fits on my part... I smile a lot more now bc they automatically grab something to clean up the mess.. Its nice to see that Grace allows room for them to grow.. 

The hardest teacher in life, Mistakes.. 

id rather let them know that consequences is the toughest teacher theyll ever know.

Ive also learned about budgets, tips, and DIY ideas..

Recently I was at a ladies gathering and we had a special guest speaking on some practical ways to simplify your daily activities some were the "one touch rule" (which ive tried before but stopped when little ones were born it was just to hard on my opinion, but to some that might work) You touch something once. If you pick up your plate after dinner rinse it and place it in the dishwasher... No more sink full of dishes. Or even applied to mail. Once you pick it up start opening mail and sorting things before you enter the house, what you dont want throw out in the trash outside. No more Mail stacking up on your desk, table ... etc.

One thing however i have always intended on doing was my own laundry soap, dishwasher soap, multi-purpose cleaners sort of stuff. Just to free up some more spending cash for the things I want (just been honest lol)

So i was excited that this gifted lady came bearing gifts: a sample of her DIY laundry soap.

i havent tried it yet bc for Black Friday instead of shopping for wants i went shopping for needs

on about $45. I bought enough toilet paper, toothpaste, baby wipes and laundry soap to last me 2 months.. 

am i couponing queen, or super frugal?? Nope, im learning how to though. 

I checked out her blog, and started taking good notes.

And yesterday i went shopping for some items for the DIY dishwasher soap..

these are the items needed

Original Blue Dawn (@ Wal Mart for about $2.96)(*aisle 26 for my Wal Mart)

Lemi Shine (@Wal Mart for about $3.46) (*aisle 26 for my walmart same aisle with dishsoaps)

Oxygen Bleach (I found mine at The dollar tree for $1, i found some at Wal Mart in the laundry soap section but tried to see if i could find a more inexpensive one)

White Vinegar (I found mine at The Dollar tree for $1, or @ Wal Mart for $1.38)

so i am copying and pasting directly from 

http://frazzledmomparty.blogspot.com/

so heres the recipe in case you might want to try.

Dishwasher Detergent 

1 Tbl. oxygen bleach
1/2 teaspoon original blue Dawn dish soap
1 Tbl. Lemi Shine ($3.66 at WalMart)
1/2 cup white vinegar (poured into a bowl or cup on the top rack of the machine) (this is optional)

You put the first three ingredients right in the detergent cup of your dishwasher right before you start the load. No premixing! Do not use more than 1/2 tsp. of Dawn or you will have a bubbly mess. There are bubbles during the washing cycles. Don't worry, they all rinse away at the end. 

The water from the dishwasher cycle collects in the cup with the vinegar and spills over into the dishwasher making the perfect rise for your dishes. No, your glasses don't taste like vinegar!

i tried yesterday and i can honestly say it worked great! so im going to try it out for the rest of the month and give a full review on my thoughts...

i have included the link to Elizabeths site Frazzled Mom.. go check her out amazing woman and i hope she doesnt mind i have mentioned her here.

Ive yet to try the laundry soap i still have about 4 bottle of laundry soap left before i run out!!

Yes i did good buying necessities on Black Friday.. i still also have an unopen box of baby wipes.. so im set for a few more months.

Thank you Elizabeth (@ http://frazzledmomparty.blogspot.com/)

For your advice and simple practical tips..

Falling at times BUT rising again

I admit this Fast has been hard for me..

But Somehow i feel it hasn't been Just Hard for ME. I believe its been hard for several of us.

SO i'm confessing that yesterday i broke my fast.. Booo me.

Since i'm doing a Daniel Fast some of the exclusions are sweets and meats... exactly what i ate.

But somehow in the mist of my failure, i didn't feel condemned. I felt sorrow for failing but not condemnation.

I did begin Fasting again today.

I want to Finish this Fast.

I confess this because i want to share what i felt God speak to me when i failed..

So i'm sitting there eating some fried chicken and i'm thinking "this is so good!!!! The seasoning, the extra crispy outside.. Delicious"

Then i heard... "when you abstain from possessions, ideas, and deeds that YOU desire to do, what i have in store for you is greater than whatever satisfaction you can get for doing what you desire and getting what you desire on your own"

Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the man who takes refuge in him

Taste and see that the Lord is good...

He truly is.

Why do I share this?

I believe that many of us have stumbled and failed and some of those few have quit and gave up on trying to Finish this Fast..

Can i encourage you?

¹⁵ 

Proverbs 24:15 & 16 (NIV)

Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man’s house,
    do not raid his dwelling place;
¹⁶ For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
    but the wicked are brought down by calamity

Yes their will be people who will have something to say to make you feel less of a Christian.. (some of those might even be our brothers and sisters in Christ!! Yikes!) some people are just waiting for you to fall and fail to cause calamity and hurl accusations at you.

But remember we aren't saved BY WORKS but BY GRACE Through FAITH!...

If your gonna quit doing something quit listening to them..

Get back up on your feet and Dust yourself off from the dirt off the floor.

And finish your Fast. Finish your race. Finish it Well.

You may fall, you may even fail everyday! But a Righteous man (or woman) Doesn't stay down, WE RISE AGAIN!! 

Because

Romans 8:1 & 3 (NIV)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Lets Rise again and Finish this part of our race well knowing there is no Condemnation for those who are in Christ..

Raining Wisdom and Sharpening Iron

Rain to me is beautiful. Rain, To me is security and comfort. Its Cleansing.
Yes God might just open the Floodgates of Heaven and let it Rain. During a Fast, just for me.
Yes, He would do that. Thats something A Father would do for His daughter.

