Ish - Our Bridegroom, Our Husband

This week our Name of God is Ish, which is translated more than 1600 times in the Old Testament. Of those 1600 times, there are 69 specific instances when this word is translated Husband. Our Royal Bridegroom. Our Husband. Our God.

Many Scriptures came to mind as I prepared to write this post. And as I considered the undertaking of this particular name I heard God very gently and sweetly say, "Write this one from Your heart. Tell them who I've been to you, Beloved."

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Tears sting my eyes as I sit at my kitchen table with a sense of awe is overflowing in my heart while I consider all the things I can tell you about my Royal Husband, my Bridegroom. But Scripture does it well and I want this more than anything to be a confirmation of who God says He is and how I have found that to be true, than to state anything that might be stretching or turning the truth in any form or fashion.

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A word about this "Key Scripture" from Psalm 45. That Scripture is more literally translated, "The King is enthralled (desires) with your beauty." That word translated "royal husband" in the New Living Translation is actually Melek as we studied two weeks ago, but I wanted you to picture God as Your Husband and I think that this Scripture gives us a beautiful picture of God's appreciation for you as His Bride.

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I remember the day I came to acknowledge Christ as my Bridegroom, the first day I experienced His Love washing over me in a deeply intimate form and fashion. I realized in hindsight that the Holy Spirit had come upon me in a powerful way that day, but I had no idea what that would mean until years later as I pursued the Baptism of the Holy Spirit --- to understand it as God speaks of it in Scripture, to embrace it as a benefit of my calling and to walk fully empowered by the grace and beauty of such a completely satisfying gift. Some of us may acknowledge this type of God experience in different words, but in truth it is the fullest expression and experience of God that I've ever known in my life and it brought great power to me.

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I was at a conference for Pregnancy Resource Center workers where Andy Merritt, the gentleman who pretty much founded and set the model for the PRC as it exists in America today shared the Keynote Message on Saturday, May 3, 2003. His message "So You Could Be His Bride..." Mr. Merritt thoroughly and in great, painstaking detail described a literal word picture of the agony of Christ's arrest, trial, scourging and Crucifixion - it was quite frankly the Passion of the Christ in graphic description. He would describe a snapshot of the painful torment of our Savior and conclude the picture each time with these words: And He did it so YOU could be His Bride.

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After some twenty or so snapshots that ended in "And He did it so YOU could be His Bride..." I was not only weeping, I was face down at the front of the auditorium surrendering myself as His Bride. The next thirty-six hours of my life were life changing. That night I called my father and made not waste of time getting to him to tell him all about my experience with God. My father understood exactly what I was saying as I enthusiastically shared, "Daddy, God showed me today that until I have this love...." Motioning vertically between the sky and my heart, "This love..." Motioning horizontally indicating relationships with people, "...Will never be right."

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I cried the entire drive back home that night and woke up the next morning with fresh awareness of my extreme encounter with Christ. As I bathed and dressed for church my heart, my mind and my entire being was completely centered on who Christ is and just glorying in the fact that He had chosen me.

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My poor husband walked into the room while I was in the midst of one of these glory moments and tears were flowing from my eyes as I tried to dab a mascara wand to paint the black creamy liquid on my lashes ... It was really a useless endeavor that day. I can only say now that as I looked in the mirror I felt as if I would burst and also that I was glowing from the inside out.

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My husband asked me, "Are you okay?"

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"I'm better than okay." I gushed. "Scott, the only way I can describe it is that the scales have fallen off and all I can do is see God everywhere."

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I thought perhaps I would be able to garner some control and sensible expression of my emotions during worship service that day, but no... I really couldn't. By the second song, I was in a FULL. ON. UGLY. CRY. I mean NOT. A. DROP. OF. MAKEUP. was left on my face at the end.

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Then our pastor got up and as he spoke it felt as if the floodgates of heaven poured out into our sanctuary that day. I stopped trying to prevent myself from crying and just gave into to the wonderful, joyful tears of love that were coursing down my cheeks. Our pastor spoke words that directly addressed my heart cry to God the previous few weeks. I mean nearly word for word.

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At the end of the service I went down and asked for prayer... In the midst of my sobbing, laughing request. I must have looked hysterical now that I think of it - I huffed and sputtered, "I... don't know what's happened... but it's .... like all I c-can do is... See God Everywhere. I-I'm j-just so H-HAPPY."

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The worship pastor came to me after the service and said, "I couldn't help but notice you during worship, are you okay?"

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I nodded and muttered, "I'm just happy, that's all."

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He gave me a strange look and nodded. "Okay..."

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Since that time, I have discovered over and over again... That God is my husband and when I love my own husband out of that pure love that was overflowing in my heart that day, all is right with my world.

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At Gateway Church, there is a strong emphasis on male leadership in the home and the church. They have a vision of empowering men to be the "Priest, Prophet and King" of their homes. Our church has women who pastor select areas of ministry in our church, but the eldership and governing of the church is a council of godly male ministers and businessmen - a pretty even split. I honor the role that Gateway encourages the men to take in our homes. I believe it is key to our children growing into healthy, strong spiritual adults.

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God showed me through Gateway that one of the ways my husband is the Priest of our home is that he is the covering for our home. But, it is not my job to make him live up to that role. It is my job to support and encourage him in that role. How? Prayer, and trusting God to be my ultimate covering for my children and our home when I don't see my husband owning that responsibility.

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He also showed me that I need to understand my husband's vision and goals for our family. Even if it is very limited, I need to come in line with what God is directing my husband to do and allow my husband to begin to walk in the role of Prophet in our home. Even if that means that I don't see any fruit of him being a Prophet, I will trust God to be faithful to me in the plans and direction of our family EVEN IF MY HUSBAND DOES NOT LIVE UP TO HIS END OF THE DEAL.

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And, finally - I am to treat my husband as a King, in deferrence to my Lord, not because I am to worship Him and be subject to him, but because by honoring my husband - I honor my King. He is the "Lord" of our home in the same manner that Sarah called Abraham Lord and was honored for her submission. I recently heard a precious man of God say, "Subjection is when you come under authority because you have to or are forced to... Submission is what you willingly give up to place yourself under the authority that has been placed over you."

