The Truth shall set you free

The best years of my life was in my thirties. My sons were still at home. I was in love with a man I adored and the closeness that I had with the Lord was so sweet. I felt a strong feeling in my knowing,

my gut, that God had placed a call on my life. 

    I was reading in the Book of Luke about the two fishermen that had fished all night and caught nothing. Yet Jesus instructed them to throw out again into the deep. As I was reading, the words 'into the deep', stood out. It was as if someone was shining a light on them. I didn't fully understand their meaning at the time, but I knew that God was calling me to those that were deep in sin, bound by chains of regret. My mind has wondered a thousand different ways how the Lord would use me to help these women, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that broken woman would be me. 

    For those of you that know me, you understand that my world fell apart. I have spent many years trying to establish that closeness that I once had with the Lord. The Truth is the Lord forgave me years before I was able to forgive myself. 

    The best way that I have found to combat the enemy is with truth.  The truth of God's word, but also my truth. When the enemy tells me that I shouldn't follow the Lord in the way that He's called me because I'm not good enough or talented enough, then I make that struggle known, and continue anyway. 

    I started this blog several years ago, but I stopped posting because the enemy said, you're not a writer. And he's right. I'm not, nor do I claim to be.  But what I am is an Encourager and through my love for writing, I want to be transparent. I want you to see the times I've stood on mountain tops in hopes it will encourage you to climb. And I want you to see my struggles and how the Lord helped me to overcome.

   For years I've continued to write and then hide it away in journals because the enemy convinced me that I was only embarrassing myself. But this is not about me, it's about the women who too have dreams that the enemy has convinced them to let go of.  My dream is not to write, it's to encourage in whatever form that the Lord allows me too.

    I pray that the enemy will not keep you or myself, bound by chains of insecurity, but rather we will allow the Truth to set our dreams free until they come into the fruition of what God desires them to be. 

Here's to the Truth,

Glenda J.

  

Today I received a phone call that I had missed an appointment to get my teeth cleaned.   November 11th, 2015, @ 1:00 pm it was recorded that I should be there. I gave my apologies and rescheduled. There was a sigh of relief knowing that I could reschedule because I didn’t mean to miss it. It was an honest mistake. I was just busy at being busy if you know what I mean.

    I’m certain that all of us have missed appointments and had to reschedule.  But today, as I was studying the thought came to me that we all have one appointment in common. We all have an appointment with death. The Bible says, “ It’s appointed unto every man to die, and then the judgment.  Once this appointed time comes, it cannot be rescheduled. There will be NO sigh of relief given when we realize that we have a do over. There is NO do over. It is our APPOINTED time that God has already set aside for us.

     Today as I was flipping through a 2016 calendar and noticing all the notations of things to come, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me. Time is short, and for some it will even be shorter.  There will be people who will have their appointed time in 2016.  We all understand the idea that we’re going to die, but I don’t think that we stop and consider the fact that God has already set the date, it’s ready, and it’s just waiting on us. If we could flip through the pages of God’s 2016 Appointment Book our name, our appointment with death,  could be on one of those pages.

     I look at it this way. Each day that calendar flips over I am one-day closer, and I don’t feel that I’m nowhere near done doing what I need to do for the Lord.  Too often, we live our lives as if we’re going to be here forever, or at least close to forever.  God knew when we would enter this world and he knows when we’re going to leave it.

     I think down deep most of us feel that date is going to be at a ripe old age, but we don’t know that. Think about the people you know and love that have already gone on. They had no idea that their lives would end in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and etc. but God knew.  I feel like I’m healthy, but will I have a wreck, or is something wrong with me that I don’t know about? We should live our lives as if today could be the last day that we have to live for the Lord.

     While we’re here and have the time we should be busy loving the Lord and telling the world about Him. Time is short and each day that goes by it is only getting shorter. Ask yourself this question. Am I ready for my appointed time? Have I fulfilled my God Called Purpose? If Not, Let’s get busy. Time is wasting. I don't know about you, but I don't want to stand before the Lord and be emptied handed. I want to fulfill the purpose that He created me for. 

    Here's to Making Each Day Count!

   Glenda J. 

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND: WE HAVE THE POWER

Have you ever dreamed that you were out in public and you realized that you were naked? Well, I have. I remember one particular dream. I was trying to decide on what to wear to school. I was standing in front of my closet in a panic because I couldn't find anything to wear, and I was about to miss my school bus. I made it to school and I raised my hand to ask a question, and when I did, I realized that I didn't have a shirt on. All eyes were on me sitting there at my desk without a shirt on. You talk about being relieved when I woke up and realized that I was only dreaming.

I think yesterday at the ladies conference is the closest that I have ever come to that. I stood at my closet a long time deciding what to wear to the conference. Not only did I want to look my best, but I wanted to feel comfortable. Of course, I wasn’t trying to catch a school bus, but I was certainly trying to watch the time.

