I never knew that living for Christ would be the hardest and most rewarding thing you can ever do all at the same time. It is not for the weak, but it is exactly for the weak. You go through fire to become fire. You lose everything to gain everything. I have learned that God truly is a beautiful paradox that makes complete sense. He is the King of all and the Servant of all. We must be humble to be exalted. We must give to receive.

Everyday I learn more about how awesome God is and the more I learn the more I fall in love. He has my heart, my soul, my dreams, and my destiny. Lately I have been facing some hard times of my past and allowing Jesus into these deep dark places I didn't know were there. It hurts like hell and is refreshing as rain. To go through His fire means to have the me burned out and the Him to shine through. Some may think they don't want themselves burned out, but we only truly become who we were created to be when He shines through us. HE brings out the best in us. I thank Him for His refining and embrace it, for on the other side it will be an awesome masterpiece.

Again, all I can say is life sold out to God is the only life worth living. Casual church is a joke. God is looking for desperate people willing to live life for Him...people willing to get plugged into a powerful God. When we do that we will turn the world right-side up.

Peace-

Much of why there is so much chaos in the world is because it is filled with lost people. What I mean by "lost" is they do not have direction...they do not know what to do with their lives...they feel like they have no purpose. Or perhaps it's that you have lots of ideas and brainstorming thoughts but lack the discipline to fulfill anything. So, how do you get purpose? How do you find your destiny? Well, I have some ideas and they are working out for me, so I thought I'd share.

The most important decision a person can make is the decision to surrender; to give up; to realize they cannot do it on their own. Once you've arrived here, you reach out and recognize that there is indeed a God. There is just one and He has many names, but the greatest of them all is Jesus. Every word written in the bible is true and you must accept that. You must believe by faith that He is all that He says He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Then you must believe in His son who is named Jesus. Jesus came to earth, born as a man from the sperm of God...immaculate conception. He lived as a man, but without sin (doing anything wrong) and was filled with the Holy Spirit of God when He began His ministry. Jesus loved everyone and still does...He cared for those who no one cared for: the outcasts, the broken, the rejects, the poor, the sick and He brought them hope and saved them. He wants to do the same for each and every person in the entire world that has ever been and will ever be. He wants a relationship with you...a real relationship...one where you talk all the time; you lean on Him; you go to Him for your every need and He is indeed able to meet every one of those needs....I know.

For the last 2 years I have done this. I surrendered to Him. I turned away from the destructive lifestyle I had lived for 20 years and craved purity....truth....something real. I put my trust in Him to show me the way. I had dreams of being a song writer and of doing something amazing in my lifetime. Now I wanted to be a songwriter for Him and do something amazing for Him. The journey has turned out differently than I expected...better than I expected...and getting better everyday.

After surrendering and believing in Jesus, the Son of God, and all that He says He is you must seek Him with all of your heart. This is something you give everything you have into! God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13 that when we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him. God does not like people to be lukewarm in their relationship towards Him  and He says in Revelation 3:16 that He wishes you would either be hot or cold, but if you are lukewarm He'll spew you out of His mouth. I learned the hard way what He meant. When someone you love can't make up their mind about whether or not they want to be with you, it really hurts and you don't care what their choice is anymore, you just want them to decide something; that is how God feels. He desires to be desired by your whole heart and trust me there is no love like His! He will move you and love you more than you can even imagine and once you taste of His love for you, you'll be hooked...in love with Him for all of eternity. The reason why more people don't know what I'm talking about is because they have never surrendered themselves to know Him at all costs. Desperation here! True desperate hearts crying out for God....crying out for Him to save their lives from their own self-destruction which in turn leads to eternal destruction. It is the heart that seeks Him desperately, wholly, completely that will find Him. Then He becomes the greatest treasure you have ever known and once you are in this place your destiny truly begins.

As you seek Him, He sculpts you into your destiny. He is the direction. He is your destiny and how that looks for each person in a day to day life is various and unique and no two are alike. You see, He's made you one of a kind and only you can do what He's crafted you to do and if you don't do your job, it's just not done. He doesn't like for His children to not be fulfilled in their creative destinies. Aren't you crying out for your destiny...purpose?