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Because of Eve's role in the fall, women are not entrusted with the responsibility of decision making and vision casting in the family - why? We are vulnerable to deception. We should always check out visions and plans with our husband to remain in line with God's will. If the truth is told, I am grateful for that.

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Pastor Jimmy Evans says that women were given an extra layer of accountability to men because of the lead Eve took in the sin in the Garden, but on the other hand, Adam was given an extra layer of responsibility because of the lead he deferred to his wife in the sin in the Garden. He went on to teach that when men are living in rebellion it often looks like "passive indifference" while women live in rebellion by being "willfully independent." As those words passed through his lips I felt God tap me on the shoulder and say, "Listen up, this is for you." Willfully independent described my entire life!

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Recently God has really been dealing with me about how I do not trust Him. He has been stirring up areas of my life where I live making my plans, manipulating my circumstances and then asking Him to bless it. One of those areas is finances. So much so that I have made an incredible mess of our finances over the years. I am constantly and shallowly manipulating and "robbing Peter to pay Paul" so much so that I miss God's blessing every time. No area of my life has been more out of line with my royal husband and my earthly one than finances.

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In July I had a moment where I was calculating our debt and what we would need to pay all our current, past due and creditory obligations by the end of the year. The answer I came up with from the "ha, ha" calculator in my head was $30,000. I was contemplating trying to find myself a $30,000 a year job when I sensed God saying, "Wait... What are you doing? More money will not solve your problem, what you need is more faith and more responsibility. Why don't you ask me what I would have you do instead of making YOUR plans and THEN asking me to bless it?"

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I said Okay.

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I confessed the horrible stewardship of our finances and took full responsibility. I confessed that I didn't see a way for our budget to work and for us to ever get out of debt. I told God that short of Him depositing the money in our account I felt like it was hopeless so I needed Him to show me how it would work.
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A few weeks later God began to show me how the Spirit of Mammon was ruling my life and the life of our family and household. I heard a message on breaking that Spirit within a few hours of that revelation. As I made out the tithe I felt strongly led to go down and ask for prayer over the offering and to confess that I needed the Spirit of Mammon broken off of our home and life. I asked my husband to go with me, but he declined. I was crushed. I didn't sense it was my place to go without him. So, I asked him, "Do I have permission to go down without you?"
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He nodded his agreement. "If you need to..."
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In that moment I saw how my handling of our finances had dishonored my Lord and my husband. How my husband's heart had turned hard toward God in the matter and it was partly my responsibility. I was so broken. I confessed everything, and followed the example the pastor had given of asking for a spiritual harvest in place of our tithe. I asked for one hundred faithful generations of good stewards. I will never know how that turns out this side of the veil, but I know this - My God is faithful, My husband provides - and He honors a heart that repents and comes before Him broken and seeking His will and I believe it is His will that the next hundred generations and more will be faithful stewards to His Kingdom.
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What followed was strange by explanation at best. Suddenly, I lost all desire to shop. What I would willingly spend $5.00 on weeks before had become an outrageously extravagant expense. I just refused to give into that kind of wasteful spending. At the same time, the regular overtime my husband had been getting at work that was just making our lives barely comfortable disappeared. Not that his role or status at work changed - just the on call work that he had been doing regularly this summer had come to a "natural" halt. In other words, there were no damaged or cut cables to repair.
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I was worried, but I kept telling myself God is faithful even when I am not. I just kept holding on and praying in faith believing we would have what we asked for. Then Hurricane Ike reared his ugly head. "An Act of God?" Not an act of judgment, but a natural phenomenon that wrought havoc and destruction... On Thursday before Hurricane Ike made landfall my husband's supervisor called and asked him if he wanted to volunteer for the hurricane? My husband said, "Not during the hurricane, but I will go down after and help clean things up."
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I really didn't think Ike would come on as strong as it did. I believed it would be like Rita had been a few years back when my husband went down and helped out for a couple of weeks of decent overtime. Then when Monday passed and we got no call, I thought he had been passed over. Oh ye of little faith.
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On Tuesday afternoon my husband called and said, "We're leaving in the morning." Then I started with, "Oh great, now we have to support two households while he is away..." and he was stressing while he was packing. It was nuts. He left that next morning and called me that evening. "Early reports are that it could be six months or more of work."
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He is working 12 and 13 hour days right now. Yesterday, I began to calculate his next paycheck based on the hours he is working and it actually is more than three times what he normally makes in a two week period. We could literally pay all our monthly expenses out of one check.
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The net of the check is more than 10% of what I asked God for this summer to pay our debts. If my husband is out of town for 24 weeks like some are projecting... that will be 12 paychecks of similar standing. Think about that for a minute. I declared our need at approximately $30,000 and if this check is more than 10%... Do the math...
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A King provides for, protects and acts in the best interest of his subjects. A father provides for, protects and acts in the best interest of his family. But, a Husband is one with His wife, He shares everything with her and promises everything to her on their wedding day. Christ is our royal husband - in Jewish tradition, at the wedding feast (maybe the betrothal feast) the bridegroom pours a cup of wine and drinks from it extending it to his bride and if she drinks it means she accepts his offer of marriage. They become one by that act. We become one with our Bridegroom when we accept His cup of sacrifice - the communal cup of the blood. He calls us His own, He sacrificed all to attain us. He loves us with an unfailing, unending love. He provides only the best for us and we don't have to worry that some day He will put us out by divorce. And the best part... When we fail Him, He pursues us. How beautiful is that?
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As I read through Song of Songs recently I realized something about this relationship to Christ as our groom. Now this is a pencil sketch kind of realization, not a firm doctrine... But, I think it bears witness with truth. We are promised the role of co-heir with Christ as we have been adopted by spiritual covenant and blood atonement into the family of God at salvation. Yet, we would indeed be considered "second" sons and not equal to Christ. I realize God's economy is different, but here is the thing - in our economy now a woman is the primary and sole heir to her husband's estate unless they elect to otherwise surrender that right as a couple. God says that when we are united in marriage - the two become one flesh. When we are united with Christ through Salvation - the two become one Spirit. Here is how I see that inheritance - the way we are eligible for the full portion - the double portion as a first born heir - is through the marriage covenant of the Lamb. It was His plan to unite us to draw parallels with our everyday lives and prove to us how He provides, how He loves and what His true intentions are by sharing with us the ordinary in extraordinary ways.
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He is our Husband. The term husband comes from the word, Husbandry. That word is literally, "caretaker" it is a caretaker in the sense that His role is to place us in and to sustain an environment where we will grow into and reach our full potential that He created us for. Live in His will for You as His Bride. Embrace the marriage covenant and know that He pursues you, He loves you and He is enthralled with your beauty.
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This week, I am not going to post a Chapter of Scripture for reading. I am going to give you an assignment: Read all of the Book of Hosea and then all of the book of Song of Songs. Personalize those Scriptures and find out what God has to say to you about being His Bride. These are treasures you will never forget!
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Love You all Much. Many blessings.

