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Welcome to Spiritual Coffee
Java
for your Spirit!
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Update
3.7.08
Happy
March web-surfers! It’s three months into
2008 and here is my first post. As
always life’s been pretty busy and I finally found some time to update the
site. First off, for site updates, I
fixed broken links on the links page and also added links to the Musical
Artists column. Links to sites for
Falling Up, Shawn McDonald, & Todd Agnew were added. I really enjoy music from all three of these
artists for varying reasons. If you’ve
never listened to any of these please check them out.
In
the near future there is a lot of changing on the horizon for myself. Some of that change is in the “unknown” zone
so I’ve been working to stay in faith for my future and believing God for the
steps to walk into. Without going into
too much detail the thought of “…am I ready to pick up and go anywhere and do
anything God wants me to?” came to me.
This brings up the subject of God’s will for my life. James 4:13-17 (New King James) says:
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or
tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell,
and make a profit”; 14
whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is
your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes
away. 15 Instead you ought
to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your
arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who
knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
If
we put that in today’s vernacular we could say “… come now, you who say, Today
we will start a business …” or “… come now, you who say, I’m moving to
11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
This
is a great scripture and personally I’ve been standing on it for the good plan
God has for me. Let’s follow that up
with Proverbs 3:5-10 (New King James):
5 Trust in the LORD with all your
heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
7
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
8
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.
9
Honor the LORD with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your
increase;
10
So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
The
more we can spend time getting into the presence of God, waiting and listening
to what God has to say, our likelihood of success will only increase. We need to trust in the Lord with all our
hearts as it says in verse 5. When you
trust someone you know they have your best interest in mind. You don’t second guess their judgment and you
can rest and not worry what may come from that person you trust. So trusting in the Lord puts you in peace,
joy, and willing to what God wants you to do.
I also like verse 8 – 10 where it speaks of health and overflow.
I
can look back on my life and see so many times I’ve trusted God in a major
decision, that may of looked in the natural as sketchy. Every time He has blessed me greater than I
ever could’ve imagined. So being obedient
and willing in taking the steps to make decisions God wants us to do will
result in peace, joy, and abundance. Also keep in mind God is so good he’ll not
only bless you but everyone around you.
God
Bless and have blessed 2008!!!
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Update
12.9.07
8Above all things have intense and
unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives
and disregards the offenses of others].
9Practice hospitality to one another
(those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers,
with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and
all others who come your way who are of Christ's body.] And [in each instance]
do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as
representing Him).
10As each of you has received a gift
(a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one
another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards
of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].
11Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).
2 Peter 8 – 11
The
above scriptures are really powerful and I think appropriate for the holiday
season. I know this time of year can get
pretty hectic but I encourage you to take the time to consider walking in love
when dealing with that store clerk or people you run into while shopping. We live in a fast paced, fast food, fast
everything society and most people don’t know how to relax without some type of
medical or liquid aide.
As
Christians we need to remember we are representatives of Jesus Christ. The reason people tend to shy away from
church or God is they have been offended by some immature Christian or immature
act. We need to change our mentality as
a church. Every one has a supply for the
body of Christ. We are to walk in love
and how can we be vulnerable to one another if we can’t even relax and feel
safe enough to share our “supply” with our fellow church body. I believe every believer is called to a
church body, and yes there may be several church bodies in an area. You can’t stay at home watching TBN or
Daystar on Sunday and call it church.
You have a supply for that local church body you aren’t attending and
that church body is missing what you have.
To
better illustrate this “supply” , lets say your right foot got offended by your
left shoulder and decided it was going to stay home and watch other “bodies” on
TV from home. Well, that body would have
a hard time moving around without that foot.
Just like that body missing it’s right foot a church body is lacking
when it’s members are not gathering together giving their supply to each
other. A highly effective body is
actively looking to cover each other in their weaknesses to better further the
vision God has placed on that church body.
As
2007 ends we need to consider others, walk in love, and keep in mind your and
other’s supply.