I thought I knew my destiny. I had some clues: music, songwriting, teaching, God....but truthfully, 10 years ago I had no clue of this. I wasn't singing. I wasn't writing songs. I wasn't seeking God. But in my dream of dreams...my fantasy...this was what I wanted for as long as I could remember, but I thought it was just that...a dream. Who do you think put that dream in me? My God...my Creator. What dream do you have? What longings are in you? Deep longings that you think aren't possible. Most likely that is a clue to your true destiny, but unless you get there through a true relationship with God via His Holy Spirit, for only the Spirit of God truly knows God and He is our ultimate teacher, your desires will burn unfulfilled. So, what have I said here is:

Surrender, believe in the One True God and Jesus, seek Him with your whole heart and you will find your destiny. Sounds simple yet it is the hardest thing for anyone to do. We don't want to surrender. We don't want to depend on anyone. We don't want to trust. We don't want to believe that God is the answer, but He is and until you come to that choice in your own life nothing will be right. Nothing will be truly satsifying. Nothing will be.

I pray that as you have read this the Holy Spirit has come all over you and pierced your heart and awakened you to come to Him. He desires that none should die, but that all should come to life in Him. I know this because He has told me.

In Him I live and breathe- Nissi

I've just gotten back from a God-chasing road trip that took me to Lakeland, Florida. In the event you were not aware, there is a major outpouring of the presence of the Lord taking place nightly there and can be watched live each night on God TV or on the internet.

I wholeheartedly believe that what is happening right now in Lakeland is going to become common place in our nation and in all nations around the world. When Jesus commissioned the disciples, He told them to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). In Mark 16:15-18, Jesus tells them that as they go out to all the world, they are to proclaim the Good News (the Gospel) and as they go those who trust will be saved, those who do not will be condemned. Also, there will be signs that follow them as they go: in His name demons will be driven out, they will speak with new tongues, they will not be harmed if they handle snakes or drink poison, and they will heal the sick by laying hands on them.

Over the last decade, the increase of healing miracles has been on the rise. Toronto, Redding, California, Mozambique, China, South America, India....all seeing the power of our Father in heaven through the name of Jesus! Now, there is an outpouring of the Spirit of God taking place in Lakeland, Florida and I know that it is going to spread across the United States and around the world. For some time now, the Spirit has been speaking to me and writing songs through me about preparing the way of the Lord and about the body of Christ awakening. The Bride has been asleep!!! She has fallen into the trance of the world and looks and thinks like it. She thinks she is doing the work of the Lord, but she isn't. Jesus was very specific when He told the disciples what to do. First He showed them, then He told them to go. (Matt.10:1)  We are His disciples. We have the same commission. How does that look in your day to day life? Well, that will vary I'm sure, but this is how it looks in mine....

During the school year, I go to work. Each day during the day I am given the opportunity to share with co-workers the truth of Life in Jesus and that He is the answer to their EVERY need. I pray over my students; I get to sing songs in almost every classroom allowing my worship of my Lord through song to penetrate their hearts. Perhaps I have to stop at Wal-mart on my way home...inevitably there is usually someone the Lord will direct me to stop and ask them if I can pray for them for healing. I've gotten to witness Jesus heal a woman's sciatic nerve in Rite-Aid as He led me to pray for her. IT was such a joyous occasion! Sometimes it's a simple as letting a car pull out in front of you, holding open the door for someone coming behind you, smiling, saying a kind word to those working in service industries, buying a meal or a tank of gas for someone the Lord leads you to. It's called being a disciple of the Lord 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am the Church. I am His Bride and I am determined that the Master finds me doing His work when He returns.

How can you start living your life as a TRUE Christ follower? Simple, start by making the decision to do so and seek Him with all of your heart. Then listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Get the junk of this world out of your life so you can hear His voice more clearly. Stop watching TV so much, put down the magazine and romance novel, and start seeking Him more. Then when you go out around town you'll be able to hear Him guide you. Life in Christ is the most exciting thing I have ever done. I am constantly challenged and continuously rewarded by His presence in my life. He is my reward and I want more and more of Him!! Once you taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8), you'll never want the things of this world again.  So wake up child of God and get to work....there are a few billion souls out there who need to know Jesus!