I worked at presenting myself the best that I could. You only get one chance for a first impression and I felt like I needed that because I knew that I was about to remove it all. The makeup was going to come off and layer by layer all the outside coverings would be gone until they could see the real me, the core of who I am and where I've been.

When you have nothing to hide behind and you're showing who you really are, it's like sitting in that classroom naked with your hand raised. All eyes are on you. I’m smart enough to know that some people liked me better with the first impression. They didn’t like what they saw once the pretty was removed. How do I know that? Because Jesus was perfect and beautiful in all ways, and not every time was He received. He was THE truth and was still rejected. Many people saw first hand Him perform miracles and still they still turned away.

The Bible also teaches that because they turned away from Him, they too will turn aside from us. I'm certain many people can't accept that the Woman at the Well can receive a Miracle, and they won't receive what I have to say. But, the Bible says that many people believed and received the testimony of the Woman of Samaria, the woman at the well. Not all, but many, and for those many women that will receive is why I'm willing to share.

The idea that someone can be set free is so worth it. For them to come to the realization that He can clothe them in righteousness and wrap them in His loving arms. To know that they can receive the Freedom that He gives and that they're not ACCEPTED not REJECTED.

The Bible says, “He must increase and I must decrease." I certainly shared all the things that decreased me, but how it INCREASED him!

I stopped giving all the POWER to the enemy. He’s a liar and the truth is not in him. JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND LIFE. The truth of the matter is this: I can do ALL things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me, and so can you.

To infinity and Beyond.
We HAVE THE POWER!
Glenda J

JEWELS WAITING TO BE FOUND

For every valley that we walk through there is a jewel to be found, and when you find it, you never forget it. You never forget it because it comes at a time when you needed it the most.  Have you ever woke up from a bad dream and sighed with relief when you realized it was only a dream?  It’s such as good feeling when you realize that it really didn’t happen.

  

I remember a day that I woke up and realized that I was NOT dreaming. I was remarried, living in another state away from my family, and he was not my prince. My advice to anyone that will listen is don't remarry until you have gone through the healing process of loss and divorce.

 When I found myself divorced I was literally scared to death. I had never been alone and I didn’t know how to be. To be honest, I didn’t want to be either. I didn’t know how.  In a time when I should have been learning to be an Independent woman without a man, and a Dependent woman on God, I was in a frenzy to find a man.

I didn’t think that I could survive without one. Being married was all I had ever known and surely it would be the answer to my problems. I would marry my prince charming, and live a fairy tale life, that is until I woke up and realized that he was just a regular man with problems of his own. Problems that would now become MINE.  It would have been fine to have taken on new ones, but the fact was, there was no room. I was still carrying around hurt from the loss of my family through the divorce.

The day that I woke up and realized that I was not dreaming was a real eye opener for me. I was a broken woman walking around searching for something to hold on too. There’s an old saying that I was raised with, “You made your bed, now lie in it!" And that is exactly what I intended on doing. Whatever I had to do I was going to do it.

I was so empty. I had failed the Lord, and I had failed myself. I remember one day I was home alone and I had spent most of the morning crying out to God.  I was praying and asking God if it was too late for me. Was there any hope that I could have a good life again and be happy, most of all, was it too late for God to use me.

There was a Heart Call conference coming to a nearby city and I was praying about going. Over and over, I prayed, “God is it too late for you to use me.”

Not long after that I started thinking about a man on a rooftop. I thought that it was an odd thing for the Lord to have placed on my heart. It had nothing to do with what I was feeling, nor did it answer my question, should I go to the Women’s Heart Call Conference. I was concerned about going because I knew no one, and I didn’t know the city.  I thought about the man on the rooftop so much, that I called a preacher in Alabama to ask him if he knew of a story in the bible about a man on a rooftop. I’m sure I caught him off guard because he said he couldn’t think of one, and I know that man knows the Bible well.

When I got off the phone, I prayed again, “God why are you talking to me about this man on the rooftop? I'm asking you if it's too late for me to be used, and should I go to a conference, and all I can think about is a man on a rooftop."  

I got up and reached for my Bible and when I opened it there it was-Peter was up on the rooftop asleep and he dreamed that he was being told to eat certain animals, and he was refusing because they were considered unclean. Peter was taught in this dream not to call anything unclean that God had cleansed.  When he woke up God told Peter that men were coming to get him and he should go. The story goes on to tell how Peter went into the house of Cornelius and he and his entire household were saved.