God
Bless, Merry Christmas, & Happy New Year!!!
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Update
8.26.07
Can
you believe more than half the year has past?
I say this to myself
every year but, can you believe summer is almost gone? At this rate turkey day will be here and I
will have posted only 2 times this year.
So what have I been up to … Well, I’ve been out enjoying summer and not
getting too caught up in the busyness of life or work. Sometimes you have to balance hard work with
some time enjoying life and others around you.
It’s so important to spend time with your family or significant
other. Building meaningful
relationships with people in your church as well as family and loved ones is
good. The better we can interact with
each other being real and not fake will help us be more vulnerable to each
other. To be a good Christian we should
be kind, showing the love of God, open, vulnerable, yet having proper
boundaries with people and ourselves.
I’m
just starting to learn proper boundaries with myself and others. I thank God my wife has already, and still
is, taken the time to learn about proper boundaries. Proper boundaries has taught me what I’m
responsible for and what I should leave for others. If you think about it, God is all about
proper boundaries. He doesn’t force His
will on us and gives us the choice. He
explains in His word the consequence for choosing against His will, yet always a gentlemen
through the process.
I
encourage you to read some books and pray God show you proper boundaries for
yourself and others. Perhaps you want to
stop feeling exhausted from doing too much for others or you’re in the other
side of the ditch. You may feel like you
don’t want to touch anything with a ten foot pole. If you’re in either of these ditches you need
to find the middle ground.
I’m
learning it’s never too late to learn something new. It is essential to learn proper boundaries as
it relates to our walk with God. How can
we expect God’s best when we’re working through soul wounds from our youth. That’s enough for now. Until next time … Be Blessed!!!
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Update 1-23-07
I
recently came back from the KCM Minister's Conference in
I don't think I can single out one speaker from the next as each spoke volumes. What I came away with was a fresh outlook and good start to the new year! A lot has been brought to my remembrance as far as standing in faith and believing God for my breakthrough. I have said this before but we tend to get complacent in our day to day lives and sometimes it is good to get a spark to lite that fire inside up a notch.
I'm definitely making changes in my habits which I feel will better equip me for what God has in store for me. I encourage anyone reading this to start spending time in the word daily. This is our spiritual food, but we also need to combine that with spending time in prayer communicating to God. We can't forget to infuse the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us.
I know I haven't posted in a while so I wanted to drop this quick note while still fresh from the KCM Minister's Conference. I hope to make more time for the site soon.
Until next time ...... Be Blessed!!!!
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Update 11-26-06
A re-occurring message recently in my church has been the importance of developing a prayer life. Too often we get caught up in the day-to-day things that can keep us busy. Especially during this time of year for Thanksgiving then Christmas we can lose sight of what should be important in our lives. The important thing is to take time everyday in prayer.
Prayer is your communication to God. Another key while praying is making your mind submit to your heart or spirit man. If your mind has been busy through the week and then you try take time out to pray, if you don't keep your mind under control it will think of the next thing you need to get done while you’re praying. Luke 21:19 talks about standing firm to gain life. We need to stand firm when praying so our mind can hear and discern the voice of God. If you don't you'll never know when God is speaking to you in that still small voice.
Your soul (mind, will, and emotions) is the filter so-to-speak between your spirit man and head. If your soul isn't renewed to the word of God then how can you successfully hear from God? Sure, you can always plead your case to God and speak faith but, how can you hear what God has to say if your soul is wounded and thinking of the next goal? We need to get this changed in our lives. Today especially with some many distractions and false doctrines we need to hear from God what is good and evil.
Galatians 6 talks about a "due season". That "due season" translates from the original text as when the time is right, better yet when the condition of your heart is right. When you get your soul in the right condition you can filter out the bad and allow God and interpret God when He talks to you. Christians should be living in complete victory in our lives as well as everyone around us. We should be having it so good that we shouldn't even have to say that we are Christians but the world should want what we have. But that isn't necessarily the case today because much of the church is not implementing a daily prayer life submitting their mind to their spirit. We need to be so full of God's goodness that not only we are blessed beyond measure but so is everyone around us.
