The Voice of God

A dear friend of mine was asked to write 2 essays for a class that she is taking, she titled them "How the Holy Spirit is present in my life" and "The Voice of God". She sent them to me as an encouragment to what I have taught her :) (of course it is the Holy Spirit, not really me). I found it so amazing how she was able to put down in type, how I feel and think. As many of you know, I am a talker!!! Yes, surprise, surprise!! But there are alot of times I wish I could get down on paper, what I teach and speak. Well here it is. My friend and I are so similar, it is crazy sometimes to believe that we actually get along :) But unlike the world, instead of being competetive, or jealous, we encourage and feed off of each other!!! God is so amazing.

I love you
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As I even begin to write this, I find myself praying in tongues, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit living within me even now. He tells me what to write and how to write it. He tells me things I need to say and, more importantly, when to keep my mouth shut. He tells me secrets, sharing with His daughter events before they happen for no other reason than for me to say, "Wow, God, you’re amazing. Thank you for bringing me Your Holy Spirit."
Since receiving the Holy Spirit about a year ago, He has spoken to me in dreams and visions. At first ignoring them, believing they were "pizza dreams," as I now know some dreams to be called, or simply believing my wild imagination was working overtime, I would go back to sleep or turn on the TV to drown out the pictures floating through my mind. The Holy Spirit, however, would not be ignored. People began to prophesy over me that I would have dreams and visions, that I was to write them down and not ignore them. They would tell me that all those pictures floating in my head were there for a reason and I needed to start seeking for others to help me interpret them and even pray that God would give me the interpretations. You see, even through others, the Holy Spirit has become incredibly real to me.
Now I have a hard time believing I ever knew life without Him. Was there really a time when I had dreams that I didn’t record? Where there really years when I hadn’t heard of prophecy and didn’t war over my future and the futures of my friends? Do you mean there was a time when I would pray over people and didn’t know if what I was praying was really what they needed to hear?
The Holy Spirit has called me to be an intercessor. I pray for people I don’t know: sad faces in grocery stores, angry voices in waiting lines, slumped shoulders, broken legs, broken and hardened hearts. He has told me that my focus is to be with teens. I pray for their futures. I even pray over the influence of the cartoons the future teenagers are watching; these cartoons are filled with demonic and pagan undertones.
There’s a different level to my prayer life than there used to be because of the Holy Spirit’s influence. He reveals things to me that sometimes I don’t want to know. He reveals pain in people’s lives, sins they are hiding, weights they are carrying, even wounds they are inflicting because of their own woundedness. Many times these are insights to people over me, people in
authority over me, in places of leadership. Other times they are my students who seem so sure of themselves on the outside.
My intercession is prophetic. The Holy Spirit has told me things God is going to do. He gives me words of encouragement for others. He tells me how to pray and in my being faithful in those prayers, in my encouragement, even in my confusion, He blesses me with a greater dose of the Holy Spirit, with more influence, with greater authority, and with more power.
So many think of the Holy Spirit as some hocus-pocus, spiritual high, a feeling, a gooeyness inside. Though I must admit that sometimes I am affected physically by what the Holy Spirit is doing, the greatest thing He has taught me is that I must believe and obey despite my feelings. He is the one that keeps my mouth shut when I want to scream or disrespect. He is the one that curbs my flesh when I want to gratify my selfish desires. However, He goes a step further. He then shows me God’s timing, when it is okay to scream, when I may speak out in authority and not in disrespect, but with power. He brings people around me to feed my love language of physical touch through touch that reminds me of my Heavenly Father. I receive a hug from a friend when I am crying. Someone holds my hand as they pray.
Lately, the Holy Spirit has been calling me to do prophetic activations as well. He is teaching me how to discern feelings I have or to understand that even in the physical the spiritual is manifested. I know that when I dance, I am breaking strongholds. When I sing, the enemy is plugging his ears, because people’s hearts are being touched. Not always does He tell me exactly when it is happening. It is later, when I am looking back or journaling that I receive a gentle nudge. God says, "Can’t you see how my Holy Spirit was working for you then? Can’t you see how He’s strengthening you even now?"
The Holy Spirit gives me peace, cradling me in a cloud of love. He is teaching me to do what is asked and then to sit back and watch. Watch as others strive. Watch as others wrestle with themselves and their personal demons. He tells me to do what I can, to pray for them, in the Spirit, through my own knowledge, through the rhema given to me. He has taught me not to
worry about others or about myself, but to believe and to watch my faithfulness manifest itself in others and even in my own life. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit’s counsel.