CODE WORD: Milkshake

This is Brittany... my eldest. She has met a young man named Stephan who is going to pick her up from work and take her out for ice cream tonight.

So she called me a little while ago and said, "Mom, Stephan is coming to pick me up and we are going out for some ice cream."

"Okay. Who's Stephan?"

"My new friend, I told you about him."

"Oh. Okay."

"But, I called to let you know I might need a 'milkshake.'"

I had to wait a minute and let my brain understand what she was trying to tell me. My mental file search option was rolling through my brain looking for items marked Brittany and Milkshake.

Then she said it again and it finally clicked. "Milkshake."

A few years ago when she began dating we developed a code word, a nonsense word so if she called to tell me "I'm at ________________ with __________________ and I need a milkshake." That I would come and pick her up right away no questions asked.

So ... we agreed since they were going out for ice cream that she should call and say, "Hey Mom, we're at Sonic and I wanted to know if you'd like a milkshake."

OPERATION: Ditch My Date - CODE WORD: Milkshake....

Mom's on call - And awaiting further instructions.

And, BTW, this message will self-destruct in 30 seconds... (Not really, but I've always wanted to say that.)

**UPDATE**

OPERATION: Ditch My Date - A No Go, I repeat a No Go.

She made it home safe and sound without any rescue attempts by Covert Dating Ops Agent Mom. She did however get a text message while she was with him that read:

"OPERATION: Ditch My Date - CODE WORD: Milkshake activated. Agent Mom standing by awaiting furthing instructions. This message will self destruct in 30 seconds."

She said she had a hard time explaining why she was busting a gut laughing. I called her a few minutes later to see if she was okay and she said, yeah - I can't reply because that message is going to self destruct!

40 Days of Prayer

Click on the picture above to go to the "I Live Values" website.

"Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

2 Chronicles 6:40 (NIV)

Solomon's heart cry to God during his reign as King of Israel.

If you carefully read the Old Testament you will find that most of the times the great movement of God among His people occurred because someone went face down or kneeling before Him in prayer. Read on...

God's response to Solomon's heart cry...

"14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (NIV)

The book of James tells us that the prayers of the righteous are prevailing - they avail much - and are effective. We must be faithful to the call upon our nation right now to go face down before God and seek Him in national repentance, national fervor, a national heart cry.

George Barna, founder of the Barna Group, who does extensive research in religious trending both nationally and internationally has the following report posted at his website.

Here are the statistical reports from the Barna Group on Born Again Christians:

In Barna Research Group studies, born again Christians are not defined on the basis of characterizing themselves as "born again" but based upon their answers to two questions. The first is "have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today?" If the respondent says "yes," then they are asked a follow-up question about life after death. One of the seven perspectives a respondent may choose is "when I die, I will go to Heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior." Individuals who answer "yes" to the first question and select this statement as their belief about their own salvation are then categorized as "born again."

Beliefs

Compared to 72% of all adults, 92% of born again Christians believe "the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches." (2007)

Three-quarters of born again Christians (74%) believe they "personally have a responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs" compared to 52% of all adults. (2007)

Nearly all born again Christians (99%) say their religious faith is very important in their life, compared to 87% of all adults. (2007)

Half of born again Christians (46%) agree that Satan is "not a living being but is a symbol of evil." (2007)

37% of born agains believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven. (2007)

26% of born agains agree that "while he lived on earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people," compared to 41% of all adults. (2007)

Born again Christians are more likely than non-born again individuals to accept moral absolutes. Specifically, 36% of born agains said they believe in moral absolutes, compared to just 16% among non-born agains. (2006)

How Many

Looking across the past decade we find the following percentages of born again Christians:

2007 - 42% 2006 - 45% 2005- 40% 2004-38% 2002-40% 2001- 41% 2000- 41% 1999- 40% 1998- 39% 1997- 43% 1996-39% 1995-35% 1994- 36% 1993-36% 1992- 40% 1991- 35%

There are approximately 101 million born again Christians. (2006)

Who

Residents of the South are more likely than average to be classified as born again Christians. More than half of those living in the South (53%) are classified as born agains, compared to 45% of individuals who live in the Midwest, 34% of those living in the West, and 29% of individuals who live in the Northeast. (2007)

Half of all born again adults (50%) are married. (2007)

Protestant church attenders are more than twice as likely than are Catholic church attenders to be born again Christians (61% to 26%, respectively). (2007)

Religious Activities

More than three out of five born agains (62%) have read from the Bible in the past week compared with 42% of all adults. (2007)

59% of born agains attended church in the last week, compared to 43% of all adults. (2007)

Born agains are more likely than the average adult to have volunteered their time to help their church in the past week (32% to 22%, respectively). (2007)

Non-evangelical Born Agains

35% of the adult population is born again, but not evangelical. (2007)

86% are registered to vote. (2007)

65% likelihood of voting, compared to the national average of 67% among registered voters. (2004)

36% are politically conservative. (2007)

35% is associated with the Republican Party, while an even greater percentage is aligned with the Democratic Party 42%. (2007)

So what exactly does this mean? We need to be in prayer. Here's why:

George Barna also reports the following about the Generational Differences that exist in the lives of born again Christians:

The statistics and analysis in this archive come from national surveys conducted by Barna Research.

For more information about generational differences, be sure to check out the related resources and news releases featured on this page. Also, watch for new information to be added to this archive in the months to come.

