Giveaway from Katie Orse!

 A very fun giveaway! Go check it out and enter to win!

I just love her folder sleeves and really just everything she makes!



http://shealynnbenner.com/2011/04/giveaway-katie-orse.html#comment-16099

Knitting

I finished my first knitted hat tonight, and I love it! It has so many issues and quirks...but it's mine, and I am proud of it. Launa taught me how to get started and the rest is history! I really like being creative although at times it is a stretch for me. I enjoy creating things, and making this hat was fun and...well fairly easy...LOL! I actually was making it to fit Ellie, but it ended up being big enough for Abby which is ok too. I will be making some more for sure and eventually all my girls will have one!

Live again!!

I was in a time of prayer and meditating on the Lord the other day and felt the Lord telling me to read the story of Ezekiel 37 again...the valley of dry bones.  It is an amazing passage of scripture and captured me because the song of Ezekiel has really been in my spirit lately.

The Lord Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He loves to resurrect, and if that's the case then there has to something to resurrect!  In the chapter the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones. The Lord could have just resurrected them without Ezekiel's prophecy, but He chooses to use His people to speak His Word into the earth. Lord, let me have ears to hear what You would say!

During our conference, Paul Keith spoke about prophesying to the land, to our loved ones, and circumstances.  There is something very powerful that happens when the people of God speak the words of Truth and Life into the atmosphere around us, as Ezekiel proved to us in chapter 37. The dry bones came together, then the sinews came, then the skin covered them.  They were whole....but still not living....

The Lord then told him to prophesy to the wind,  the four winds, the breath of God to breathe into the slain that they may live!!! Just like God breathed life into Adam in the Garden, He is breathing life into His body around the globe so that they may live again and go forth to do His will.God spoke through Ezekiel, but it was God's Words and Breath that brought the bones together and eventually brought life back into them.

We are to be His Body on the earth....a many-membered Body of Christ doing His will. Those of His people that have been slain in battle are going to rise again. Those who have lost all hope, those who have been cut off from Life are to live again when we prophesy life and the breath of God back into them!!!

I have been one who was cut off and had lost all hope. 2009 was a year that I pray I never repeat! I was bound and in the devil's prison.  I had swallowed lie after lie of the devil's and he had my ear so no truth could get through. God used Paul Keith to speak over me and the Lord breathed His breath of Life on me. I could feel my spirit coming alive again!  All I can say is it was like going from a pitch black room to full sunlight, and I was almost blinded by the brilliance. It took me a little bit to get used to the Light again!

Yet the battle wasn't over for me.  My spirit man was weak from the stupor of  my deathlike state. I had to slowly begin to climb again and eat of the manna of the Word with faith, trusting that He would bring me all the way out by His strength!!! I was renewed, but had to keep pressing forward and not allowing myself to become entangled again.

I am so grateful to the Lord for His delivering power and for the GRACE He shows His children. I am His, and He is breathing His life through me. The Lord Jesus is resurrecting His Bride to walk out His will in the earth!

Conference 2010 & Pastor's 35th Ministry Anniversary Dinner

   I am still reveling in all that happened and was accomplished in this week during the Conference.  Where to start....where to start???? Well, I for one was so abundantly blessed in seeing Paul Cain be blessed and step into some things again for his own life.  It was evident that new life had sprung up in him, and he was visibly more energized and alive.  His humor was fabulous and his sincerity was moving.  I was so honored to be in the services where he spoke, and I held onto his words with thankfulness for men of God like himself.  I believe as he is moving back into his destiny and ministry for Jesus that others will begin to arise and take their places as well. What an awesome time we are in!

   I was so hungry for what God wanted to do in this conference, and I wanted all He had for me. I had my spirit, soul and body ready to receive, but also to give out.  I found that in this conference I was ministered to on so many levels, and I also tried to be lead and used of the Lord to minister to others. I know I was changed forever in this conference.  To God be the Glory!

