I have written some fairly hard to believe things in the past and I've tried to ignore recent events but it seems I need to post this much more: something happened to me a few months ago, something horrific and yet because God sheltered me through it all, it was also miraculous and my gratitude has been overwhelming and I'm in awe of so much. I don't like to talk about it, but it has left me with something that is again, hard to believe. There is a picture of a halo on this site and on the website, a picture and explanation of what I think it means. That halo is now visibly sealed on my forehead.  There is no way anyone human could have orchestrated how it got there. That all of this has resulted with this etched on my forehead...it's just hard for me to believe, let alone anyone else. And yet, there it is. I don't think I need to say any more.

All I know is to pray "God's will be done."

If you don't have a born again relationship with Jesus Christ, you really need to seek Him. You really do. His Holy Spirit is a breath away. He is for you not against you. Yes you. No matter where you are or what you have ever done. Come to Christ. Come.

It's true.

If what I have seen is true, things will happen in God's timing. If not, prophecies will still happen regardless because God Is. There is so much peace in that <3

Matthew 6:33 
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The experience of God is slightly different for all of us, I think because God knows how to reach each one of us. Since we are different, His approaches are different. That's why I often don't write about how close God can be, because if your experience of Him is different from mine, that doesn't make your experience any less, and you don't want to miss how He reaches out to you because you're looking to find Him in the same places as others. The Holy Spirit knows you uniquely and will reach out in whatever way is best, it's why the Bible is so important, the Bible is the authority from God to discern with...not what anyone else says and not what anyone else's experience of Him is.

Matthew 11:29  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My Yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Losing weight while enfolded in God's love Page One

Putting on the Armor of God

    Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

      Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—  and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6)

So just how does someone put on the armor of God? First of all, prayer. Simply ask. God loves us, He told us to give Him our burdens. For me, this is a huge one. So I ask. I ask Him to show me if my motives are correct. I can fool myself but I can't fool God, and He knows. If my motives aren't correct, if God looks down the barrel of time and sees me flaunting a thin body even if my motives began innocently, then I have to accept (and I do), that He knows better than I do what is best for me and I have nothing but sincere gratitude in that. Trusting my Shepherd to lead me to the right places...this is rest.

But if my motives truly ARE correct and my requests godly, God is all about helping me. He is the Giver of all good gifts, and right now He is gifting me with the insight of what this battle truly is about. It's about picking up where great grandma Eve left off except THIS time, Christ is in me, and He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)

In fact, Jesus fasted for 40 days and the Bible says:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

"But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

So the first maneuver that Satan used was to tempt Jesus with bread. It worked on Eve but not the Christ. Jesus responded with Scripture. He didn't shout at Satan, He just responded with the Truth. Jesus here shows me how to respond to temptation as well. It IS the Sword of the Spirit.

But there isn't always time to look up Scriptures when temptation comes. I find that there are many "darts" of the enemy aimed at me. Insecurity, anger, stress, guilt, mistrust, even plain exhaustion...those are what I call "toxic thoughts." Accumulate enough unanswered toxic thoughts and I fall to temptation easily. I believe it's why God said:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippeans 4:8)

I am working on a list of Scriptures to memorize. I need to be battle ready. The enemy is gunning for me, for all who seek God. The Bible says:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5)

The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10)

Did you think this battle didn't matter? Satan and his minions are seeking to destroy God's people. This battle is SERIOUS, but it's the battlefield we are born for. It's where we get to choose whom we belong to. 

But Jesus came that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

I choose life. I choose to be hungry as Jesus was hungry. We don't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Easily said, much more difficult to follow....the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And that is why, when I think of Jesus and the hunger He felt...for me...

Jesus suffered hunger for me and so much more

He laid down His life and picked it up again....

He came...for me. For you and for me.

The love of God changes everything. <3

The Spiritual Battle of Weight Loss

There was a day when I KNEW something was wrong in my son's world. He came home on leave and everything about him communicated extreme pressure, but when I asked him what was going on, he wouldn't talk about it.  Everyone in my family told me I was imagining it while I wondered how they could be so blind! So when he left, I fasted and prayed. It turned out I was right and those prayers were much needed. And now that the crisis is over, I find myself 70 lbs lighter and wondering how that happened.

God is so amazing. Fasting would be impossible for weight loss, but put God first and seek Him with everything you've got, and He answers, just like the Scriptures say:"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity"

I learned a lot in that time and my walk with God became extreme. Jentezen Franklyn taught me about fasting and how offensive it is to God when we focus on food instead of Him. I never realized how I was using food as a crutch when God was there the whole time inviting me to lean on HIM and even now, I find myself reaching in wrong places after a stressful day, or in attempts to alleviate my concerns...and God is there the whole time with open arms, calling. Why do I ever turn anywhere else?

More and more I am realizing that life is about choice. Do we choose Him? All of us have constant streams of concern of some sort, and the enemy seems to wait for us to be vulnerable to tempt us. How many times have I felt strong in my walk only to hear that little voice of temptation....resisted...but then it returns and chip chip chips away at my resolve.

Anyone else out there struggle with these issues? One resource I have found that helps is a little known audio by Bill Foote that I think is powerful and blessed. "Putting on the Armor of God" In it he describes something SO KEY...and that's to recognize that I AM in a battle, an extremely serious battle, I will always lose if I don't realize how extremely intense this battle is.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/foote_bill/armor/Putting_on_the_Armor_of_God.cfm

Please pray for me and let me know, I will pray for you too. God bless