Miracles and Changes

Welcome to my Friday blog post.

It seems like so many people are on the busy train lately and it's hard to know where to move and what comes next with so many changes on the horizon. Some days it feels as if you can't catch your breath they're coming at you so fast.

I guess the title to this post pretty much states what this post will be about. So many times we pray for miracles and while some may happen, there are those times when it doesn't. I came across a motivational quote that seemed to linger in my mind as I fought some pretty rough fatigue yesterday. The kind that simply wants you to sit around and do nothing. So I figured I had nothing pending, I would take that time to read a book, some of the Christian bloggers and readers have been discussing lately. But first, back to the quote. It simply said, "Faith isn't just believing that God can do it, it is believing He will do it." Now to state it that I do not believe in the "name it and claim it" religious leaders. But it was enough for me to "marinate" on it from the time I read it til the time I went to bed.

It may be wonder on the things I pray for in faith, do I simply just "pray" about it, or do I honestly believe that God will do it. To be honest, I think more of it lies in the first part and not so much in the second part. I know God can do anything, but it does make you wonder, why does He allow someone to face fighting cancer so many times. He can heal them, but why doesn't he? Sometimes that question doesn't even get answered this side of heaven.

I know God has a plan and purpose in everything He does, and I feel like I need to up my prayer game to a whole new level. I need to really sit down during those prayer and talk to God about the things on my heart. Like I would my own father, if I could. Yet I have to remember the power unleashed in those prayerful moments. Heaven has been stirred. There is action I am not even seeing.

Last night I prayed that the sore throat I was dealing with all week would simply go away. I had noticed some white spots on my tonsils and kept watch over the week and yesterday it seemed it had grown bigger and now felt like I had a popcorn kernel stuck in the back of my throat. In fact the more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I dreamed about what might happen with my home based business if I couldn't speak any longer. I figured out, I would find a way to keep going despite what I could or couldn't do. I scheduled the earliest doctor's appointment for today that I could get. I wasn't at all happy about getting up so early feeling so badly and tired the night before.

When I woke up this morning to jump into the shower, I checked my throat to see how much worse it was, and no white spots. Not one. I even asked my hubby to check. All gone. No swelling of my tonsils, no sore throat, nothing. I even checked like 4 more times, because I couldn't believe that they were gone. I remembered last night as I tried to sleep, I did ask God to supernaturally take them away because I was feeling so poorly and the last thing I wanted to do was be sick again and have to cancel my LIVE tutorial tonight. I had errands to run in the morning that would have to be canceled and it would mean I couldn't help out where I could. But God had other plans. Today, I am rejoicing in that moment. I am good to go and managed to go back to sleep after canceling my doctor's appointment and slept far later than I had intended.

Usually the first thing I do before I get out of bed, is to check all my social media apps, for emails and to see what's going on before I get up. I came across a few responses to a book publicity company that is now closing its door and getting out of the book reviewing business. Friends, that is 3 in just 3 months. Is it possible God knew that the lifestyle I had depended on using my free time for, was coming and I needed to be ready for a change? Even six months before it happened?

I believe that is a YES! I was tired of trying to figure out where to go with all the reviews I am asked to do and still get my business up and running and helping other women do the same. I believe firmly it has been His plan all along. It is such a sadness to know this is where book reviewing is headed, and while I will continue to not give up my love of reading, I know God's got bigger plans in store for me and my family in this year ahead of us.

So miracles and changes, both blessings from God! I can't be happier with His path in my life right now. 

What Are You Serving?

Is the U.N. a demonic entity? Look at how they vote. What nation has been sanctioned against more than any other nation by the UN? Israel! What nation is repeatedly condemned? Israel. Look at the UN's track record. It seems like man has commandeered the UN entity to war against the nation of Israel. Every tax payer funds the U.N.

If you have ever been to the U.N. building in New York, there is a plague outside the U.N. that reads, " They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

Sounds pretty good right? It's from Isaiah 2:4 but what is missing is that they only decided to use the last half of the verse and not the complete verse because it's taking it out of context. Let's look at what it really says.

Isaiah 2:4 ~ "He (God) will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

Quite different when you read it the way it was intended. They removed all reference from God when they did that. Satan's plan of deception is not limited to religious settings. He will commandeer any hall of power, to perpetrate his deception. One of the great pulpits he has today is the U.N., the Security Counsels, notice what they believe in, the non existence of Israel. It's an evil tool, but God is not threatened. In fact in Israel whenever they see a U.N. vehicle, it is referred to as the United Nothing of the UN-necessary.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 ~ "The Spirit says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

This is happening all around us today. People are leaving Christianity, they are abandoning their faith, and it makes you wonder if they were ever saved or born again at all. Especially with the logic behind their reasoning. They will even tell you what they are doing is wrong and unbiblical but they try to justify their decision anyway. They want to go where someone is preaching what they want to hear even if it contradicts the Bible.