Peace and blessings-

d

Word from the Lord received 2/18/2008 at 4pm

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     So many mysteries I want to unveil of who I truly am to you. Come in to my secret place so I can show you. No man has seen, neither has he heard the things I want to share. My mountain stands alone and is waiting for those who will make the journey to the resting place on top. Will you go?  Will you come and dwell with Me on the mountain top?  Beloved, I desire to show My face, but so few are desiring to see it. My heart longs to see face to face; to allow my true beauty to be seen, but where are the seekers?  Come seek Me and You will find Me—I will show you love like you cannot imagine—love that transforms and love that heals—it is free to all who will come.  Come to Me and Know Me.  Come to Me and I will give you rest—I will give you the fullness you seek. For My fullness completes and restores—it will double the portion taken from you. So many stop at the foot of the mountain…seeing it is enough, but I desire for those who will come and dwell with Me at the top. Will you come to the top? Take My hand—I will help you across the rocky sides and will steady your feet so that you will not slide—just take My hand and I will lead you.  I desire so many, but so few will come. Will you come, beloved? Will you come and see me as I truly am?  I want to show you who I truly am so you can tell the world. Tell them that I am a God of love—a God of peace—a God of provision—a God of mercy and grace—but do not underestimate My power or wrath against evil. I will not tolerate the blasphemy or the denial—I am God and there is none like Me. Who made the heavens? Who made the peoples? I am the Creator of all and My ways are just and right—who can deny the will of the Creator?

      Time is short beloved. Not much time now to tell them of My return, but do not fear, for I will send a wave of My Spirit that will carry My word and My love and My message to the ends of the earth and all will see My beauty and My greatness…all will see My glory and My return. My King I set upon the throne and all will bow at His feet. All will say, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain…who lives and reigns forever!"  Mercy will be in my right hand and judgment in my left. Tell them beloved, of my words—tell them so that they might be saved from My wrath and fire. I desire that not one be lost—not one!

       Rise up o great army and hear your Chief as He commands! Rise up and march across the lands! I will pour out My Spirit upon you all and all will prophesy of My return and My love. All will be filled with My boldness. Up to now only My chosen have known Me, but now is the time when all will know Me as I truly am—Great and Mighty and Compassionate, yet just and right are My ways.  I am who I say I am and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that I am Lord---My name is He!   ('He' actually being breath but not really transcribable)

     Can you imagine 2,000 people gathering together on a Friday night for 6 hours of intensive bible teaching?  Two years ago it would have seemed a little extreme to me, but since I have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus and old things are gone, nothing seems more right! Yes, last night at The Church at Brookhills in Birmingham, Alabama,  we had people from all over the southeast and the world gathering together for part 3 out of 4 of "Secret Church."  Secret Church is based upon our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who have to study God's word and gather together in secret or they will be imprisoned, beaten, or even killed. Led by our Pastor, Dr. David Platt, the Church at Brookhills has one mission: to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and one way we are doing that is creating teaching tools to get to the underground churches all over the world. We were able to hear first-hand testimony of our brothers from Indonesia as they have endured persecution for their faith in Christ. It was a great time of learning about and worshipping our God.
    In America we have the freedom to choose to worhip Christ or anyone else we choose, but slowly that freedom is being taken away. The latest attack on the Christian faith is the Winter Olympic Committee ruling that there will be no Bibles allowed to the athletes. It just confirms the state of the entire world and the truth of the prophesies in the book of Revelation. The great news is that there is an awakening of the body of Christ and the events of last night confirm this.
    Then after six hours of  intensive teaching....really intensive if you are at all familiar with the teachings of David Platt , the student ministry had a mock "Locked Up" lock-in from midnight-6am. 170 students came and experienced various simulations, on a minor scale, of what our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ go through. I got the awesome opportunity of leading a worship gathering at 4:30am and it was so awesome to be singing to God at 4:30 am!!! Just 2 years ago I was singing at 4:30 am in a packed club in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in front of about 2000 drunk college students on a Friday night before the Bama/Florida game. I was so miserable that night and now...look at what God has done! Wow! I am daily humbled by the grace of my Beloved Lord and Savior and the abundance of His mercy is beyond my comprehension.
     There is not much time left....I truly believe this and I want to encourage you to do a self-evaluation: where is your heart? Is is with Jesus Christ; walking in daily fellowship with Him, or is it in fellowship with the world in lust, materialism, and self-absorption?  It's not too late...yet, but one day it just might be. God truly loves you and wants an intimate friendship and relationship with you. I pray that you will join my family in Christ and begin experiencing the peace and joy that passes all understanding in Him.
In my Beloved Lord,
D-
  
Check out Secret Church 

As I am enjoying a day off from work...say yea for inclement weather make-up days we haven't had to use, I am just as usual overwhelmed by the love and goodness of my Beloved Lord. How did I ever live without Him being first in my life? I know exactly how I lived....miserably! Do things always work out in the way I want? No. Do I never face problems? Hardly! Am I living in a fairy tale land? Sometimes , but honestly when you know who you are in Christ and you go to Him with all the messy details of life, you know you have the Answer. Perhaps you don't know which way to go at this moment, but you know that God will show you the way. You may not know exactly how the bills will be paid, but you know God will provide a way for you. He never fails...he can't...it would be un-Godly to do that: fail us. Most likely, we fail in our faith, or in our ability to work out our patience, or perhaps we are just not there yet to the level we want to be, but we keep on striving for those things which are above and not on the things here (Col. 3:2).