God, told Peter to go, so I decided that I too would go. I packed my clothes that night and left the early the next morning. I was the last person to arrive and I still had to register. I slipped in and sat on the back row. I didn’t know ONE person. Although it was a women’s conference, a man walked up to the podium to welcome everyone and to kick start the conference. The first thing out of his mouth was “What about ole Peter up on the roof-top-Had it not been for his obedience Cornelius and His family would never have been saved.” I immediately began to cry. I knew that God had sent me. I knew that I was in God’s presence and the feeling was so overwhelming and welcomed.

After the gentleman finished, I went to register and a woman walked up to introduce herself. She asked if I had a place to stay, and I told her no, that I would check hotels on the next break. She said, "you’re welcome to stay with me." I thought that she was just offering so she didn’t have to pay for the entire room, so I replied sure.  When we got back to the room, I started to pay her for my part and she informed me that there was no charge. She was the main speaker for the conference and she wasn’t charged anything for the room. I almost started crying again, but I held my composure, but I knew that God once again had arranged this for me.  

Her name was Susan and she was beautiful. She was an author and speaker, and everything that I desired to be, but was not. I soaked up everything she did and said because I knew that the Lord had preordained it. After she shared with me, I opened up to her that I had always felt that God would use me to help hurting women. But now I was afraid that I  would miss what God had for me. I explained to her about the divorce and the shape that it left me in, and about how my second marriage consisted of a dysfunctional family that I wasn't fully aware of. I shared how I was so empty.

To make a very long story shorter, by the end of the conference, she looked at me and said, “Glenda, you can do something that I can’t do. You can open up and share what’s in your heart. She said all you have to do is continue doing exactly what you're doing now. Let God fill you up, and then pour it out!" Then one day you’re going to be in heaven and see tons of women standing behind you and when you ask who they are God is going to say that they’re women that you helped to make it home.”

I was walking in paradise for those few days because there was a hope stirring up within me, a hope that I had not felt in a long time. It was the hope that God could still use me. It was a precious jewel that I found in a very difficult time in my life. It carried me through some rough patches just knowing that God had not forgotten me. To this day, it is a still a reminder how God went out of His way to make me feel loved and special at a time when I felt unlovable.

All of us at one time or another will walk through a valley. Sometimes due to circumstances of our own, and sometimes we don’t know how we get there. We’ll face things that make us feel empty, and we’ll ask questions that normally we wouldn’t ask. Regardless of why we’re there God has not forgotten us, and most importantly He still loves us. He will always place a precious jewel to be found even in the midst of our most difficult days.

Here’s to Jewels waiting to be found!

Glenda J.

HERE COMES THE BRIDE

I love to go to weddings. The bride is always beautiful and adorned in her best. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an ugly bride. They are usually at perfection. Of course, they’re not perfect, but perfection yes. The hair is at its best looking as if it’s sculptured. The gown is a statement of adornment lined with jewels and lace, and for the final touch pearls or diamonds complete the picture. All this together makes a moment of perfection when the wedding march is played.

I watched yesterday as Jonathon, Mary’s son was married. It was a moment of perfection. Mary was running around trying to see that everything was in place. It was obvious that she had already prepared herself because she was beautiful. And now it was time to set the scene in place so that Jonathon could have the day that he had been longing for, and the day that Mary had prayed would come to pass for her son. “Lord, if it's your will, send my son a help mate.” Many the times she and I have had this conversation. And so he did! His bride came through the door and she was beautiful. She was a princess walking down to meet her prince. I watched him as he kept looking with anticipation for those doors to swing open and present his bride. There was a look of love that I will never forget.

The Bible teaches that you and I are the Bride of Christ and that one day the trumpet is going to sound and we are going to meet him. He waits with anticipation for the clouds to roll back and present His glorious bride. Every day we should be adorning ourselves getting ready for the coming of our groom.

I don’t know about you, but I want to look my best. I don’t worry so much about the outward appearance because I think we’re all beautiful in His sight, but I want my inner beauty to be, at perfection. Again, I say, not perfect, but perfection. Jesus said there is no one perfect but God. I want to be like Mary was yesterday. I want to be prepared and spending my time making certain that others are ready. Making certain they have on their wedding clothes, and they know to listen for the wedding sound.

When we become saved we put on our wedding garment, (He covers us with His blood) and as we grow we adorn ourselves with many other things. I want my gown to be adorned with ribbons of Love, Grace, Forgiveness, Patience, Virtue, Honesty, Truth, Sacrifice and Faith. I want to have laid aside anything of the flesh. I want to have a crown of jewels from having won souls for the Lord. I want my wedding gown to be long covering my running shoes from having run a good race for the Lord. Then when I get home I’ll slip on the pair that He’s prepared for me to rest and worship in.

Here’s’ to trading in our running shoes!
Glenda J.

IN TIMES LIKE THESE

IN TIMES LIKE THESE

  

If ever there was a time we needed deliverance for a generation Lord it’s now. I believe with all my heart we are walking in the last days nearing the end times.

