I AM ON A JOURNEY!!

I AM ON A JOURNEY!!

  • Encouragement, Testimonies

I AM ON A JOURNEY!!

I dropped my keys in the toilet. No, really, I did. I was on the road and decided to stop to use the restroom. I went to flush, and my keys slipped out of my hands (why I was holding them in the first place is still beyond me). I immediately thought, “Oh gross,” and went to grab them, but before I knew it, they were sucked out to the river on the other side. I froze. I then raced out the gas station door and began to tell anyone who would listen that I flushed my car keys down the toilet, hoping someone had learned on Pinterest the magical way to retrieve them. Some laughed. Some gasped. Some told me the hard truth – I would never see them again. No problem, EXCEPT I was in a rental car, and all of my paperwork was inside. I left my phone in the car, and I didn’t know a single phone number from memory (at least not one that would be helpful). I was two hours away from home and couldn’t tell you what city I had stopped in. Panic came over me for a moment. I literally said the words, “I think I am going to freak out,” when I so clearly heard God say, “You won’t if you cling to the fruit of the Spirit,” to which I said in response, “WHICH ONE?” and heard, “patience.” If I cling to patience, I will be okay. I took a deep breath and made the mental decision that I would be patient. It was like my mind was going full speed ahead, and I intentionally put it back into neutral. I was able to start the process of getting help for both me and my stranded vehicle. I found a Mcdonald’s across the street and sat in that booth for THREE hours, periodically begging some stranger to use their phone. I was left with nothing to do, no phone, no to-do list, nothing. That is hard for me on a good day as I am highly active and thrive on productivity.

Detoxing from my phone in the middle of McDonald’s is not what I had in mind that day. But I DID IT. I kept not only my peace but joy the entire time. I prayed, dreamed, and thanked God for whatever I could think of. I covered my family and mentally thought through some situations that needed my attention. I dare say the three-hour break felt good. I realized how serious God was when He told me to cling to patience. It wasn’t the flushed keys, locked car, or no access to my phone that would have robbed me of my peace as I can handle all of those; it would have been partnering with impatience that would have wreaked havoc on my peace and joy. Clinging to the fruit of His Spirit was my lifeline. I was enjoying the fruit of growing and handling challenging situations with such grace and thanksgiving. I was so thankful for the opportunity to grow in patience (James 1:2-4). But by nighttime, I began to feel condemned. The entire time I was in McDonald’s, two children were destroying the place. Their mom was a worker, and these two kids offended nearly every customer I watched enter. They were running on the tabletops, squirting ketchup in their mouths, playing with the dispensers, letting the soda fill a cup, and then emptying it over and over. They were throwing ice everywhere, wasting lids, throwing a wet diaper on the tables, grabbing food from the kitchen (no kidding), and making sculptures out of the foam hand sanitizer at the door. Another boy came to join them when his mom started her shift, and the chaos was offensive. I began to feel condemned that I didn’t do more to love them or reach out to them. We were all stranded together. Perhaps I could have played games with them or gone over the $1 store to get them some coloring books or cards to play with. I could have prayed for them (one clearly needed deliverance). Did God allow for my mishap, knowing they would be there so He could use me? I was so sad that I had been so focused on my battle that I didn’t do something about theirs. Now that I am back home, it is easy to see that I could have brought love and joy to their worlds that were out of their control, too. I felt like I had failed and began to feel so selfish. But then Holy Spirit began to minister to me and reminded me that I am on a journey and God was teaching me something about patience that day and that I was faithful to the lesson before me. It was the enemy who came to condemn me for not doing more. It was the voice of the accuser who said I failed. It was condemnation that was trying to rob me of my victory. Condemnation and accusation do not get to speak to me or lead me. I am HIS, and He alone is the author of my story. I share that example of how we can so easily partner with the enemy to allow ourselves to be condemned for not doing enough when God is so pleased and proud of us for our response to HIM. Legalism says we have to ACT like Him. But being Sons and Daughters means we are on a journey of learning to BE like Him. This is called transformation. It is a journey where our mind, body, and spirit are being transformed into His likeness. Shake off the finger-pointing slime of shame and accusing voice that gets your eyes off what GOD is doing in your life and celebrate the joy of learning and maturing through the lessons He has for you today. I AM ON A JOURNEY!!

