There is always more

Wherever you are in your journey, there is always more.
You can do more, be more and even rest in what has been done more.
If you love the Lord, you can receive more of His love and pass it on more often.
The more that destroys you is striving for more.
It is the striving, feeling like you are not good enough unless you do a little more, that amps up your hypothalamus and peace is no where to find.
Could you just enjoy the moment? Listen to the sounds around you and focus on one. Right now the football game is going in the living, a truck drives by outside, but from my bedroom I hear worship songs. That is what I will choose to hook up to. You see when we try to relate to everything, do everything an cover all of the bases, we find ours selves frazzled.
Find your place in the world, by listening as much as you run. Listen to your Father. His plans for you are for good and not evil. Jer 29:11

It Takes Man to Build a Village

For years my mom built a Department 56 village. Before she sold her house, I believe it grew to about 4 foot by 10 ft. She placed in front of her picture window and people often came in the evening to watch it. It had many moving parts.
When she sold her house, the village was disbursed primarily to grandchildren. Still Ray has continued to build his village with his "inheritance" and has already added on.
We live in an old Craftsman style bungalow. So the village finds its home in the wide hallway. Ray is already plotting and planning. It takes about a week to get everything in place.
As in life, it is the details that make a difference. From the walkways to the cemetery next to the church we recreate life as it was in the time of Charles Dickens.
Sad that life doesn't allow us such artistic expression to move things around to become aesthetically pleasing. Or does it?
Food for thought.

Holiday Portfolio

I am so excited to share my new Holiday Portfolio. Let me help you with your personal shopping with gifts she is sure to remember. Call me at 706-646-5638 or 770-365-8621
or go to my website: www.marykay.com/adunndeal and in the comments sec of your order reference this portfolio so I will know how to wrap it. Gift wrapping and shipping is free until December 12th.

Giving Out of Love

I can remember once when I was a single mom with three small children, I receive assistance from All Saints Daycare where my twins attended. When I walked into the office to receive the food, I saw a sign that said, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.'
The quotation played in my head for days. It has been over 25 years, but I know that was one of the turning points in my life where I began to walk out of victimization. A day care center that loved my girls even more than I was emotionally able to at the time. They showed me to how to give love I did not have by modelling the love of God before me in ordinary, daily ways. All Saints was a safe place for my girls and a good childhood memory.
I was single, working and going to school. I am so grateful for the love they poured into my girls who are both awesome mamas today. They made difference in our family.

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." Disraeli

The House is Quiet

Although I no longer have small children at home, my husband is a "crash, boom, thud" kind of guy. Quiet isn't even in his vocabulary. The middle child of 11 of an Irish Catholic family in the Bronx, he knows what it means to live life out loud.
So the guys went to a Men's Breakfast this morning and I have four hours of no noise. It has been blissful.
I can't say I have been too productive, but I have thorough enjoyed my time out. I have been exploring pioneerwoman.com that that Adrienne turned me on to. What fun! That led me to another site and on and on I have played without guilt. (Have you read Joyce Meyer's Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes book? lol)
I want to encourage you to make some "me" time at least weekly to feel your soul with a few of your favorite things. Never be too busy to enjoy life. It goes by way too quickly.

The Mosaic of Our Lives

My friend, Johnda, has come to town for a visit. I love it when she comes because we speak the same language at so many levels. She is straightforward and even blunt at times, but she has a heart of gold and when she laughs her eyes twinkle.
It doesn't matter what project I am in the middle of, I have learned that when she is in town, I need to grab her, because she will be gone all too quickly.
This is a principle I should probably apply to all of my friendships for no one is guaranteed tomorrow. The older I get, the faster the sand runs through the hour glass of life.
If you have a friend like Johnda, you are rich.
Have to share this video. The first pix is of a palm tree. Johnda bought a picture of palm trees today to hang over her fireplace in her Georgia home. She always brings a bit of California with her.

Rescuing Others

Sometimes friends and family get in a mess and we see their pain and we want to rescue them.

For some this becomes their lifestyle. It gives them a sense of being needed and may even make them feel important. However, more often than not we are meddling in God's work.

I heard this once and don't remember where: If you fix the fix that god fixed to fix them then God will have to fix another fix.

We are where we are today because of the decisions we made yesterday.