I love the Rain because to me its like washing away the old, the dirty, the ugly.
Its Renewing and refreshing.
Both Physically and Spiritually.

Today out of all the days I decided to call a Really Good Friend of mine, however good of friends we are, I admit that I dont get to share alot time with her. She is a God Fearing, loving wife, wonderful stay at home homeschooling mother of Six children. I admire Her! I Cherish her.

She is priceless to me. Everytime we speak I walk away greatly enriched. I just pray that i can and have done the same for her even just once.

DO you have those friends who God will use Most of the time when you dont wanna Hear HIM?
I do. That would be Her.
She is unashamed to ask me the real RAW questions that rarely get ever asked.
How is the condition of my heart?

No matter what or how or lenghty or emberrasing my answear might be, She will always Guide me back to Gods Truth and Promises. I love that about her. She is Eternally Focused.
We all should be. To much is as stake.. Our spouse, our children, our relatives,  friends, and How about the Lost?? Yes it be ashamed not to be About our Fathers business

So neath-less to say, she was like Rain over my heart this morning. She washed away some blinders and exposed some things in my heart Gods been trying to get trough to me during this Fast..

Then She took Out the Knives!!!
(spiritually speaking that is)
She starting making my heart and commitment sharper and focused again.
Funny how its the littlest things that we would have never seen before, that blow you away when they are exposed.
I thank God for Good Friends. I thank God For Him. Because He is perfect.
(And Lilly I hope you dont mind mentioning you, Love you Girl)

Soul Detox

So we have started a 21 day fast as corporate church.
I had done a 21 day fast before. Once.
Though we have had several I was either pregnant or Nursing during those times and I had decided to grant my husbands wishes stating i shouldn't fast any food for health reasons.. So i had fasted electronics, social media (facebook, twitter, radio, tv.. etc) and at one point even eating out, only home made food..
I however dont recall my previous 21 day fast been so difficult. I did a liquid fast for 21 days. Was it hard? Of course, but for some reason this one seems tougher.

So what have I learned these past 3 days... People get Mean! lol
Sadly its true..
We become irritable, passive, anxious, short tempered, and the list can go on and on...
Some of us even have this look "i dont know what to do??? what do i do" and sulk.

I believe a Fast "Reveals" what truly is inside you.. Behind the charades, behind the acting, Behind the Pretending. It reveals who you truly are.
"Hard times don't determine who you are, it Reveals who you are" ~Dr. Edwin Louis Cole

So what else have i learned... How to Pray..
Why? How?...
Simple.
I dont want to walk around all frumpy and grumpy..
We are supposed to be full of Joy!

¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

When i Fast i want the Fruits of the Spirit to be evident.. 

Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires

So what am I saying..

That for who ever is Fasting i want to encourage you.. Press through. Dont Give Up. Theres breakthrough waiting to happen.

Hebrews 10:36 Says it Best:

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised"

On The Path To Receive MY Healing.. Finale

So Happy New Years Everyone!!!
Hoping yall were blessed. And not stressed out from hosting, from the cleaning (the before and after), and from putting away the Christmas decorations (if you already have!) LOL

So I sat the other day thinking, "I really Dont want to write a Blog. Especially a Blog about How I DIDNT see the Manifestation of My Healing.. Of My Physical Healing. From RA."

So as ALL human beings I was Bummed. No wait thats putting it lightly.. that would be a lie... i was discouraged and of course sad.
I had this belief that i was truly going to see Miraculously all this signs and wonders as my ankles would un-swell, that my gnarled fingers would straighten out that i would be able to rotate my arm, That I Would Finally Be able to RUN! To walk without a limp, To finally stop taking medication.. To finally stop hurting from the physical pain RA causes.. I had this belief... yes I Had...
The nearer we got to New Years Day I still pressed in Believing IT would Happen. At 11:59 pm i was Like "With God all things are possible"...  at the count down at ...5..4...3.........2..........1.... I still held on to the thought maybe, just maybe....
2012 came and went and with it my all My Hopes, NO Healing..
However At that very moment something else did Happen..
Something Very unexpectant.
Peace. Comfort. And Stillness.
It seemed like it overtook my heart and my soul and my mind.
Yes I was Sad.
It was a state of grieving BUT with Joy because something inside me kept reminding me "Better Things are Yet to come"
Then a song from Rita Springer keeps playing in my heart "Its gonna be worth it"

"I dont understand your ways, Oh but I will you my song, Give you all of my praise
You Hold on to All My Pain, With it your pulling me closer, And pulling me into your ways
Now around every corner and up every mountain
Im not looking for crowns or the water from fountains
Im desperately seeking, Frantic believing
That the sight of your FACE
is ALL that IM NEEDING
I will say to you
Its gonna be worth it, its gonna be worth it, Its gonna be worth it ALL
I BELIEVE THIS"

His Face is All IM Needing now.
Im done looking for crowns and for waters from fountains.. No more
Ill be looking for his Face from now on.
This year will be ALL About Him.
Seek The Healer Not The Healing.
Yes Im stil hoping for healing But now Im seeking Him for Him. Not that I was only after God for healing NO of course not, He has done so much for me, He has lifted me up from the pit that was drowning me, He is STILL my Refuge and always was, He is still my God, he always was and always will be..
But now theres a different "seeking after Him" in my heart.
A deeper, more vulnerable state, a confidence That declares "I AM HEALED."


"..Im desperately seeking, Frantic believing
That the sight of your FACE
is ALL that IM NEEDING
I will say to you
Its gonna be worth it, its gonna be worth it, Its gonna be worth it ALL
I BELIEVE THIS"

So you see, I did receive my Healing.
He has Healed my Heart.