It breaks my heart to see the condition of our nation.  To watch it crumbling as we chip away piece by piece of the foundation we were built upon.

A nation created and founded upon the principals of God, no longer value and respect what it once proudly stood for. Men and women have fought and given their lives for freedoms that we now take so lightly. No longer do we value prayer in our schools. No longer do we value the privilege of Pledging Allegiance to the Land that we call home. Parents are worried about sending their kids to school due to shootings being on the rise.   Never would I have dreamed that in America you would be shot in the head for claiming to be a Christian.

My heart is saddened over the children that come from broken homes only to be lost in a broken world.  They’re in a never -ending circle of going nowhere. What will life be like for our next generation at the rate we’re going?

When is America going to wake up and start electing representatives that will support a school system that will support education and invest into these lives?

 When are we going to learn that to build anything we must establish it on a strong foundation based upon God: To build on anything else is foolish? We are going to have to put prayer back into our Schools and put hope back into the lives of these children. They need to know that nothing is too hard for God. and He can change their circumstances of poverty, abuse, bullying, or whatever it is that causes them to be broken and turn to guns.

Our nation is broken and it’s “In Times Like These,” that we need a Savoir to heal us. 

May God see our tears and hear our cries.

Glenda J

LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND

Have you ever felt hopeless? Have you ever been in so much pain that your mind shuts down, and you have no memory of time? Have you ever been told that you’re worthless and you don’t deserve to live?  If you have then you have walked in my shoes!

 The day I was raped changed my life forever.  The enemy walked into my room to destroy me. He came in with a vengeance. I knew that I was going to die. It might not be physically, but spiritually, I was going to be a dead woman.

 I knew that because I was just barely holding on as it was. My divorce had left me empty and convinced that my spiritual life was over. God had NOTHING for me to do!

I want you to understand that this was not a man walking into my room to threaten me. This was the Enemy in flesh form who walked into my house to destroy me. He threated my life physically, and of course, that terrified me more than you will ever know. But what left me with the most damage was the way that he degraded me as a person by telling me that I was not worthy to live.

 I was made to feel worthless. The bible says that Satan walks to and fro seeking whom he may devour and that day he chose me. I wish that I could explain this kind of pain in a way that you could fully understand its depth, but I can’t. There are just not enough words to describe it. It's not that I want you to feel that kind of pain, but I want you to understand the depth that God reached through to heal me.  The enemy came in; he stripped me down to nothing physically and mentally. He burned every thought I had of being used by the Lord and then walked out leaving me in the flames to die in my ashes.

  

I’ve often wondered why me? It wasn’t like I was a spiritual fireball for God, but rather, Spiritually, I was just barely holding on. Why would he feel the need to completely destroy me?

I may never fully understand, but what I have understood, is that I’m not the only woman who has been broken, nor will I be the last. As a Case Manager, I see women on a daily basis who are broken and lying in their ashes. They may not have suffered rape, but they have suffered something else at the hands of the enemy.

These are women that are being burned by addictions, divorce, adultery, pornography, finances, abandonment, disease and losing a loved one through betrayal. It doesn’t matter the avenue of the pain, but the source is all the same, it comes from the enemy to rob us from living a peaceful and joyous life. It holds us back from being able to shine to others showing them the way because we’re too bent over in our own pain making shadows that we can’t create light.

 I’ve watched as a mother was told her child was dying from a drug overdose- I’ve listened as a woman screamed that she wanted to die after having cut herself over and over-I’ve seen women beaten and battered- heard them cry that no one cares and seen them begging for help to find shelter for the night. I’ve watched them hold their children knowing they have nowhere to sleep.

There is no way to fully describe, or prepare for this kind of pain.There are certain things that happen to us that we never completely get over, but with God’s help we can heal and learn to cope with it.  Once again, we can be happy and live fulfilled lives, but we have to learn new coping skills and be prepared for the days when our mind tries to allow the past to sneak back in robbing us of our joy for today. 

    

I couldn’t imagine feeling normal or being happy again after I was raped.  I certainly couldn’t see myself looking forward to the future. I would try to see myself feeling better, but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t within my means to do so.  

I am in no way fully healed, but I have progressed so much, and I’m so thankful for it. I didn’t get here overnight, but I got here. The message to be learned in this is that it doesn’t matter how broken we are or how we got there, God knows exactly where we’re at and how to heal us.

   Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The enemy thought he had a sheep ready for the slaughter (to be destroyed). But there is NOTHING that could separate me from God’s love, not even the principality of darkness.  You can trust this promise. We may go through things that cause us to suffer and to break, but we don’t have to be destroyed by it, God can heal our broken hearts.

Here’s to Hearts Mending,

Glenda J.