KEEP STANDING!

I AM SO PROUD OF THE COUNTLESS PARENTS WHO ARE STANDING STRONG IN THIS HOUR.

I know many do not feel strong, but you are not letting go of your children. You are standing in the water and getting back up after being knocked down. You are holding onto Jesus with everything you have. You are fighting on your knees like never before. You are allowing God to do heart surgery on you despite the pain and uncomfortableness. You are managing the tension between the current and the more. Keep standing! God sees you, and so do I!

BORN FOR MISSIONS

When Lauren was five years old, I was dealing with a ripped carotid artery, and the kids needed to know the signs of stroke and how to respond. I attended a church in Loveland, Colorado as a visitor when Rob & Ellie Hein were missionary guest speakers. Rob called people forward, and I had a powerful encounter with Jesus. Rob noticed Lauren and came off the stage to her side. He asked if she was afraid (I later found out she thought I was having a stroke) and began to tell her that Jesus was encountering me and that I was okay. He then prophesied over her that he would see her someday in Africa. The seeds planted that day went straight to her heart and took root. By the time she was eight, she had asked for and read all of Heidi Baker’s books. She was in Mexico for a mission trip and texted me to say, “Mom, I was born for missions.” My heart wept as God continues to grow the seeds of this girl’s mighty destiny.

IT WORKED!

I cannot get enough of these testimonies of moms learning how to partner with God in their parenting! 

“We were sitting on the couch, snuggling together before bed, and my daughter, all of a sudden, looked towards the playroom and said, ‘Mommy, I feel scared.’ I asked her why she felt scared, and she said she was scared of the dark over there. I asked her what she saw, and she said, ‘bad guys.’ I wasn’t sure what to do, so I asked the Holy Spirit to help me, and I felt led to ask Jesus to shine his flashlight on her heart to show her where the fear was coming from. She didn’t even seem like she was listening, but I asked her, ‘What did Jesus show you?’ She said she saw us in the camper, and we were snuggling on the couch, and the bad guys came to life. IT WORKED! She just turned four, and Jesus took her back to a memory over six months ago! I was so excited Jesus spoke to her! I felt led to ask her if we were watching a movie (because fear often enters through our eye gates with movies), and she said yes, but she covered her eyes when the scary part came. I’m not sure what movie we were watching, but we are very careful that we don’t watch anything scary, so I’m guessing that the spirit of fear twisted something, and she felt afraid. We repented and said sorry to Jesus for not protecting our eye gates, and we asked Him to forgive us for watching that movie, and He said, ‘Yes, I forgive you.’ Then we took the fear out of her heart and threw it at Jesus’ feet, and asked Jesus what He wanted to give her. She said peace. We asked Jesus and the angels to come and make the bad guys leave our house, and she said she saw 20 angels! I don’t know if she actually saw 20 angels, but she definitely saw something angelic come and make the bad guys leave because the fear was gone, and I got my joyful little girl back!”

Friends, get your copy of our Heart Splinters book and become empowered how to teach your children how to defeat the works of the enemy and usher them to Jesus! 

Heart Splinters BOOK – Let the Children Fly

ELLIE’S STORY

One Sunday, Ellie came to me and declared that God told her not to go to Sunday school. I wasn’t overly convinced but allowed her to stay with me. She began to worship like I had never seen before. She wasn’t just singing but truly WORSHIPING. I was undone just watching her. Out of nowhere, she stopped worshiping, sat down, and got really quiet. When we got home, she asked if we could have a date, so I took her on my errands. We were driving when she said, “Mom, do you want to know why I got so quiet today during worship?” I knew something was about to unfold, and I wanted to give her my full attention, so I pulled into the parking lot of Taco Bell. She began to tell me that Jesus said to her, “Ellie, you are I are friends, but we aren’t best friends yet,” and she was crying, telling me that she wanted Jesus to be her best friend. I knew then that during worship, the Holy Spirit was ministering to her and leading her to accept Him. With tears in my own eyes, I explained to her that Jesus loved her and wanted to have that place in her life. I walked her through salvation, and with a gust of emotion, she said YES to Him. (Taco Bell will forever be a precious reminder of this glorious event). I love her story because it shows how Holy Spirit was at work, and as a parent, I just needed to be sensitive to what He was already doing in her life.