     This week I have fallen even deeper in love with my Beloved as He delights in giving me all of these love songs. 2 weeks ago it was a song calling for my Bridegroom to come for me and this week He told me to write Him a song about sitting under the apple tree. It's based upon Song of Solomon Ch. 2 and I love it! I can't wait to get these new love/worship songs one day onto a cd to give out. I pray that God will continue to open the doors for me to do just that.

     In June, my band disassembled due to situations beyond any of our control. I knew that God had a plan and I would just take some time and continue to seek Him and see where we would go. I never thought it would be me playing guitar and writing new songs on the guitar, but it has and am I ever humbled and astonished all at the same time!! God has brought out something in me I didn't even know really was in me and is bringing me into the path He has chosen for me. I should have let go a long time ago and let Him take over, but no, I had to do things "my way" which was the hard way! I pray for a contrite spirit in me everyday to guide me to Him. More and more of Him and less and less of me is what I want.

     So, over the next few weeks or months, I am going to be posting songs that were recorded before things went awry and hopefully soon I will also be able to put up some of the new very worship oriented songs God has written through me. I pray that you will be blessed by this music the way that I have been blessed. I am not the same woman I was two years ago...not even close...and I have never been happier, more in love (and I haven't had a date in 18 months!), and at peace (well, maybe that's because I haven't had a date...ha just joking ) no, really....God is good...no, He's so much more than that, but there aren't words to say it. If you could look into my heart and see the joy and love that bubbles constantly, effervescently rising up within me day and night, then you would see Him and see His goodness! May my life be a testimony to His glory! It's all about you Lord Jesus!!!!
Blessings-
D~

My Covenant with My Lord

 

 

            Matthew 7:7-8 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you; for every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened."

 

            I want to share with you a journey of mystery and revelation that the Lord God Almighty has shared with me.  Father, I pray that You would open the eyes of those who read this to see You in all Your glory, in Your precious Son, Jesus', name. Amen.

 

            Our Creator and the Creator of the Universe desires to have a relationship with us; a relationship filled with intimacy, love, and trust. As I have continued to grow deeper and deeper in Him and His Word, I have prayed to know Him intimately; for us to become one as He is one with His Son, Jesus. The Lord hears the desires of my heart.

 

            On June 13, 2007, I was attending Student Life at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC with my church youth group. Louie Giglio was our teacher for the week and on this particular night he was giving us the Indescribable message. If you have never seen the Indescribable message/video, it is a must. It is all about our indescribable, awesome God of the universe and His magnificent creations.

            During the message, we see different cosmic formations of galaxies and nebulae. The universe we live in-- the universe God has created is so beautiful! One of the nebulae is called the "Hourglass Nebulae." Here is a picture of it:

              

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Pretty amazing, huh? Well, when I saw this all of a sudden I was flooded with a memory and I pretty much melted in the presence of God. You see, I had drawn a picture of this figure back several months prior when God was trying to show me something about His relationship with us and His relationship with His Son and Spirit….Trinity.  I was so humbled that God had given me a vision of something that He created in this universe. Words cannot express how I felt that night as I realized that God was trying to communicate something to me through this picture, but what?

 

            I returned home from the trip and immediately tried to find where I had drawn this figure. I had started writing my prayers to God in journals the previous July and thought that was where I had drawn the figure. I searched page after page after page…7 journals front and back of each page, to be exact; couldn't find it. I knew it had to be somewhere! I saw my small steno pad I take to church with me sometimes and looked in there hoping to find the drawing. Lo and behold there it was on the back of notes from the service on February 11, 2007! I couldn't believe I had not thrown away my notes! That in itself was a miracle! There it was: this figure of circle overlapping a circle as I was trying to make sense of what I was seeing/sensing from God.

