Jesus take the wheel

The Lord is teaching me alot through my son Caden.  He is 5 yrs old and in kindergarten.  He is a car-rider, everyday I take him to school and pick him up. 

Yesterday I was in the car-line waiting to pick him up when my phone rang. It was his school calling me to ask if Caden was supposed to be riding the bus home today. I told them no that he is a car-rider, and has always been one and I was outside waiting.  She quickly said he was on the bus let me see if I can catch the bus, and hung up the phone. Thankfully the bus was still in the parking lot and the teacher found him and brought him to me.  I asked him why did he get on the bus when he knows I take him home everyday.   His answer was "because I wanted to ride the bus.."

Caden goes to school out of our district, which means there is not a bus that goes to our home.  He had no bus to get on, he just got on one expecting it to take him home. Had the bus already left, he would have been riding, and riding, all the kids would have made it home, and he would have to ride the bus back to school where I would still be waiting on him. 

How many times in our lives do we do what WE want to do when the Holy Spirit is waiting in the driver seat to get us to our destination?  We often choose our own direction in life and it seems like it takes alot of u-turns before we get to our destination....till we get our spouse, job, or success we want in life. 

There is an easier way, choose to be led by the Holy Spirit.  Let Jesus take the wheel of your life and steer you to your destiny.  You will not only get there, but you will arrive on time!!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."

Isaiah 48:17
"This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along paths you should follow.""

Psalm 23:3
"...he guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name..."

Sticky Situation

A few days ago my son and I were at home on a Wednesday afternoon.  It was time to get ready for church. I went upstairs to throw on some makeup and iron the clothes. Caden, my 5 yr old son, came upstairs while I was getting ready and showed me his neck -- it was covered in sticky buble gum! While he was out of my sight he took his gum, chewed it up, stretched it out and wrapped it around his neck to make a bubble gum necklace.  After he figured out that wasn't a good idea, he tried to scrub it off  and scrub and scrub till his neck was red and STILL covered in gum.  So he came to me for my help as a last resort. He knew I would be disapointed but he also knew the gum wouldn't come off unless I got it off for him.  Although, he continued to try to do it himself, finally he gave up and let me try. He cried, he squirmed, but; after a trip to the store to get baby oil, and an hour of oiling him down, and scrubbing, and picking gum off of him and out of his little neck hairs, I finally got it all off.

Just as my son was out of my sight and did what he wanted to do; sometimes we step out of the will of God and follow our own desires and find ourselves in a sticky situation. We try to get out of our mess by ourselves only to find out that we need help. We run to the Father, "God, please help me out of this situation...".  Because God loves us so much He will help us. The extraction process doesn't feel good, we want immediate relief.  We don't want to go through the process of cleaning up the mess. So we cry, we rebel, we try to clean it up again ourselves and we continue to be in that same mess.  It is not until we surrender to God and let Him clean up our mess one area at a time, then we are out of that sticky situation - But you have to go through the process. There is not always an easy fix, but be patient and take comfort in God, He is our helper in our time of trouble no matter how sticky the situation!

Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble."

We can avoid many sticky situations if we live according to God's will and yield our lives to Him.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Child of God

Why do we find it so hard to trust God in the midst of our trials and tribulations? It is easy to trust God when everything is going your way; when you are healthy, happy, and the bills are paid. But, when your world is turned upside down...where is your trust then?

Children have 110% trust and faith in their parents. When a father corrects their child, the child will do what the dad said because they trust in him. The may not understand everything but the trust is there. That little child knows how much his dad loves him no matter!!

I remember when my son Caden was about 3 and we would go to the playground. He would be so afraid to go down the big slide. He would say "mom just hold my hand." He felt secure with me holding his hand and he was able to go down the slide even though he was still afraid. He had complete trust that I would not let him get hurt, and if he fell I would be there to pick him up.

As Christians we need to be like children and trust our heavenly father no matter what the circumstances look like.  God calls us his children!!! How much more should we have trust in him. He created us and knows everything about us. He calls us son & daughter.