The False Prophet will be an impostor when it comes to worship. He will glue together the political realm with the religious realm. Politics and organized religion are never far apart. Make no mistake about it, godless political movements are often draped in religion. Christianity is NOT a religion.

Revelation 13:12 ~ "It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and make the earth and all its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed."

"In its presence," They are working in stereo to deceive the world. When the Antichrist rises to power, the U.S. will NOT be on the scene, it is neutralized somehow. Europe will now be the new focal point. The Antichrist will give praise to the false prophet. Notice the unholy trinity. This demonic representation of the Holy Trinity. Notice the impostorship of Satan. Satan is attempting to be in the role of God the Father. He is the dragon spoken of in Revelation. The Antichrist is in the place of Jesus Christ the Son, and promises to bring a fake Utopia into the world. The False Prophet is in the place of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 11:3 ~ "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ~ "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."

We won't know who they are unless you know your Bible. There are so many ways to God in this day and age but they are all false if they don't include Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All of them. If you want to do further research check out the Crown Prince of Jordan, is also the president of the world conference on religion and is author of proposing a one world religion. Even our current Pope is using his position to bring all the world's religions together and even believes now that evolution is true.

We know that this False Prophet will be an agent of evil.

Revelation 13:12-13 ~ ""It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and make the earth and all its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It will perform great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, "

Daniel 8:25 ~ "By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken - but by no human hand."

That's the cry of the world today, peace and prosperity. Remember when Jesus sent his disciples out and away to preach and to heal and to cast out demons, Judas was one of those ministers. Be warned it's not the miracles, it's the message.

1 John 4:6 ~ "We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

1 John 4:1-3 ~ "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already."

1 John 2:18-19 ~ "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not 'been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us."

So what must we do as Christians?

Acts 17:10-11 ~ "The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."

The deception of the False Prophet will be irresistible to the world. Bringing fire down from heaven is a big time miracle. Remember when God used fire from heaven to judge the nations of Sodom and Gomorrah? The demonic world has not forgotten that. He will mimic this act, so how does he do it?

We have to remember not all miracles are from God. When Moses performed his miracles before Pharaoh, what did Pharaoh's magicians do? The very same things. When you study the ancient pagan religions and miracles, just because a miracle happens, doesn't mean its from God. You have to search out the message to see if it aligns up with the Bible. Who gets the glory of the miracle? Test all things!

If you don't know your Bible, you will fall into deception. If you're desperate enough, you will do anything. What if your child was dying and a man promised he could heal her even if he prayed to Fred Flintson. Would you still take your child? If your faith is based on the Bible, remember seeing is not believing. If you believe in God, you'll be able to handle things when it comes to your faith. It will not be emotionally based.

Some miracles are real and so are simply staged.

There was a man who was from the U.S. who led a tour to Israel and over a 1000 people signed up to go. He promised stops along the way with a message or two. After a certain stop, he would climb out of his limo, give his message and then would conduct a healing service and people were healed. Then the next bus came along since not all 1000 people could travel in the same bus, and each time it was the same people who were healed over and over again. This is a true story. It was conveyed by Israeli guards who investigated this incident and found it to be true.

The probability of your watching this very person on TV is high and he makes over 5 million dollars a year. That is his annual salary but he is teaching a false message under the very premise he is doing it under the authority of God. But which God? These people are in our world today. Their goal is covert deception and people are falling for it hook, line and sinner.

Matthew 7:21-23 ~ "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and do many works in your name? And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." 

The two prophets of Revelation are able to work miracles involving fire from the heavens to the earth, Elijah the prophet called down fire from heaven and the False Prophet will love to mimic the ministry of God. That is why it is so critical to know your Bible. Don't be deceived by someone calling himself to be a man of God. Know what the Bible says yourself. Test all things!

Deception: Because its the miracle that is in direct association with the authority of God. In your life, you're living to serve. We all serve somebody or something. 

What you are you serving?

More to come tomorrow!!!

"

A Warning about Miracles, Signs and Wonders!

So just how close are we to the rapture of the church and the Tribulation period? Definitely closer than we were yesterday. The one thing that has moved us that much closer is the creation of the nation of Israel for a second time, that occurred on May 14, 1948 and fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 66:8. That one event has set up a stop watch for the last days. How do we know that? Because the Bible says that there will come one who makes political promises. Notice that the Antichrist, the one we see in the Bible, riding a white horse, that we are going to be reading about today, don't mistake this for being Jesus. Read Revelation 6 carefully!

