ARE YOU LISTENING?

ARE YOU LISTENING?

Brothers & Sisters, the question that rose up in my spirit as I was reading Revelation 3:20 was, “Are we listening?”

Are we actively listening, with expectation of hearing from the Lord?

He is calling us to a deeper and closer relationship with Him!

Bible reading, good works, ministry, worship, and prayer are all things we should be doing. But, if we are doing them FOR the Lord and never cross over into a personal RELATIONSHIP with Him…we are falling short of His plan for our lives.

He is calling us to change our position of doing all of those things FOR Him to a position of doing all of those things WITH Him.

I am feeling a little teary-eyed right now.

I hear the Lord saying:

“Beloved, I don’t just want you to learn about Me. I don’t want you to just follow My commands because that is what you should do. I don’t want you to just worship me from outside the door. I don’t just want you to pray to Me and not give Me time to respond back to you.

I want to be with you. I want to sit and eat with you. I want to talk with you. I want to walk with you. I want to minister with you. I want to be the first One you look to and talk to in the morning. I want to be the last One you look to and talk to at night.

Do you hear Me knocking? Will you invite Me in? Not just into the living room…but into your whole house!

You don’t have to run around getting everything perfect for My entrance.

Just open the door. I can’t wait to be with you!” ❤️❤️❤️

EYES FORWARD!!

We are visiting Panama City Beach with family for a few days. 

I was brought up in Panama City, FL and have not returned for 50 years!

It is an experience going back after all these years!  Things have changed…

As we are driving, things look different and feel different. 

And that’s to be expected after 50 years!!  That was a different season in my life. I have memories, but it’s impossible to return to the way it was.  And that’s okay. 

I am in a different season now. And that’s okay too.  

Beloved, are you letting your thoughts and emotions return to a time that has passed?  

Are you feeling regrets?

Are you feeling sadness?

Are you feeling drawn to how things “used to be?”

Dearest ones, it’s okay to remember…but, don’t spend too much time dwelling and living there. 

God is calling you to the NOW!  You are needed NOW!  God has more for you in the days ahead than you realize.  

Don’t let your attention and focus be stuck looking backward!  

Shoulders back!  Head up!  Eyes forward!  

God is calling you to walk boldly with Him into a season that will bring you much JOY…much PEACE…much LOVE!!

It may not come as you expect…it may not look as you expect…but it IS coming!!  Are you ready to turn from the past and jump into your future?  

God is ready to make new memories with you. 

ARE YOU READY??

Love Lifted Me

As I was worshipping with my Brothers and Sisters in Christ Sunday morning, during the song “Love Lifted Me,” I found myself beginning to pray:

Lord, help those that don’t know You to be lifted up into Your love.

As they find themselves living below Your will for their lives, lift them up to Your love and will for their lives.

I cry out for them!

Brothers and Sisters, join me in interceding for those that need to meet Jesus and receive all that He has for them…

LOVE!

I was walking across the room and picked up a church bulletin and the words on the front stopped me in my tracks. It was John 15:12…

I have read/heard this many times – but now…today…the Lord got my attention.


We know that we are to love one another….BUT, we are to love others JUST AS JESUS HAS LOVED US!

That puts our love for others at an entirely different level. It is not a watered down, sporadic, if I feel like it kind of love. It is not a love dependent on if you love me or if you treat me nicely.

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? …
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭46‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭44‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

If we love others as Jesus has loved us, we will love sacrificially. We may not physically die for someone (although there are those who have).

But, we may find times when we sacrifice our way and our wants for another. We may need to sacrifice our self-consciousness for God-consciousness.

Lord, help me to get my mind off of ME and onto YOU!! May Your love flow in me and through me. May I love as You love. May my heart align with Yours. Lord, may I lean into You so closely that I feel your heartbeat. May my heart beat as one with Yours. Help me to love as You love…

The Heart of Jesus

**Posted 15 years ago…but still for today! I remember this encounter with Jesus like it was yesterday:

On the Fourth of July, as my church joined many others to pray for our country, I found myself praying a prayer that I had been praying for the last few months. “May I have Your Heart, Lord.” I had been praying this prayer because I know that it is only through the Heart of Love that I can pray as I should.

I prayed that morning that I would feel what He(Jesus) felt as He looked at our country…that I would know His Heart. Well, Jesus answered my prayer as I sat in the front pew after taking communion. As I sat in the pew and watched my fellow brothers and sisters file past me, I knew that the Lord had His Hand upon me. I couldn’t get up from my seat. I knew that “something” was coming.

Usually, when church is over, I hop out of my seat and begin speaking to my friends and visitors. I don’t know what went through their minds as they may have noticed Tina still sitting in the front row, alternately staring into space and closing her eyes in prayer. Even then, I could feel a sadness begin to overtake me…tears very slowly began to trail down my face.

The Lord held back until the church was almost empty…and then it came. A deep sadness overtook me and I found myself weeping with deep heaving sobs. This type of deep intercession has happened to me a few times in the past. Some people call it “travailing.” One place that speaks of this kind of intercession is in Galatians 4:19 where Paul is talking to the Galatians: My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. I believe that God is in a time of “birthing” or releasing new things upon the earth. He is looking for those that will partner with Him to be His “vessels” of birthing. It is not the kind of intercession that can be “worked up.” I believe it is the Holy Spirit praying through us.

So, Jesus answered my prayer. I felt His Heart, I knew His sadness as He looks upon our nation and sees those things that go against His Heart for us… But, He didn’t stop there. I began interceding for not only our nation, but for the world, for Israel and for my church. Oh, my brothers and sisters! I believe that the Lord is looking for those that would be willing to ask for His Heart…that would be willing to be used as His vessels of intercession now upon this earth. Do not take it lightly! His Heart is not an easy thing to carry.

Ever since He answered my prayer, I find myself at times being “caught up” in His Heart. I look at others and the love I feel for them is so much deeper than it has been in the past. I thought I loved them…but I realize now that the kind of love that God wants us to walk in is not something we are capable of. It is only through allowing the Love of God to flow through us that we can truly love.

We are called to be the Body of Christ on this earth. I pray continuously for the Lord to let me be His Hands, His Feet and His Mouth as I walk out my destiny and calling. But, recently I have added to that request…..Lord, let me be Your Heart. I have come to the realization that no matter what He has me do…no matter what He has me say…it MUST be covered and infused with His Love, His Heart.

Beloved of God, will you join me today and ask for the Heart of Jesus? He is calling His Bride to Himself…He wants to join His Heart to ours. Are you willing…

Happy Mother’s Day!

Time has passed since this photo was taken. Mom has passed on to glory and Annalise will soon be 16!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the women out there who have given life and spoken “life” into generations to come:
great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers, and spiritual mothers who have influenced countless generations!

We honor and remember you on this special day!!