 

            I became quite focused on finding out the meaning of it all. The more I meditated and prayed about it, the more I became clearly confident that it was a picture representation of the Lord's relationship with man with Jesus Christ being the center of it all: our Mediator to the Father.

            In July 2007, another piece to the puzzle was added. I was talking with my mother and I now had the Hourglass Nebulae as my desktop wallpaper. She and I were talking about the importance of having an intimate relationship with God…that intimacy is key to knowing Him; to truly be 'connected' to Him. When I said the word "connected" I do what I so often do to express myself: I used sign language. I am a teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in addition to my love for writing songs and singing. The sign for "connected" looks like this:

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Do this and holding your hands with fingers pointing upward what do you see???? Do you see what I see? There it is…that figure again! I was so amazed at God "connecting" with me in such a way that was meaningful to me. But wait…it just gets better!

             This past Sunday, August 12, 2007 (6 months/25 weeks to the day of my first drawing this figure) the revelation came. I was up early as I usually am to spend time with God, and I felt led to change the direction of the Hourglass Nebulae to be vertical instead of horizontal. Our connection with God is that of a vertical nature and I just felt led to do it, so I did. Here it is again that way:

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I then went and started reading through material I was to present that morning to my 10-12^th grade girls I am teaching. We are doing a study on God's Covenant. I pulled out my book I read in April 2007 by Kay Arthur, Our Covenant God, to get some extra material to present. I wanted to tell the students about the original covenant God made with Abraham. Kay has a fantastic description of exactly what a covenant was in Old Testament times between two people. I would like to quote her book for you now:

 

Ch. 6         

Covenant is…A Bond in Blood

 

The animals had been slain---cut in half down the spine. Their bright blood stained the stones, the dirt, the grass, vying with sprinklets of wildflowers in their display of color. A covenant was being cut.

The two men stood opposite one another.  Each removed his own robes and handed them to the other, then clothed himself in his covenant brother's garment.

 

I am putting on you…and you me. We are one.

 

Picking up their weapons from the ground, each handed the other his sword, his bow. By this action they understood…

 

Your enemies are now mine…and mine yours.

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Then they handed each other their belts.

 

When you are weak, my strength will be there for you.

In a figure-eight path, both walked through the pieces of flesh lying opposite one another. It was a walk into death.

 

I am dying to my independent living…and to my rights….

 

Did you catch that? Ok, here is where the revelation hit me with full force and the tears began to flow! The Hourglass Nebulae…figure 8…the covenant walk. God is showing me what it means. We are connected to Him through Jesus Christ, the Center, the Position of Pre-eminence, the Mediator, the Firstborn among the dead, the Beginning. Wow! Wow! Wow! Are you seeing this? I pray you are seeing His magnificent glory. But wait, it gets even better and more personal now.

 

Last year in June 2006, I was having a conversation with my mom about my new deep desire for God. If you didn't know, I was raised in a very Christ-centered home, but I got entangled in worldly living and the devastating effects of it for 20 years. I came to a place of surrender in March 2006 and then proceeded to restore a fervent, passionate relationship with my Lord I once had as a youth.  My mother told me that I needed to make covenant with God and to ask Him to give me something special to remember it by. She told me her story of when in 1982, she and my father were in the Caribbean Island of Anguilla when God told her He was going to give her a sign of His covenant to her. She received a gold band there and still wears it to this day.

 

I had forgotten about this conversation until when on Sunday night, August 12, 2007, I was telling her about what God has revealed to me that morning about the figure-eight path and His covenant. I said, "God has given me a sign of His covenant." It was then that full-blown realization-revelation hit me. She remembered her ring and I remembered her story and how I had asked God to do that for me. I went out and bought a ring to remember the promise I was making to Him…to be holy and blameless before Him and seeking Him all the days of my life. Now here in the stars above was a star nebulae showing me God's covenant promise to me. My God had given me the Hourglass Nebulae as a visual reminder to forever and always remember His covenant promise to me. Me: A chief sinner among sinners, but now through the blood of Jesus Christ shed through His death on the cross am saved. Jesus is the sacrifice used to ratify the covenant of God, through Whom made the way for me to have connection and oneness to God! Through Whom we all may have this connection and oneness. Wow!

 

Do you see Beloved? Do you see how amazing my God, Jehovah, is? Do you see His love? I pray that God will touch your life through my journey with Him that has taken place the last 6 months. If you don't know Jesus Christ, I pray that you will now desire to and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart and change your life forever like He has mine.

