Good morning, Friend!

We’re looking at giving God the very first part of our day.

When you get up in the morning, the first thing to do is to receive God’s love and company. This sets your day and is the foundation that you lay down with The Foundation Himself. It is a “reboot” if you will, and means that you recognize that God is the Alpha of your day. Later on we will discuss that He is also the Omega of the day, and He deserves more than a wink and a nod at the end of the day.

On Monday we talked about receiving God and God’s Presence (and Presents.) Today we’ll look at the importance of receiving God’s love. He created you to love Him back. Since you aren’t His little robot, you get to choose how you respond to His overtures. Here’s the difference: You tell your child, “Tell Mommy (Daddy) that you love me.” You demanded the response. The way that God works is like this: The child comes to you and says, “Mommy (Daddy,) I love you!” On his or her own volition, they come to YOU! God allows for your own personal response to His loving overtures.

God desires to be your Everything. The wonderful thing is that He IS all that you ever need. He will pour amazing wonders in your life if you allow Him to do so, and when you meet Him anytime, you are the better for it. You can actually make the God of The Universe joyful! Wow.

Receive God’s love. He desires you so much that He allowed His Son to die on the cross for your sins so that you can run into His Arms! Doesn’t He deserve at least ten minutes of uninterrupted time in your morning?

What can be more important than receiving God’s Love when you get up in the morning? Certainly not anything else! Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The LORD appeared to us in the past saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ “

Step into the power of The Spirit…the power that raised Jesus up from the dead. Step into that power and experience the eternal love that Yahweh has for you. Remember that this behavior is habit-forming and will bring you adventure like you have never known!

May God shower His love on you by revealing to you just how much you mean to Him. I am praying on this end that everyone who’s reading this will receive a supernatural hug from Christ that will amaze you. There’s no COVID-19 in Glory; The Spirit hugs everybody all the time. He hugs you here and now. Receive His love! Pay attention and keep the eyes of your heart on Christ.

Talk to you on Friday. I send prayers and joy your way.

Happy Monday!

So, in obedience to what God has revealed over the weekend, we are going to take each of the five ways to live in victory that He has shown, and go over each one slowly. We will dissect each direction with The Spirit, one way per week, for five weeks.

Friends, I have no idea what He is going to say. We will learn together. Let’s pick up the diamond of this truth and hold it up to The Light. When we turn it this way and that, we can see many facets.

The Spirit said, “Receive God’s Love and Company.” Today let’s put the facet of the first two words up to The Light and look at the colors there.

Receive. Receive – (verb) – be given, presented with. God has given you a new day. Your every breath comes from Him. He has presented to you a new 24 hours and has allowed you to be in charge of what you do with it. This is a load of power that we don’t usually perceive in full. We get to choose our course (we aren’t His robots) and He guides us along as we go.

Receive God’s. Let’s look at God (singular) and God’s (possessive) because both of them are there.

Every morning, you have been presented with God. God Himself presents His Presence to you as you wake up. I suddenly see it! His Presence is in His Presents! Vice-versa… His Presents are in His Presence. Do you see it? YAY, GOD! I love that! Thank you, Lord! Oh, He knows just how to say things….yay!

He is with you in full. He is All-In-All. His being with you (Presence) is a gift (a Present) because He is The Gift. And in Him all things tie together. Jesus our Lord stands by your bed every morning!

 ^“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”   Colossians 1:15-20

In order to receive a gift you have to actually open it. I may give you something, but until you open it you haven’t truly received it. Have you been ignoring God in the morning? He is there with you and is your GIFT. Have you passed Him by, in order to do something else? I do this sometimes, I am sorry to say. And when I don’t sit at His Feet in the morning, it is obvious in the way that I think, speak, and act. Listen! Being with God in the morning is vital to mental healing.

Open up the Gift Of God’s Presence (and Presents) every morning. Receive God. Receive God’s. Run to Him first thing in the morning. In order for you to be healed on a daily basis, your daily foundation must be The Living Foundation.

Specifics: Find a spot where you won’t be distracted once you’re up and about. Whether you sit with The Spirit before or after breakfast is up to you and Him. Your choice. No phone, no electronics, nobody else, just you and The Spirit in silence.

Have your Bible nearby if you’d like…but don’t open it until He says to do so. That one is kind of shocking. Right now you’re not doing Bible Study, you are talking to The Author. The Spirit will tell you if and when to open it.

Oh God, Your Presence and Presents are Awesome! So are YOU!

