Tuesday, August 31, 2010

How to Pray

Good Afternoon Beloved,

I learned a new word today. It is a Hebrew word: chazaq . meaning is rather long so please just bear with me , OK?

chazaq: to fasten upon, seize, be strong, courageous, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer, catch, cleave to, constant, continue, force, lay hold on, maintain, play the man, wax mighty, prevail, retain, be urgent, wax strong. All these meanings can be understood in connection with prayer.
I took this from the notes on Isaiah in the Dake Annotated Reference Bible, p. 1262-1263

On the Internet I found this description: chazaq: a uniquely strong and powerful descriptive word for " courage" that comes from God.
Here are some examples from God' Word so you can put the word in the right context.
Numbers 13:20 Moses telling them be of good courage ( chazaq)
Joshua 1: 6-9 The Lord telling Joshua to be strong and of good courage ( chazaq)
Acts 28:15 Paul, thanked God and took courage ( chazaq)

I have heard our Lady in church tells us that this is how she prays... I guess I didn't understand what she was saying until I read the meaning of the word for myself. I now have some questions for you ( mostly it is for me).
How do you pray? Do you just say words and hope it is right? Do you really remember and know what you are praying for? Do you shut yourself away to pray? Should you?
Do you plan on what your praying for ? Look at the meaning of the word chazaq, what meaning are you using today to pray? It is a word used as a descriptive powerful word for COURAGE.
Do you pray with courage? I think it is time for me to learn how to pray with courage and conviction.
Now for the rest of what it said in the Dake's Reference Bible
If one would stir himself up in this manner, refusing to be denied and if he would appropriate every benefit of the promise and covenant of God which have been freely and abundantly given to men--ALL men, then such a person would experience answers to prayers for body, soul, and spirit for both himself and others. Dake's Bible p. 1263
So Beloved, it looks like if we would just do as is suggested from the meaning of this word:chazaq
then our prayers would be answered maybe a little differently.. What do you think? Are you willing to give it a go? I sure am and I will let you know if it works for me.
Remember to Smile, you are dressed the most beautiful you can be when you do...
God Bless and have a wonderful day with Jesus our Lord and Savior today..
tenderly with arms wrapped around you... your sister in Christ Jesus, vickie

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Reunion Time

Well Good Evening My Beloved,

It is that time of year again when we gather as a family to enjoy one another... I was thinking
that as we gather together this year it could be the last time for us to do so here .. I believe it won't be long until we are having a REUNION with our Savior , Christ Jesus.
I love to see how all the children have grown from year to year and listen to them tell of what they have learned the year. It is always nice to hear what the old ones talk about too... It is a time of missing the ones who have left us so recently, and the ones who started it all... It is a time of continuance. Time to share some good food and memories..
I think about what it might be like to have a reunion with Christ Jesus. I think it might be like a reunion we have here with our family... I think we will rejoice in the Lord Jesus for a long time and then I believe we will sit down to a feast like nothing we have ever seen before... I think we will get to see our loved ones and visit with them .... I don't think we will have to remember any bad times at all.... I just can not wait to see all my family at this reunion we have each year.. I think I will tell them each and everyone to their face how much I love them this time. I don't know when or if I will pass this way again... So I want to be sure to let them know how I feel about each one of them...
Just as I can not wait for this earthly reunion ,I am so excited about the reunion I will soon have with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ... I am so excited about the time I will get to spend with Him.... It will be a continuance of what I have started here.... Time in His presence, only it will last for eternity.... Oh, Lord Jesus,, thank you for presence...
I hope you all have a good time at the reunion, the one here on this earth and the one we will have with our Father in Heaven...
Remember to Smile , you are dressed the most beautiful you can be when you wear your smile.. tenderly with arms wrapped about you, your sister in Christ Jesus, vickie

Monday, August 16, 2010

Fear

Hello Beloved,

I found this on my fridge this morning and thought I would share it with you.. I wrote this to myself several years ago....