I wasn't sure where I was going when I started this post other than I wanted to share that prayer is vital for every Christian today. I now see some atheists trying to spew confusion to people that God isn't real. God isn't real to those people because they either didn't know how to be intimate with God or didn't do it right. So, if you haven't started having a prayer life start today! Just start with 5 minutes making your head stop thinking and start listening to your heart or spirit. From there you can grow as long as God wants you to pray. We can make change happen around us if we'll just begin to pray!
God Bless and Happy Holidays!!!!
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Update 10-13-06
I want to begin this post with thankfulness for the position, people, and environment my Father God has allowed and blessed me with in my life. I look forward to the great things to come and I know that the Father’s plan for my life is much more than I can even fathom in my mind. I want my wants and desires to line up with the Father’s. I don’t want to learn how to control my life but give it up, be out of control leaving Jesus at the wheel making the decisions. In Jesus mighty name, Amen.
So many times when we arrive at the realization that our lives are not meeting our expectations we try to quickly fix it. Perhaps you are not the type to quickly fix it but, adopt the thinking that “… once I start to <insert your good idea here>, then I will be back on track…”. As time progresses in both of these examples what if they end up back where they started. Back again where they started, result after making the wrong decision(s). Now, take this scenario and see it played out over and over again several times. Many people’s lives are this scenario, constantly trying to fix what’s wrong on their own.
One definition of crazy I heard was “…doing the same action over and over again expecting the same result.” Many people keep trying to fix themselves all their lives thinking “… this time I’ve figured it out …” to only fall into the other or same ditch again. There is only one way we can fix us and that is stop trying to figure it out yourself!
The bible says to love your neighbor as yourself. How can you do that the way God meant you to if you don’t love yourself correctly. Sure, we can say “… I like me …”, but do you really? Are you hard on yourself for making that wrong decision or sin from five or ten years ago? Do you keep the bad things from the past in front of you? If you think its motivation to make the right choice then you’re wrong. The blood of Jesus covers all of our sins, and we are to leave that old man in the past and buried. Also, if we are to repent of any sins we do commit that is also covered – its part of the package. Many times when we find ourselves at the result of sin or poor decisions we want to hide or fix it. The truth is we are to run to God in those moments, repent and ask the Lord where to go next.
Instead of trying to control and manage your life we should let go. Over time we have put up so many walls from our childhood and environment we don’t even realize they are there. Just like that tree or building you have passed everyday on your way to work. Over time you don’t even notice that object there, but someone new to the area might point it out because to that new person it sticks out like a sore thumb.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that many times we think people, timing, or circumstances stand in the way of receiving the full blessings of God. The reality is that there is only one thing keeping from what we should be experiencing and, that is you. We need to learn to stop making decisions for ourselves to survive but spend time to get intimate with the Lord so we can hear what the Holy Spirit is saying is our next (correct) step or decision. Our Father is a gentleman and will not force or impose His will on us. We have the right to make that decision or not. What an awesome Father that He can still find ways to bless us to a degree in our attempts and trials.
Once we learn to get intimate, stop acting “crazy” (see definition above), and be free of past hurts and decisions, we can live free and blessed lives. I believe then we would be walking in true prosperity.
I urge all of you to take time from your busy life to stop controlling it and be led on how to properly walk it out.
Hallelujah, Praise you Lord, Thank you Jesus!!!
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Update 8-31-2006
Can you believe it is already the end of August?! Where has the time gone?
As for site updates I have pretty much removed all remains of the old site. The "Old Stuff" link has been updated to a new page that just lists my old messages. These messages are in PDF format so if you have lived in a cave or new to the internet you need to get Adobe Reader to view.