If I have an adult child that I am constantly bailing out, she does not have to learn to be responsible.

I remember once in my 30s as a single mom, I went to my dad to pay my light bill. He told me that was the last time. I said okay.

A couple of months later I was in the same predicament and I went back to him. He said, "What did I tell you the last time?"

"But Dad, " I protested, "What about the kids?"
He said, "You should have thought about that before you put your money elsewhere."
My lights were cut off that night. The kids and I sat on the balcony and I made a game of it. The next day an agency helped me, but I never have had my lights cut off since.

My dad quit rescuing me and I was forced to grow up.

Yes, they helped me from time to time with Christmas and things but I needed to be a responsible adult about day to day expenses.

Now I have adult children and I have to make those decisions. I see how hard it was for my dad.

I see the joy when I give an unexpected gift when I know my daughter is doing the best she can with what she has. AND SHE DID NOT ASK.

Always expecting others to get you out of your messes is a sign of self-pity and perhaps a spirit of victimization that makes you feel others owe you.

Today at work someone posted the following on the Bulletin Board and I just had to share it:

His Word says in Ps.34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed. 6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
In the Dakes Bible on the side bar "looked" in vs 5 is
l. Look within is to be miserable
2.Look around is to be distracted.
3.Look expectantly to God brings blessing.
Then in the side bar "out" in vs 6 -To get men out of troubles is God's work and gives scripture references of v.6, 17, 19; 25:17;40:2, 54:7, 81:10; 107:6,13,19,28.

Are you interfering with someone's life? You may be keeping them from total dependence on God.

Pushing Through

Last night I was all about quitting. I had had it.
Now I did not want to quit my Mary Kay business, I just wanted to quit the Director Qualification part. As I began mentally to make a list of those who had let me down including family members who were supposed to love me, I became unwittingly swathed in self-pity.
Self-pity is a slippery slope.
Helen Keller once said, "Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world."
The uncanny part is the way it slips up on you. Innocently, you review the situation and begin to make a laundry list of complaints. You think you are just sizing up the situation, but actually you are cementing the problem in place.
"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world." (Millicent Fenwick) "Round and 'round you go living life on a roulette wheel rather than taking charge of it.
If I want to quit getting what I am getting, I have to change what I am doing. I have to even change my attitude towards what I am doing.
About 2 a.m. I awoke and my head was clear and I recognized that I had been duped by self-pity again. I took responsibility for my part of the shortcomings of my goals. After all, I have no control over anyone except myself.
I turned away from that path of destruction and began making a new plan.
I am ever so grateful that His mercies are new every morning. Today I choose to make it a great day.

God Uses a Crock Pot, Not a Microwave

I have been cooking for over 50 years. (Yes, I started early.) When crock pots came on the scene, the lids were not tight-fitting. The axiom was if you lift the lid, add another hour to the cooking time because all of the heat would escape.
It is the same with our lives. God wants to help us deal with the things that separate from us from others, even Him.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,

but grievous: nevertheless

afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness

 unto them which are exercised thereby. Heb. 12:11

 

I want to get in His Presence microwave-style, push one minute and wait to hear the ding and be done.
I want the peaceable fruit of righteousness, but not the chastening. So I take the lid off, poke, prod, even remove myself from His pot, but I am not done.
He may drop an idea in my heart Too often I run with it before He has trained, formed and opened the door, I hit the shut door head on and wonder, "Where are you, God?"
He is waiting at the beginning.
Now I have to go back, add another hour or so, and learn to abide in Him. If a day is like a thousand years, what is a real hour?

John 15: 1-5 says:

1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

 and every branch that beareth fruit,

he purgeth it,

that it may bring forth more fruit.

3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4Abide in me, and I in you.

 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,

except it abide in the vine;

 no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:

 He that abideth in me, and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.

 

I can work at Be in Health, be a Star consultant in my Mary Kay business .or be a very good wife, mother or grandma, whatever I chose, but if I am not abiding in Him, there will be no peaceable fruit of righteousness.
If I am still, I will hear His voice, His leading.
 If I am overwhelmed, I am not abiding.
I will be stressed, not blessed.
Today I choose to crawl back in His crock pot (His everlasting arms) and abide in Him until He says I am done.