Essay #2
I remember telling my mom, even as a little girl, that I heard God’s voice, that He spoke to me. She would reply with a, "that’s nice, honey," and continue on with whatever she was doing at the time. It wasn’t until high school that I realized this did not seem to be a normal occurrence with my friends. In fact, it was considered boastful or prideful. In college, my mother would answer one of my, "Because God told me to," with "Don’t you think it’s a bit self-righteous to think that God speaks to you personally?" It would be a few years before the wound of those words was healed.
I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t God’s voice, but then He’d talk to me louder. I know Scripture says that He’s a still, small voice, but I hear God more as the roaring thunder, the crashing waves, and the howling wind. He often has to yell in order to get my attention. When I argue, His voice becomes more stern. When we talk, I often hear His laughter, clear, with no malice. It’s pure.
Even now, I fear that as you read this that I have overstepped bounds. However, the Bible says that His sheep know His voice. I know I am one of His sheep, however stupid and stubborn I may be. I will follow the shepherd and the main way He has taught me to follow is to discern His voice over the others I may hear.
At seventeen years old, I devoted my journal to God. It is my conversation with Him. It’s where I am most likely to tell Him my fears, my joys, and my dreams. I pray for people and I vent about the day’s events. Then I sit back and I wait. ( Oh, how I wish I could say I always do this, but I do not. I sometimes go weeks without writing or when I do, it is to chronicle events and not to listen for answers.) God will remind me of a Scripture and I will write it out. A previous conversation with a friend will come to mind. A picture of what was happening in the heavenly realms will appear in my mind’s eye as clearer than whatever I am truly looking at. The phone will ring and the person calling will have an encouraging word for me. When that message is finished, possibly days later, I write His answer in my journal. He has taught me that not only is His voice audible in my mind, but He will speak through others. He will bring the Word of God to life. My heart will rev up, a burst of energy will come, or a sense of peace greater than my circumstance will overwhelm. Oh, how vast are the ways God will talk to His people if they will only listen!
God speaks to me about my past in order to make my present more clear. He will remind me of silly dreams I had in high school. " do you remember the dream where you were playing piano and a second set of hands were invisibly playing with you? I was speaking to you then in dreams. I have already recorded the music of your life," He says. "Do you remember when you couldn’t sleep because voices were speaking to you? It hurt me to see you so uncomfortable, but even as those demons told you as a little girl that you were bad, I was right there, holding you as you cried and repented of sins you hadn’t even committed. I had to allow them to in order to prepare you for how you are going to war for me. I am bringing you an army," He says, as He holds me. "I made you unique. You’ve always felt different and you have often hated it, but I’m going to use it for My glory." I believe I have thanked God for these words as many times as I have also told Him to tell someone else and leave me alone. However, whenever it feels that He has left me alone, I find myself crying out for another word, another hug, a peal of his laughter. The voice of God is wonderfully addicting.
Movies have a greater depth when God speaks His love through them. From romantic comedies to documentaries, God shows His love for me and the power He gives others. I see His steadfastness in the hero’s diligence. I see His devotion in the heartthrob’s risking everything in order to see his love one last time. I admit, it sounds a bit ridiculous, but I can’t deny how God romances me during those times. He tells me how I am captivating to Him, how He sees me as a precious treasure. The voice of God is intimate.
Most recently God’s voice has spoken through others in the form of prophecy. I have seen some of my prophecies come true and I know it is to increase my faith in another way that God wants to comfort and encourage me. He also speaks to me this way to help me believe that I can speak to others in the same way. Now, when I prophesy over others, He will often remind me of what I said because it can be applied to my life as well. He corrects and disciplines me. I find myself praying over the conditions that are in my prophecies. "If I will do this, He will grant me that. Oh Lord, help me to do this so I can get that."
The voice of God is present in my life. He starts my morning with a song, a Scripture, or a simple, "I love you, my child." During the day, He tells me where my focus should be. He directs my speech and often, He speaks for me. At night, He soothes me to sleep, reminding me of the days’ events, often bringing to minds things I found funny and He laughs with me. He sings me a lullaby in the form of a song of praise or hymn. Always, when I ask Him to and many times when I don’t, He reaches out to me with a heavenly kiss, like a beautiful sunset, or, perfectly timed, the playing of one of my favorite songs on the radio. The voice of God is ointment for my soul.
May he be ointment to all your souls as well! You all are a blessing to me and so many others, even when you think you aren't, you are!!!

