leap for joy

I praise God for Pastor Joseph Prince who preaches and administers to my heart like nobody ever has.  Why?  because he gives me hope and today he even gave me joy.

You see, recently I received a letter pointing out that I am not perfect and you know how much I dislike that thought.  However, after listening to this 6 minute video by Pastor Prince, I have JOY that I have been insulted as one living in sin.

When I first read the letter, I comforted myself by thinking, 'Everyone is living in sin,' but then it really started to smart in my heart that this special friend showed me such little grace in her letter.
The Bible says that we are to correct a brother/sister at the presence of 2 witnesses which she did NOT do.

However, as I cried out to the lord (my computer keyboard is dying and it won't capitalize l for me today but God knows that), for the response that He had for me to this ugly letter which was based strictly on hearsay and twisted by fear, this is what He gave me.

I covet your prayers as I respond the way that God wants me to and I'm asking that you will pray that God's positive will completely overwhelm my negative, helpless, sinful nature.  May my response bring joy to all people and may it open doors for healing to all involved.

For my weaknesses, He has given strength in the past and I beg of Him to do it again.

Happy Sabbath beloved ones,

Dawn

PS.  Please know that Pastor Prince is teasing about Elvis--those who don't know Pastor Prince well may wonder at those remarks. I urge you to keep watching and you will hear one of the most powerful explanations of how God works through us weak ones to do His miracles.  Praise God!!!

I am always blessed by Pastor Prince but this morning his thoughts were just the perfect reminder that I was needing.  I may know in my head that God works ALL things together for our good but it may not necessarily feel that way in my heart.

 These words strengthened me to obey God even when I may not like it at the time!  He IS shaping me to be the woman that He wants me to be in the future, just like He shaped Ruth.  I was especially blessed by this thought and I pray that you all will be too.

He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger!

Dear God, thank you for keeping me safe all my life!  Thank you for carrying me through all of the wretched storms that I needed to pass through to become the woman that I am today.  PLEASE keep me safe through the current storms as well and I thank you in advance for the wonderful plan that you have for my future!!!  Please place me at the right time; at the right place to meet the right people so that I can do the right things that you want me to do and PLEASE continue keeping me safe forever and ever. AMEN!

Happy Sabbath to all,

Dawn

Right Place, Right Time

Ecclesiastes 9:11 11… the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

God’s Word tells us that being faster, stronger and wiser does not automatically make you a winner in life. No, it is actually being at the right place at the right time that causes you to receive blessings. And God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time. He did this for Ruth. She trusted God for favor when she went looking for a field in which to glean. (Ruth 2:2) Then, the Bible tells us that “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech”. (Ruth 2:3) Of all the fields in Bethlehem, she happened to end up in Boaz’s field, and he was a close relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. This meant that Boaz was her potential kinsman redeemer, someone who could redeem her from her plight as a young, childless widow in a foreign land. Boaz also happened to be “a man of great wealth” (Ruth 2:1), and as it turned out, he was willing to redeem Ruth. (Ruth 4:9–10) All these right happenings could only mean that God had placed Ruth in the right place at the right time. I believe that the very day Ruth told her mother-in-law that the God of Israel would be her God (Ruth 1:16), God took note of it and made everything happen right for her. Today, God also wants you to know that because you have said, “God, You are My God,” He will be your God of divine happenings. He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger! You may not know where all the great opportunities are, but God does. He was the one who put in you the skills, talents and gifts that you have, and He knows where you need to be, when you should be there and what you need to be doing to be truly fulfilled!

Hi everyone,
  What a great day I had yesterday with 5 fantastic sessions in my Bismarck office--praise God!  I am surprised how many people out there were raised by alcoholics--4 of the 5 I worked with yesterday were. 

How it must grieve God's heart that so few people really feel His love for them.  I cannot urge you enough to start digging into Pastor Prince's resources at: josephprince.org if YOU want to start experiencing God's love in a richer and fuller way.

I'd like to share his devotional today as it was just perfect for me--but then it usually is!  You can sign up to get Pastor Prince's daily devotional on the site too.  I've learned that, by filling my mind with his thoughts on grace, I have much more energy to run on.  I suppose it's because I'm not constantly shooting myself in the foot with thoughts of all my past failures. 

Before the devotional, though, I'd like to invite any home schoolers who live in the Fargo, ND area to ponder attending the AppleSeed Shoot which is being held there this weekend.  I just attended my 3rd one last weekend and I qualified at the Sharp Shooter level--AGAIN.  Some day I am going to make Riflewoman.  How do I know?  Because I won't ever quit until I make it and then I won't ever quit shooting as I am really starting to enjoy it.

Did I tell you that one of the guys at the shoot last weekend, who made Rifleman at the January shoot in Minot, saw my AQT.  He said, "Nice groupings!"  Now that's what I'd call inspiration. 

