no longer one, but many

over the years i've made it a personl goal to surround myself with wise, Godly, biblically strong women. i don't want to be a lone ranger in this life. and as a matter of fact, it's not even biblical. i know for some of us, the accountability and/or the vulnerability is more than we are willing to committ to. i know. i understand. i used to be really prideful, trying to do things on my own, but god gave me a vision of strength in numbers and he's brought it to fruition by providing some amazing women in my life. i believe you cannot do life alone but you better be sure that who you do life with is on the same path. look at who you surround yourself with and you can see yourself.

SO, those that i'm closest to, that i go to for advice and direction, are people that i know, know the word of god and will always instruct me according to it. one of those people is a friend from college. she's a doer of the word. she fights the enemy on her knees and i trust her because of that. no, she's not perfect, both of us would tell you that :O) but she looks to the lord for wisdom and that is a pearl for sure.

so when i'm in the trenches and i need strategy to be victorious, she's absolutely one of the first on my list. i was talking with her the other day and i asked her what she does when she's really batteling a war for her thoughts. she reminded me that the first thing she does is begin to praise. to worship god. she said there is no better defense than to speak out praise and worship of our creator. it puts things in perspective and it drives away the enemy. then once her mind is where it should be, she begins to rebuke the enemy and speak out the truth against whatever the lie is he's telling her.

i loved this because it's all about strategy. get your heart and mind alligned, working together instead of against each other, and then once you've accomplished that, get out your amunition and begin to fight. it will work every time. the sword of truth is the only offensive weapon god gave us. everything else about the armor of god is defensive (ephesians 6:10-20.) the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the breatplate of righteousness are all to protect. they have a specific purpose of covering our most vulnerable assets (emotions,thoughts) but they do not go forward, out toward the enemy. so i encourage you to dig into your old testament. in psalms, isaiah, & jeremiah, there are beautiful verses written by the prophets, king david, and solomon, stirring the heart from deep with in. reminding us that god is in control, he's the only creator, he gives and takes away, there is none like him, he knew us before our creation, and he loves and adores us. so when you take these words and begin to make them your own, praising him out loud, i believe all of creation joins in, like a symphony, proclaiming the name of the almighty. your burdens will lift and you will remember who you are and the power god's given us through his son.

if you are unsure how to get started i'll help you.

isaiah 40:28-29

"have you not known? have you not heard? the everlasting god, the lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, neither fainst nor is weary. his understanding is unsearchable, he gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might he increases strength!"

thank you lord because i am weak and nothing with out you. i need my might strengthened. i praise you because there is none like you. you are omniscient and all powerful. no battle is too great, no valley too low, you are the author of every good thing and the enemy has no power over my life! i rebuke the enemy in the name of jesus, by the authority given me through the shed blood of my savior. i commit my spirit to you God and give you complete control over my thoughts, emotions, and all my activities. this day is yours, do as you will.

when i went to college, i attended a private, christian school called Liberty University. every easter the school would put on a huge production. it was quite amazing. it was a musical, but it was set in scenes on the gym floor in our arena and groups of people would go through from one scene to the next. the play depicted the last hours of jesus' life, his death, and resurrection. getting to be right in the middle of it all made the audience feel like they were part of what was happening. i remember it well because i had the opportunity to play the part of mary one year. the guy who played jesus at the time and practically the creator of the whole thing was also our on site worship leader.

as i was studying the other day i was reading in john 14 and came across verse 27, "peace i leave with you, my peace i give to you..." and i was brought back to this particular time in my life because this verse was turned into a song that this man would sing as one of his solos. the reason it's significant is because i happen to know a side to his life that was less than christian. in fact, he struggled very deeply with something for years that eventually overpowered him. when the truth surfaced the whole school was devastated. as i read that verse again i thought of that whole situation and was saddened. he was knowingly taking the lord's name in vain when he'd sing those words. he was taking the Lord's name in vain by almost everything he did in his life because he was singing, teaching, and pretending to be something he really was not on the inside. until i did beth moore's study "when bad things happen to good people" i don't think i had a good understanding how we as christians, even the strongest of us, can fall into such deep sin and then keep pretending and going on as though we love and serve the lord. i have also struggled with some sins since giving my life to Jesus and have done this very thing. put on the right suit and posture and headed off to church. all along, just defaming christs name. taking it in vain. taking in vain all he did on the cross so that i could be forgiven, given a second chance, and loved eternally. i don't like being that person that i've unfortunately been a time or two. i know it's not who god created me to be. my prayer for any of you in the middle of sin, bound by it, but living as though you're free of it...cry out to god. beg him to come to your aid. beg for his forgiveness and to be restored to him again. God hates strife, pride, dissension, and even sin's of omission. he hates it because it robs us of his plan for our life. it steals our joy. it destroy's our lives. god's intentions have always been this. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. even choosing not to believe this promise is taking his name in vain. i hope we all can see how god aches for us choose Him. to choose life. to choose to rise up and live a life that shows value to who our god really is.

I corinthians 15:1-4

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,