1 John 3:1
"See how very much our FATHER loves us, for her calls us HIS CHILDREN, and that is what we are!"

Trust God because He is your heavenly Father and loves you unconditionally. There is nothing you can do or say that can make him love you less.  Take His hand and know son, daughter, you are secure in His care. 

Ps 2:7
"The Lord said "You are my son, and I have become your Father.""

Deliverance from Gluttony

September 16, 2011 I was delivered from the bondage of food.  All of my life I used food as my comforter and my friend.  I would binge eat in the night till I was sick from eating so much. I would sleep an hour, wake up and eat, then sleep an hour, and eat more, this was all through the night.  Thoughts of food consumed my mind all day.  In the morning when I woke up the first thought was "what can I eat for breakfast," then after I ate breakfast I would think about what was for lunch and so on.  If I did not have the food I craved I would get so agitated and angry to the point of having anxiety attacks.  My relationship with food was unnatural. I felt so ashamed of myself. I would eat in secret, hide food, and hide my trash. The worst part was that I have Short-Bowel Syndrome and food, especially sugar can make me feel very sick. I knew I would get sick, nauseous, and have diarrhea from the food but there was a driving compulsion that I could not stop eating even in the face of the circumstances. I was in a cycle of binge eating, shame & guilt, sickness...eating...  All of my life I was on a diet. At my highest weight I was 291 lbs.  I had gastric bypass thinking that would solve my problems. But I was in bondage, only Jesus could set me free.  I tried everything, and when I made up my mind that food was getting in the way of my relationship with God, and that something had to change; and I could not do it; then and only then did I receive the deliverance that I needed.  I was in church on a Friday night Sept 16th 2011.  I was so desperate for a touch from the Lord that I stood up the entire service and prayed and worshiped the Lord. I was compelled to press in towards God, I didn't care what I looked like or who was sitting beside me thinking "will this girl sit down somewhere.."  I told the Lord that I needed HIM to rescue me, that I give up, I can't do it. If it was going to be done, it had to be by Jesus.  Then and there, I declared and decreed that I would no longer crave sugar and food, that I would crave only the things of God.  By the power of the Holy Spirit and the blood that Jesus shed over 2000 years ago I received deliverance from gluttony that night!! I went home and I slept like a baby all night, I did not get up to eat nor did I even think about it.  Every day since then I have lived SUGAR-FREE!!! I have slept through the night without binge eating!  Only God could do this. I have not missed the food or the sugar. The rivers of living water healed those dry and barren places inside of me and filled the void with the spirit of God so that I do not crave or misuse food!

If you find yourself in the same situation, there is hope!!!  Do not listen to the devil and think that "Ive tried and tried and failed and I can not kick this habit, so why try again.." The devil is a LIAR!!! Don't live your life defeated in this area, because Jesus can set you free just as He did for me.  Food is supposed to support our physical body, we can not continue to abuse food. It can not feed our emotions or make us happy, that is trick of the devil! Turn to God, the one true comforter to meet your needs! If you find yourself experiencing this pray:

"Lord Jesus, forgive me for using food inappropriately. Forgive me for making food my god. Lord I chose this day to serve you and not food.  Jesus, I have tried to change, and I can't do it without you. I declare right now in the name of Jesus that I will no longer crave food but the things of God. I command the spirit of gluttony to leave me right now by the power and name of Jesus Christ. Lord fill me those empty and dry places in me with your Holy Spirit, so that I can walk victory!  Thank you Lord for victory and freedom!, Amen."

In the shadows of the Lord

I love how God can use anything in His creation to minister to you.  As I was driving home from taking Caden to school this morning. I saw two HUGE beautiful green lush trees side by side, and in the shadow of the trees was another small fragile tree.  This reminded me of Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, and we are seated at the right hand of Jesus.  We are in the shadows of his grace and mercy and love. He shields us from the sun, and even in a season of drought we will not wither because we are in his shadows.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit" Jeremiah 17:8

In your season of drought, hold onto the word in Jeremiah 17:8 and know that you are in the shadows of God's care. Go forth no matter how hot it gets and bear fruit in this season because you are still in the care of the Lord. 

