Amazing Grace

While in prayer this morning, I was inspired to go to the book shelf to find William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation. The example of the Pilgrims as recorded in this book is very inspiring to me, and with it being our season of Thanksgiving I wanted to read again of them.

I was in wonder at how the healthy ones served those who were close to death:

...There was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendations, be it spoken, spared no pains night nor day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them. In a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any gruding in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren; a rare example and worthy to be remembered. (p. 77)

A footnote on page 132 mentions that the Pilgrims never had a regular fall Thanksgiving Day. However, a law written on November 1, 1636, allowed the Governor and Assistants "to command solemn days of humiliation by fasting, etc., and also for thanksgiving as occasion shall be offered."

One of these particularly solemn days is recorded in a section entitled "More Semi-Starvation".
It records their pains to put in a great crop of corn only to see it wither in drought:

Yet at length it began to languish sore, and some of the drier grounds were parched like withered hay, part whereof was never recovered. Upon which they set apart a solemn day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, in this great distress. And He was pleased to give them a gracious and speedy answer...It came without either wind or thunder or any violence, and by degrees in that abundance as that the earth was thoroughly wet and soaked...which did so apparently revive and quicken the decayed corn and other fruits, as was wonderful to see, and made the Indians astonished to behold.

And afterwards the Lord sent them such seasonable showers, with interchange of fair warm weather as, through His blessing, caused a fruitful and liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing. For which mercy, in time convenient, they also set apart a day of thanksgiving. (pp. 131-132)


Oh God! How amazing is Your grace! That You heard the humble prayers of our forefathers and sent the rain. Without You we are nothing!

I Confess

The other day I was confessing to the Lord a list of things I was worried about including family members who have been unemployed for over a year. I received a holy tongue lashing as a result.

“Why would He do that?” you might ask. In this blog I have shared several accounts of God’s goodness to me (which is only the tip of the iceberg), but I must confess that I succumb to worry, doubt, and fear from time to time. This is, of course, NOT pleasing to the Almighty (see Romans 8:5-9).

I do not want to be like those of the children of Israel who saw miracle after miracle yet did not enter their promised land due to UNBELIEF (see Hebrews 3). Fortunately, Christ Jesus our Lord understands our weakness—“For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.” Psalm 103:14 KJV
While in the secret place, He exhorted me to rise above my mortal frame and doubt no more.

When I first confessed Christ as my Lord, I saw God do amazing things to provide for us. We needed an additional $200 to pay our rent one month. My husband Tom and I prayed and believed God would provide. We received a check for $200 for taxes I had supposedly over-paid the year before!?! Another time we found a bag of groceries in front of our apartment door, yet only our Heavenly Father knew our need.

QUESTION: Is there anybody else out there who feels as though they had more faith when they were first born again than they do now?

In Mark 9:23 KJV Jesus said to the father of the boy tormented with a spirit, “If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.” Let us—like the father of this child—cry out, “Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!”

This reminds me of when I was sitting in an auditorium listening to a physically-handicapped man of God teach on 2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV - And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work.

The voice of the Lord came to me giving me a personal teaching within a teaching—“I am your sufficiency in your identity as well, Daughter.”

At this time in my life I doubted (ugh! there’s that word again) who I was in Christ. I had stepped out in what He had called me to do only to be bashed down by brethren. His words melted away my unbelief.

If it feels as though this post is a writing assignment via the Holy Spirit, perhaps it is. I find that I remember things if I write them down, so what better way to retain God’s promises than to highlight them here.

HE IS our sufficiency in~

PROVIDING OUR FOOD~ I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25 KJV

PROVIDING OUR CLOTHING~ And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Luke 12:22 and 31 KJV

PROVIDING EVERYTHING!~ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 KJV

Thank you Heavenly Father for being My Sufficiency no matter what the circumstances look like!



P.S. Readers, I seriously would like to hear from you about the above question:)

You Might Be a Writer IF...

You might be a writer if…someone asks you to explain what your day was like and you actually tell the person—in the long, drawn-out version instead of the condensed short story.

To the best of my recollection, this is how I began. It started with that first writing assignment in school and then progressed to the high school newsletter. My writing pen lost its shine a bit during my college years and was promptly replaced by an electric typewriter and a desk job in Washington, D.C.

In 1978 I was born again of God’s Holy Spirit and married the following year. I began to experience the reality of the spiritual realm and learn to know His voice. My husband Tom and I had three children together with out-of-the-ordinary circumstances surrounding each of my pregnancies.

As I shared these stories with family and friends, almost every one of them would say, “You should write that down,” or “You should write a book.” I liked the idea of picking up a pen once again, so I did as they suggested.


One day I pondered the possibility of having my multitude of notes compiled and published. “Lord, I will only do this if it is Your will.” I had recently written a letter to the editor of a Christian magazine, so I prayed, “Lord, if you want me to pursue publishing, let this letter be printed in the next issue.” (I was really into asking God for signs back then.)