There is the impostor. The mock Messiah. He is the false Messiah. He is the Antichrist. He is going to come and Daniel 9 tells us, that he is the one that will come to make a peace treaty with the nation of Israel. The contract will be for 7 years and it will be for 7 years of peace. It will be anything but, and it will be deceptive. The nation of Israel and its leaders are going to go with that and follow that deception. So just how close are we?

Doesn't every politician seek to gain a peace treaty with Israel and its neighbors? Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, both President Bushes, and this is just God giving us a little heads up that there will be one who comes that will broker a peace treaty with Israel. To know where we are at, keep your eyes open, your Bible open, your mind on the news of what is happening in regards to the nation of Israel and the Middle East. A man will one day come that the Bible tells us that will pull off this peace treaty deal. Israel right now is so hated by most people.

There was a social experiment done on a college campus, where one man waved the ISIS flag in front of people and no one said anything. Then he did the same thing with the flag of Israel and he was mocked, spit on, made fun of, you name it. This is just a sign that what we are facing is a spiritual issue. (1) No one said anything about the ISIS flag, and what we need to understand is silence is agreement. If you don't speak up then you are agreeing with whatever is happening. No one out of fear says anything about the ISIS flag. That is just wrong. Yet when someone says something about the flag of Israel, they are immediately under attack and that is an indicator that something is out of balance. The reason is because this is spiritual. Why do you hate Israel? Why do you hate Jews? You are being lead demonically to that decision, and they hate the promises of God. I've included the link here just in a case you might be questioning whether this could honestly happen here in America. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHJ06bsSow)

Revelation 6:1-2 ~ " I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." 

The issues we really want to pay attention to here are the words "white horse," "bow," and "crown." A lot of people mistake this for Jesus Christ. You might argue that the description here is the same as it is in Revelation 19, but that is wrong. In Revelation 19. the Bible says that Jesus has many crowns, and the word for "crowns" in Revelation 19, is the Greek word meaning "diadem." The absolute crown of an absolute ruler. The rider in Revelation 6, has a "crown" and in the Greek it means "stephanos," given to anyone who wins a heat in a race, or wins a battle in a war. This is not Jesus Christ.

We see that he is riding a "white horse," and a white horse was given to those who won a battle in ancient history. This first rider is the Antichrist riding a white horse.

Matthew 24:24 ~ "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible."

That is referring to those  converted during the Tribulation period. Jesus is saying that Satan will be so prevalent in the last days that there will be miracles done that will having nothing to do with the power of God it will be the power of Antichrist. We should be extremely concerned even with the state of current believers even today, that when a "miracle" happens, they will sacrifice Bible doctrine, to embrace a tortilla shell that has image on it or they will leave to head to other parts of the world, by hook or by crook, to worship some sort of a building that has an insignia on it, and if you put someone in front of it, they are healed. You might say, "Well what is wrong with that?" It's the message that follows these things. If people are getting healed by some abhorrition that is taking place in Central America some place, who is doing it, if the message after the healing is, "Yes! Jesus is one of the Saviors!"

If you know someone who is blind or needs a miracle, you will be desperate enough to be tempted to go and seek that healing. Will you sacrifice biblical truth so that this person might be healed or see again? You know that the doctrine is different than what the Bible teaches in order to get this healing, but you go anyway. You have been deceived. You might ask, "Well are all miracles wrong?" It depends on the message that accompanies that miracle! Is the message done by Almighty God and is Jesus the only one who gets all the glory and  honor? Or is His glory shared with another? What does the Bible say about that? "My glory I will not share with another."

Jesus warns that in the last days, it will be so powerful, these miracles and powers, that are not of God, that if it were possible, even My very chosen people would be deceived. But if you read it in its original context, it means that even His people, will not be deceived by what they see. That is very comforting.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 ~ "While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come upon them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."

The answer is simply this, don't be fooled by people riding on white horses! You might hear of a ministry, evangelical service or a healing service coming to town, the false always has the mask, just a little bit crooked. They will test your faith and ask you to give everything you own, money, wealth in order to show just how much faith you have in God. "Just trust in God and have faith! Take out that money and put that in the offering. It's okay if it all you have left, because God will bless your faith!"

Why don't those guys stop it, put a sock in it and exercise faith themselves? Be careful! Does God heal? Absolutely! But God has convicted the hearts of those that do it, to never parade that around in front of people. It is usually done quiet and away from others, when people are prayed for. The first century church had a guideline for people like that, if they asked for money or to stay in your house, throw them out!

