PUT YOUR STAKES IN THE GROUND

PUT YOUR STAKES IN THE GROUND

  • Authority, Family Circle

PUT YOUR STAKES IN THE GROUND

Put your stakes in the ground. I kept hearing this phrase over and over. I finally sat down to explore what God was telling me about it. After doing some research on it, I discovered that authority is exercised when we put our stakes in the territory God has given us.

One example I found explained that when Native Americans learned they were going to lose their land, they would put a stake in the ground and tie a rope to someone’s foot making them defend their territory to their death. Their belief was that it was better to die defending your territory than be chased away. I camped out with God for a while on this concept of putting your stake in the ground and felt like our family needed to grab ahold of it more.

We went on a family outing and picked out our stakes from the local home improvement store and then came home and wrote down the things that we will not be moved in. The areas, principles, or convictions that we will not settle for less in. God has given us land to occupy, and we will not shrink back, be moved, or be bullied in this space. We wrote them on our stakes and drove them into the ground (if you can’t find stakes, popsicle sticks or wooden sticks from the craft store work well, too). We put them in the front yard so that each time we leave the house, we are reminded of our territory and not to shrink back from it. 

NO THANK YOU

God is looking for families who will take Him at His word. He says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Who are the people willing to march forth with this command?! If God commands us to do something, all of heaven backs us up. I challenge you today to equip your children and together take back ground in your home, community, city, and nation over the spirit of fear. We say NO to the fear that binds, robs, steals, kills, destroys, and the lie that says God is not in control or able. How do we do that? First, ask, “Jesus, will You please highlight any area where I have allowed fear to speak, rule, or influence me?” Deal with it by breaking up with it and declaring His truth. Second, release His power and love everywhere you go. Have you ever experienced walking by someone who just exhaled their cigarette, and the smoke goes into the atmosphere? That is what fear is in the spiritual realm. Someone partnered with it and released it. When others walk by, they are affected by the spirit. That is why so many people report feeling uneasy at the store, watching the news, or on social media. Way too many people are exhaling fear. I am not a victim to fear or someone else’s choices. I am a child of God with a calling on my life to release His Kingdom everywhere I go (and if you are a born-again believer, this is your calling too). When I pass someone who I sense is bound up emotionally or spiritually, I utter a prayer under my breath for them to encounter the love of the Father. When I sense fear, I say, “Fear, I see you, and you are exposed. I release you to go and invite peace to come in Jesus’ name.” When I walk into an atmosphere of anxiety, I say, “Peace come now.” When the kids get swirly out of nowhere, I ask them, “What are you feeling in your tummy right now?” They can call it out quickly when I ask that question. Oftentimes it is a feeling of not being safe. So we then release protection in Jesus’ name. When we witness someone having an angry outburst, we pray under our breath that they feel seen, secure, and loved. 

Jesus says GO! Go forth in confidence that He has called you to be the change to the world around you. Say NO to fear and YES to exhaling His power and love everywhere you go. Who are the people willing to take God at His word?

10 RULES FOR COMMUNITY

The Israelites were slaves to an unfair and unkind master. They were afraid and ruled by intimidation. They had lost their voice and ability to think for themselves. They no longer knew how to live like family but rather as slaves to fear.

Before God used Moses to lead them out of slavery, He established the rules for how to live in community peacefully. Sadly, it took them forty years to figure out not to put other gods before Him. Many moms, dads, and grandparents missed out on the land God promised because they failed to listen to His instructions. We have to choose what kind of family we want to be – one who receives all that God has for us because we have honored and listened to His instructions or one that misses out. 

As a family, read out loud one of the 10 Commandments and then stop to ask, “Jesus, is there anything You want to show me about my life and Your household rules?” If He shows you anything, make it right by praying, “Jesus, I confess that I have _____. Will You please forgive me?” 

You can do each of them in one family meeting or perhaps one a night. We did this as a family, and it was eye-opening what He showed us. 

PEACE IS A CHOICE

Repeat after me…

“I declare PEACE over my heart.”