How are you different then the Hebrews of the Exodus?
Answer: Your not.
They were there when the Red Sea became a dry floor, they saw the bread fall from the sky, they saw water come from a rock, YET, did they have fear?
Answer: Yes.
Their hearts were hardened. They needed someone to follow. So do you!
Now the choice is : Follow God or follow your fear.
Which one do you chose? Think about it.... Remember it is going to be a daily, minute by minute
follow... so now what do you chose to do?

The Hebrews turned to a statue for help, what do you turn to? Got ya didn't I?
Now be truthful here and say what do you to turn to? For example: smoking, sleep, food, or maybe you just like to be sick all the time. It can be any number of things.. so have you been truthful yet and looked at what makes you so like the Hebrews of the Exodus?
Fear is fear. Fear is darkness. Fear is without God. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.. Philippians 4:13
Fear is a closed mind. So are you going to open your mind today , or leave it closed?
What is your fear? How can you give it up? Now, will you give it up?
Life is about choices. Chose well.... It is yours for a lifetime.... maybe even your eternal life...
Just something to think about.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world and you know the rest... just remember who is the world?


Thanks for listening today... God be with you... tenderly your sister in Christ Jesus.
Smile: you are the most beautiful you can be when you do...
vickie

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Baptism

Hello Beloved,

Today ,I would like to talk about something I think is very important... Baptism. I was witness to seven baptisms today.. What a blessing it was for me... Seven new brothers and sisters. I saw two baptised in church and then 5 more baptised in a lake...( a first for me) both were fully under water but in different ways.... The first two went down in the Name of Jesus Christ... and the last five went down in the name of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.

It tells us in Matthew 28:19 to Go forth and teach and baptise in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost. Now in Acts 2:38 It says to Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

Now in Matthew it was Jesus who said to be baptised in the NAME of Father,Son, and Holy Ghost. In Acts it says , that Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptised in the NAME of Jesus Christ . So what is the NAME ? Jesus Christ . We are to be baptised in in the NAME.


Now my thoughts on this are like this...

When a man asks a woman to marry him and she does: then what does she take on?

She takes on his name , correct? Mrs. John Smith. This would be her title..... Mrs. Smith but her name would still be Jane Smith. She would still be known by her name, Jane right.

Is a name important? I think it is... I like being called by my name.... do you?

I believe that when Jesus Christ comes back , He is coming for his bride.... the church; look at

Ephesians 5:22-33 this is an Analogy of family and church( title in my study bible) look at verse 32;" This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Now you need to read 5: 22-33 and see what it says... I believe it is a picture of the Bride of Christ...

the Church, Us, you and me. So I think it is important to have the NAME applied to us ... Do you see what I am saying? Does it make sense to you? I am not trying to be judgemental here, just trying to explain why in my opinion it is very IMPORTANT to get the Name of Jesus Christ applied to your life. I want to be a part of the Bride of Christ... It is important to me..
I believe you have to have the Name of Christ Jesus to be a part of the Bride. That is my thoughts on the matter... I hope that this has not offended anyone and that if you disagree with my thoughts then show me in the scriptures where I am wrong at , please...
God Bless each of you today and remember to Smile, when you do you are dressed the most beautiful you can be.... tenderly your sister in Christ Jesus, vickie

Friday, August 13, 2010

Depression

Hello Beloved,



I will start with something from my last post. First of all.. YOU ARE LOVED.
Now I hope you will remember that throughout this post. YOU ARE LOVED.
I know that many of us have gone through different stages of depression. Women usually go
through some sort after having a baby, " baby blues" I think it is called.. Some go through it when they are going through menopause, some go through when kids leave the nest, some go through it all of their lives.... Many different ways to go through but they ALL come from the same source. Yes, I believe that..... Now, some may want to argue that it from your food intake, or from your genetics, or from something else but I am here to tell you I believe that depression comes from one source, and that source is Satan. yes, you read it right, Satan, who is the father of all lies. Yes, LIES. He has been lying to you in the fact that you are not good enough, not worth it, what is the point, why me, I am ugly, fat, stupid, an idiot, ignorant no account, you cant keep up, cant sing, dance, read, write, learn, ANYTHING that has been said to you that makes you feel like you are not good enough is a LIE straight from Satan, he just used someone else's voice to tell you.....

