STOP TRIMMING THE HEDGE!

STOP TRIMMING THE HEDGE!

  • Authority, Godhead Parenting

STOP TRIMMING THE HEDGE!

I had an encounter with Jesus, where He showed me a wall. I could not for the life of me discern whether this was a good or negative wall. Was it keeping things in or preventing something from going in? The lack of clarity perplexed me. I heard Jesus say the wall needed to come down, so I asked what tool I should use (because even in the natural, anytime you remove something, you use a specific tool based on the wall). I saw a hedge trimmer that was so logical and obvious, but it felt wrong. I asked again and saw the trimmers, yet this overwhelming feeling of ‘this isn’t right’ came over me.

The kids were all splashing in the pool when I got on my raft and asked them to give me a moment so I could continue to process this revelation with the Lord. I needed greater clarity, but I KNEW He was showing me something. Something caught my eye, and finally, I removed my sunglasses and sat on my raft to look. He was highlighting the shrub hedge on the other side of the pool when I heard Him say, “Lisa, if your job was to remove that hedge (wall), would you use a hedge trimmer?” No way, it would not only take forever, but every time I would trim it down, the branches would grow back as pruning is a form of growth. I would wrap a chain around the base and yank it out with my car roots and all. BINGO!

God was showing me that I was laboring (well, I might add) to trim the hedge (wall) when He was actually calling me to YANK IT OUT BY THE ROOT. Oh, the flood of fruit that came with this revelation. What if we REBUKED the spirit of strife behind it instead of just resolving conflict? What if instead of feeling drained, we sat in His PRESENCE to be refreshed? What if instead of battling fear, we used our AUTHORITY against it? What if instead of coming under intimidation, we DECLARED 2 Timothy 1:7 (and believed it)? What if instead of shadowboxing the enemy, we WORSHIPED the Lord? What if, instead of feeling dread every morning, we spoke to the spirit behind it and commanded it to FLEE? What if instead of taking aspirin daily for the pain, we HEALED the body? What if instead of managing attitudes, we ENCOUNTERED the Father’s love? What if instead of stewarding the lack of peace, we COMMANDED the chaos to flee? What if instead of continually disciplining a child, we TAUGHT them who they are in Christ?

You do not always have to deal with the ‘fruit’ of new branches. God has given us tools and power in Jesus’ name to deal with the root and have it removed. What about you? What negative cycle do you repeat over and over in your home? Are you continually trimming the branches? Is it time to YANK IT OUT once and for all?

GODHEAD PARENTING

We don’t want to shut down in our children what needs to be awakened in us. Oftentimes, God allows our children to carry something that rubs us the wrong way. It isn’t that they are doing something wrong. It is that something needs to be healed, aligned, or brought to life in us, and God is parenting us through them.

UNIQUE YOU

Corporate love works well for the one in authority but not so much for the receiver because it denies their creative expression and teaches them they need to look like, sound like, and act like everyone else. Each child is different, and we must learn how to dance with them alone. They have different styles, personalities, likes, interests, talents, desires, and ways of connecting. The sooner we realize this as parents, the greater joy there will be in our homes. It is impossible for a child to feel seen, heard, and valued when expected to be someone other than who God knits them together to be. 

Examples of corporate love: expecting everyone to work, eat, get dressed, and do homework at the same speed. Some children just move faster/slower.

Expecting everyone to respond to the same style of communication. Some children need things spelled out more, said with greater tenderness or more engagement, such as eye contact.

Expecting everyone to adjust to your spoken love language. Children speak their own language and may not have a natural high appreciation for yours.

Expecting everyone to value and appreciate what you value and appreciate. Some children are just simply not going to follow in your footsteps but need to find their own journey.

Expecting everyone to be happy when you are happy, tired when you are tired, or hungry when you are hungry. Children have different needs based on their own bodies.

Ask Jesus to show you if you are expecting your children to be mini-you’s in an area that God wants them to BE who He created them to simply be.