 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

May the Lord bless you and keep you. (Num 6:24)

D. Watts

I have titled this blog "God is God" because sometimes there just isn't any other way to explain Him. He is the Almighty Sovereign God and He wants us to realize that there is no other above Him.

I got asked to sing the National Anthem for the Birmingham Steeldogs game on July 28th. I really like singing this song. There is something really special about it...declaring the freedom that we so often take for granted here in America. So, I was stoked about getting to do it! Now, the National Anthem is a song that a lot of singers shy away from. It's a good thing I never thought much about that ! However I started thinking a LOT about that this week as on Thursday my throat started getting a funny feeling in it. Trust me we singers can be a little extreme when we have a show coming up when it comes to germs etc. The throat is a very special thing to a singer, duh? So, when this started, I immediately started seeking God on the matter. Reading healing scriptures, speaking positive confessions, thanking God for healing. Speaking those things that aren't as though they are. Walking by faith, not by sight. Doing all the things that I know to do when facing a situation like this.

Saturday morning, my head is stopped up, my voice crackling ( now I know that I naturally have a deep throaty voice, but not like this!) and as I sing the National Anthem for my daughter??...she said, "Let's pray!" So, you get the picture. Now, I was faced with a decision here: go see the doctor and get a shot of cortisone so my voice would be good by 7pm, or trust God. Yes, cortisone is a great friend for a singer in a desperate situation! A shot in the hiney not so nice, but the effect it has for swollen vocal folds incomparable. However, God has been taking me just this week to such a deeper level with Him. Reading very inspiring books like Bill Johnson's "The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind" and "Finding His Will" by Gloria Copeland to name a few. I know that God is Almighty. I know that God is sovereign. I know that His word is Truth. So, I decided to trust in God to make my voice ok rather than go to see the doctor. Now, I am not suggesting that all people do this, but for me I knew it was a step of faith I was suppose to take with Him.

I spent all day in prayer. I arrived at the BJCC (Bham Civic Center) at 5:30 to do a sound check. I could tell by the sound of my voice that if I did a sound check at that moment, it wouldn't have been pretty, so I opted not to do it and said I would be fine to do it at the time of the opening. I went and spent the next hour praying to God in my journal. I find for me, writing my prayers to God is so much more effective and focused. I went to read more healing scriptures and found my way to scriptures on Answered Prayer in this great little book I got when I was 18. The Lord brought my attention to the verse Isaiah 50:7 which says, "The Lord God is my help; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I will set my face like flint and I know that I will not be ashamed." That scripture grabbed me and I held on to it. I knew that the Lord had brought me the opportunity to sing in the first place and He would not allow me to be disgraced or ashamed. I set my face like flint and as I started to warm my voice, there was no hoarseness!!!! Praise God there was no hoarseness! I went out and nailed the song, praise God, and got asked to do it again by a guy in the stands at another event in a few weeks!!

Now, I immediately called my mom and dad who were in prayer for me to tell them of God's beautiful hand on me and you know how my voice sounded? Hoarse again. Today? Really hoarse, but God did not let me be disgraced or ashamed and I sang for Him with His supernatural annointing on me. God is God and He wanted me to know that He always has been and always will be; that I can depend on Him in my very time of need. So can you. God will never leave you nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5, 9) Trust in Him. Trust in His word.

Blessings to you!
D-
Ani le Dodi, ve Dodi li!

     Words are seed. In Mark 4, Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. The Sower is a planter or farmer planting seeds of the Word of God. The seeds fall onto different types of ground: stony, wayside, thorny, good. The ground represents the condition of the heart of the hearer of the Word. If the Word of God falls onto stony/hard ground the seed will spring up quickly, but be scorched by the sun or be killed by the harshness of the world.  The seed that falls onto the 'wayside' is taken away by birds. This represents how the Word of God can get planted into our hearts but we are persuaded by others around us not to hold onto the truths we hear and they are carried away...forgotten…dismissed. The third type of ground is where the seeds grow, but are choked by thorns. The thorns represent the cares and lusts of the world: success, money, status, job.  The thorns become more important than the truths and will choke the plants. The thorns also can be in the way of the Harvester (God) trying to help the fruit grow and be picked.

            Now the 4^th type of ground is called "good" ground and the seed grows up producing some 30 fold, some 60 fold, and some 100 fold return.  Why is it that some of the ground only has a 30% return? A 60% return? A 100% return? The amount of fruit that is produced is dependent directly on the amount of nourishment/attention it receives. 