  Paul Keith is always such an awesome blessing when he is here at New Hope. I was made aware again at how thankful I am for his ministry and the integrity he holds.  He and Brother Shelley are really an awesome team! God just does things right! 

  

  It was a special blessing to have Dave and Cheryl Bryan (A.A. Alen's granddaughter) with us for the conference too.  They spoke about A.A. Alen and his ministry which was really moving to me. I so enjoyed that time! I was also thankful for the way they ministered to so many and the deliverance that was brought.

   It was so thrilling to see Zoe being ministered to and then in turn ministering to others. Seeing God working in her young life makes me feel abundantly blessed. I know she has a heart for the things of the Spirit and so many giftings in her life already!

It was also awesome watching Zoe, Abigail and the other girls dance to "I am Radiant" during the conference.  It was sweet and moving all at the same time. Thanks again, Stephanie! They did such a great job, and I thank you Lord for our little Daughter's of Destiny!

 We finished off the weekend by having Brother Shelley's 35th Ministry Anniversary Dinner.  It was a wonderful afternoon with so much laughter and lots of tears too.  Brother Shelley has given his entire life for the Gospel and seeing the Bride of Christ find her place. I am really proud of my Pastor because he is just such a true man of God who lives the life and speaks the Truth! Those who spoke at the dinner really made it extra special, and of course the video was priceless!!! 

I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of New Hope and the awesome things God is doing here among us and in us! This 2010 Conference was life changing for me!

 

Trust = Peace

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Psalm 9:10

Trust: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something

Trust is a word that has been swirling around in my spirit for months now, and I have been faced with it's definition on many levels. Pastor Shelley has been preaching on his series of holding to the Lord's head, and it just seems that I keep getting more and more about trust. I have been fed and have received so much from the things he has taught and shared, and I know it has been life changing for me.

There are so many things going on around me and in my own life that I just don't understand, yet I am clinging to my Lord's head knowing he is sovereign. If I put my trust in Him then I have done all I can do. I have no power or ability to change things or people in my own self, but through Him I can be changed and in turn change the world. We have been looking at a certain house and some land to buy for a few months now, and it seemed it was just perfect for us and had everything we wanted and more! Yet it seemed that every time we made a step forward we got pushed two steps back. We were determined to trust the Lord with it though. We made several offers on it and kept believing it would be ours. We got the news this week that a real estate agent had won the bid with a cash offer. I know that it isn't over until the Lord says it is, but I have a peace that even if this place isn't for us that my Heavenly Father has something somewhere waiting for us. It isn't always easy to think positively about it, but I concentrate on trusting Him instead of the negative feelings that I sometimes feel. He is ever faithful!

There have been very few times in my life that I have come to this place of trust. I only wish that I could stay there at all times because there would be only peace for me and no more struggle. I remember before I was married to my wonderful husband and best friend almost 10 years ago, when the Lord was testing my trust in Him. I was being pulled in so many directions and things just looked so cloudy. I so wanted to know God's perfect will for my life and if that was to include a husband, and if so who it was to be. I prayed and kept my mind and heart on the Lord waiting to know His will. He then gave me a promise to not only lead me, but to carry me! I was so grateful to my loving Jesus for being faithful, and carry me He did. So because of that, I can honestly say that my marriage to Kary has been more then blessed, it has been God ordained. Yes, there have been struggles and hard times, but no matter what we both know we are in God's plan for our lives which gives me a peace that can't be shaken.

Trust....I so want to be able to trust my Heavenly Father with EVERYTHING. It doesn't mean that I should just sit idly by and never fight for what is right or what is mine, nor is it an excuse for laziness. If you have that place of trust then you have also reached that place of peace. To trust the Lord fully is to know that whatever happens, I am in His great big capable hands. He is never taken by surprise by the things that go on in my life, and when I give it all to him...really...then I am able to trust and then be at peace.