RECEIVING THE GOOD

Of all the things I have endured in life, the hardest part has been the healing process of receiving the good. More often than not, things like joy, play, silliness, trust, lavishing, loyalty, and laughter have been taught to me through my children. They are made in His image, not mine, and God knit them with gifts, talents, and personalities to redeem and restore what was lost in my childhood. God continues to parent us through our children. It’s like He first gives us one set of parents to raise and train us. Then He addresses the neglected or shut down areas by using our children to parent us (our kids don’t parent us, but He parents us through them). This is why family is so important to Him. He is building something in us, and the generations are interconnected.

INTRODUCED TO FEAR

I teach a lesson to parents on being spiritually clean. 9/10 adults say they were introduced to a demonic spirit of fear through the TV shows their parents allowed in the home. Even if children didn’t ‘see’ the show, they felt the atmosphere down the hallway and came under the spirit of fear in their bedroom, which is still affecting them today. What you allow in your home today will reap a harvest down the road. It isn’t a matter of if you can handle it or not; it is a matter of whether it is in line with righteousness. If not, it will not produce the fruit of the Kingdom. We can’t feed our children with horror, fear, watching murder, violence, swearing, and unhealthy relationships and foresee it to reap a harvest of righteousness, peace, and joy.

GOD-GIVEN AUTHORITY

So many issues with children can be resolved with parents using their God-given authority both in the natural and spiritual realm. You have lost half the battle if you fear the devil or your child’s response. RISE UP and use your God-given authority over that sickness, fear, conflict, disunity, tension, strife, anxiety, stress, etc. Satan is defeated, not you, your situation, or your child.

WE DO NOT MANAGE DEMONS

I met with a young 20-year-old girl who got delivered of two tormenting spirits. I was overwhelmed with compassion for her. She was sincerely trying so hard but was harassed by these spirits. We cannot manage demonic spirits – we deal with them using our authority. It was time for them to go and for her to be FREE! Oh, that we would understand as believers the power and authority that He has so graciously handed to us. Many moons ago, I was sitting in my kitchen and reading Isaiah 61 for the first time. I wrote the date next to it in my Bible and had this awareness that this verse was for me, yet I was in the middle of walking out my own brokenness. I love how God can call us long before we are ready. Over the years, that fire in my belly has only increased. I am passionate about setting the captives free, bringing comfort to the hurting, and declaring freedom. Simply put, my mission statement is to defeat the works of the enemy in the family room!!

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.” (Isaiah 61:1).

LOUD VOICES

I believe in honoring my leaders and being part of the solution instead of just opening my mouth to tear people down. HOWEVER, there are some public people who are not making me feel very safe or relaxed. Their words are fear-producing. My go-to in this process has been whenever I read, see or hear something that ignites worry or fear to STOP, take that thought captive and begin to declare who God is over that person. I have a mental picture of certain public figures who feel big and scary, but they are like two-year-olds to God. I declare over this person that while they may be really LOUD right now, God is not moved by their need to control. 

Psalm 118:6 – “The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” 

Psalm 146:3 – “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.” 

Give it a try. Instead of picturing certain voices as BIG, picture them in relation to GOD!

CLOSING THE SEXUAL DOOR

This is a follow-up to my recent post about pornography.

I am getting messages from parents who are confessing this has been a real battle in their home, and they are bringing it into the light and dealing with it but want to know how to close the door for their children. These are great questions and need to be addressed.

“What do you mean ‘open/close the door’?” The Bible tells us not to give the enemy a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). We open the door to him when we have patterns of sin. When the door is open, he now has a legal right to influence, and we know he operates with the goal of stealing, killing, and destroying.

“How can my choices affect my children even if they were never directly exposed to pornography or sexual sin?” While these things are done naturally, there are spirits attached to sex in any form outside of God’s design. When parents are involved in sexual sin, it opens the door for those spirits in the home. Susie doesn’t need to see anything with her eyes in order to be affected by the spirit that was allowed in. Oftentimes for girls, this doesn’t translate into sexual behavior but a profound sense of shame and an attack on her identity as a female. Fathers are to be the covering over the home, and when the door is open, children often feel a sense of lack of security and unprotected. Mothers are to be the sense of comfort and nurture, and children often feel a lack of attachment or connection when the door is opened.