Definition

Mosaics - those born between 1984 and 2002

Buster - those born between 1965 and 1983

Boomer - those born between 1946 and 1964

Builders - those born between 1927 and 1945

Senior - those born in 1926 and earlier

Activities

Mosaics are less likely than any other generation to volunteer time to their church (12% of Mosaics report volunteering). Conversely, 23% of Busters, 29% of Boomers, 34% of Elders

(Builders and Seniors) have volunteered at a church in the past week. (2006)
Small group participation appears to be positively correlated with age, with 26% of Elders, 24% of Boomers, 19% of Busters and 20% of Mosaics reporting that they participated in a small group in the past week. (2006)

Compared to 60% of Elders who have a "quiet time" during the week, 54% of Boomers, 39% of Busters and 35% of Mosaics do the same. (2006)

33% Mosaics, 43% of Busters, 49% of Boomers, 53% of Elders attend church on a given Sunday. (2006)

In a typical week, 32% of Mosaics, 42% of Busters, 47% of Boomers, 58% of Elders (Builders and Seniors combined) read the Bible. (2006)

Mosaics are the age group least likely than any other age group to pray to God. In a given week, we found that 65% of Mosaics, 82% of Busters, 90% of Boomers, 88% of Elders (Builders and Seniors) report praying to God. (2006)

Faith

Boomers emerge as more likely and Mosaics as less likely than any other generation to be born again (33% of Mosacis, 38% of Busters, 53% of Boomers are born again, compared to 48% of Elders). (2006)

Mosaics are the least likely age group to indicate that faith is a very important part of their life. Only 51% of Mosaics say their faith is very important in their life, compared with 62% of Busters, 73% of Boomers and 79% of Elders. (2006)

61% of Mosaics, 67% of Busters, 77% of Boomers, 74% of Elders believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator that rules the world today. (2006)

Self-Descriptions

Busters are more likely than the other generations to be searching for meaning in life: 44% of

Busters compared to 32% of all others are searching for their purpose in life. (2001)

Busters are the generation most likely to feel "too busy." Compared to 53% of Busters who maintain that they are too busy, 49% of Boomers, 32% of Builders and 27% of Seniors feel the same. (2001)

Older individuals are also more likely than younger individuals to describe themselves as a "born again Christian." 49% Seniors and 47% of Builders call themselves born again, compared to 42% of Boomers and 31% of Busters. (2001)

Financial comfort appears to come with age. We found that 38% of Busters say they are personally struggling with finances, compared to the 32% of Boomers, 23% of Builders, and 20% of Seniors. (2001)

Busters are almost twice as likely as are Seniors to indicate that they are stressed out (41% to 22%, respectively). Likewise, 32% of Boomers and 27% of Builders said that "stressed out" is an accurate description of them. (2001)

And when it comes to Goals and Priorities, George Barna's Group found the following information to be the trend:

The statistics and analysis in this archive come from national surveys conducted by Barna Research.

For more information about Americans’ goals and priorities, be sure to check out the related resources and news releases featured on this page. Also, watch for new information to be added to this archive in the months to come.
U.S. adults

44% of adults say that having a satisfying family life is their highest priority in life. (2005)

18% of people said that completely understanding and carrying out the principles of their faith was the highest priority in their lives. (14% of men versus 18% of women) (2005)

We have become a society driven by our wants and desires rather than our faith in the One True God - Yahweh Elohim. The God of the Bible, Maker of heaven and earth. We have traded our status as the most prosperous, God-honoring, free nation in the world to one of a bankrupt (financially and morally), dishonorable, mentally enslaved nation in the free world. We sell our soul for the things of this world - the "American Dream" they call it - of the bigger better house, the bigger better car, the bigger better job, the bigger better education, and more importantly for the Washington D. C. crowd the "Bigger is Better Government." The church has settled for the role of secondary, crisis intervention mode and has been neutralized by new age relativism and the imploding of the American Church as it is denominationally at war with itself. Political talking heads know how to speak our language.

They memorize Scriptures and shake hands with preachers.

They speak from pulpits about humanitarian issues without recognizing that God through His Son, Jesus Christ is the true solution to the human condition. We give them that role, we applaud them for it and then we wonder why it is that when they get into office they don't do what they say they will do from the pulpits of our churches.

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American politicians have sought to be the "Savior" of the world and have failed miserably at honoring the values - JUDEO-CHRISTIAN values - that this nation was founded on - so founded on that the founding fathers wrote it into every document, opened every governmental session by ininvoking not only the name of Jesus but the Name of Jehovah as well. Most of the founding fathers were Bible scholars and teachers and developed a Bible institute to perpetuate these values. As recently as the 1950s the Supreme Court ruled that taking prayer out of our schools would not only be unthinkable, but it would be detrimental to the core values and nature of our society.

Since prayer was taken out of schools, and has been challenged as "Constitutional" - a Constitution which would by the new definitions rendered by the Supreme Court be unconstitutional. The First Amendment says nothing of Separation of Church and State, and was intended to ensure that the government did not establish a "state religion" as was observed in England and many European countries at the time. (Check your history - there was a great war between Church of England and the Catholic Church that ended in a power struggle before the Golden Age of Queen Elizabeth) This amendment has been redefined to mean "Freedom from Religion" and it inherently means "separation of church and state." Okay, so the "Freedom from Religion" connotation comes from agnostics and atheists who are a small portion of our society with an apparent big voice in Washington via our Supreme Court and liberal politicians. Separation of church and state is found no where in the Constitution... as the first Amendment reads:

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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

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So why are we as Christians laying down our rights --- our Constitutional, first amendment right. Children in this country are being persecuted for their Christian beliefs by being labelled offensive for wearing t-shirts proclaiming the name of Christ, for praying over their meals before they eat or talking or displaying their religious faith in classroom assignments. WHY? Because someone said that their "free exercise" of their religion infringes on someone elses right to be "free of it." WHAT? Where does the Constitution read that way?

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As a nation, we have stopped calling on God individually and corporately. We have told God to butt out of our government, our schools, our finances, our national security and most of us have told God to butt out of the lives of the unborn and our personal relationships. We tip Him at church on Sunday, we live like the devil the rest of the week and we wonder where He was when the Terrorists set their sites on our nation as their next target! Why? Because we told God we didn't need Him that's why. Our family values have disintegrated into broken families with fatherless homes and our children shooting each other in the streets. They are free to dress, live, have sex and abort their babies if they so choose and all sacrificed on the altar of freedom.