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"...and suddenly all was calm" Mat 8:26

Has anyone every had a bad attitude? Do you get grouchy sometimes? Well I do! and I don't like that person... I have been praying about myself, and I want to release that attitude to God because I know it's not how I need to act.

Most of us are very familiar with Matthew 8:24,  when Jesus is on the boat with the disciples in the storm.  I received a new revelation of this scripture; and I thank God for it!

Matthew 8: 24 Suddenly, a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26 And Jesus answered, "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!" Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly all was calm.

Imagine yourself as the boat, the vessel that Jesus Christ has boarded for rest. He has set up habitation on this vessel,  He got comfortable, laid back and went to sleep. He was at perfect peace; while on the outside there is a dangerous storm.  The disciples represent the different attitudes, complaints, fears, etc.  When the storm, (ie. life's circumstances) came, the disciples were afraid, they shouted out of fear, they ran around the boat frantic for their life.  ...  But Jesus; here He is, sleeping peaceful, He awakes and says, Why are you afraid? I am with you...

WE are the vessel!! You and I are a vessel for the Holy Spirit. He wants to set up habitation in us. We are to be a comfortable home for the Holy Spirit. He wants to live in us and be at peace, kick up his heels and rest, and give us the same peace and rest!  But we have all of these things on the inside of us that crowd the Holy Spirit.  We have fears, complaints, bad attitudes etc.  If the Holy Spirit is inside of us, and we have made a comfortable vessel for Him, we should always be at peace, even in the midst of our storms.  We have to let go of our attitudes, our fears, and negative thoughts and behaviors because we can not experience the fullness of peace, love, and joy, that which is the Holy Spirit living inside of us.  Make a decision today to let go of your inner self that crowds the Holy Spirit, clean up your vessel and make it a comfortable place for the Holy Spirit to live in!  Praise Him in the midst of your storms and He will be with you! He can not be in the midst of our bad attitudes! The bible says the God inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 22:3.  Clean up your house and let God be your permament House Guest. 

BOLDNESS in your Egypt

Lately I have been feeling like I am backed up against the wall and I can't see a way out..Today God showed me my way out...  I hope this will be of encouragement to some of you who are facing trials and feel like there is no solution. I'm here to tell you there is a solution, and His name is Jesus!!!!

Exodus 14:8..."so he (Pharaoh) chased after them (Israelites), the children of Israel went out in BOLDNESS."

The Israelites complained that Moses had led them to the wilderness to die. They said they had it better in their suffering in Egypt rather than following Moses to a place that was dried up and had no water to drink or no food to eat.  The Egyptians were closing in on the Israelites and they were backed up against the sea with no where to go.

When persecution and trouble keep chasing you, do as the Israelites did and PUSH forth through the trial with BOLDNESS.  They raised they hands in defiance to Egypt, to their surroundings, to lack, to frustration.  When you are backed up against the wall and facing your troubles, push forth with boldness, God will part the waters and make a way out of no way. He will drown your enemy and cast your troubles to the bottom of the sea. Everyone around you will see what God has done and know who your Lord is.

Just as the Israelites asked for food and water, it was given to them from God.
Exodus 16 says they asked for food and it rained down manna from heaven and they could gather it to eat.
Exodus 17 The Israelites asked for water because they had none, there were in a barren land.  They asked for water, and God gave it to them.  God had Moses strike a rock with his staff and water gushed from it.

Some of you are in the wilderness and in this barren place where you are asking God why am I here? Whatever you need in this hour, ask God and it will be given to you from the Lord.  He wants to pour rivers of living water into your dry places.

Complaining and worring raises your stress and blocks you from hearing the Lord. Prayer quiets your thoughts and emotions and prepares you for listening.  Be still and be quiet in God, ask and you shall receive.

Do not complain but be thankful for you are in transition. The Lord God is delivering you out of your Egypt into your destiny.