“I declare PEACE over my home.”

“I declare PEACE over my marriage.” 

“I declare PEACE over my children.”

“I declare PEACE over my friendships.” 

“I declare PEACE over my day.” 

“I declare PEACE over my mind.” 

We can walk in the peace that surfaces all understanding. The kind of peace that makes no logical sense based on external circumstances. But it is a CHOICE! Today I choose PEACE!

UNDER MY COVERING

When my children were all toddlers, I brought them outside on a hot summer day and gave them an umbrella to play with. Oh, they had so much fun with it!

I then took the garden hose and sprayed it up in the air to land on them. They all screamed and giggled under their protective covering. I asked them to set the umbrellas down by the door and they went off to play again but I surprised them with a burst of water from the hose. This time they were left uncovered, and all went scrambling to grab and open their umbrellas. We sure had a lot of laughter and joy that afternoon. 

I sat them down and explained that staying under the umbrella kept them safe from the hot sun and the water pouring down from the hose. While the sun and water did not harm them, if they stayed outside for a long time, it could. I helped them to see the same is true with the covering that God and I have put over them to keep them safe. There is freedom to laugh and play and have a great time, but when you get out from under the umbrella, you can get burned or drenched! 

I explained that my umbrella represents the rules of the home, and God’s umbrella represents Biblical principles and obeying His commands. When the kids would disobey, I explained that they were getting a consequence because they chose to get out from under the umbrella. The love, favor, and blessings NEVER leave no matter what we do, but we can position ourselves directly under His wing or move far from it. The choice is ours and it is called free will. We have the right to choose whatever we want but the question is what do we want to choose? His ways and remain protected, or our way and deal with the consequences? 

Soon the kids began to understand this principle and all I would have to do is take my one index finger and point it up while taking the other like a cup and holding it over the index finger (to represent the umbrella), which signaled to them they weren’t obeying or staying under the umbrella with their choice.

Why not have some fun today with an umbrella, garden hose and teaching your child how to stay under your covering?

PROPER AUTHORITY

We don’t want to use our parental authority to control our children to keep our childhood wounds comfortable. We want to use the way our children trigger us to get healed so that we can respond to them as a loving parent.

TAKING CARE OF WHAT’S ENTRUSTED TO US

At most home stores, they have a plant section where you can buy tiny house plants. I encourage you to buy one for each of your children. You can turn it into a fun field trip, letting them pick out their own (although they don’t know why just yet), or you can purchase them on your own until your family meeting.

Talk about how to care for a plant. It needs some sun, water, and attention. Allow the children to manage it on their own. Give them little instruction about how much or when to water it. Let them place it wherever they desire. 

Some will thrive and even grow. Perhaps not all will survive; maybe some were sun-scorched, while others were overwatered or even underwatered, causing it to wilt greatly. Let the natural process of caring for their plants occur, letting them make whatever choice regarding the plant.

Wait a week and then gather the family and ask them to grab their plant. Take an honest look at the condition of each plant. 

Talk about the difference between living (humans, plants, animals, etc.) and non-living (furniture, homework, clothing, etc.) things. Whatever we have been given requires us to steward and manage well. 

Ask, “What would happen if we never again managed our dirty clothes?” 

“What would happen if we no longer took care of our family dog?”

“What if Dad simply stopped paying all of the bills?”

You are helping them see that whatever we have been given requires some intentional taking care of, just like the plant. 

How do we do that? We tend to the people and things around us by making sure they are thriving in their environment and not doing anything that would harm, hurt or hinder them with our words or actions. 

When we see our brother’s heart wilted (deflated, struggling, enduring hardship, or feeling lonely), we can water it with our time, love, words of affirmation, and kindness. 

When we have been given things like a nice room, clothing, toys, etc., we can tend to them by making sure they are picked up, well cared for, and treated gently. 

When we are disappointed with Mom and Dad’s choice, we can express our hearts and use our voices without butchering them with our words. 