“What is so damaging to children about pornography and sexual sin?” Sex is good – by God’s design. The enemy takes what is pure and righteous and uses it as a weapon to steal, kill, and destroy. The main targets are a child’s gender/sexual identity, sense of worth/value, and protection.

“How do I close the door?” Two things must be done in response to sexual sin – repentance and authority. Repent means admitting your wrongdoing and turning the other direction. I realize sexual sin creates a powerful stronghold for many and can be a journey of getting free, but we can’t ever let sin communicate to us that we have expired Jesus’s blood. If you fall 100 times, there are 101 drops of blood for you. The second is realizing that the behavior attracts and invites the wrong spirits into your home and using your authority to close the door. “Jesus, I confess that I have _____. Do You forgive me?” Don’t just ask for it, receive it.

Once the blood of Jesus covers you (forgiveness), you can operate in your authority. “Sexual spirits, I see you, and you are not welcome in my home. I am forgiven for my sins, and it is by the same blood that I command you to go now. I close the door to you and forbid you from entering this home again. I will not give in to your temptation. You are no longer welcome here and are forbidden from speaking to me.”

Pray over your children specifically. “You may not speak to (child’s name) eyes and the things they see. You may not influence their thoughts and the things they think. You may not influence the words they speak or the words they speak to themselves. I command you to leave this house now in Jesus’ name.”

The Bible says whenever you tell the bad to go, you need to invite the good to come. “Holy Spirit, I invite You to come and fill (child’s name) with Your love, power, and peace over their mind, identity, and relationships. I invite You to stand guard over them and protect them fiercely. Fill them with Your truth and lead them into healthy, vibrant friendships that honor You.”

As the head of your household, declare what your house stands for. “As the head of this house, I decree and declare that this is a home of peace, growth, and love. We operate out of life-giving heart connections. We stand for truth, honor, and purity.”

We are forgiven for our sins and walk in His light.

INTERRUPTED SLEEP

I posted this revelation and discovered 1,000’s of people have been affected. Praise God many have also experienced a sudden shift after praying.

How many of you, or those in your family, have had interrupted sleep patterns lately? Like can’t fall asleep, waking up many times throughout the night or just a foreign restlessness around sleep?

As a watchman in families, I am seeing something we must rise up in and take authority over. There is an attack on sleep right now. It comes in the form of oversleeping, a lack of falling asleep or waking up getting interrupted sleep. God has designed our bodies to NEED sleep – deep sleep – and has ordered the world according to work and rest. Even the fields work hard and need a season of rest.

Being sleep-deprived affects one’s mind, body, and spirit. It is like a numbing agent. Rest is part of what keeps us alert, clear-minded, and empowered.

Please discern this accurately and do not assume it is just your body being weird. This is in the spiritual realm and the way to solve it isn’t through natural means but with our authority.

Let’s PRAY – “I command every assignment of the enemy to disrupt my sleep and deep rest to be canceled in the name of Jesus. I declare my body will come into the order of heaven which includes cycles of alertness, productivity, and deep rest. I command the spirit of insomnia off my mind and body in Jesus’ name. I invite the Holy Spirit to come and fill my mind, heart, room, bed, home, and family with Your peace, power, and a clear mind that comes from rest.”

You do not need to put up with being bullied in your sleep. Take authority over the spirit and take back what is yours in the name of Jesus.

Now gather the children and invite them to pray over themselves. Explain that God has given us seasons like winter, spring, summer and fall. What would happen if it was winter all the time? We wouldn’t be able to enjoy swimming in the lake or planting food to eat. What if it was hot all year long? What if it rained 365 days? God, the Creator of the world and our bodies, has given us a rhythm and we are most alive when we follow His design. As a family, walk through each bedroom and pray for deep sleep and rest.