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What has happened to America? We bought it - hook line and sinker - so much so, some evangelical churches in this nation are selling it, too. A watered down, feel good "Gospel" about prosperity and problem free living without an emphasis on personal relationship and responsibility through our faith. The "American Dream" rooted in foundational faith, family values and a legacy we can be proud of has been traded for the "bigger is better" Spirit of Mammon and it robs God of His glory, robs God of His praise and it robs God of the opportunity to show Himself mighty among us.

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Dr. Richard Land and the International Mission Board is calling for Forty Days of Prayer from September 24th (Tomorrow) through November 2nd. They have a prayer guide - so we can pray in agreement, Scriptural support and they are asking for an even bigger committment of hourly prayer the last forty hours. We are on the cusp of history, my friends. A time when God is calling us to stand for what we believe, seek Him in humility and confess nationally the way we have allowed the voices of a few to cloud our judgement as His people and to shake things up in our federal government like it has not been done before the Revolutionary War.

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Dr. Land says that Washington will not change until we do. Praying for our nation, voting our religious and moral convictions based on the position of our faith and living up to being a good steward of the free-est society in the world is a place to start. A nation on its knees for forty days, wonder what God would do with that?

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I know what He did when the nation of Israel went "fly in God's face" for hundreds of years (sound familiar?)... He set up a pagan king to rule the world, and they lived in captivity for more than 400 years, with God being silent most of that time. By the time He showed back up in the person of Jesus Christ the nation of Israel and its leaders barely recognized their Messiah - why?

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Because they could not recognize the voice of God when they heard it.

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Because they were so sold on their own ideas of what being blessed looked like they missed the blessings of God all together.

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Because they had lived in "relative freedom" in their captivity for so long that they said to Jesus, "Why do we need to be set free? We've never been held captive."

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And, when they said that - they had been in foreign exile twice for more than 400 years AND were under the oppression of foreign government by way of the Roman Empire even while in their own country.

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What does that look like these days? Hollywood? Washington? The United Nations?

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The Roman Empire? What happened to the greatest world government system that ever existed? Well, you see they started feeding Christians to the Lions and they destroyed the Temple after persecuting and dispersing the Jews. They worshipped foreign gods and guess what - they were no more. Now, there is only the Roman Catholic Church, a city in Italy bearing the name Rome and the all encompassing catch phrase... "When in Rome..."

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Let's not do as the Romans did. Let's live above ourselves, beyond our limits and trust God to show Himself through our prayers.

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"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 (My memory)

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"Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (My memory)

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"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength." ~Jesus (Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 13:3, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27) All of these Scriptures sum up in their entirety the first four of the ten commandments... and "Love your neighbor as yourself" the other six.

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Finally, remember that no matter what happens, God is our source, His is our provider and protector and He will look after the faithful remnant no matter the outcome of any election or war.

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"The LORD your God is with you,

he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

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And, He requires something of us...

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"The Lord has told you, human, what is good;

he has told you what he wants from you:

to do what is right to other people (do or act justice/justly),

love being kind to others (love mercy),

and live humbly, obeying your God." Micah 6:8 (NCV)

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Is forty days for the future of our children to much to ask... forty days for the future of our nation and our faith. Forty days for God. Please pray.

Frazzled...

Okay... So have you ever had so much happening at once you had to check and see if you weren't going in two different directions. If you subtract the baby and add two teenage girls and you pretty much have my life ...


As I watched the early reports on Hurricane Ike I wondered if we would get the call to house evacuees over the week after the hurricane made landfall. However, last Tuesday our family got a call of a different kind. On Wednesday my husband headed down south to help with Hurricane recovery work. Our part is keeping the home fires burning and sacrificing in the area of our budget so that my husband can help restore utilities in the Hurricane ravaged towns.

Granted - my husband gets paid for what he is doing by way of Hurricane recovery. Yet, he is working grueling hours in very poor conditions and we are going to end up spending more than he gets reimbursed for perdium while he is there. I guess it is a good thing my husband's job is not our source. God has a plan and he is faithful. I pray for my husband's spiritual condition while he is away - the long hours and dismal conditions are sure to take their toll at some point. So I ask for prayer for him in so many ways.

He works for a local telephone company and told me that there is enough work there to keep everyone busy (on the telephone side) for about six months. Towns like Baytown, Hitchcock and other Galveston Bay front towns are truly devastated - but are not being talked about much on the news. I stood in line behind a woman who is staying in this area since the hurricane has flooded her house and has her stranded here in town. She said that she needs FEMA help to get a hotel but has not gotten any assistance yet.

We are faced with it everywhere we turn. Our church sent out an email this weekend stating that our church will be a staging facility working with a church in the Hurricane affected area sending volunteers down for four day rotations to gut houses and make it possible for them to be repaired quickly without the threat of mold setting in on the studs and foundation.

I guess, the most troubling thing for me is to think that many people are still missing. My husband reported on Friday that the town they were working in was pretty much wiped out. He saw a couple of D/FW metro area firetrucks pulling up with trailers. They unloaded two "gator" first aid carts with four stretchers each and were accompanied by a police officer with an assault rifle and a can of spray paint. My husband's statment on the scene was bone-chilling for me, "They are about to go in and search for bodies from house to house."

He said - IT IS REALLY BAD. My heart breaks and I asked him how he is dealing with being in a place where he is surrounded by death. He said, "I have a job to do. I try not to think about it too much."

So... I'm praying over these first hand reports, praying for the funds to support two households until my husband's perdium catches up with us in a couple of weeks and praying for protection for everyone who is going down to work and all of those who are hurting over the loss of their home or the loss of their family and friends. May God be merciful and bless them all. Bless them all.

So... I have been a little off since Thursday afternoon. I will get the Names of God caught up Wednesday and post on IOW a week from Tuesday. I am adjusting to my new "single mom" status and realizing how blessed I am to have a husband who helps me so much when he is home.

Mandy Thompson is writing about everyday doers over at her blog. What do these types of reports prompt you to do?

Love to you all and many blessings.

Everyday Doers: Get Your Roov On!

Hey there all my bloggy friends! Mandy Thompson is doing 30 days of doing over at her blog, mandythompson.com and is allowing me to share about something I am doing.

Well, I'm learning to roov! A ROOV is a networking website (www.roov.com) where you can register your location, your church affiliation and your ministry, career or other interests and then connect with people to meet with face to face to begin to work together to accomplish your goals.