May God bless and keep you until we are together on Wednesday…

Hi Precious Friends,

Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays are my days to post. On Friday, I was going here and yon and life got in the way of my posting. This morning, my intent was to post and again, life got in the way. It is my deepest desire to be obedient and move with Christ. Mania gets in the way of things and the next thing I know, I am painting the house! (Not really, but you know what I mean…)

God sent Julie, His beautiful daughter who sparkles. A sweet note to encourage the things of The Spirit and there you go…our God truly dots every “i” and crosses every “t”. Thank you, God! Thank you, Julie.

All of this is to say that it’s okay to fall down. You know what? We aren’t going to be perfect right out of the gate. We have it on Good Authority (remember that God will never lie) that it’s the relationship that He desires. He wants your heart, your company, your love…in fact, loving Him back is a natural response, given that Christ died for us.

These things happened to remind all of us that the point is the upward trend. As you go forward, every day will still be different, even though being at home right now, every day seems to be the same.

It takes time to do each of the things that I’ve written about. 

Getting up and giving God your full attention, going for light, making a schedule, being still, and speaking truth will not happen overnight. It takes time to do these things. Writing them only takes a little while but doing them takes a long time.

So for now, let’s slowly digest those things that God has given to us already. Right now, there’s time to respond to The Father. Being at home, even if you’re working from home, there is more time to work on these things. God allowed this virus and it can be a blessing. If you allow The Spirit to work within you a new way of living in response to God drawing you close, this can be the best time of your life!

Shall we all allow The Spirit to s-l-o-w-l-y work these truths in us? Cause if you’re like me, you find that it’s e-a-s-y to feel like a failure if you set yourself up for perfection at the start. I don’t know, I think that if I don’t get it absolutely right (especially typing out to everyone what I hear in my heart from The Spirit) well, I am an utter fraud. Those thoughts are from the enemy. God never calls us names. Ever.

Let’s agree to work hard to get better and better as we go through this together. You will fall down, you will forget things, you will purposely be disobedient because you don’t feel like doing what you’re supposed to do, and it may seem as though you’re going backward instead of forward.

Never fear, sweet friend…you are not retreating. You’re going forward, especially when you fail, because you’re learning. In order to learn, you have to mess up and see how to do things differently. Be kind to yourself. Do not fall into the guilt trap that Satan sets for you.

Through Moses, God told the Israelites, before they conquered the Promised Land, “The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.” Deuteronomy 7:22.

Take comfort in that verse. One thing at a time, one day at a time…little by little. Life happens and each one of us has different “wild animals (that) multiply”. The wild animals in your life could include something like perfectionism, arrogance, pride, or confusion.

Mania is running it’s course over here…and has been for months. I have been “up” for a very long time and it’s okay. I am okay. You are okay. So you’re house-bound for awhile…well, you’re going to come out of this thing stronger than ever because Jesus is going to do a mighty work in you! When you fall, He is there immediately to pick you up. Remember how fast He came to Peter when they were walking on water and Peter began to drown?

He is there faster then lickety-split when you need Him. Let Him help you up. May God grant you rest, joy, and peace as you fall into His Arms, you wonderful, amazing, imperfect child of The King.

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.” Psalm 40:1-3

We’ll meet again (God willing and helping me) on Monday! Some time during the day, I will post. Stay safe, wash your hands, and allow God to wash your heart!

Hello Friend, Happy Wednesday.

How are you doing today? Have you sat at the Feet of your Lord today, receiving His Love and Company? Most importantly, are you living out Psalm 46:10? Are the curtains opened and is light pouring into the room?

You can do this, dear friend!! You can do it! If Jesus is your Lord and Savior you have Him to give you the power. Don’t stop, don’t ever stop walking with Him. He has something sweet in mind for you and Him. Sweet. There is joy. Joy in the light, joy in the dark, joy in life…keep walking.

I hope that you have made a schedule of sorts for your everyday living at home. It’s important to have a schedule in order to keep things orderly. God is a God of order. Our minds work better when there is order to our day. It’s hard being at home when you’re not used to it. It’s kind of like a vacation, because if you’re out of the house most days at work, you’re only home all day on weekends, holidays, and vacations. It’s easy to get into the mindset of those things during this pandemic.

Mental issues are worse when there is no schedule. It’s important to make one. God will help you tweak it as you begin to live out what you write down. Order is a good thing, and that God Himself is orderly is proof!

So now you’re waking up with Jesus, allowing light into your soul and your house, and working on having a good schedule. What is next?

How are you speaking to yourself? We have one weapon, the sword of The Spirit, the word of God. God’s living Word, our Lord Jesus, embodies all that we need and is our Helper in time of need. He has given us His Spirit, full of power, and The Spirit has given us a weapon…His word. So we have the Living Word — and the spoken word.

There is power from God in your tongue. Power to dispel hell. Power to make demonic forces run. Now here’s the rub: do you believe this and are you willing to use this power? Or sit in your prison cell?