I'm not good enough to serve God!

Hope for Those Who Feel Disqualified
Genesis 28:10-19: Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: "I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants."Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it."And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of Heaven!
Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously."

Jacob's Visitation:
A Ladder to HeavenJacob was a deceiver. He was born a twin, and when he was in his mother's womb, there was a prophetic word that Jacob would receive the covenant blessing from his father, even though he would not be the firstborn. But with help from his mother, Jacob deceived Esau--the firstborn. We know the story. Where we are meeting Jacob in this portion of Scripture, Jacob is running for his life. Jacob had left his father and mother, his home--everything--and he is on a journey.There is suddenly a break in from Heaven, but it's not because of Jacob's goodness right now. He had just deceived his brother! He didn't let God work out His plan, but Jacob worked it out in his own way. He is now on a journey for a bride, which is very prophetic.The Lord suddenly breaks in, and there is the trafficking of angels who are ascending and descending from Heaven! God speaks the covenant blessing of Abraham to Jacob that his seed will be blessed. Here you have a man who gets a prophetic visitation of the angelic with the heavens opening! He called the place Bethel, a gateway to the heavens! Positionally, however, Jacob's life was not in order! Yet God had a sovereign plan for his life!

Be encouraged--there is hope for those who feel disqualified.
I Love you

Except No Limitations

Expect No Limitations

"Is there anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14) The prophet Jeremiah answers this question stating, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, thou hast made the Heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." (Jeremiah 32:17)Our cry should be, “God, nothing is impossible with You!” (Luke 1:37) If we expect more, God will release more. Let’s pray for faith that moves the hand of God. (See Mark 11:21-24) Now is the time to think big because God can do anything. It is time to expect more, believe for more, and ask for more. Paul the apostle reminded us that "God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think according to the power that is at work within each of us.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)Kathryn Kuhlman said, "The only limit to the power of God lies within the individual.... It is when active faith dares to believe God to the point of action that something has to happen."

Just a thought!
I love you

Obedience!

An amazing friend sent this to me...... and God spoke MIGHTILY!
Thank you!
I love you.

It is amazing what God does out of our obedience. That is all he wants out of me and others.....obedience. Yet it is the hardest thing to do. Surrender.........that word can make you so sick just thinking of it.

Sacrificing,
u,
rendering,
ripping,
enduring,
necessity,
dependent,
example,
righteous

In order to be obedient we have to surrender all. Sacrificing ourselves, rendering ourselves to God, ripping away our wants and desires, enduring the pain of removing self, it is a necessity, it makes us dependent on him. He makes us and example so we can be righteous in him. Once we have surrendered then we can be obedient. And that word I like even less, yes I said that.

Ouch,
bittersweet,
excursion,
dying,
immediate,
enjoyment,
need,
choice,
everlasting.

It will hurt, and it will be wonderful and bitter at the same time, it will be an excursion that you will never forget, dying to self, must be immediate(God does not want us to waiver, but to be obedient immediately), Once we are obedient we have a release and receive enjoyment because of our obedience. God has given us all a need to make him Lord over our lives and to be obedient to him, He wants it to be our choice and this is everlasting. Meaning that when we don't obey we will know that we should have and God has given us this inner thing to want to be obedient, just some of us has a stronger will than others.

Spiritfire

Here is my new addition!
This is me, my life verse,
my passion, my FIRE!

Jeremiah 20:9

But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Dream Big!