Approx a month ago, and shortly after my last post, after some brief time in prayer I felt the Lord gave me two words. Those two words were "get started". At the time there were a few things I had been believing God for so my first thought was, ok take a step of faith and expect those things to come as if I had them now, an attitude change. Under that thinking I kinda started to run with it and thought I had my next post to this site ready. It is funny how if you slow down and don't get too far ahead of God any word or in this case words that the Lord gives you can have a completely different meaning.
In my eagerness I was ready to go full steam ahead on those desires I have had and was planning on making steps towards them. Then certain circumstances brought to my attention that the "get started" was basically get started on changing your thinking because you're thinking small. God has a much bigger plan for me and I was forming in my mind what I would like and what would put me in my comfort zone.
It's
amazing how when we get a small piece of what God wants us to do we
sometimes take it and run. We really need to change our thinking to be ready
for what ever God asks you or puts on our heart. If God asked you to drop everything
and move to
God Bless!!
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Update 7-20-2006
I have added Krystal Meyers to the Links page. I had heard some of her music some tmie ago and finnaly purchased her CD approximately a month ago. I was pleased to find that I enjoy almost every song on her CD. I highly suggest this CD if you enjoy rock music and meaningful lyrics. One of my favorite tracks on her CD is "Reflections of you". The lyric I like the most in this song is as follows: "I'm seeing for the first time. The changes on the inside shining through. "
It has been a busy summer and I can't believe more than two months has past since my last post. For the first time I not only have been busy this summer with "stuff to do" but also taking time to enjoying it as well. It seems the past couple summers I had been grinding away at "what had to be done" so much that the season would just pass by.
I think even in working and striving to improve ourselves we don't take any down time to relax. We need to take time to let the work we have done kinda take affect and "wash over us". In a nutshell, take it in. In previous years I was so focused on where I want to be I sometimes missed what was occuring right in front of me. I can see that I am living in the harvest of previous work, effort, and decisions. That harvest is mostly good and some not so good in some respect.
I'm not sure if I have a clear point to this post so here's my attempt to wrap it up. There is nothing wrong in working hard toward a goal, just make sure it is a God given goal. If it's a God given goal the provision will be made available. It may not be easy but it will be possible. Given human nature, or at least mine, taking time in between the steps to relax and evaluate yourself is a good thing instead of rushing in towards your next step. Better to play catch-up than get too far ahead and mis-step down the wrong road.
God Bless!
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Update 5-6-2006
Site update: I have added three new entries to the "Links" page. Under ministries I have added a link to Bill Krause ministries. Under radio I added a link to Way-FM, and under musical artists I added a link to Nicole Nordeman's site. I have been blessed by all three of these since my last post.
Our church just hosted a conference and Bill Krause came to speak about honor. One scripture that he really brought out was Deuteronomy 5:16 where it talks about honoring your father and mother so that you may live long and it may go well with you. Actually, Deuteronomy is referencing Exodus 20:12. He really brought out through a series of similar scriptures that God had appointed your parents when you were young as authority over your life. With that authority they ad God inspired direction for your life. When you go against that authority something wrong will occur in your life. An impact statement he made was go back to your first major mistake in your life and that most likely will lead back to the first major decision you made against the better judgment of your parents.
Now keeping that same line of thought, everyone has at least one person of authority over you. If we are to be well in this world we are to honor that person. If that person is your pastor, give honor to that person. If the pastor asks you to do something you think isn't a good idea do it, not grudgingly but with the outlook that your pastor has heard from God and you are going to learn something. If you go into that situation with a good attitude you will walk away not only humble but with insight that you probably wouldn't of if you just did it to get out of it. The example Bill Krause gave was for instance you were asked to work in the nursery. If you were to go into that nursery with a good attitude to be a blessing and you were inspired to come up with a new type of diaper. Now that new diaper can make you millions. If you went into that same situation reluctant you would never see that million dollar opportunity. God puts opportunities in front of us all the time. It is up to you to take responsibility to hear from God when those present themselves.