I want to to be the one to tell you that YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!! Now I will tell you how I know that to be the absolute truth of the whole matter. I hope you are ready for this....

Go and get a Bible out and turn to the book of John... It is in the New Testament ,fourth book..
Now go to John 3:16 and read it out loud... the word you need to see is " whosoever ".
Now the word means: whatever person; no matter who

Do you see that YOUR name IS whosoever? Read it out loud again and in place of whosoever put YOUR name in OK? Now I hope you know that God cannot lie... So if God says He is sending HIS son down here for us to believe in and have everlasting life then why would you believe
ALL the lies from Satan?

Do you see what I am trying to tell you? You can not have it both ways.. You cannot tell yourself that you are in love with Christ Jesus and then turn around and believe all the lies from Satan... Do you see that? You can only have it one way.. Truth or Lies. Which is it that you REALLY believe?

You maybe saying to your self right now , How can she say that to me... Well, I was YOU. I tried to have it both ways for most of my life... It does not work. I am trying to help you here get on with the life that meant to be instead of the one you are choosing,, Yes, you are choosing to be in this horrible state.. You have two choices to make every time. Truth or Lies.. Yes, it is just that simple.... You can go on believing that you are junk or you can take God at His Word and believe that you are a whosoever and that He loved you so much He sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ here to die for you... The choice is yours to make... Remember this ... the choice is for eternity... Now , I am going to tell you what I see , not with my natural eyes but with my spiritual eyes OK..
You are worth dying for , you are just exactly who you were created to be, you are loved.
I hope that you will really take the time to read the book of John. God loves you so much..
I love you too.. I know exactly what it feels like to believe all the lies... I am learning fresh new things about myself everyday... I love Christ Jesus more everyday... I am learning how to be
obedient to His Word and not the lies... I am praying that you will learn too..
With all the love of our Savior I love you and hold you in my heart tenderly, your sister in Christ, vickie

Monday, August 9, 2010

Very Personal

Hello Beloved,

I have something weighing heavy on my mind this morning... It is very heavy. I don't really know who I am talking to here but I believe someone needs to hear this. So please just stay with me here, OK?
I heard about someone yesterday that is so badly depressed they are very suicidal. They are already speaking with a doctor. Now, here is where it is going to get personal. Please just stay with me and know that I am speaking as one with experience.
Where to start? I really do not know when it all started for sure... I just know that at one point in my life I starting thinking about taking my own life. I do not know why I felt like;
no one liked me, no one loved me, I was not good enough, I had nothing to offer, I was so ugly and fat, I was not smart enough, I was not popular, I could not keep up in anyway, shape or form..
I sometimes think it must have started back when I was quite small... I was not as big as the other kids it seemed like... I was rather short.... I was pudgy and whining all the time... I guess it was just me and my own stinking thinking. I just know I hurt inside my heart and my head all the time... and for me it has been that way ALL my life.. I have thought so many times of different ways I could take my own life... I even went so far as to research the easiest and best way to do it.... Now that is a sick person..... I was very sick in my head , heart and my soul...
I didn't deserve to live... I was just not made right like " everyone " else... I really believed all of that..
I have sisters and brothers and I looked at them and saw perfection.... they were pretty, smart, had lots of friends, mama and daddy loved them lots more than me.. I was a mistake. I have all my life believed that.. I got married when I was only 17 years old so I could finally feel good about myself... Ha, Ha, joke on me. It didn't work.... I have now a man in my life that makes me feel bad about myself, only because he drinks. Now , what a rotten life I have.. I made it even worse by having children! I was not only a bad daughter and sister but now I was a crummy wife and mother! Why in the world would I want to live anymore and screw up more lives in the process? I have a bad case of the " I HATE MYSELF" . If I couldn't like me how in the earth could anyone else. It just really sucks being me......
I tried several times to do away with myself but as usual I FAILED. I am going to fast forward here.
In October 2007, something happened to change my life AND my way of thinking..
I fell upside down in the bathtub and broke my back. Has to be one of the greatest days of my life. I had to spend some time in the hospital and while there something started to happen to me... I had time to do NOTHING but think... I looked at a clock on the wall and marked time off in seconds. Yes, in seconds. I looked at a crucifix on the wall and started asking myself about
Jesus and how he must have felt all broken up.. Then it started to work on my thoughts about why in the world would I think I was the only one who was hurting like this... Jesus had already suffered ALL that I was .... He knew what it was like to have no one like him. He knew what it it felt like to be broken and used by those around him... He really does know what you are feeling and thinking at all times,. So to use the excuse I like to use.. no one knows what I feel like , what I am thinking or anything of whatever. Well, I was WRONG!!!!! Jesus really does know all that ..
Now lets go back to something said earlier for a minute OK..
My family is NOT perfect nor have they ever been... My husband is NOT drinking now but is a man who is in LOVE with Jesus Christ our Lord. I no longer live in " POLLYANNA"S WORLD""
. I have had to take a long hard look at my life and it has not been a pleasant experience. I know that if you are going through some of the same things in your mind that I did and you may be thinking something like: well that was you and it is not the same as what I am going through" well I am here to tell you this BULL, it is the same no matter if the experience is different.. You feel like you are not worth nothing! I felt the same... So what you need to do is start thinking about someone besides YOU! If you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior then I would suggest you get down on your knees and start talking to Him today... I know that from my own personal experience that He is real and He wants to be with you... I will help you if you will let me.. Jesus will be there if you let Him.... So you ARE IMPORTANT to more then you realize.
I do not know about your circumstance nor your life nor probably even who you are but I do know that I LOVE YOU with all the love that Christ Jesus has... Please won't you let someone in today to help you know just how much you mean to them.. I want to help you... please let me... You can contact me through this blog please do so...
Dear Lord I pray for who ever is reading this today that they might feel you in someway today and know that you love them so much that you died for them.. I pray your will be done... In the name of Jesus Christ ... Amen.
God be with you today. vickie