When I speak about fruit I am referring to the things in our lives we want: love, peace, joy, prosperity, goodness, health, self-control, gentleness, kindness.  The "fruit" can also be anger, lust, greed, hatred, bitterness, control, fear, sickness, poverty, depression. What we meditate on produces the fruit we see in our lives. The more we think about it, dwell on it, ponder it, the more it gets deeply rooted in our hearts. Our hearts are the ground, remember? So, if you want good things you have to think and speak good things. If you want the negatives, you have to focus on the negatives.

The most powerful words in the universe are the Words of God written in the Bible. These are words of life. Life is found in Jesus and Jesus is the Light of the world (John 1:4). If you want to manifest/produce prosperity in your life, then you need to focus on God's word in the area of prosperity. You want health? Focus on the scriptures that focus on health and healing. Peace? Focus on peace. Get the picture? The more you say it, think it, believe it, then you are going to have the 100% fruit return on the seeds planted. So, what are you waiting for? Get to pouring the Word of God into your hearts and producing the life He wants you to live!!

In Christ-

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Many of you probably don't know that when I am not singing, studying God's Word, being a mommy, writing songs, or working out, I teach deaf children. Today I took the 3 that I have been working with this month swimming. They were so excited! The two boys are 7, almost 8, and the girl is 6 1/2.
 
We got to the pool and the enthusiasm was tangible in the air. Now keep in mind we are talking about kids and of course they have been swimming before. However, when it came time to actually get INto the pool, their demeanor completely changed. All of a sudden they behaved like they had never seen water before, much less been in a pool. I kept encouraging them to "get in...swim....you can touch the bottom...it's not deep." Slowly they got onto the stairs. They had their floats clutched tightly in their hands. One would venture to the 2nd step then hop back up and out of the pool. Then the other would go in for a moment. Finally they got the courage to go to the 3rd step down! One slipped and the fear swept over his face. I could see the torment and anguish in his little brown eyes as he was certain he would drown right there. No amount of my encouraging words telling them they could touch the bottom seemed to help.

     After about 10-15 minutes of this, the little girl took a chance and left the steps to discover that she could walk everywhere! She is the tiniest of the 3 too! One of the boys was getting braver by sitting on the float and moving out into the water. I pointed and signed to him telling him to "look at her...she's walking!" Finally he realized, "Hey, this water isn't deep!" He took the chance and put his feet down...the water only came up to his chest LOL! When the 3rd child saw his friend standing he realized he could stand too. This boy is the tallest of the 3 and the one who was the one so crippled by fear earlier. From that moment on it was "game on" and they had a wonderful time!

As I watched all of this take place, the Lord showed me how we are so often just like that...afraid to take that first step into the "new" or "unknown." Even when we see others take the plunge and succeed, or we recall the countless times God has been there for us in the past, how often do we still have doubt about His sovereignty? How many times do we let fear keep us from something really great that God wants to do in our lives? In Joshua 1:9 it says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  Think of God as the bottom of the pool: there...sturdy...solid...within reach. But, we have to take that first step to actualize our faith. I think of Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail when he has to take the leap of faith off the cliff only to find the bridge camouflaged  by the rocks themselves.

One of my most beloved names of God is Jehovah-shammah meaning "The Lord is There."  When I recently was doing a study of the names of God and saw that one I was amazed at how the Holy Spirit works when we aren't even aware. I wrote the song "You Were There" at a Bill Johnson conference here in Birmingham 3 summers ago with my parents. Of course I was referring to God when I wrote the song, however at that time my life still was a long way away from Him. I hadn't even started the first album at that time and had no clue that God would lead me to where I am now. You see, when you train up a child in the Word of God, although that child may go their own way discovering life, often times the hard way, they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).  I see that now so clearly. God never left me. He has always been there for me even when I made wrong choice after wrong choice. So, when I saw the name Jehovah-shammah: The Lord is There, I just thought, "Wow!" God is truly 'there' in all things, even when we can't see Him because we are too focused on our own agenda. He's always at work accomplishing His plan and His plan will be accomplished with our without our participation.

So, trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths (Prov. 3: 5-6).  Don't be afraid to do something new. Take that step of faith, trusting that God will be there because you know what will happen? You'll immediately be splashing and laughing and having the time of your life and you'll wonder why you were ever scared to begin with!

May the Lord bless you and keep you-
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