Angela

A momma's thoughts and feelings

Today is Elianna's 1st birthday. I can hardly believe that the time has gone by this fast, and I often wish there was a pause button on my girls. I could just slow time down and hold them close forever. Then I think about Who gave them to me and what plans their Heavenly Father has for them and I can then relax knowing that He has them in His great big capable hands. I know that I can't keep them small forever because they wouldn't be able to fulfill everything that God designed for them.

I often think about how much I want my girls to be happy and find what they want and were designed to do in this life, but when I do I know I am only scratching the surface of what Abba (papa) wants for them. I love them so much that it sometimes hurts. They are a part of me. I see myself in my girls and different things they do remind me of myself. Sometimes that is a good thing and then there are other times when I am ashamed and wish they hadn't picked up some of my bad habits. They say things a lot that sound just like me and it is funny to hear a small child parroting me especially when they aren't 100% sure of what it means, but just knowing that Momma said it and said it was true.....

As time goes by I realize more and more how the parallels between us and our children and us and God are so close. I am convinced that He designed it that way. I know that He wanted to give us a glimpse of what it is like to love someone so much that you would die for them, yet His love is much greater then even a Momma's. Sometimes I wonder how that could be.....how could a love so great exist? He is an awesome God and His love is unfathomable!

We all have certain gifts and talents that come from God. I mean, if you think about it, we are all like a little extension of the great talent He is. Music, art, writing, speaking, gardening, photography, and many more that I could name. So like seeing yourself in your kids, our Father sees Himself in us which is just amazing to me.

We can also speak like He does and say the things He does because we know He is our Father and what he says is true. We may not always understand it or know why it's true, but if He said it then it is so. Many times when I was young I would ask "Why?" when told to do something or that we couldn't do something. I remember my Dad saying, "Because I said so", or "Because, that's why". Now that I am older, I know that he couldn't always explain "why" to me. I was too young to understand what his adult mind already knew. I didn't always like his answer, but now I know there are things that just have to be done "because". I do try to explain things to my girls in their terms if I can, but there are times when I just have to tell them "because" like my Dad did. So many times that is how I feel with God. I ask "Why?", when things happen that I don't understand or that I wish wouldn't be a certain way. God is not required to answer or "why's?". We are to trust Him and lean on His love for us knowing that He will take care of us as he says in His Word......

So now I have rambled and rambled, but it was just all stuff in my spirit and I wanted to put it out here....I hope it made some sense and that you can see my heart in it.

A "little" blessing

I just wanted to give God thanks for a blessing He gave us yesterday. Kary and I are planning a camping trip for our family in May. We have a tent that is quit old and has some holes that we were going to have to repair so we decided to look into getting new one for a reasonable price.

We really didn't have the extra money to buy a tent, but we did need one in order to go on our camping trip. We are taking our kids to camp because Kary and I have camped all our growing up years and we want our girls to have the same great memories. I love being outdoors and it is such a great feeling to be so close to nature and God's creation.

We looked online and found a tent that was about $140 which was more then we wanted to spend, but we really liked it. A few days later we went to Target to look at it and see what else they had. When we got there we discovered that there was only one left of the one we liked and it was on SALE! It was now $70. That was much more in our price range, but we really didn't have the extra cash right then. We decided to wait and see if it would still be there when Kary got paid again. It was kinda hard to leave it because it was such a good deal we were just sure that someone would buy it before then.

Kary went to work the next day and had a business meeting. In the meeting they asked what the TSYS vision was and no one answered. So Kary raised his hand and gave the answer, and the meeting went on. After the meeting was over he was given a $50 visa gift card! It was just one of those sweet blessings from God and it was just at the right time. So the tent cost us about $24 with taxes and all.

I couldn't help but feel God smiling on us and trying to tell us that He is watching out for even the smallest desires of our hearts. I think it was just a glimpse of some of the things he wants to bless us with in this coming year. He is a faithful God and weather or not we see the little
blessings that he pours out is up to us......


Angela