This Antichrist comes giving everything that the world wants. Why? He's fooling people and he's riding a white horse.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 ~ "And then the lawless one will be revealed, who the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy it by the splendor of his coming.The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonder, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing."

John 5:43 ~ "I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him."

Jesus was speaking in both of these cases of the Antichrist. Another thing we learn in verse 2 of Revelation, don't be intimidated by the powers of evil.

Revelation 6:2 ~ "I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."

This is really interesting, notice, he had a bow, but no arrows! Jesus doesn't carry a bow does He? Jesus comes forth out of heaven in Revelation 19 with a sword in His hand. The ancient scholars believe and Daniel backs it up, that he will first conquer through peace. He doesn't need arrows. He conquers through peace and treaties and that is exactly what Daniel says. For the first 3 1/2 years, he brings such peace and prosperity into the world that the people fall into a stupor.

" he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest," means he starts out winning small battles but they increase in size as he goes on, until he has won the world and that of popular opinion as well. This is the reason why this verse uses the word or form of conquer or conquest, twice.

Daniel 9:27 ~ "He (the Antichrist) will confirm (that is succeed where others have failed) a covenant (a league or agreement made with blood) with many (not only Israel, but their neighbors) for one 'seven' (years). In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

2 Thessalonians 2:10 ~ "and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." 

It means when they had opportunity, they didn't give their hearts to Christ when they had the chance.

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 ~ " For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." 

How does this happen? It talks about the coming of the Antichrist, and those people who had the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, now perhaps even as you find yourselves reading this, they heard the gospel and willfully rejected it and then the rapture takes place. Some of you might be banking on this. You look at stuff and think to yourself when I see this stuff starting to take place, then I'll make the choice to get right or accept Jesus during the Tribulation Period.  But you won't have that chance according to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 that we just looked at. You won't get the chance and not only that, you are worse off for waiting to do so. Why? Because you stood your ground while the opportunities came around and now you will won't be able to do so. That's frightening enough in the life of a believer. What about an unbeliever?

The ones that sit on church and hear about Jesus and the way to get to heaven through the acceptance of Jesus Christ and don't do anything about it. They blow it off and go play it off in the world for a while. They might even come to church on Sundays just to cover all their bases too! If that is you or you know someone like that, you better pray for them and tell them the truth. That they need to accept Jesus Christ today.

2 Corinthians 6:2 ~ "For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

But the choice must be yours. Jesus wants your life. He doesn't want it dead, but alive for Him. If that rapture takes place, and you've said, "No, no, no, no, no, no..." you will become like Pharoah and harden your heart and God will send you strong delusions and you believe the lie. What is that lie? That the Antichrist is God and will set himself up in the temple in Jerusalem. You will believe he is who he says he is.

The Antichrist that is coming as the rider on the white horse, comes with the opening of the first seal. The first rider and those that ride behind him bring havoc and mayhem to the world. Man's government, man's rule, man's control, left without the intervention of God, is destroyed by self. Think about this, Satan is deceiving and he's been attempting to ride into your life, and attempts to do so every day of your life on a white horse. Before we were Christians, he rode in quite willfully and freely, you could sin without thought. There was no difference in our lives. We schemed on how not to get caught. At some point in time, we began to have different thoughts and then we find Jesus and accept the gift of His salvation. We became converted and for some of us, those sins stopped immediately! Maybe you cussed like a sailor and now you don't. There are some people who don't work that quickly, but He does keep working in your life.

We can't even sin right anymore. When you have the Holy Spirit working in your life, you can't even sin right. We lose our joy or our light. When we backslide, and you can just tell by looking at them that something isn't right anymore. God will turn your back and it's time for you to get right with God again.

Are you feeling a little bit of pressure right now? Praise God, that is Him putting a calling on your life right now. Make that decision today while there is time, make that decision to accept Jesus before the delusion comes.

Acts 17:11 ~ " Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

This is how we should live our lives, not with an open mind but with an open Bible. Especially in these days that we are facing now. The deceiving and deceptive signs, wonder and miracles is already at work. The Scriptures warn us that these things are coming. Remember the battle of spiritual powers between Moses and Pharoah's staff. One origin was from God and one was from a false demonic origin. We have to be careful what miracles we accept. We follow the miracles to accept the false doctrine. It will increase and we need to make sure our faith is rooted in the Word of God.

Monday, we will take a look at the other riders that follow this one! You won't want to miss it. Hope you found this interesting and feel free to share with those that might need to hear it.

Miracles?

I got this in my email yesterday and completely forgot to share this with you. I think it's time for more miracles in our lives, and who knows who you might be able to help today! Enjoy!