These all lead back to having a continual relationship with God, not only time in the word and prayer but along time on-purpose hearing from God. This is an area I'm not proud to admit I need to work on. Life will always be busy and you can always find things that "need to get done" but, we need to on-purpose make time for God.
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Update 2-3-2006
Since I didn’t make the announcement yet, Happy New Year! Here we are already a little over a month into 2006 and time already seems to be flying by. I personally have been really busy with little time to myself. It’s Super Bowl weekend so I don’t plan on any huge projects in store. My wife and I are planning on a de-stress weekend. I highly recommend making time for one if desperately needed.
Things are starting to begin changing in both my life at home as well as work. I can just feel things are going in a new direction and that excites me. Change is good, even if it may not seem like it at the time. You don’t want to be stuck in any status quo but strive to find God’s best in whatever you do.
You
know the word depicts our life as just a vapor. The life span of a vapor doesn’t really leave
much time for anything. So I
want to bring across to you that what you do here on Earth for the
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Update 12-24-2005
I have added the links and contact pages to the site. I will eventually separate these updates into another page instead of filling up the main page. Until I get to that I will keep adding updates here. The links section is all I could come up with right now but will most likely add as I think of them. If you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to email me (email link now on Contact page!).
Well, it’s Christmas Eve and my family (wife and her parents) are in the other side of the house getting dinner ready. As we draw near to a close of 2005 I want to share on something that is on my heart. Mostly I put the pieces together while ironically watching a couple TV shows. Two shows that I don’t normally watch but for some reason found myself in front of the tube watching were Nanny 911 ( I thing that's the name ) and Dog Whisperer.
It is amazing that there two show keep finding material to continue airing. I have watched Nanny 911 twice now and both times ( I don't know why) I keep getting floored that parents don’t' know how to discipline their children. They ignore and avoid their children when they act out. Some husbands literally ignore their kids from a long day at work and expect the wife to do it all. I'm not going to share on how families should be structured but I want o use this to illustrate how we can ignore our spirit when it doesn't sound fun or exciting. If we ignore the inner man (where God talks to us) we will just keep doing things our way and eventually our flesh has turned into a screaming and yelling little brat who only wants its way. Just like children need discipline our flesh and soul need discipline. The word says to renew the spirit of our minds so we are not conformed to the world.
This was only enforced more when watching Dog Whisperer. During the episodes I watched the dog owners let their dogs rule the show and just tried to pacify them when they would act out. In one case the owner let their dog get so bad that the mail carrier wouldn't deliver to the whole street. Again if we let our soul do what our flesh wants (obviously opposite to our spirit or God's ways) we will have a dog (so to speak) so out of control it drives anything good off from coming in. It is amazing how the host showed the dogs who is the true dominant one and correcting improper behavior immediately and assertively. We need to be that brutal with our flesh. In the word Paul says he treated his flesh ruffle and also says no good thing dwells in his flesh.
It is so much clearer to me now that we need to take care of our soul just as much as filling our spirit. We need to renew the spirit of our minds (soul) to he word of God and take time to hear from God. Taking quiet time alone with God will make all the difference in the world. In the busy pace of life we need to slow down and take time out to spend quietly with God. Let that time set the tone for the rest of our week or day.
To all Merry Christmas!!
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Update 12-15-2005
As you can see I have uploaded some changes to the site design. Didn't realize until I uploaded this page how many links I really didn't need. Kinda looks a bit bare up there with only four links. I figure I will try to keep the site simple, not so cluttered compared to the earlier version of this site. If you haven't already checked, only two of the four links are actually wired up.
I want to share on one subject that has been preached on quite a bit at my church, and that is maturing the soul. As you know your soul consists of your mind, will, and emotions. Now the word says that the soul & spirit are as close knitted together as bone are marrow. The word also says that only the Word of God can separate the two. That is a pretty powerful statement and which is probably why the concept of soul & spirit can confuse some people. Anything that you put in you has to come through your soul before it gets down into your spirit man. So if we are not matured emotionally then we will not receive God's best spiritually. Emotional maturity and learning boundaries has been huge recently, next to revelations on joy. For the body of Christ to be the strong and mighty church we need to learn how to properly deal with each other. We need to have relationships so down pat that the world will be flocking to fill and overfill our churches because they want what we got.