My Testimony

“O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You have healed me.” (Psalm 30:2)

In 2006 I was pregnant with my first child; I began to get very sick around the 5^th month. I had extreme pain in my lower back after I ate.  It got so bad at times I could not sit down, or lay down.  On one occasion I did not sleep or eat because of the pain. I was admitted into the hospital and given pain medicine but they would not help at all. I sat in the bed screaming.  The doctors could not figure out where my pain came from. They assumed it was due to the pregnancy and kept me on pain medicine.

I suffered with severe pain on and off till Jan. 2008.  I was in so much agony, my parents took me to the ER.  Once again the doctorss could not find out what was wrong, they sent me home. This went on 3 times in the course of a weekend, I was in and out of the ER.  I remember one night being curled up in my bedroom floor, screaming at the top of my lungs from the pain. I was throwing up what looked like coffee grounds and I knew at that point I was dying.  I screamed for my mom and asked her to call the ambulance. She hesitantly called, knowing that the doctors were not able to help me all weekend.  The ambulance came and got me, I saw my son crying as they carried me out. I was on so much pain medicine I do not remember much at all. I remember a nurse came to me and asked me if I had gastric bypass before; I told him yes, and he called my gastric bypass surgeon.  I was immediately transported to Lexington medical center and taken into emergency surgery.  My surgeons operated immediately, when my stomach was opened they saw that my intestines had twisted around my stomach and were completely black from gangrene. The infection was killing me. The Dr. told my parents I would have died if I had arrived ten minutes later.  He also told them that no one in my condition could survive.  They prayed and called everyone they knew to pray for me while I was in surgery. I was in surgery for 17 hours.  I was in a coma for a week and operated on a second time to remove any dead tissue that was left.  The surgeon gave my parents the news; I was not going to make it.  My body had totally given up and all my organs quit working and I was on life support. People from many different churches came and sat with my family and prayed with them through the night.  By God’s grace my lungs started working; my heart started pumping on its own.  I had the breath of life breathed back into me.  It still wasn’t looking good for me but my family had hope.  I was taken off life support a week later. I was very confused from the medicine, I didn’t know much of what happened or why I was in the hospital.  I had tubes in every place you can imagine, and in some places they made holes to put tubes in. I was coherent but mostly asleep from pain medicine. But when I was awake I would pray, I would not turn my TV on because I knew I needed to pray if I was going to make it.  Two weeks later I took a turn for the worse.  I had a perforation in my intestines; I had to go back to emergency surgery.  This was the worst possible thing that could have happened to me. They had already removed most of my small intestines and part of my stomach… now I had to have more removed.  I remember the nurse taking me into surgery and I grabbed my mom and asked her to take care of my child. I knew I could not go through this again, I was so weak and so sick, I knew my body could not handle any more trauma.  After surgery; Once again my family was given the news… Crystal is not going to make it. Again, my organs went into failure and I was back on life support.  Two days later my organs started responding. By God’s grace I was alive. It was a long road to recovery. I could not eat; I could not walk, or even lift up my arm.  At times I did not know who I was or where I was.  I missed my child so much I was hallucinating and dreaming of him always. I hated to sleep because the devil was attacking me in my dreams. I had the worst dreams you could imagine. I was in critical care ICU for 3 months, and at home with an IV and a nurse for 2 months. The dr. said I would be disabled, never be able to gain weight, malnourished and be sick the rest of my life.  I had so many people come to pray over me, as God’s word says:

 “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14)

Every step I take is a testimony of God’s grace, mercy, love, and healing power.  My son doesn’t have to grow up without his mom. I didn’t miss him turning 2 on his birthday, and now he is 4! Each day is a struggle for me, I still have complications and feel sick every day.  But, my gratitude and thankfulness outweighs my pain and sickness so much more.  Some days it is hard, I feel so sick that I can’t play with Caden, but I am thankful that I am here with him and that is what is important.  I cried out to God, he heard my cry, along with my family, friends, and church family and I am here today to give God all the honor and glory. God is no respecter of person’s…if He can heal me; He can do the same for you!   

The doctors said no, she won’t make it but God said YES she will! 

 

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

I am not going to sit in the back of the church anymore and just be a spectator. God has saved my soul, and saved my physical body not once but twice and I am going to work for Him and His purpose as long as I have breath in my body.