As for Me and My House - John Waller

Summer is almost over

    

I can't believe we are nearing the end of August...the home stretch of summer so to speak. At least I've been to the Island twice this summer and the last visit was a splendid respite with my parents, enjoying their company and the views of solitude. 

I am rejoicing at God's goodness!! He has never failed me! God has been speaking to me lately from the book of Samuel and today specifically from 1 Samuel 17:32, "And David said to Saul, let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

The last 3 years have been a test of my confidence and trust in my God. And I have to admit that I thought when I started this latest round of the Refiners' fire that my confidence was secure. But I have found that there were cracks in my armour. God had a plan though to build up my confidence in Him. To shore up my walls! I cannot say that I enjoyed any of the heat, but I did enjoy the times in His presence. The times where I was brought to my knees because I had no where else to go. Those times helped me to develop a reliance on Him. Each new day brought a renewed sense of trust in the King of Kings. I did not have to fear because I was beginning to know the One who held me in the palm of His hand. I could face the Philistine in my life because I now had a confidence in who I was: the daughter of the Most High, Who would never let me go into battle alone.

As I look at David's life up to this point, he had never been trained as a soldier, but the spiritual preparation he had in the wilderness while faithfully tendering his father’s flock had built in him great faith in the Almighty God. This young lad was ready to fight the battle from which a whole army ran away; he was ready to do what a whole battalion of soldiers could not dare. What was his secret? David had something that was lacking in the army of Israel. His confidence in God was intact.

The cause of every spiritual defeat is heart failure! By heart failure I do not mean in the physical sense, but the failure of the inner man to hold unto the Almighty God in confidence and faith. If there is anything the devil is out to achieve, it is to erode our confidence in God. This explains the reason why the scripture commands: ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward’, Hebrews 10:35. We will remain winners as long as our hearts hold unto God in confidence and faith. If our hearts do not sink, we will continue to stay afloat no matter how turbulent the storm is.

We can avoid heart failure by:
1. Having a right relationship with God: The foundation for inner peace is to have a right relationship with our maker. We can never know true peace unless our relationship with God is right. David’s secret of success was that he had a right relationship with God.

2. Feeding your heart with God’s word: The only source of unfailing inner strength is God’s word. The more of God’s Word we store in our hearts [inner man] the more strength is available to us to stand upon when other things fail.

3. Shut your heart against negative thoughts and ideas: Words are seed. If you fill your heart with evil reports and negative thoughts, you will find it difficult to triumph because the evil reports will always be repeating themselves to you. You must shut your heart against negative reports from people around you.

4. And always remember the great things that the Lord has done in your life. Each time we remember the great things that God has done in our lives before, our faith and confidence in Him is boosted. David recalled how God delivered a lion and a bear into his hand in the wilderness and this became a source of unwavering confidence to him. If the Lord did it before, He can do it again; if He did it for others, He will do it for you!

I know the battle is not over, if anything the trials on this earth will intensify. That is why it is so important now to shore up any cracks in our armour. Build up your confidence now, know the "One" intimately who will continue to shelter you. That is Christ Jesus! You can trust Him! There is no Philistine or giant that can defeat you when you go out with confidence in The Captain of the Hosts. You will go out with joy and be led forth in peace.

Praying that you will be strengthened today by the love of the Savior! Spend time at the beginning of each day getting to know him intimately. The days ahead will require it!

Royal wedding

April 29, 2011 was a beautiful day for a wedding. As I watched Prince William and Kate Middleton say their vows to one another I was overwhelmed with joy that these two people were marrying for love. It was hard not to think back to 30 years earlier when Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took their vows together. There were some similarities between the two weddings but more differences."I loved what the Bishop had to say as he spoke words of wisdom to William and Kate:
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future. William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each other.The spiritual life grows as love finds its center beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this: the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life. Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform so long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads on to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace."

My own prayer for the Royal couple would be that from day 1 they would invite Jesus to be Lord of their marriage. That daily they would invite Him into their lives and that He would fill them afresh with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. That together they would lay their lives down in the service of the true King of Kings. May the joy of the Lord be their strength and as one day they will rule as King and Queen that they would look to Jesus for wisdom and guidance in every thing they say and do. God bless William and Kate!

I'm not superwoman!