Cost of a Miracle

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even.. The total had to be exactly perfect.. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.

Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he said without waiting for a reply to his question..

'Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?' said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.

'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a miracle does your brother need?'


'I don't know, 'Tess replied with her eyes welling up I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money..'

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago .

'One dollar and eleven cents,'Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents-the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.'

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery.

The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about he chain of events that had led them to
this place.

'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost.....one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.. A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.

Defending the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Part 1

I am a firm believer if you are going to stand for something, you have to believe in it. Yet some things we may not physical see or be an actual witness to know that something is true. For example just because you haven't seen your great, great, great grandparents doesn't mean they don't exist or you weren't physically there when they were around, you know based on what you were told by your grand parents or parents who were, correct?

Some would argue that Jesus Christ doesn't exist because I mean who was around some 2000 years ago right? But don't we have solid, factual proof from people in a written document that can still be proven within 5 years that He did exist? What would you say to that?

I find it interesting as I grow more solid in my Christian beliefs that there are those who won't agree with what I believe, and that is up to them. What I would argue against in my defense is those that would say all I believe is a big fat lie. Jesus Christ wasn't God, there is No God, and that all that we have on the face of the earth and heavens was merely created by some cosmic speck or some big bang. For those reasons, I have to defend my beliefs.

For those of you that wonder what I believe, it's simple. I believe in God. I believe that He, alone created the heavens and the earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe He is the son of God, sent down from Heaven in the form of a human to die for the sins of ALL man-kind, past, present and future. I believe He was crucified, died and was raised from the dead after 3 days, and I believe He rose to heaven and is coming back again. I believe that the Holy Bible is the Word of God and I believe that simply through faith alone in Jesus Christ and not through works, I will be saved from the physical death in this life and have an eternal life. I believe that it is only through Jesus Christ, based on what He stated in the Bible, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." ~ John 14:6

With that being said, you have to be able to defend your beliefs and often times it's difficult because most the people who argue against you just slam the arguments that there is no other way to heaven except through Jesus, but He said not me. So you can take that up with him. In regards to the other matters, you have to take apart the doctrines of the Christian faith one by one to defend it.

If you don't believe in God, what do you believe?

If you don't believe the Bible is the word of God, what is it?

If you don't believe in Jesus, then who was he?

If you don't believe that He was crucified, died and rose from the dead, then why was he crucified?

Those are our basic core beliefs in the Christian faith and I know most people who run when they hear the "Christian label" do so, because they have been left with a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to knowing what being a Christian is.

No where in all of history has any other religion, been made fun of, mocked and have believers persecuted as much as the Christian or followers of Jesus Christ. I am not saying that other religious groups haven't been persecuted, but no where near the level of Christians. Just look at the current main stream audience and see what happens when you stand up for Christ now, and what He believed in, you are labeled a racist, a bigot, and worse. However when any other religion stands up for what they believe in, nothing. We chalk it up to whatever, it's what they believe in anyway.

Need more of an example, lets take a Christian's belief in marriage. We believe, it is between a man and woman alone. That is the way God created it, it was designed for procreation in the Garden when God created man and woman and called it good and it what we morally believe it's right. Just throw that statement on your Facebook page and watch what happens. Persecution will follow.

So why are there no protests from gay and lesbian groups in third world countries, who firmly stand by these same beliefs even though they are a different religious groups? Worse yet, if they did, all these people would be put to death. Why the outcasting of the Christian ones?

We have to start somewhere and with the Christians it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY one who isn't still in the grave. Buddha's grave still holds a body, so does Mohammed, so does Confucius, but Jesus's grave is empty. That alone is proof that everything he claimed while he was here was the truth. I mean if you don't believe that, who do you think Jesus was? A great man, a miracle worker, a prophet? Really???

Then can you tell me why the Roman Empire had him crucified?

Because He claimed to be the Son of God, that's why. It went against everything they believed at the time and people were believing in him. He proved it through his miracles of raising the dead, healing the sick, the blind and the diseased, and walking on water.

What? You don't believe in miracles?

Hmm then let me ask you what is a platypus?

By logic and premise it shouldn't exist, but we know it does. We've seen it. Yet let's look at what it is.

It's an egg layer, so it's a reptile right? Only reptiles lay eggs. Whew! Thought I had you right! Wrong.

It isn't a reptile because science claims that reptiles lay eggs and are cold blooded. So what is a platypus? It's an egg layer who is warm blooded. Therefore, according to science it doesn't exist but it does. Check Google. You can see pictures! Go to a zoo, more than likely, you'll see one for yourself.