I highly recommend checking it out. One of the ways I am getting my roov on is this blog - I blog for Christ, blog to minister to hurting moms and I blog because I love to write. All three are areas where I am loving the Lord and expressing my unique spiritual DNA in a way that honors and glorifies God.

I am getting my roov on in many ways! First I have logged into the Roov community and shared my vision, my passions and my burdens for grief ministry and teaching God's Word.

Next, I began leading a womens group tonight at church for Bereaved Mothers. I'm so excited about this recovery/healing focused ministry I can barely stand myself. God gave me the message and the Holy Spirit guided me in writing every single word of the curriculum this summer. I walking out this journey based on my unique giftings and talents as well as my experience with God through His Word, His Spirit and His People. Never despise small assignments... be faithful in small things and he will give you bigger ones.

Finally, I am sharing my vision for starting a Christ-focused ministry center that will be helping families with children - ministering to whole families - who have suffered the loss of someone close to them. It is a huge vision that I am passionate about - it has lots of details and all of them will take a vision, a staff of dedicated ministers and staff and a small village of volunteers to truly accomplish well.

I ROOV... Do you?

Our Bridegroom, Our Husband - Ish

I am having some particular difficulty getting my computer to operate at an optimum level today! Please forgive me but I would not like to push this post into this afternoon and then be stressed out and rushing for my class tonight!
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I will return tomorrow afternoon and make the post good... Until then, be blessed!

Something to Think About

I was sent the following (first) youtube video and felt it was interesting information. From your standard, U. S. Citizen - there is not "I'm John McCain an d I approve this message. This is not a celebrity or a talking head of the media - just a military soldier who did his duty in Iraq and has this to say:

Again this appears to be a non-McCain sponsored ad about Obama's Economic policies.

Anyone seeking the office of the President should consider the gravitiy of the sentiment of this song. (DISCLAIMER: This song originally targeted our sitting President, and I do not agree with the sentiment toward him, but the young man who sings this song said he is learning and the words grabbed him so he decided to sing it. He said that he doesn't agree with everything and recognizes it is pretty specific toward President Bush, but he also said that he sees it as more of a look at all politicians present and past and the mistakes they have made.) Fair Statement? You decide... In a fickle society a popular President can fade quickly and sideshows become mainstream news.

I went about looking for some pro-Obama from the average American citizen on Youtube and did not find it. I did however find some talking head material that I thought was interesting.

Now, I am not trying to persuade you to vote for either candidate... I'm trying to say that there are a lot of talking heads out there - including the two candidates and it is very hard to make sense out of it. We may not like either candidate - my eldest daughter will vote for the first time in this election and I suggested we might just elect to vote "No Confidence."

I was really strong set in this position until my dad reminded me that though they would have to count my vote - it would really be lending credibility to the candidate that I would least like to see gain the office. For that reason, I have made a decision on how to vote. Not so much because he is my first choice, but because of the two he is the best choice.

As I did this research, I found two things very interesting - 1. That there are people, your average everyday "middle-class" American people making videos supporting John McCain based on their own knowledge of this nation's state of affairs... 2. I could not find one that favored Barack Obama of the same type or origin. That spoke to me in big, bold capital letters.

Whether or not you like the candidates that are running for office - you must vote - one person's vote can make the difference.

God recently reminded me that He is the one who sets up kings and deposes them... Good kings, bad kings, indifferent kings and ungodly kings... He sets them up and deposes them (Daniel 2:21). But, as I typed this post He also reminded me that He turned the nation of Israel and many others over to the wickedness of their hearts when they consistently - as a nation - turned their hearts hard toward Him. He sent them into captivity and even remained silent for more than four centuries. Are we so blinded by pocketbook economics and the entitlements of government that we are missing what God would have His people do in this election, in this nation in this exact time and season of the world's history? (Acts 17:26) We all have a role to play - Vote. Vote your conscience, vote your moral perspective, but most of all vote.

And to quote Kevin Costner's character "Bud" in "Swing Vote:" Remember - "We need a president who is better than his speeches."

Because I am not advocating a political view and do not wish to engage political debate - I am going to close the comments for this post. Thanks for understanding. Feel free to email me if you have comments or questions.

Jesus is my Strength... In Prime Time People!

I'm going to post about a television show I occasionally watch with my daughters. It is a teenage soap opera on the WB called "One Tree Hill." The picture above is a tribute to one of the "high school students" Quentin who was shot and killed in last week's episode. It links back to the One Tree Hill Blog where I got this information - posted by AMY! Thanks, Amy!
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The reason I'm posting about this week's episode: Season 6, Episode 3 is because something that is rare on television took center stage (well there were a few scenes of Nanny Carrie threatening Dan and young Jamie... but every Soap Opera has to have villain and Nanny Carrie is this season's crazy woman with issues. She is only being upstaged by the towns villainesque father, Dan, whom she has kidnapped. Which is one of the lesser qualities of the show.) That is the cautionary tale for this post... the rest is a kudos for the dialogue exchanges that follow this monologue.

The scene is set this way. A once cocky, popular high school basketball star is shot when he stops to buy gas at a convenience store on his way home from b-ball practice. This episode is about how everyone is dealing with Quentin's sudden and tragic death.

There is a scene between the two coaches for the HS team, Lucas and Skills that just touches my heart as a bereaved mother. Then, the scene between the resident tots on the show - Dre and Jamie who are adorable in their scene and their dialogue. But, the scene that stole the show and is getting snide reviews from the anti-Christ crowd is the scene between Quentin's mother, Denise, and the teachers and coaches from the high school. Where the character boldly credits her strength and her hope to be in Jesus Christ. Yes, she said those words, Jesus Christ. And this was not even on TBN. The final dialogue I highlighted is a monologue that is read over the episode written by a new, troubled teen who has moved to Tree Hill, Sam. She writes the paper as an assignment from one of the teachers, Hayley James Scott, for dealing with what they are feeling about Quentin's death.

So... With that said, I will leave you with this week's Tree Hill dialogue snippets that just blessed me to no end as I cried through the entire episode.

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. Between the High School Coaches:
Lucas: He has a little brother, he has parents
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Skills: How does a mother ever breathe again?