Monday... the start of a brand new week. With my husband away in Germany on a course, I have the responsibility of driving everyone everywhere on top of all the other things that I am involved in. But somehow last week I scheduled way to much in and everything was overlapping. Actually I didn't end up making it to everything I was committed to. I felt bad but there was absolutely nothing I could do. I thought I had learned to say this small two letter word "no". But somehow I think I had forgotten. Monday was a meeting in the city to make a Go Missions presentation. But at the same time I had a scheduled worship practise for our upcoming Women's Conference. I thought I could attend one and just be late to the other. But the first ran late and I completely did not make the other. Story of my life!!!. Tuesday I attended a public submission evening for our city school board. That was a long hard evening hearing the pleas of a hundred parents to save their schools. I really felt for them but I was there hoping that our own school would be saved from the clutches of budget cuts and politics. But after listening to the next mornings news, I found out that our school did make the review list to be reconfigured from a P-9 school to a P-6 school. Now the fight really begins. Wednesday I had to meet with a young lady regarding the dance that was taking place at the conference. Somehow I did not receive any emails regarding our practises so I missed out totally on a practise at the same time I was at the board meeting. Thursday I was busy running around completing last minute preps for the Amazing race I was organizing for the conference and then a prayer meeting in the chapel. And Friday of course the SOON women's conference began. We had an amazing weekend with Yanna Conway and Nancy Miller speaking to us regarding The Bride of Christ. Both ladies are such gifted speakers. The weekend left me at the altar reevaluating some things in my life. Sunday morning I was singing a special number for our service. It was a beautiful song called "You Gave your Life Away" by Kathryn Scott. I am sure the devil did not want me to sing it or at least get me flustered because when I showed up for the sound check they did not realize I was singing. Then worship practise ran late and prayer started immediately. In the back of my mind I am frantic as to how I am going to get back home in time to bring my own kids to church. So the sound check began shortly after 10. I quickly drove home and picked up the kids after seeing their texts saying "Where are you?". The song went beautifully during the service. So all my worrying about it did not take away from the Holy Spirit moving through it. At the moment I finished singing I felt this extreme sense of gratefulness to the Lord for helping me through one of the busiest weeks I have faced in a long time. Even when I came home I went to my room and just continued to say Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to the Lord for never leaving my side. I realized that He gave me the strength that was needed to get through. It was certainly nothing I had done. I once again was in awe of the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Go Team Poland

In June 2010, I had the priviledge of leading Go Team Poland to Kozalin,Poland where we put on a children's program during their annual church conference. Our own Pastor Ted Yuke and his wife Gloria were among the speakers. Just travelling with our pastor was priviledge enough!! We were young and old alike that spent five months praying and believing for God to move on the nation of Poland and this thriving church called Water of Life Christian Center. The senior pastor is Pastor Paul Godawa. What a warm and dedicated family of believers we encountered there. We immediately felt warmly embraced, and over the course of the next 2 weeks it began to feel like home. My contact person was Betty Klim. I got to know Betty and her family during the planning stages of our trip. And to this day still feel a strong connection and bond which is only possible through the Holy Spirit.
We fell in love instantly with the children we encountered in this scenic town along the baltic sea. Their faces have been forever etched in our minds as we spent many hours laughing with them, playing games, painting their faces and crafting with them. Even the language barrier was no match for the love we felt for them after our two weeks.
And as a team, we spent days getting to know one another. From our flights, to dining together, to our devotion times and bonding over ice cream and coffees at our favorite rest stop!!
I would travel with this group of believers anywhere!! Enjoy just some of the pictures from our adventures.
Pastor Paul and Joanna Godawa


Go team Poland 2010

Glorious Day (Living He loved me) ~Casting Crowns

Persistent Faith

Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Matthew 15:25,26

The woman in this story was from the land of Canaan. The Canaanites were a people marked for divine judgment because of their rampant idolatry. That is why Jesus made the distinction between the Canaanites and the people of Israel, to whom He had been sent. I love this portion of scripture because of the mother’s unwillingness to give up. She came, she cried out, and her persistent faith paid off. How often do we come and cry out to Jesus under the influence of the spirit of “instant gratification.” How many of us, if in the same predicament, would have given up and walked away? I am learning daily to have this persistent faith. NEVER GIVE UP!

We must all pursue Jesus as this woman did. She openly acknowledged her personal need for mercy, saying first, “Have mercy on me,” and then, “My daughter is severely demon-possessed” |(v. 22, NKJV). Our nation, churches and families desperately need revival, but we need to be aware also that we personally are in need of revival. We need to humbly cry out to Jesus, “Revive me, Lord. Refresh my soul Holy Spirit.”

When the mother cried out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!” she recognized Jesus for who He was—The Messiah. With her words, she crowned Him Supreme Authority! Those weren’t the words of someone who merely hoped Jesus could help her; they were the proclamation of a mother in need of a miracle from the throne of God. Whatever your needs may be, remember Who it is you are coming to, crying out to and believing in!

Rita Springer - He Reigns

Lifting up my eyes!

Happy 2011. It has been quite awhile since I last wrote, so I am starting afresh today with a word God dropped in my heart for such a time as this. I just read Genesis 13 and it was talking about Abraham and Lot. There was just not enough room for their herds to graze. So they decided to separate. Abraham told Lot to decide first where he wanted to reside. So Lot chose all the good land and left Abraham to have the inferior portion. At that point the Lord said to Abraham, "Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for All the land you see I will give to you and your posterity forever." Abraham could have been upset or disappointed with the portion he received but his focus was on God not on where he would be living.
Instead of becoming discouraged, depressed, angry or bitter when people disappoint us; God wants us to lift up our eyes, look around and trust Him to lead us to an even better situation. He wants us to look around and count our blessings instead of focusing on what we do not have. He wants us to fix our eyes on Him, not on the work of the enemy; because He has plans to bless us and bring increase.
The scripture also says to lift up NOW your eyes. Don't wait! When the enemy comes at you or causes you to turn your gaze away from the Lord, lift up your eyes now. Not a day from now, not even a week. The enemy wants to get you so off focus that your situation becomes worse, or you make decisions based on how you feel and not on what the Lord tells you to do. Press in now to the Lord. I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: from whence shall my help come? Psalm 121:1
Lord I pray that I would afix my eyes on you this year and not allow the enemy to steal away my gaze from You and what You want to do in my life!