Well, wouldn’t you know it—the letter was in the next issue of that magazine! Not that I would call it a miracle, but I believed it was my Heavenly Father’s go-ahead signal. I submitted my manuscript to only one publishing house whose representative sent me a rejection letter—a very kind one—I should mention.

I thought perhaps I had ‘missed’ God and the book was to be a manuscript I would hand down to my children. So I dismissed it.

One morning not many days later, Tom and I were just waking up and he blurted out, “The Lord gave me a dream last night. I am supposed to publish your book.” And that is how The Mommy Manual (With Notes for Daddy Too) came into existence. (See the “Published Work” section of my blog for more information.)

Life with a husband who worked at home, three children, a cat, and a turtle kept me busy, but I did squeak out a couple of articles that were published. Still I did not think of myself as a ‘writer’.


I have learned, however, that the people of God go through seasons. Women especially go through defined periods of time when they marry and have children. We choose to set aside aspirations only to pick them up again later.

Being an author was never a goal of mine, but lately more ideas for books have sprung up within my mind. Having gone through the arduous process of self-publication, I shoved them to the files in the back of my brain. “No way am I going to go through that process again, Lord,” I told Him. "Not unless You show me in a BIG way." I prayed this even though several years ago, He spoke clearly to my spirit that I should not be asking for signs for every situation; BUT:

You might be a writer if…the Lord Jesus Christ sends a stranger to confirm it to you. But that’s another story…

Open Thy Mouth Wide

For years now I have been keeping a chronicle of my reflections while in the secret place. I have stacks of journals of all sizes and colors where I recorded these sacred moments. I spent almost an hour today trying to find a particular journal so as to recount the details of something fantastic Father God did for me and my family. Although I did not find it, I believe I can remember most of that day in 1999.

Now a month or so prior to this wonderful day, one of our old friends shared how the Lord had given her gold fillings. I had noticed that the amalgam in my aging fillings had turned black and that soon I would have to have them all replaced—something I truly dreaded. So I decided that I would pray and ask the Lord to do for me what He had done for her. Whenever I thought of it, I prayed for this miracle and reminded my Heavenly Father that He was no respecter of persons.

During the week of Pentecost, we invited some friends to come and worship with us and have a picnic. Later that week, I saw Tom off to work; and, as my manner was, went to the little room we used as a library/guest room and sought the Lord. Soon I heard the familiar small still voice within my spirit. “Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.”

I did not understand why He was telling me to open my mouth; but I did as He commanded, not wanting to miss out on any good thing. I opened my mouth wide and as I breathed in deeply, I saw a brilliant gold throne high above me. I saw it in the spirit realm even though my physical eyes were open. A great golden ray emanated from the throne towards me. I knew something had happened, but what?

I found and read Psalm 81:10 KJV~I am the LORD thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. Then I heard in my spirit, “Go to the mirror and look at your teeth.”

As I ran to the bathroom, I grabbed a flashlight because I was finally realizing what had happened. I shone the light on my bottom teeth and the fillings were no longer black but were shimmering with new fillings. They weren’t the yellow gold but were silvery gold!

I started to scream with joy and jump up and down. I had to tell somebody about it! I ran upstairs and pounced on my sleeping daughter Rachel. "Look at my teeth--what do you notice?!" I shrilled into her droopy face. "They'r-r-re shiny?" she sleepily answered for she was barely awake. "I have to call your father and tell him!" While I was downstairs on the phone, Rachel thought within herself, "It would be cool to have a gold filling.”

When Tom came home, the first thing he did was shine the flashlight into my mouth and rejoice with me. Rachel greeted her Dad and then reported to us that her one little filling had also changed to gold! “Well, I want gold fillings, too,” Tom said to himself.

After taking a much-needed nap, Tom came to me in the kitchen where I was preparing dinner. “Guess what, Honey?” he grinned. “YOU TOO?!” I squealed. Sure enough, the glorious Hand of the Lord had touched each one of us that day!

What caused me to recall this special time in our lives, was an email I received recently from Kathie Walters (kathiewaltersministry.com). She wanted to share what happened while ministering at a seminar recently:

Several people in the last couple of weeks have written to me or spoken to me about TURKEY. They smelled turkey cooking, or had a dream about roast turkey or a vision or felt they had the taste of turkey in their mouth.


I know Thanksgiving is coming but it's not entirely to do with that holiday. On Saturday I had a need in our ministry and I had a vision of myself and I was holding up an empty plate to the Lord and asking Him to give me something. Now the plate I had was an English blue and white china plate - it was pretty ( I have those plates) but it was small like a tea plate. The Lord said to me " That's a small plate" and right away I had a bigger dinner sized plate I was holding up to him. Next minute the plate was filled with a turkey ( roasty potatoes, carrots etc). Then the Lord filled the turkey with this wonderful smelling stuffing.