Dreams, God gives us dreams, or desires of the heart. Are these dreams from God? Well, look at them, are they selfish, or are they for God's glory? Many dreams can benefit us (they may seem selfish,) but they also benefit others. God gives us dreams to fulfill His purpose, and these dreams are not small dreams, God is a big God and a mighty God, so why wouldn't He want to do big and mighty things in and through us. God will birth dreams in you, take them, pray over them, and let God expand on them. Many times we dream, and then our dreams don't seem to go anywhere.

Well here is a thought: Desire and passion fuel our dreams!
are these two things present in your life?

How much do you want your dream?

The proof is in the pursuit,
desire births the pursuit,
passion develops the pursuit in you.
Get passionate enough to be willing to pay the price!

Dream big, Be productive, let God reward!

Just some thoughts.
I Love you

A word to set you on fire!

Here is a word that really set me on fire, hope it speaks to you too.

I love you
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God said: “No Longer Wait For Me To Heal You; re-enter The Battle Now. As You Go, You Will Be Healed..."

“Angelic re-enforcements are waiting for you. Your healing will happen as you move out. (Luke 17: 11-19) I did not tell you to retreat…that was the enemy. This trial has made you a seasoned warrior. (1 Peter 1:7). Did not My Spirit already whisper to you, ‘This is no time for self-pity; souls are hanging in the balance?’

Prophetic words are about to be fulfilled. Promises that I gave you years ago will be fulfilled; they are even at the door. You have misunderstood...you have wrestled with invisible forces and won. (Ephesians 6:12) That sound you hear is applause from Heaven as you run with a limp to fulfill your call." (Genesis 32:24-26)

God said: “You Thought Your Wound Was A Thing of Shame, but I Am Changing It Into A Badge of Honor..."

“Yes, you stumbled, but you did not fall. The devil told you the opposite...that you blew it again. (John 8:44) NO, YOU HAVE DONE WELL. You will no longer feel humiliated, but justified. (Romans 3:24) A great light (Ephesians 5:14) explodes inside of you...you are not worthless but of great value, and I am placing a ring on your finger." (Luke 15:22) You have been in the crucible, and I allowed the flames to roar but the gold is about to come forth (Malachi 3:3) and so are you. Now is the time to rise up, and look up. (Luke 21:28) No longer will the flames be under you...but the fire will be in your tongue." (Acts 2:3)

The ‘poor me season’ is replaced with the ‘new you’. Quickly grab your sickle...on the horizon your harvest is approaching. (John 4:35) Chains of worthlessness and condemnation fall off, (Romans 8:1) no longer having a grip on you as you cling to My Spirit of acceptance.(Ephesians 1:6) With a huge smile, you embrace the worthiness My Son bought for you. You were wounded, yes, but worthless, never! It was almost a deathblow, but now the smell of victory is manifesting. The enemy trembles, knowing you have awakened. (Ephesians 5:14) You wake up and stand up, you seem taller...in the Spirit you are.”

God said: “You Can Release The Strong Grip You've Had On Your Ministry Because I Am About To Tighten Mine..."

“In the past you have toiled diligently, sown much seed and experienced little for your efforts...now you loosen your control, and let Me run the ship. Suddenly you remember the prayer you prayed long ago...for Me to move in your life, family, and ministry. As you let go you, realize you will not lose what you have already gained...it only opens the door to receive a greater harvest. (Matthew 16:24)

I was mindful of your tears (2 Timothy 1:4), and you did not know it at the time, but your prayers were making a reservation in My promises. Your table is now ready. Come...you are about to feast. You will reap where you have not sown. (John 4:38) You now let go of worldly (worthless) ideas and embrace Heavenly ones. You feel as if I’ve made you smarter--I have.”

God said: “As You Remove Your Hand, I Will Extend Mine..."

