DRENCHED IN LOVE

DRENCHED IN LOVE

  • Encountering the Father, Soaking

DRENCHED IN LOVE

How many of you could use some increased peace in your homes? The enemy cannot create anything. He takes what God has already created and twists and perverts it into something that brings hardship and harm. Anything that comes from him is a counterfeit to the real and original design. But there is one thing he can not counterfeit: peace. Anytime we experience, embrace, acknowledge, or receive His presence, we feel peace because peace is His presence. 

Teach the children – This is a super fun exercise with children that will help make the concept click for them. Take a sponge and tell them it represents their heart. There are lots of holes and they are somewhat hard, right? Now fill up a bowl of warm water and have them feel it. What does it feel like? Warm and comfortable? Could you take a bath and soak in it? Now put their ‘heart’ in the water bowl and watch what happens. Engage in the teaching by pretending the sponge is ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over the nice, comfortable, warm water. Hold the sponge up and let them see the water pouring out. Talk to them about the concept of the sponge dripping with what it was just soaking in. Lay the sponge on the counter overnight and check it in the morning. Ask the kids to feel it now and describe how it feels. This is the term ‘soaking.’ It simply means to be still and know He is God. God’s presence is like a warm blanket wrapped around us; He always wants to embrace us. You might even want to role-play using a big comfy blanket. Make it fun and enjoyable for the children to learn about Him.

A young boy in my first mentoring class did this with his mom, and a week later, he was struggling with a bad attitude. When his mom addressed his attitude, his response was that his heart was drying out and he needed to spend time with Jesus, so he did just that.

I encourage you to spend some intentional time doing this as a family. Gather around the family room, turn off the lights and be still.

HOLY SPIRIT IS YOUR FRIEND #2

I had two significant encounters that changed my relationship with Holy Spirit. Here is the second one.

I was so hungry for more of Him and heard about a conference called Awaken to Destiny with a man named Randy Clark. I went. The worship was deep, yet I felt a disconnect. I got back to my hotel room late and sobbed. I told the Lord, “Whatever this space is between us, I can’t take it anymore. I cannot possibly go through another worship hour, another great speaker, and know that there is MORE but not be able to experience it.” I literally felt like there was a part of me that would die if He didn’t close the gap. The following morning, I woke at 4, and in ways that only Holy Spirit can orchestrate. He brought me to this YouTube video. Watch it for yourself: Healing the Orphaned Spirit – Leif Hetland – YouTube.

I went back to the conference and felt like a totally different person. Later that day, Randy called for “impartation.” I had no idea what that word even meant. I knew that some people were going forward, but others were not. I found myself walking up front, honestly not knowing who was supposed to be there. But I didn’t care. I was so hungry it didn’t matter if I made a fool out of myself. I had this awareness that since I was three people deep from the stage, Randy would not be able to touch or pray for me, which I was okay with. I felt safer being three rows away from him (because I knew he was powerful and wasn’t sure what would happen, which scared me a bit). I found my arms stretched out and kept saying “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” repeatedly, but with such force; it felt embarrassing and freeing at the same time. Suddenly, this massive, giant-like hand clapped itself over my left shoulder, and I fell to the ground. I felt this physical wave of deep warmth I have never ever felt before. I honestly did not know at that point if this was God or not. I just knew that I felt so loved, and I liked it. I was aware that others were on the ground, too, but had no grid for what was happening.

When you sit on the sideline watching, it is NOTHING like being the one who is experiencing it for the first time. I opened my eyes just a crack to see this man step over me, the same one who put his hand on my shoulder. I knew it was that man named Bill Johnson who was speaking later that day, but I knew nothing about him except for the fact that his touch sent me into the most powerful experience with God’s love that this girl has ever known. I stood up from that encounter and have never been the same. His love touched something so deep in a way that I did not know was humanly possible this side of heaven. Why am I sharing all of this with you? Because I want you to see that I spent a decade pursuing God, Jesus, and the Word with everything I had but was resisting Holy Spirit just as strong. My mind would not allow me to be entertained with the truth about Him. I had to EXPERIENCE Him to know Him because my mind had created boundaries preventing me from learning more about who He was. Saul was the same way. He was Jesus’ #1 enemy until he EXPERIENCED Him. These two encounters (experiences with Holy Spirit) forever changed my life and ushered me into my calling and purpose on earth.

NO CHURCH, KNOW CHURCH

How many of you feel lost without corporate worship, weekly gatherings, and deeper interaction? How many long to pass the Communion plate and enter His presence together? With the lack of church meetings, have you found Him on your own? Have you opened your Bible? Hosted your own worship time? Prayed? Taken Communion? Or has no church left you empty? We need to change the language from NO church to KNOW church. YOU are the church as He dwells inside of you. If we can only find His presence, hear Him, and enjoy Him in the company of others, perhaps we know church more than we know HIM! It’s time to buy your own oil by learning how to go after Him in the secret times when no one else is around. When you starve yourself, your body will eventually stop giving you hunger pangs as a way of survival. When you eat, you become hungry. It doesn’t matter if you FEEL like feeding your spirit; we do it anyway SO THAT it creates a hunger for more. We read our Bible, pray, worship, and take Communion, which increases our desire for more. If you are waiting for the hunger to kick in, you could be waiting for a long time. Dive in today and start eating. 