Speak truth! The enemy cannot read your mind. Only the Triune God can read your mind. You have to speak to the enemy and tell him to leave. Remember that during His temptation, Christ used the word of God to refute the enemy. If Jesus Christ Himself used this, now would it make all the sense in the world for you and I to do the same?

Jesus is your True! Are you satisfied being half-way to healing? Do you want to be healed? Next to focusing on Christ, His every word and direction, your speech is paramount to your healing. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7…so how are you thinking?

Christ says that you are righteous, worthy, and loved. If you’re hearing something else, it is NOT from Him! Christ can not lie to you, lying isn’t Holy – Christ is Holy. If you’re hearing junk about yourself, then use your weapon, friend, and get rid of the enemy. Go all the way with Him, and use the weapon already in your hand. It is important, and important enough for Jesus to use during His temptation. Speak! Speak! Speak!

Here are some good examples to begin with…say these out loud! 

“With God we (I) will gain the victory, and He will trample down our (my) enemies.” Psalm 60:2

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves, rests between His Shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Ephesians 1:4

“Because of the LORD’s great love, I am not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22

“In repentance and rest is my salvation, in quietness and trust is my strength. Whether I turn to the right or to the left, my ears will hear a voice behind me saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.'” Isaiah 30: 21

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

“…Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16

“Set your hearts on things above. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:1b,2

“Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.” Proverbs 14:26

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Well, that ought to get you started. Sit down with your Bible and ask The Spirit to show you more. Learn to use your Bible to research and find what you need. In God’s word you will find diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and every jewel we don’t know exists. Both Old and New Testaments are full of God’s Glory!

Now go forth today — and SPEAK! God bless your tongue as you go…

Happy Monday to you. Today I’m led to share with you what God keeps saying to me, and this word is coming from everywhere. He will not let up on this. It’s something He’s already said to us. There’s something very, very powerful about what is going on right now in the earth. God has allowed this virus to occur for deeper things. Christ specializes in making roses grow from ashes.

What I am hearing from The Spirit’s dictation is to not move so quickly in His directions that we take these things He gives us and use them as a “quarantine checklist” of sorts. You know, checking off everything that He says to do…doing this, and that, and the other thing, and wow! I am full of joy all of a sudden! That isn’t how He works. HE is the destination, not the joy and peace, but the Source of the joy and peace.

We are seeking sweet relationship with Him, not the things He gives. He is The Point. The healing you need will come from Christ for sure. Go and be with Him. Here is what He will not stop saying: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10.) He has literally allowed most of the activity on earth to be stopped. Halted. Stilled. Something deeper is happening and His words to me for days have been from Psalm 46:10.

So for today our encouragement from His Spirit is to be still before Him. Abiding in Him is where you will find everything that you need and even more than you can imagine.

Did you write up a schedule for yourself? Does it include the first thing we learned? That thing about receiving God’s love and company the first thing every morning? Everything in your life hinges on your sitting with Him every day. I can’t stress enough how He is pointing to this again and again.

When the God Of The Universe says something once, it’s important, and we better listen up. When He repeats it over and over, pay even MORE attention! Something is up for sure. He desires your heart and your being with Him.

Sit with The Spirit after you read this, even if you already have sat with Him today, do it again. If you haven’t, go and do it now. Be still, be quiet – don’t talk, just think about Him (He will help you) and let’s see where He is going with all of this. To repeat, something deeper is going on than this virus and He wants you to be a part of a beautiful work. In the middle of the dark, His light shines. Allow His light to shine both in and on you today.

Talk to you on Wednesday. Now go and do Psalm 46:10.

Happy Friday, dear friend!

You have now, I hope, pondered and practiced the importance of sitting with Christ every morning, allowing light into your soul, and are throwing the curtains open when you get up and allowing light to get into your body. You’re on the right track. Building on the proper foundation is key to living the Abundant Life in Christ.

When we build on the Foundation of Christ our Rock, and allow Him to light our soul, rains come down, floods come up – like this virus and staying home all the time – and our “house on the Rock” stands firm.

Now let’s build another layer onto what we have been given. To combat depression, it’s important to have a schedule of sorts during this time. For me, the days of the week are garbled and I don’t know Monday from Thursday. In fact, I have to remember that today is Friday. I was talking with a sister and we agreed that having those boards such as in hospital rooms that indicate the date, day of the week, and year would be good right now. 🙂 It’s just that with being at home every single day, with things not changing much, it’s hard to tell one day from the next.

So then, here is where we lay the bricks for layer two. In depression it’s textbook to stay in the bed, chair, or sofa for hours upon hours upon hours. Here is today’s word from your Lord.