Having a Mary Kay Party is Good forYour Health

Some people think my Mary Kay business is frivolous girl time. Turns out it is good for your health. I got this email today. I do not know the author. Went to the Stanford site to try to validate it to no avail. However, I know from my "day job" that the precepts are true.
"Girlfriend Time – Who knew it was so important!
A thought to share
...a friend just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection--the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more seratonin--a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings?--rarely. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking! So every time you hang out to shmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health."
So let's get together SOON!

I probably got in Mary Kay for a reason different than most. I hated looking in the mirror. Well, actually I hated myself. So I figured if I sold Mary Kay I had enough integrity to use the product.
The first two weeks were awful. I would stand in front of the mirror and pray, “God, show me what you see when you see me, because I don’t see any good thing.”
Sometimes I would cry. Over time it got easier and easier. Then I began do one on one facials. I saw other women cry because they didn’t like themselves either. In my heart God's pink mission field was born.
Still I struggled because I didn’t fit the Barbie doll image of what I thought a real Mary Kay consultant should look like. It was torment. I wanted to do it for a myriad of reasons, but I was tormented. Then recently the Lord showed me how I had come into agreement with what the enemy said about me instead of what He said about me. I repented.
Father God says, I am fearfully and wonderfully made and one of His marvellous works. (Ps 139:14) When I say I am not, I am calling Him a liar. Ouch!
So I began again and He showed me the bumble bee. Now some say the bumble bee should not be able to fly, because like me, his body is just too large. But the bumble bee took what he had and allowed the pressures to create a vortex to give him the thrust to fly, hover and work. His weaknesses became his strengths. So I began to copy him and build a team.
Just like the bee goes from flower to flower, I go woman to woman sometimes just to love on them, sometimes asking them to join me and then teaching them to fly, too.
This summer I will become a Director and my flight pattern will increase. I have stopped frenetically recruiting just anyone, but asked the Father to show me the flowers He wants picked. Some may look weak and spindly; some may be strong and showy, but I want the Father to put together His bouquet so we can bring the fragrance of the Father’s love to His daughters.
Last year Mary Kay Foundation gave three million dollars to shelters for abused women. They do this by introducing three special lipsticks. One dollar from each of these lipsticks goes to battered and abused women. Over 30 years ago, I was a victim of domestic violence. I will be 65 this July. My goal is to sell 65 of these lipsticks by then. Is there any reason why you couldn’t buy at least one? They make a special gift, too, as they are in a beautiful tube with “Thank You” written in 14 languages.
Mary Kay has no territories. If you know someone, perhaps even you, who would like to have additional income or who can see this as a pink mission field as do and want to join me, please call or email me today. I would love to teach women to fly.
Bee-utifully Yours
Diane Dunn

marykayhappy@gmail.com
www.marykay.com/adunndeal

The Clock is Ticking.

I will be 65 in July and one of the birthday presents that I want to give myself is to be a Mary Kay Director. Not only for the freedom in my work schedule, additional income,but because it gives me an opportunity to touch women's lives, often one by one, to tell them that they are fearfully and wonderfully made and one of God's marvelous works.
Twenty-five years of my life I experienced different kinds of abuse. Abuse becomes self-perpetuating. You are a victim, live as a victim and attract more abuse. The one thing you are trying to avoid, you draw to yourself by your demeanor, your self-image and your incredible need to be loved. Grasping at straws, you choose the first love offered to you and it is poison to your spirit. The cycle repeats.
I no longer live in abuse. I began to see myself as Father God saw me and asked Him to help me become that woman.
Nevertheless, I sometimes play "old tapes" of words spoken over me, acts that violated me and lies that deceived me. This is the fastest trek to depression that I know.
Over time I have learned to catch myself before I g down that slippery slope. I do this by encouraging myself. I may sing, get a pedicure or just squirrel away with a good book. We have to get into the habit of holding every thought captive. Every thought.
My life should be a celebration of the victories, not a scrapbook of past failures. Every moment counts.
It is pure joy to be a vessel of His love. Every moment is the right one to love.
God is love. God is the giver of life. Declare your love. You may never know how important it may to someone else. Just do it.

The Easter Song

This is a reminder that Jesus is alive.
There is a real Jesus and He loves you.

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

What an Awesome Father We Have!