But according to Science and logic, it can't exist. Miracle!!

Ah, but I am just getting warmed up, check back tomorrow to see more evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Feel free to comment too! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The Story of Chinese Bamboo

I wanted to take the time to share the simple but timeless story of the miracle of the Chinese Bamboo. If you have never heard it before, take 9 minutes to watch this story being told. I'd love to hear what you think this means to you!



For me, I often hear how many times we pray for God to answer and it seems like He doesn't or isn't listening. Perhaps we need to do something before God will answer, so we pick up our prayer request and work on the issue a bit and lift it back up to God for answers, but then nothing. Day after day, nothing changes, except our hearts, our words, our thoughts and pretty soon our actions. We think God doesn't care enough about our prayer. We may even begin to doubt our faith, our worthiness, or even if it's worth praying about.

I can think of all kinds of situations where waiting for prayer may frustrate your faith. You may be expecting a healing from a dreaded diagnosis for you or a family member or friend. You may need financial help due to the downturn in this economy, a job to provide for your family, help to manage a child that has turned away from his family and his faith, help to weather a storm but in all your prayers, nothing seems to change.

We need to remember the story of the miracle of Chinese Bamboo. It make take awhile, maybe more time then you ever imagined it would take, maybe that healing won't happen, but in the course of time, goodness will result. Perhaps someone will find his salvation through one encounter with that person, was it worth it. Perhaps not to you, but to God, all of heaven rejoices when one soul turns to God. In time, we will see the results of our prayers, but remember the answer we seek may not be God's answer. Will you still rejoice? Will you still hold on to your faith? Will you still turn to God?

Remember how long we will weather the storm, depends on our response during the storm. Let's keep our faith, keep our praises and thank Him everyday even though nothing may be happening today. Believe in the things not seen and grow your faith in amazing ways!

Real Life Miracle

People use the word ‘miracle’ too lightly. We assign it to sports events, small coincidences, stuff that’s really not all that miraculous. But this video is. You simply have to see it and ask yourself, how did he survive? Feel free to post your thoughts using the comment section below! Have a wonderful weekend and remember if at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is not for you!

Proof Angels Do Exist!

No one could have ever prepared me for the things I would be a witness to today. No one could have seen the chain of events begin unfolding before my eyes were even awake this morning, but I intend on sharing them with you. Then you can tell me, if you believe???

My husband Steve had to leave last minute on a business trip. This meant that he wanted to take the earliest flight out so he wasn't arriving in an unknown place when it was dark outside and things can easily be confused. So being super exhausted from building me a book case the day before, we decided to turn in early.

My oldest daughter, Caitlyn, being bored like your average high school teenager with three days off before she had to work again asked if she could spend the night with her friend. So we agreed with the stipulation she needed to be home early the next day since Steve would be out of town. Just to help out if the need should arise.

The alarm went off at 4am and Steve managed to quietly creep into the bathroom to shower and get ready. Just before he left our room, he asked me to pray with him. We prayed for protection while Steve would be gone and for God to work in our lives and keep everyone safe.

After I woke up, I got all my morning stuff done and was reading an author's comment to a book review I had just completed on The Guardian Angel Diary and then the phone call every parent dreads.

It was my best friend Jacquie who calmly told me that she was at my daughter's school, and my daughter was with her friend Katie, and that Katie had run over her foot. What hospital should I take her to?

In my mind, I wonder, if she was talking to me or someone else? What was my daughter doing at school? What kind of injury did she have that required a hospital visit and why hadn't my daughter called me?

Hanging up after telling her where I would meet her, I calmly closed up my house and gathered my younger daughter and explained what happened as best as I could.

15 minutes later we pull up in the ER only to have it be one of the busiest I have seen. I was greeted by Jacquie at the door and we gathered Caitlyn and carried her into the ER. It appeared she was calm but in pain.

She propped up her foot on a chair and sat talking with Kailee and Jacquie while I waited to fill out all the paperwork. Jacquie came to me and asked if perhaps the wait might be better at Urgent Care. Not sure what to do, I waited for the line to dissipate in front on me and I asked the nurse if my daughter could be seen at Urgent Care over this. She advised that as long as they had the ability to take X-rays, it might be quicker.

We made a decision since it was only a few blocks away, to take her to Urgent Care. There was only 2 people in there, which is unusual. It's normally packed!!!! By the time I filled out the paperwork and paid our deductible, we were on our way in.

Once inside, we waited about 10 minutes for the doctor who checked her out, and sent her to X-Ray just to be sure. The longest time was for X-Rays because they had just opened back up for lunch and had 2 people in front of us.