GET UP AND FIGHT!

Back in my 20’s, I was hospitalized for three months, and upon waking from my coma, I discovered I had kidney, liver, and respiratory failure. I was pretty sick and very weak. My vital organs were all compromised, and I almost died because of it. One of the hardest parts of that journey was physical therapy, where I had to mentally train my body to work again. All I wanted to do was lay down and quit. It was too hard. I did not have the muscle strength to do what my circumstances demanded of me. My muscles felt like a wet noodle. I wanted to stop. I wanted to quit. I wanted to be left alone, but my PT cared about my health journey and knew it was best to push me, call me further, and expect more of myself SO THAT I could be strong and healthy again. I am so glad they could see further down the road than my eyes could at that moment. I needed to trust their wisdom in order to pull myself out of that pit. 

Here’s the deal – many of you have been in a spiritual coma. Things have happened and caused your muscles to feel fatigued. You are like a wet noodle in the spiritual realm and have simply laid down and quit. You have allowed the toxins of life to affect your spiritual health. I get it more than you know. But we cannot remain in bed, hoping and praying that God will supernaturally step in and heal us where He has invited us to take our place. We must do our part. You have to get out of bed and begin using those muscles again, as hard as it is and as weak as you may feel. You have come too far to quit now. Your children will reap the fruit of your choices one way or another.

GLORY TO GLORY

This mom owned her partnership with Jesus while taking our JOURNEY class:

“Yet this is my confession: HE was not ignorant of my woundings and shortcomings when He entrusted me with these little men. He has never called me perfect, just HIS. I can clean up any mess I’ve made by the power of the Spirit that lives within me. My God LOVES to redeem my mistakes and gives all the treasures back WITH interest. I declare that my children will not only be HEALED of any past or future wounding they might receive from me or anyone else, but they will also GAIN AUTHORITY in the process to set many captives free in the same areas. I declare that what the enemy intended for evil, my God turns to MORE good in our family. I declare that we are on the fast track as a family toward the greatness God deposited in each of us in our mother’s wombs and that we will be iron sharpening iron as we move from glory to glory!”

TOUCHPOINT

Our brokenness becomes bittersweet when it is the catalyst for crying out for more of Him.

SET FREE

A mom from class shares: “I was not supposed to be able to carry a baby to full term due to medical issues. My whole first pregnancy was bathed in fear of a miscarriage. The doctors continually warned me not to get my hopes up for a baby (even up until I was 30 weeks along!). Then, I noticed my son was very fearful and wouldn’t talk when we were out of the house. He was chatty at home but would freeze up at church, the park, or wherever. Then God showed me the connection of fear and my pregnancy with my son. I repented of the fear I partnered with (although I didn’t know that term at the time), and my husband and I prayed over him as he slept and commanded the spirit of fear to leave in Jesus’ name. The next day we went to the park with friends, and he was his usual chatty self. I didn’t see the spirit of fear in operation at all! He was free! It was amazingly simple. We are teaching him that fear is a liar, and he wants him to believe things that aren’t true. And now we are teaching him to cast fear out when he feels it. It’s amazing.”

HE SEES ME

I love Monday mornings. I have the house to myself and crank out a ton of work! The Lord said to go to the prayer house and just sit with Him. It took me a moment to lay down my agenda, but here I am. Someone walked up to me and handed me a note containing a prophetic word so spot on, so big, so encouraging, and life-giving that all I can do is sit here in AWE. He sees me. The prophetic is a coffee date with Jesus. Take a risk today and ask Jesus what He wants to say to someone around you.

PURIFYING SEASON

As a watchman on the wall for families, I can tell you that you are one of MANY who feel flattened by circumstances and profound inner turmoil. God is purifying us – you are not alone. The topic may be different, but the battle is the same. This is God cleaning us in and out of anything that isn’t of Him. Seriously, count it pure joy that you are being so radically transformed. Do not let the enemy speak an ounce of lies to you that you are the only one, can’t handle it, or won’t make it. God’s got you, and He WILL finish the work as He prepares His Bride.