Teaching children of all ages how to care for the things we have been entrusted with is a life skill that will always need attention. Set them up for great success in life by teaching them to be active gardeners tending and caring for the people and things around them. 

NO FEAR!

The Israelites were told to put the blood of the lamb on their doorpost, and the angel of death would pass them by. I am seeing a spirit of fear coming to so many households; through current events, death, kids going back to school, sickness and disease, relationship issues, and emotional hurts. I see the need for parents to stand up today and declare NO FEAR in their homes and actively release love, joy, peace, and life! It may be knocking, but by the blood of Jesus, let it pass you by.

SPIRIT OF SUICIDE

There is a strong spirit of suicide in the atmosphere. I could feel it one week but had others confessing being tormented by thoughts. Then friends from South Africa messaged me saying the same thing. 

FRIENDS, if your thoughts are moving outside the sphere of LIFE, the enemy is lying to you! 

#1. Realize it is NOT you. #2. Break agreement with the spirit of death. #3. Declare LIFE over your mind, heart, family, and home. #4. Ask Holy Spirit for His truth. #5. Find JOY – search for it until you find it. #6. Increase worship music. #7. Confess it to God (and others). #8. Hold on – this storm will pass (it always does). #9. Speak out loud your destiny and prophetic words. #10. Pull your children in closer as they naturally release joy and play. 

You are going to be okay. Your life is worth more than your battle. Joy will come again. Let God move. Surrender is not quitting.

BABY FEAR

I once saw a young single mom asking for help on Facebook. She told this story: Suddenly, her baby daughter didn’t like her car seat and was having difficulty getting her strapped in. There were THIRTY-FOUR responses: give her a treat when you put her in, give her a new toy, etc. One response even said to give her Tylenol every time they had to go somewhere. The key word in her story was “suddenly.” I asked her what happened leading up to it. And she explained that the baby had been really sick for a week with a high fever. They all were itching to get out after a week at home and thought the baby was well enough to go to Wal-Mart. The minute they pulled onto the highway, the baby started violently throwing up. And since then, she wouldn’t sit in her car seat. Can you picture being so small and having your body violently throwing up for the first time? You are strapped tightly into a car seat and can’t fully heave forward (talk about restraint!). You have vomit all over you and aren’t old enough to communicate with your mom. That is a scary situation for anyone, much less a helpless baby. I told her that I believed she was dealing with a spirit of fear. The enemy doesn’t care how little or cute she is. She opened the door by being afraid, and he jumped! It’s his job, and he does it well. A week later, I ran into the grandma and asked how it was going, and she told me that now the baby would scratch herself to the point of bleeding, and it took two adults to get her strapped in. I will be honest in saying that my blood boils when the enemy is all over our children, and parents are clueless! This is where we have been so duped by the church and need to wake up!

I asked Grandma if she knew how to take authority over the spirit of fear, and she said she didn’t. I walked her through her authority and the prayer that said something like, “Fear, I see you, and you have to go. In the name of Jesus, you have no authority in my vehicle or over my granddaughter. I release peace now over my granddaughter and her car seat.” Done! She messaged me later to say they did it on the way out of church, and the granddaughter immediately went right into the car seat as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t the car seat she was reacting to. It was a demonic spirit that was sitting there waiting to torment her because it had a legal right to be there. Fear is not an emotion; it is a spirit that must be dealt with using our authority in Jesus.

THE POWER OF WORSHIP

When we sneeze, we release something into the atmosphere. Our words shape the world around us; like sneezing, we release something healthy or unhealthy: life or death – blessing or curse. Worship is a powerful ‘sneeze’ into the atmosphere that pushes away the darkness and brings life to dry places. I invite you to participate in this hour of worship – play worship music in your home for 24 hours. Open our windows and let it change the atmosphere around you. Let’s corporately saturate every molecule of this earth with the edification of our Defender, our Rescuer, and our Victor because we know the truth and how this spiritual warfare will end. People have always underestimated the power of worship, but the enemy does not! Will you use your home as an instrument of releasing His Kingdom at this hour?