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. The New Girl who writes about Quentin:
Sam: Quentin Fields was a basketball player. He was also a son. A brother. Somebody’s teammate. Somebody’s friend. I never knew Quentin Fields and I guess now I never will. Did you ever wonder what it would be like if you weren’t you anymore? If you were suddenly gone how would your world react? Whatever you imagined was wrong. There’s nothing romantic about death. Grief is like the ocean: it’s deep and dark and bigger than all of us. And pain is like a thief in the night. Quiet. Persistent. Unfair. Diminished by time and faith and love. I didn’t know Quentin Fields but I’m jealous of him because I see how his absence has affected the people that did know him so I know that he did matter to them. And I know he was loved. People say Quentin Fields was a great basketball player. Graceful. Fluid. Inspiring. They say on a good night it almost seemed as though he could fly. And now he can.

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.The Five Year Olds...

Andre: Quentin was my brother.

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Jamie: Quentin was my friend. I’m making him a cape. (Jamie takes Quentin's cape to the funeral and drapes it over the coffin after the funeral service.)
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.THE BEST SCENE ON TELEVISION for Monday, September 15, 2008!

Denise (to Lucas): I wanted to thank you for standing up for my boy the way you did in that last game. It’s a shame that we have to meet like this.

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Lucas: Yes, ma’am, it is.

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Denise: Coach Taylor, Quentin always had so many nice things to say about you. And you too, Nathan. I really appreciate you boys coming here. But I mostly wanted to say thank you to this one. My son has always loved basketball but the day I can tell you, the day I came home and found him reading a book, it about gave me a heart attack. He said, Mommy, Mrs. James-Scott, she don’t play. She almost as bad as you are. I realize that you are all trying to help him live up to the greatness God gave him and you should be proud of that.

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Haley: You’re strength is inspiring.

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Denise: My strength is from Jesus Christ. I am going to miss my baby boy for the rest of this life but I know we are going to see him again and our faith will see us through.

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Kudos Tree Hill writers and "Denise" actress for writing and playing this role so authentic. And, the name of the Lord was lifted up. You took a risk and I think it was a blessing to many.

Tuesday's In Other Words: Credited as Righteousness

Miriam (Mipa) at Miriam Pauline's Monologue is hosting this week's IOW. If you would like to participate, just copy the quote above and write your own post In "Other"
Words about this week's quote.

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Even the demons believe that God exists and shudder. Belief in the existence of God is not enough to be called by the name of His Son. Belief in the existence of God does not guarantee us the promise of heaven and eternal life with the God in whom we believe. The kind of faith that is credited as righteousness is the faith that declares Jesus as Lord and Savior, the God who redeems that which is lost and restores brokenness and overcame the grave. The One and Only Son of God who came to seek and save that which was lost.

When I read this quote I think of Abraham. Abraham who sent one son off to the desert with his wife's handmaid, Hagar, and entrusted his life to the Lord and His promise for Ishmael. Only to be given an even more difficult task.

I think of how God called him to give up the promise to see if Abraham's faith was in God or in the child God had given him. However, as we read in Genesis 22, Abraham acted faithfully entrusting His son's life to God and believing that if God called him to sacrifice the child of promise, that God would indeed bring Him back from the death and that is exactly what God did.

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My favorite part of the retelling in Genesis 22 is when Isaac asks his father on the way up the mountain, "I see the altar. I see the knife. But, Father, who will provide the lamb?"
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Abraham's Answer: "The Lord will provide the Lamb."
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How Abraham's heart and love for his son must have raged against his willingness to be obedient to the Lord even in death.

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I have never questioned God on the death of my son, Justin. I know there is a better purpose and plan in it all. I have experienced deep comfort and peace in the arms of my Savior over this issue. I had to trust God to be as good as His Word and that He would not let me stumble or fall even in the most devastating circumstances. I could have raged against Him and cried out about the injustice... I could have renounced my faith in Him because life had not worked out the way I had planned and the answers to my prayers for my son were often the situation growing much worse rather than better. Anytime we experienced a moment of reprieve in his life, it would seem it was only the calm before a much more violent storm. Yet, in it all, I never stopped praying, believing, asking or hoping that God would deliver on the words spoken over my son all his life.

And what about Ishmael? What happened to Abraham's other son? Hagar ran from the harshness of her mistress while pregnant with Ishmael, she ran to the desert where she encountered the Lord and received a promise. Had she not believed God for that promise, she could not have returned to the harsh treatment of her mistress and endured for the sake of her child. She returned to her mistress and endured the harshness with the promise that the Lord saw her agony and would take care of Hagar and her unborn child. She went back only to return to the desert once more. Only to watch as her son almost die... And the God who sees, El Roi, He saw Hagar and Ishmael and had mercy on them - just as He did with Isaac and Abraham on the mountain. Sometimes, receiving the promise means believing God while returning to places you had once thought the door would be closed forever.

This Psalm comforts me when I find myself revisited by haunting moments of my past - places and things that have been long done but have not been dealt with between the Lord and I. Things I'd just asoon never revisist. However, God in His mercy would not allow me to be pushed back to those places unless He intended to help me and bless me through them so that those circumstances could never make me fall again.

When I find myself in the grips of self-defeating life patterns, going back again and again to what has wrought havoc and destruction in my life, I am learning to ask God why I keep going back and how this works in His plan for my life. He is ever faithful. He restores my heart, my mind and my soul in those moments and always provides a way out for me. He then cleanses me of it and redeems the memory to show me where He was and what He was doing during those dark and painful times. It is truly for Freedom that Christ has set us Free. Going back does not mean revisiting and reclaiming the shame and destruction of a particular period of my life, going back means believing by faith that if I entrust my past to God and allow Him to redeem it - it will be used to reveal His good and glory in the life of another and in turn bring restoration and healing to me. He is faithful. He never forsakes us. He asks only that we would believe.

"What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" ~ Romans 4:3 (NIV)

God gave Abraham credit for trusting His word. He gave Abraham credit for believing in Him through much adversity - and He will give you credit, too. Not for how you failed Him, but for how you trusted in Him when the times were hard, the memories painful and so difficult to understand. Trust Him completely let Him redeem your past as He delivers you into a glorious future. He truly is making all things new.

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For more info about In "Other Words", check out Loni's blog at Writing Canvas.