God said this to me: "If you keep a spirit of Thanksgiving in your mouth I will fill the turkey." So of course I started praising the Lord and thanking Him for everything I could think of, including all my wonderful friends He has put in my life.

During the break in the Saturday seminar a friend came up and said the Lord had told her to give me a chunk of $$ to help meet this need we had. We still have some needs but I am going to keep thanking Him. We have so much to be grateful for don't we? We just sometimes forget all His benefits. But thanksgiving is a key to release God's blessings in your life.
~~~

Let us all open our mouths wide! Not with worry, fear, and complaining, but WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING trusting that He is the God who supplies all our needs and does exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!


Phl 4:19 KJV - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Eph 3:20-21 KJV - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The Real Butterfly Effect

“Look, Mimi!” my four-year-old grandson trumped as he and his dad marched into the kitchen. My son Matt held a large pickle jar stuffed with milkweed leaves up to my face so that I could peer in. “Oh! Did you find a Monarch caterpillar?” I asked trying to match his enthusiasm. In truth I was probably as excited as he was for indeed there was not just one but two of the black and yellow striped crawlers.


It had been many years since I had shared in the wonderment of the metamorphosis stages of this beautiful butterfly. When my children were little, every autumn we would hunt for a Monarch caterpillar. It was a family tradition. Even today the process continues to amaze me. As many believers probably do upon finding one, I automatically think of Romans 12:1-2 KJV~ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed [metamorphoo-to change into another form; transform] by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.


The entire family was enthralled with the new crawler-vision displayed on the kitchen counter. Munch, munch, munch. The two creepers seemed to be in a race to see who could eat the most. The smaller caterpillar (I’ll call Beta) went into chrysalis mode overnight attaching itself to one of the leaves. “Why did she stop eating so soon?” I wondered to myself, for she was almost half the size of her jar mate. As Alpha (my name for the bigger worm) continued to devour another entire stem of milkweed greenery, I could not help but be concerned about Beta. A lesson was forming in my spirit and mind. You know—one of those old teachings that the Spirit of the Lord desires to re-instill, but somehow it goes deeper than when you first learned it.

Finally, Alpha did her magic and hung upside down onto a horizontal stick and formed her chrysalis.


My family and I were surprised when a few days later Alpha’s gold-speckled celadon case became transparent revealing the trademark black markings of the Monarch.
Although Beta had cocooned first, Alpha was transforming sooner. Beta’s tiny chrysalis remained pale green with only a smudge of grey showing. I wondered if she was going to live or not.

Matt took the marvelous pickle jar display out to the back deck with the rest of the crew following. He wanted to let the morning sun welcome Alpha into the great outdoors. The chill of the morning ushered us back into the house. At lunchtime we were happy to see Alpha had broken through the chrysalis shell and was hanging upside down showing off her new wings. She didn’t move much, though, for it was too cold to flap her wings; so she remained in the jar to allow the sun to dry them. Beta looked the same. Would she ever emerge?

The next day I peeked out the window just at the right time. “Alpha is spreading her wings!” I announced. We tumbled out the back door. Matt slipped his finger under Alpha and lifted her up out of the jar. She had truly transformed into the largest most magnificent Monarch butterfly I had ever seen.


Immediately she stretched her wings and fluttered to the nearby ornamental pear tree. Beta, I was glad to see, had made progress showing the black and orange through her pupa. Maybe she would make it, I hoped.

When Beta did finally hatch, her wings were crumpled. They never straightened out.


Matt tenderly placed her onto one of the blossoms of the butterfly bush that grew tall enough to overhang our back deck. I checked on her a couple of hours later and she was gone. Did a bird find her? Did a breeze cause her to fall to the ground?

Our Creator makes lessons evident in that which He created all around us.
For what can be known about God is plain to them [men], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Rom 1:19-20 ESV

The transforming stages of the butterfly reminded me of how we need to hungrily pursue renewing our mind—putting on the mind of Christ everyday. It is only as we diligently seek Him that we are transformed. When the enemy comes at us, the battle always begins in our minds.


Without taking every thought captive to Christ, as it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, our fleshly thoughts take precedence and we falter. When we walk by the flesh, it is like being bound to the earth with crumpled wings.

Rom 8:11 KJV - But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 KJV - Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 KJV - For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 KJV - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 KJV - For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

As we walk by the Spirit, we glorify God. We FLY! Rom 8:18 KJV - For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

There are many lessons He teaches through the life of this majestic butterfly. Too many for one posting. From this let us learn we should not hesitate to bask in the loving presence of the Son in the secret place, and as the wind of the Spirit lifts us ~

Let us not be afraid to FLY!