When Caitlyn returned from her X-Ray, the doctor came in and told us that she thankfully had no broken bones and aside from some soreness, she could keep her foot elevated, wrapped and sent her home with some pain meds, anti-inflammatory pills and muscle relaxers.

When we look back at the day, there were so many things that could have cause this day to turn for the worse. We learned that her best friend was driving the car, and when my daughter was preparing to exit the car, she pulled forward, trapping Caitlyn's ankle underneath the back wheel sideways. Not only did she run over it, but stopped the car while over it, pulled forward again and backed the car up, subsequently running over it 3 times.

She could have been pulled from the car and literally ran over, but she didn't. She could have had her ankle, leg or knee broken, but aside from some overall soreness and broken skin, she was undamaged.

She could have been by herself but my best friend Jacquie was running late to drop her daughter off and happened to see the whole thing. She not only acted calmly, quickly and managed to get my daughter into her own car and drive her to the hospital.

She calmly called me and avoided causing me to panic, but kept me grounded and clear headed. She also stayed with me at the ER and Urgent Care until we were dismissed. She comforted my daughter when I couldn't be there.

We just happened to have been home instead of taking my hubby to the airport and not only that for once my youngest daughter was dressed and ready to go when the call came. Not normally the case EVER!!!

So you decide. Were angels present today? Did God dispatch just the right people to be in the perfect place where He would know they would be needed? Did God perfectly orchestrate an empty Urgent Care, and an empty Walgreens who managed to fill her prescription in 15 minutes while we waited?

Or will you chalk this up to be extremely lucky or simply a coincidence?

I chose God!

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” ~ Joshua 24:15 NIV

Urgent Prayer Request Needed for Loren!

I am sending this out to all our prayer warriors everywhere to please begin to pray like never before for Loren's dad, Doug, at The Magoo's News. We need a mighty miracle in this man's life like never before. We need God to give him time to be provided the opportunity to experience God's salvation.

I won't get into the details because Loren has asked me not to, but please dearest friends and family, let's lift some mighty prayers to our heavenly Father who sits on His throne and rules everything that Loren's dad will be healed and that he may come to know that salvation and peace that comes with knowing God is in control of his life.

Please pray for Loren for strength in dealing with everything from having one family in one place to taking care of her father. She needs that peace that quite literally passes all understanding and the compassion and love for all of us. Please flood the gates of heaven with your prayers like never before.

"The Lord has heard my plea for help; the Lord accepts my prayer." Psalm 6:9

Pirates and A Conversation with God

You must be thinking based on this title of this post, where could this be headed, but trust me, it all works. You'll see why after you finish reading this.

I am an avid romantic girl at heart and always have been. I believe in the good guy will always get the girl and the bad guy will ultimately be defeated in the end. So I am captured by the allure of that romantic storyline wherever I can find it.

In the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl, when the concept for the movie first came out, I thought would fall flat. I had seen a Disney ride/attraction turned into a movie before when Eddie Murphy attempted to bring the Haunted Mansion to life and I believe failed miserably. So I wasn't hoping for much when Pirates was launched.

Let's just sum it up and say, die hard Pirates fan in a nutshell. Even though I know the true stories behind Pirate lore didn't involve all the humor that Johnny Depp brought to the character of Jack Sparrow, or sorry Captain Jack Sparrow but none the less, I was sold.

There is a point in the movie where Elizabeth Swann has been taking captive aboard a pirate ship and is about to enter into negotiations with the captain of the Black Pearl, who is Captain Barbossa. After all the story books she has read, she believes an articulate governor's daughter ought to be able to resolve matters with the pirates and her city of Port Royal.

The pirates only desire is the gold medallion that is worn by Ms. Swan that is the last remaining piece of Aztec gold that needs to be returned to its chest so that the curse of the pirates can be removed.

So Ms. Swann politely uses her best English vocabulary and asks for the pirates to leave Port Royal and never return in exchange for the medallion. Captain Barbossa promptly accepts and asks for his crew to way the anchor and make preparations to depart.

Poor Ms. Swan is dumb struck and demands that he uphold his part of the negotiations as part of the pirate code that all pirates are supposed to live by, whereby Captain Barbossa turns to her and states that is was she that failed to specify the where and the when of her agreement. Meaning he was not going to let her go, but that the ship will depart her town of Port Royal, she did not mention her release as part of that negotiation.

It was an interesting exchange of words and negotiations that the two entered and Ms. Swan found herself at odds with failing to ask for her to be returned to land before the pirates departed Port Royal. A huge oversight on her behalf.