Hear Us From Heaven

This past weekend there was a huge "PRESENCE" meeting in Colorado Springs, Co. (To learn more about it you may want to check out Dutch Sheets' website.) Our church hosted a mini one on Friday and Saturday. All over our country, people are seeking the presence of the Lord - His movement among His people. We stand on the cusp of history in our faith... Will we step out, stay where we are or move on back to a place that feels safer but really is just hiding out?

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In essence these events are about coming before the Lord corporately just seeking His presence among us. Soaking in it, and soaking it up. Our church had worship that would facilitate the movement of the Spirit in the presence of God's people. Those attending were encouraged to just soak in His presence, bring Bibles, comfy clothing and a journal and allow the Lord to move and speak as He will.

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I think of the way the Israelites in Captivity did this very thing, as Esther prepared herself to defy the king and go before him unsummoned to save the lives of the remnant of Israel... Her fellow Jews were face down before God, fasting and praying and crying out to Him for favor, for His blessing and His presence among them. Think of it - After not just decades, but centuries of exile and silence, these people were so hungry to hear from the Lord that they would do anything to see Him move, to Hear His voice and experience His favor. Desperate for Him. Then after the return as noted in Ezra - they assembled in the temple courts and listened to the reading of the Scriptures for the first time in centuries - most of them did not even speak Hebrew - yet they stood all day as Ezra read and the Levites ministered in explaining the readings. ALL DAY - they stood before the Lord, hungry to receive His Word and His blessing in their return.

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We must be this hungry - We must seek Him and His presence... Open the Blind Eyes Lord, Unlock the Deaf Ears Lord... Hear us from Heaven and Touch our Generation - Restore us Lord... Restore us to Your favor as a nation, as a people, as a body of Believers... Restore us, Lord. We are the redeemed of the Lord, We say we desire You! Above all else, We desire You!

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As I prepared this post, the following song resonated and reverberated through my heart and soul. Sing out the words as you listen to the precious song which is the heart cry of a nation desperate to see a move of the Lord. Hunger for Him, Thirst for Him... "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5, Paraphrase).

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Hear Us From Heaven (Jared Anderson)

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Lord, hear our cry

Come heal our land

Breath life into these dry and thirsty souls

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Lord, hear our prayer

Forgive our sin

And as we call on your name

Would you make this a place

For your glory to dwell

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Chorus:

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Open the blind eyes

Unlock the deaf ears

Come to your people

As we draw near

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Hear us from heaven

Touch our generation

We are your people

Crying out in desperation

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Bridge:

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Hear us from heaven,

Hear us from heaven,

Hear us from heaven (4x)

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A Day That Started Out Like Any Other Day.... A Day That Changed The World

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On September 11, 2001, I was in my truck at my friend Amy's house when a local radio personality came on stating that a plane just flew into the World Trade Center in New York City. I was dropping off my son that day before I headed off to work. He was homeschooling at the time and stayed at their house while I was at work to do his studies.

Even the other people on the radio thought he was kidding - it was just so unthinkable. But, then as time passed and the reports confirmed... It became clear that the unthinkable was indeed true. I made a phone call to my dad as I drove to the school where I worked. At that time I worked a few miles from Alliance Airport and the realization that D/FW and the Fort Worth Joint Air Base were within a 30 mile radius was not lost on me. He was an air traffic controller in those days and I felt that if anything serious had happened he would know.

He was sleeping. He awoke and I told him three times that planes were flying into the World Trade Towers... He finally awakened enough to grasp what I was saying and asked, "In Dallas?"

"No, Daddy. In New York City." I paused as I thought about the people in those buildings. "Turn on the news, Daddy. Tell me what is going on." Panic was setting in, even though the attacks were many miles away from the place I called home. My father turned on the news and watched them replay footage of the second plane flying into Tower 2.

"Sugar, what is going on?" I could hear the confusion - the panic in his voice. "We are at war."

We talked a few more minutes as the tears stung my eyes. Then he finally said, "Let me call you back I need to call in at work."

By the time I got to work, my supervisor had the news going on a local Christian radio station and a small television in her office. We went about our duties in the school kitchen listening and keeping our eyes on the television and our ears to the news as the third and fourth planes crashed. I had my children picked up early from school and hurried with the after lunch chores in the kitchen before rushing to pick up my children and get home.

One of the most staggering moments for me that day was standing in Donna's office and watching as first one tower and then the other fell. I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me and kept repeating through the sobs and streaming tears, "Oh God, please. What about all those people."

I watched the news coverage 24/7 it seemed like. I remember as they carried not just one but several people still alive out of the wreckage at Ground Zero days after the attack. I remember the haunting pictures of ashen covered people emerging from lower manhattan and the images of people walking and walking for miles on end to get out of New York City. Each day as the news replayed the images of what happened my heart not only stopped, it ached. I hurt for all the people who suffered the death of their loved ones - sons, fathers, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. So many died that day - and in one fell swoop America and its people were no long safe.

The stories of heroism and the United Flight 93 passengers and crew who heroically gave their lives to prevent even more devastating and loss of life. They gripped my soul, and made me proud to be an American. Fear on every front, be we were still alive. I heard the cry out to God why He had allowed this to happen and Ann Graham Lotz's poignant words about how America was about the business of asking God to but out of our daily business and lives, but wondering why He didn't show up in crisis. It landed on me with fresh awareness that the shield of faith had been lowered in America because of the apostasy in our land. I prayed ardently and often for this nation and its leaders, for President Bush and the decisions he made. I prayed for the families and the funerals and thanked God that my family was safe.

The images of those days of September seven years ago will be etched in my memory until I die, but even more so the memories of those who stood to serve, to sacrifice and to fight for our freedom will be remembered in my prayers and my heart forever. God did not promise us a life free of tragedy, sorrow or pain... Yet, He promised to be the God who would see us through every dark moment to the place of glorious light. Psalms tells us that God trains our hands for battle and our fingers for war and Jesus Himself stated there would be wars and rumors of wars until He comes again. Ours is not always to know the why, the how or the when... But to trust with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength the WHO that promises to be faithful to us to the end. Pray, my friends, as this day wains on that we will not forget the lessons and the losses of September 11, 2001 and that we will never again be the country who takes our freedom and our responsibility to one another and God for granted again.

May God bless our troops who put their lives on the line, May He bless the families who continue to mourn and grieve and May He bless the coming elections and the legacy of George W. Bush - A man willing to stand against those who sought to destroy and restore a sense of safety and hope to America once again.