Monday, August 2, 2010

Brand New Sister!!!!

Hello Beloved,

I have some wonderful , great, awesome news!!! I have a brand new sister!!!!! ( I am smiling really really big here) Her name is Debbie and she is absolutely a beautiful new baby.. She has very dark hair and she is so tiny! She is going to be a comedian down in Branson , MO. I sure hope I can get down there to show her some support.. I love her so, so so much.
I met Debbie several years ago while I was working in a hardware store and she came in and needed help finding some things. I only knew her by her face and beautiful smile for ever so long. I have just recently became acquainted with her on a more personal level... I really do just love her so.
Well, Debbie was having questions about The Lord Jesus and her faith.. and she met up with the
right team.... , a mother- daughter team... Vicki and Sherry.( My friend the " YELLOW WARRIOR"") and they have helped her learn to study God's Word and learn and answer all
manner of questions... Well, it all paid off not only for them, but for us too... but mostly for Debbie. Debbie will now have a new birthday! YEA!!!!! Yes, that is right thinking on your part. ( smiling here) Please let me be the one to announce the news of "our" new sister.

Birth date: July 28,210
Place: Grace and Mercy Ministries, Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933
Physician : The Lord Jesus Christ
Delivery Room Assistants: Bishop Robert L. Miller, and Pastor Scott Lehr
Witnesses: A LOT!!!!!!! ( Smiling again)

This is so much fun to do and tell about.... I watch her go from no understanding to understanding just like a little child and it was absolutely a beautiful transformation.... We , yes,
I am including all of you in this, we are so very fortunate to have Debbie as a new sister.. I hope if you are in Branson, MO or close by you will go and see her act... She is bright and funny, and BRAND NEW!!!!!!!! Debbie, I want you to know just how much you have meant in our lives and how much you will always mean.... You are such a incredible human being.... God, sure does love us a lot to have sent you to join in our family. Thank you for answering the call....
Good luck to you in your new venture and always remember you have a family here and wherever you encounter the Love of the Lord Jesus Christ.. Go with God and have a great life!

With all the love and tenderness I hold in my heart , I love you , Debbie... your new sister in Christ Jesus. vickie b.