If you can't attend, please join me in praying for nice weather for the event.  Also, Andrew needs continued prayers as he isn't getting much rest this week with pushing to finish seeding by the weekend.  I'm out to spend the day in the tractor, after packing 4 lunches, so I could use some prayers too as that has often been rough on my neck--but now I'm under grace.  ;)

Love to all.  I hope that you'll enjoy Pastor Prince's morning devotional and that you'll get in the daily habit of filling your mind with his encouraging words too.

God bless,

Dawn

Jesus Is Your Sweet Aroma To God

Leviticus 1:13 13… the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

In Old Testament times, when a burnt offering is killed, its head is severed, the fat removed, and the entrails and legs washed. Then, everything is placed on an altar and burnt, and the sacrifice is a sweet aroma to God. All this speaks of the death of Jesus, who has “given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2) The head of the sacrificed animal speaks of the mind of Christ offered as a covering for our minds. This means that although our minds are often clouded with unbelief, worries, foolishness, filth and human reasoning, God treats us as if we have the mind of Christ, without wrong or displeasing thoughts, bringing pleasure to Him like a sweet aroma. The fat of the animal speaks of the riches of Christ, His best, for God equates the fat of something with the best of that entity. (Genesis 45:18) The fat of the burnt sacrifice speaks of Jesus giving us His riches, His best, as our covering. So God does not see us in our lack, but in the riches and excellence of Jesus going up to Him as a sweet aroma. The entrails or intestines speak of Jesus’ motivations, feelings, affections and desires. We often feel fearful, anxious, stressed out or angry (and it affects our stomach and intestines). But God sees only Jesus’ feelings and desires, which are always pure, beautiful and acceptable to Him — a sweet aroma. The legs refer to Jesus’ perfect walk — His power to serve and obey the Father — imputed to our weak and faltering walk. And the fact they are washed shows that even our crooked walk has been cleansed. Beloved, God does not see your foolish mind, weak nature, inadequate feelings or faulty walk. Instead, He sees you in the perfection of His Son, who gave Himself up for you as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to G

Three years

Three years ago today my mother died.  I just thought I'd mention that as the world rushes around trying to earn approval from others.  Although I never earned my mother's approval, it doesn't matter anymore.  Why?  Because she's gone so long that I've forgotten all of her nasty, cruel, controlling ways?  No, because I've found Pastor Joseph Prince and I read his emails every morning before I start my day.  I cannot urge you too strongly to get into this practice yourself.  Just go to www.josephprince.org and sign up for his free daily emails. 

In case you're not convinced that this can change your life, here's today's meditation for you to ponder.  I've come to see that the reason we humans try to make our own path to God is because we think that this means that we have power--look what I did, Mom!  That, not only is childish, it is keeping us from experiencing a deep relationship with God.  PLEASE read this meditation and let it seep into your soul today. THEN you will know how happy I am today to be free of my mother's condemnation on my life!  PTL

I really, truly, sincerely, entirely, unequivocally, wholly, graciously AM loved by God--YIPPEE!!  SO ARE YOU!  Here's to Pastor Prince and here's to GOD!!!!!!!!!!

Happy today!

Dawn

The Good Life Without The Sweat

Matthew 6:26 26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Most people are of the opinion that the good life does not happen without hard work and buckets of sweat. They believe that to achieve success, you first need to have this educational certificate, that professional qualification, this particular job and that many years of hard work. I have good news for you: God has a better way. We all must work, but the world wants you to believe that there is a natural process of sowing, reaping and gathering, accompanied by waiting, toiling and stress, before the good life actually comes. But God says, “My people do not need to go through this natural process to enjoy the good life for they are not of this world’s system. They can operate out of My economy and I can give them the good life straightaway!” In the same way that God feeds the birds which do not go through the sow-then-reap-then-gather system of the world, He wants to and will do much more for you! Your heavenly Father wants you to know the generosity of His heart toward you and how much He wants to make you successful. A case in point is what happened to a church member who believed this truth. After leaving his previous job, he trusted God to provide him with a better one. Within just four months, he found himself heading two companies. His newly formed distribution company not only clinched a major project in Singapore, but was also made the principal distributor in Southeast Asia for a popular line of products from the United States. His second company, which provided consultancy services, was given two projects by a Korean and a Hong Kong company for a six-figure consultancy fee in US dollars. Today, God wants you to know that you are not of the world’s system. You are of the kingdom of God — the same kingdom that feeds the birds that do not toil, but simply trust their Creator for all their provisions in life. Be convinced that you are of more value to your heavenly Father than the birds, and let Him give you the good life without the toiling and laboring of the world

I've got it!

I grew up in churches and tried to serve God all my life but have always felt like a failure--until now.  Pastor Joseph Prince's message on health and happiness, finally got through to me, that God REALLY loves me, and that He wants me to love me too.  PLEASE go to josephprince.org and feed upon the messages of grace found there for I truly believe that God means for life to be happy.  AMEN!

Dawn