“Your work is being transferred from your hand into Mine. Today I am giving you the power to resist that old temptation to ‘control everything.’ Time that you used to spend ‘brain-storming’ on how to ‘jump start’ your ministry is now spent in prayer (Acts 6:4); and fresh ideas (like manna from Heaven) fall on you. No more attempts to use worldly techniques to bring in a spiritual harvest. You laugh at those old ideas, as revelation from My Spirit (Ephesians 1:17) brings you to a new level. I’ve lifted your vision higher...and no longer will you suffer from spiritual smallness. That crutch you used to carry is gone, transformed into a sword. (Ephesians 6:17)

You feel like a Christian Zorro, only you’re dressed in white. You try to find the wound that started all this mess; it is no longer there. (Jeremiah 30:17) You want to run into the battle, but this time you stop, wisely allowing Me to go before you. (Deuteronomy 1:30) You’re full of confidence in Me." (Philippians 4:13)

"It’s time to reap...at last!"

Al Thomas
Celebrating His Life Ministries
www.celebratinghislife.org

A Dream

A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches; whatever you wish for you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling thru. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.

I still believe!

This song has been truely speaking to me. I hope it does to you too!
I love you

I still believe
by Jeremy Camp

Scattered words and empty thoughts
seem to pour from my heart
I've never felt so torn before
seems I don't know where to start
but it's now that I feel Your grace falls like rain
from every fingertip, washing away my pain
Chorus:
I still believe in Your faithfulness
I still believe in Your truth
I still believe in Your holy word
even when I don't see, I still believe
Though the questions still fog up my mind
with promises I still seem to bear
even when answers slowly unwind
it's my heart I see You prepare
but its now that I feel Your grace fall like rain
from every finger tip, washing away my pain
Chorus
The only place I can go is into your arms
where I throw to you my feeble prayers
in brokeness I can see that this was your will for me
Help me to know You are near

Measuring your faith!

To measure how you are doing with God, look at your Faith!
1. Is it growing?
2. Are you using it?
3. Is it stretching you?
4. Do you have revelation (visions and dreams)?
5. Is He speaking to you?

At times lately, satan has been attacking me with the thought that I am doing something wrong with my faith, because things seem to be in kaos. But then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and asked me these questions. And I said, wow, through the kaos, I am closer to you then I have ever been. So why do I feel far away? And this is what He said to me: The more you enter the holy of Holies, and experiance my glory, the more you will want to be in that place where the storms of the world, and the princes of darkeness cannot penetrate. So when you are in the REAL world, you FEEL the absence stronger, because you have been in my presence. Your faith is not lacking, but growing!! Amen, Amen!!

I love you

To know the power...

To know the power of the reserection... we have to be buried!

What does being buried mean? Wow, God has been speaking to me tonight about this. We tend to get so busy doing, doing, doing, that I think sometimes we miss what God is trying to reveal to us in His simple truth. How can I apreciate the reserection, if I have never experianced a death, and then a burial? I need to die to self, die to flesh, die to pride, die to wants, die to fears, die to busyness, die to religion. martha did, and did, and did, what did Mary do? She sat at the feet of Jesus and just soaked. To me this is what being buried is. To be completely shut off, in the dark, with only God the Father, the Son, and the Holy SPirit. It is a time to shut down and soak, then we can experiance a reserection like never before. Like never before!!!

We all want the power, but we don't want the responsibility and persecution it brings!

To move in the Power of the Holy Spirit, we have to be willing to first die, then be buried, and then truely experiance the reserection! (And more then likely this will be a process that will need to be repeated many times throughout life)

As I BE (not as I do) He will work through me!

Just a thought
I Love you

April Fools Day

Today is April fools day, and I have a story to tell :)
On March 1st, Matthew thought it was April first, so he tried to play an April fools joke on me about him moving. Well to say the least, since it was March first instead of April 1st, it didn't work very well!!!

So this morning, I thought OK it is April 1st, and I have gotten a new job, but haven't started yet. So I texted Matt to tell him that I had gotten a job offer from Rick Joiner's ministry
http://www.morningstarministries.org/ in Charlotte, North Carolina and that I was considering it. He of course calls me to ask about it. I explaining the ministry to him, and kept asking him whether or not I should take it. I had him hook line and sinker!!! It was great, he kept asking whether I was going to take it, and I kept asking whether he thought I should. Finally I told him that I would have taken it if it wasn't April fools day!!! Oh my goodness, he yelled so loud the neighbors heard him. It was sooooo funny. I laughed and laughed. I think he might have been a little worried that I might be leaving, but then again, maybe not :)

So happy April First!
I Love you