HERE’S THE KEY – When corporate gatherings start happening again, there will be an explosion of His Spirit because you will have oil in you to burn! Don’t wait for the church to start again so that you can enjoy someone else’s fire – get your own – today!

ENCOUNTERING THE FATHER

In America, we do not trust a child’s ability to operate a motor vehicle until they are eighteen. We do not believe a young adult can responsibly consume alcohol before age twenty-one. Yet in the Word, which is loaded with promises and commands, not once are we given an age restriction. I want you to soak in this for a moment. The same Holy Spirit that touched Jesus – resurrecting Him from DEATH – is the same Spirit that dwells in half-pint, snot-nosed children. The Spirit of GOD ALMIGHTY is the same Spirit that operates in YOUR child. Go ahead, be a little undone by that concept because it IS huge! It is to be honored, valued, and highly respected. I often rally the kids and ask them what Jesus wants to say to us. They often hear divine wisdom that was beyond my logical thinking. This is a fun, empowering way for them to practice hearing God’s voice. Try this today in your home: “Hey kids, let’s ask Jesus _______.” 

I have a resource called Encountering the Father. In this digital download, you will receive a teaching on how to encounter the Father as a family, along with over 100 encounter question cards. Order yours here: Encountering the Father EBook – Let the Children Fly

WHAT’S HIS NAME?

Gather the family and talk about their name. What happens when someone calls their name? Explore the meaning of their name or perhaps tell the story of why you named them. A name is significant in so many ways and represents who you are.

God has many names; it is important to know them as it teaches us His character and how to relate to Him in our time of need. Go through this list of the names of God, exploring each one as it relates to their world. Ex. Ask them if they have ever gotten hurt. Recall that time they fell off their bike and scraped their knee badly. Introduce them to Jehovah Rapha and talk about WHO God is at that moment. What about being afraid? Have they ever had a moment where they felt unsafe? Introduce them to El Shaddai – the God who is mighty and powerful. Teach the children they can call on the name of God anytime they want, and He will help. Putting this deep within their hearts is an important part of equipping our children for whatever they face.

  • El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)
  • El Elyon (The Most High God)
  • Adonai (Lord, Master)
  • Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)
  • Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
  • Jehovah Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
  • Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
  • Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
  • Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
  • Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
  • El Olam (The Everlasting God)
  • Elohim (God), Qanna (Jealous)
  • Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
  • Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
  • Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)

LET’S ASK JESUS

I want to lead you into an encounter with Jesus.

#1. Ask, “Jesus, will You please show me a picture of what my child’s life would look like being connected to You?” #2. Go tell them! “Hey, guess what Jesus just told me about you?”

Hearing from God and then releasing it over our children is a way to help them connect to His heart.

LET’S ASK JESUS

Ask, “Jesus, if You could write a letter to my mom, what would it say?”

YOUR CHILDREN WILL COME UNDER YOUR ATMOSPHERE

I often tell parents to go soak in His presence until their heart and mind are filled with Him. A child doesn’t need to do the same to be impacted by the atmosphere of His presence. They will come under yours. Could you imagine teenagers walking in from school and getting hit with an atmosphere so filled with love that it influences how they behave? This is the power of God that moves through us as parents as we seek Him in our homes.

ENCOUNTER HIS GOODNESS

He is not just a ‘good Father.’ He is YOUR Father. If our journey has not included a father modeling what goodness looks and feels like, then we will only be able to relate to His goodness in our minds as a concept. Our soul longs to EXPERIENCE His goodness. While this may come more naturally to those who have healthy earthly experiences with their dads, your lack does not doom you. His goodness includes knowing how to captivate your heart. Listen to this song and let His love wash over you. Some of you have heavy things on your heart, and He wants to enter that space with you. Some of you feel so dry and weary, and He wants to revive you with His power. Some of you feel so worried and afraid, and He wants to cover you with His shield of protection.

Cody Carnes – Run To The Father (Live at Motion Conference) – YouTube

REMEMBER WHEN…

I want to invite you to encounter Him as a family as we just did. It was powerful and shifted our focus and peace back to Him.

There are so many things screaming at us in this hour, and it is hard not to feel uneasy at times. I called a family meeting and asked them who God is. Yes, there is the God of the Bible and what we learn about Him, but I wanted to hear the testimonies of who He has BEEN for us. The ways we have personally seen, heard, and experienced for ourselves. I started with a testimony of “Remember when…” and someone followed, and then another and another. It took us 45 minutes to get through the stories. GO gather the kids and tell bedtime stories of who your God is. Stir up the memories of what He has already done.

HOW IS YOUR PEACE?

How is your peace level? Increase it with TRUTH.

Jesus, Jesus, Your name makes the darkness tremble. Your name cannot be overcome!