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.^”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. JOHN 5:1-9

There you go. With the help of the Spirit, make a schedule. Write down on a card a general idea of what to do daily and when to do it. I understand that it is monumental getting out of the bed, chair, or sofa. I am in the same boat…this one is coming from a fellow-sufferer. Christ is here to help you get up and walk. The power is inside of you. AS you get up the power will kick in. THE POWER WILL NOT BE REVEALED UNTIL YOU CO-OPERATE WITH THE SPIRIT. That is in all-caps for a purpose. The Spirit moves “as” we obey.

“Do you want to get well?” Did you notice that the invalid offered an excuse? Are you offering excuses; do you really want to get out of this dark place? If not, why are you reading this post? You’ve been called here, and God entreats you to grow and be healed.

But know that God is not your genie. He set the rules and they are such that you have to co-operate with Him to grow. You must do your part. He will give you the power to do your part. Ask Him for His help and then move your legs and stand. Walk.

Please know that I suffer from scheduling problems. As I write I am laughing….ha ha — God is telling all of us. Am I writing to myself? 😀 Yes. I am with you, friend. Let’s ask God to give each one of us a schedule that He says is best, then write it down, and then follow it as best as we can. I am also a student in this time of quarantine.

Want proof? I am writing this after 12 Noon. It really should be available for everyone to read by 9 AM. I suffer with you.

Sit with The Spirit, ask Him for help, and then write down a schedule for yourself at home during this time. Do it. We can do this, everyone. In Christ we can do all things!

Rise up and walk! Get up! Talk to you Monday…

Hello, dear friends! I am strongly led to “dust off” the website, write words of encouragement, and share some tips that I have learned to help those who struggle mentally as we stay at home through the pandemic.

In addition to this new post, enjoy the other posts and short story on this site that I have written in the past. I incorrectly stopped writing, but I am drawn back by The Spirit who dots every “i” and crosses every “t”; somebody will get help through these things. God’s word never returns void.

How are you doing with staying home in this pandemic?

These are crazy and trying times right now. Sharing thoughts and feelings help those of us already battling mental challenges in “regular” life. Being inside the house every day is harder on many of us. So we’ll sit at the Feet of Christ and I will do my best to type His dictation.

How are you doing mentally? Are you unmotivated, confused, angry, sad, or all of those? Being with others is a balm to life. We are created to be social people and we need each other.

Oh, I miss being at worship and Sunday School with my brothers and sisters! I miss choir, Bible study, my prayer group, laughing in the hall with everyone, and all the hugging. I miss my friends – our lunches, shopping, and coffee get-togethers.

Most of all, I miss my family!! Not being able to be with them physically, hug them and hold them is breaking my heart. This being inside stinks in more ways than I can count. I know that I’m not alone in those feelings.

In isolation, mental things sometimes seem to grow larger than they really are. God knows what you’re going through, what you’re feeling. He showers on you His love, His care, His provisions, His Very Life. He gave Himself through His Son Jesus, Who is “The Very Life Of God.”

This website is a little place online to help those who need to closely tend to emotions and mental states, such as depression, panic attacks, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addictions. Here we will praise God and learn about some ways to co-operate with God in order to live in His freedom while having to remain inside our homes. Remember that we’re doing the right thing to be inside. It’s hard some days, but staying inside is the right thing to do right now.

While we’re inside, let’s grow…in Christ, in wisdom, and together!

TWO THINGS TO DO DAILY – BEGINNING TODAY AND TOMORROW:

The suggestions and tips for today are important to combat mental difficulties. The first one is VITAL. Do not minimize them; pay attention.

First, every morning, receive God’s love and company. This is the most important rule in life. How? If you haven’t been sitting with Him quietly before, at this time you have no excuse. You’re in a position where you have time to sit with Him every day. It doesn’t matter how long…just do it. You don’t have to talk or say anything. Just sit in a chair in a quiet place and see yourself at His Feet.

Understand one important thing about this…you will not go from 60 mph to standing still in a few minutes. So don’t go saying, “Oh, I can’t do this because my mind wanders.” Well of course it does! It takes time to be stilled…wait on God. Ask Him to help your thoughts. Wait. Wait. Wait on God. In a little bit, He will help you. (Warning: this is a habit-forming, glorious activity.)

Second, get as much light as you can at the very beginning of each day. In the morning, when you get up, throw open every curtain in your house. Turn on the brightest lights inside as soon as possible. Then get outside to get the most important light of all – sunshine! Even in cloudy weather, you will get the light! Keep the light going all day. Stay in light! (I think there’s a sermon here…)

May the Holy Spirit of our salvation bring you joy today, both in your home, and more importantly, in your heart. I’ll post again on Friday…