I think I may have gotten a bit off track, most likely because it's late so I better make my point soon. I don't know about you but speaking for myself I know I have a strong relationship with my wife and am hungry and striving for God's best in my life. But (you the but was coming), certain things I have believing God for have not come to manifested yet because I am convinced that I need to mature soulishly in some areas. The word says the willing and obedient eat the good of the land. Also, look at the life of David. God just kept blessing him because he held on the truth that God is good. I think most of us get caught up in our own difficulties and goals and forget to lay everything down and give to God. I have been learning of proper boundaries in my marriage and communication which has only made things better. I am excited to see what God has for my family in 2006.
Until I ramble again, God Bless and have a blessed holiday!!!
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Update 11-15-2005
Well, as you can see the site hasn’t changed much except that I have started putting updates. Right now some of the right side navigation works but I hope to upload a redesign (w/ working navigation) within the next few months. Until then I will periodically add updates. If there is anything new you would like to see or miss from the old site (as if there are more than a hand full that actually visited) please email me at spiritualcoffee@hotmail.com.
Here is a link to the old messages I had posted in the past. It is a portion of the old site so all of the right side navigation may not work.
So
since this is my site I’m going to share a little bit. Recently our pastor has really been
teaching on joy and how to have it operating in our lives. I especially have
been trying to make a practice of having joy work in my life. The word
characterizes the
In James it says to count it all joy when you fall into a temptation, test, or trial. That scripture use to puzzle me a bit. How, and much more why would I be happy or joyful when I’m going through something of that sorts. You would think you need to get serious, go to that throne boldly and get un-happy until you see that victory. Although you do need to go to the throne of Grace boldly when you have a need you don’t have to be unhappy or not have joy while doing it. Faith is believing you have it now, not when you see it. So we need to rejoice and laugh at the devil because God has met all your needs already. He knew you were going to go through that trial so your only job is to rejoice and be HAPPY that you have been redeemed from any curse. So when it looks the worst and in-spite of feelings you need to get happy and keep believing you have it now!
So I have been taking time to rejoice in the Lord when I have a spare few minutes. Now my schedule is pretty erratic so sometimes it may be in the car on the way to work or even while working when there isn’t anyone around. I believe that only builds your faith even more so you can get even stronger on the inside. We need to get past our feelings and flesh because they will only keep us from God’s great plan for our lives.
Well, til next post or upload God Bless and Rejoice!!!
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Update 10-19-2005
It has been a while since I have updated this site and I apologize for that. I have had every intention to update this site with a re-design but the busy pace of life has not left much me much time to devote here. I plan to change the current design and format of this site.
In the past I have posted monthly messages but in Spiritual Coffee's next version I will probably not post as often. When I initially put up the site I was looking for an outlet to express my faith and also had a lot more time on my hands. Currently God has given me so much in my life I want to be a good steward of it spending my time wisely.
I just returned from a conference where I walked away greatly blessed and with some great revelations. I was able to enjoy two new ministries that I haven't heard much of until last week. Both Terry Matthews & Mark Hankins ministries were awesome and I greatly recommend them if you want to know about the move of the spirit.
One thing that I walked away with from that conference is to have joy working in my life. So many times when I have been believing God for something I would think I need to get serious and get ready for war against the devil or the circumstance before me. But if you read the word it says to be of good cheer because Jesus has overcome the world and to have joy unspeakable working in your life. Our part is to believe, take a step of faith, and rejoice while doing it. The word says when you fall into a temptation or trial count it all joy. So from this point forward I am going to rejoice! - hallelujah! - praise the lord! - thank you Jesus!!!!
God Bless You All!!
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