This takes me to the conversation I had with God the other night while I tossed and turned unable to sleep. Not sure if it was the pain medicine or the pain but I simply couldn't sleep. I entered into a conversation that night with God. He was nice enough to make time for me.

My conversation took me back to the number of blogs I ran across that day, where people were simply desperate for prayer requests to be answered. Hearts were breaking, lives were at the point of being lost forever and I turned to God and asked, "Why?"

Not why, are these things happening because I know the why, mine was simply why don't you fix it if there are so many people praying for simple things for you to do.

I asked God why He doesn't provide more miracles. Like just a whole week where all the prayer requests that ask for miracles like healing a sick or dying child or restoring someone's memories to their former self or simply asking for more time with someone before their time is up, those miracles are the ones I was asking for during the week of miracles.

I questioned God and said, "I thought you were in the miracle business? Aren't those kinda easy for You to do? I mean just think how many people's lives would be changed if you just answered those requests for a week?"

I am not talking about the silly ones like, let me win the lottery or let me have the ultimate vacation or even a simple promotion but the ones that are healing miracles.

God asked me, "What do people ask for when they pray?"

I thought about it and said, "Healing Lord, they ask for their sick child to be made well again, or for their dying spouse to be made better."

God then asked me, "Why aren't they more specific in their prayers? Why don't they ask for exactly what they want? People are too vague."

I thought about it and agreed with God that most people offer up that blanket prayer of healing, or salvation or help to work things out with their families but never the details or specifics.

He revealed to me two unique situations in my life where He answered my prayers, but not along the way I wanted. But then again, they weren't the way I addressed them either.

My brother was going through a separation from his live in girlfriend and hated the fact that he would be forced to live with my father until he found a place of his own. Not something a 43 year old wants to do at the crossroads of his life, in the midst of trying to find another job.

So after living with my father, and hating it, he called me complaining of just how bad things had gotten. He said he would rather be stuck in some hotel room alone being able to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, rather than dealing with my father anymore. He even prayed that would happened and even wished for it.

God answered that prayer. He gave him a job that allowed him financial security that eventually would get him out of my dads, but he would have to save for a bit. It also required him to be staying out of town for about three weeks. He called to say that he, my brother, was stuck in some dumpy old Motel 6 that he hated and would be like there for three weeks due to work before he could come home.

My response, "You asked God for anything besides being stuck at dads and even staying in a motel room where you could come and do what you wanted would be worth it. Didn't you get what you asked for?"

He thought long and hard about it. Said I was right, hated that fact that I brought up and said he would be careful about what he asked for in the future.

I prayed to God that my husband would get a job that would allow him to work again since he had been out of work for almost a year so we could resolve our financial mess, and possibly allow him a job that would allow him the ability to tackle projects needing solving, something better for him. He's a great problem solver.

So God gave him that job. It provided all the things I had asked for, made more money than he had before, that eliminated our financial worries, and would allow him some creative problem solving. Sounds great right?

Yeah until you get to the details. It meant Steve would be working out of state for almost 90% of his time. The pay was great but at another cost to our families stability.

When I called to talk to my brother about this little inconvenience in my life, he was quick to remind me just what I asked God and reminded me that He did answer my prayer and I should think about it the very next time I lifted something up in prayer.

To tie all this together God told me that we need to be specific in our requests for prayer and include the details and specifics. If we make them too broad, even though He knows what it is we are asking for, it is a learning process for our prayer life. He will only answer them so far.

Until we make them, that specific and details, some if not most of the answers to our prayers will be just like my examples I provided above.

When I get to heaven I can't ask why He didn't answer them, God will merely smile and say it was me that failed to specify the where and when!! From here on out, my prayer life is completely changed because I know just how to pray and was reminded of that when we spoke that night.

God also asked why I had asked so many others to pray for my injury and healing, yet I failed to ask for it as well.

I explained to God I just thought there was something for me to learn with being injured and I was going to praise Him in it anyway no matter how much pain I was in.

Before He left. he asked me to pray and ask specifically for myself and what I really wanted and needed. He said we would talk later and left me to my silence and the darkness of my bedroom where I prayed that night. I prayed I would be able to get out of bed and begin to walk again and do things around my house and not be stuck in bed not being able to move flat on my back anymore.

Guess what happened on Sunday, yup, despite some lingering pain, because I failed to mention it in my prayers that I wanted it to be pain free, I was up and walking on Sunday and even had the energy to sit and just watch the kids enjoy time at the lake.

Here is proof, me sitting in my chair, reclined at the lake in the wooded area of the park.



and a picture of me at the lake as well. Miracles do happen!




God is so insightful and amazing. I love Him like that. He is an amazing teacher.