Please watch this video and then come back to the blog.




Are you thinking "Wow! What an awesome Father!"?
Your Heavenly Father has loved you that way since before you were born. When you couldn't go another step, He carried you. You may not have always felt it, but it isn't about feelings, it is about faith.
Can you come to that place of absolute surrender and allow Him to carry you?
His plans for you are for good and not evil.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer. 29:11
His expected end is bigger than you could ever imagine.

The Birth of a Wonderful Man

Over 30 years ago, I married a wonderful man. I called him my Sugar Bear. He was a bear of a guy but was so very sweet and kind to me.
I was a divorced woman in my 30s with three children under 12.
He had two children under five. We probably came together for the wrong reasons. I needed a daddy for my children and he needed a mom for his children and we enjoyed each other's company. That is not quite enough for a good marriage, but Ray was tenacious. When I as a wounded woman would push him away, because I knew that he was going to leave me or abuse me like everyone before him had, he never insisted that I respond differently. He just loved me right where I was. Often that place was a miry pit of self-pity that I refused to leave.
I remember once about the end of the first year of our marriage when we went to Marriage Encounter. The priest told me, Diane, there is no reason in the world why this marriage should work except that Ray is not going to give up on you. He is giving you the same kind of love that your heavenly Father has been trying to give you. It is time for you to receive it.
Something broke that night.
Walls from years of protecting myself came tumbling down. I wish I could tell you that immediately we lived happily ever after, but that is not so. I laugh now and say that the first year of our marriage, he re-wrote The Taming of the Shrew. My programmed self-hatred, made it a bumpy road, but the good news is we stayed on the road.
By trade he is a professional driver and in our marriage he has been a professional driver driving us through life's mountains and valleys from Florida to Texas to Africa and Georgia with an awesome second honeymoon in Ireland.
Today is Ray's birthday and I praise God he was born! I am a blessed woman to have him in my life. Happy Birthday, Baby.

Who Do We Give Our Heart To?

Our worship honors and magnifies God, but it also builds us up and strengthens us. The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh. 8:10) No matter what is facing me if I receive His joy simply by worshiping Him I will be strengthened. To stay strengthened I must also have His Word in me alive as rhema.

We become like unto those we admire and worship. When we worship God we tend to value what God values and gradually take on the characteristics and qualities of God.

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor 3:17-18

When we worship God we receive His forgiveness, tenderness, mercy, righteousness, holiness, gentleness and love. As we let go of the things that bind us, these traits become gifts we can give to others. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2

It is journey. Christ in me, the hope of glory. How can He be in me unless I ask? As Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ." How do we take on the mind of Christ?

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2 We renew our mind as we study and meditate on God’s Word and worship Him.

Help Me, God

Because of the years of abuse I experienced over 25 years, the Lord seems to bring the wounded across my path. Often I am unprepared to help in my own strength. If I look at the situation in the natural, I am done.

One young woman we got involved with had addictions as well as an abusive relationship. We ran the full gamut over a period of time from inviting her into our home to her running away from us and then back to us with her abuser close at her heels.

When you feel that you fail someone, it makes you reticent to get involved with another's life.

However, if I remember that I offered love, she was unable to receive it at that time, and there are others still needing it.

If we focus on those we fail, we will never reach out.
Some many need God's love and He uses ordinary people to give it. They don't need my love. I am just a girl and I will fail them and disappoint them.
They need the Father's love. Am I willing to be totally devoid of expectations and just be a vessel?

Valentine's Day Every Day

Valentine's Day can be a lonely day for many. I try to spread the love, those little hearts with sayings and chocolates to those whose paths I cross.

However, what a sweeter place this would be if we took the time to love every day.

Love takes time- time to care, time to listen, time to get involved, time to hug and hold.

As I get older I am at the past the middle of my time line and time is very precious. Yet that makes the gift of time even more special.

When you give time, you tell that person that they are valuable. You give them hope.

I am well aware of the time I waste. I work full-time and am developing my Mary Kay business. Nevertheless, I find time to watch television. What if I made a phone call instead or send a note of encouragement? How many of the 10,080 minutes that I am alloted each week, do they get?

How I spend my time is a reflection of my priorities. Do I spend it on people or things?
Spend some time encouraging and loving others today.

Most Problems Are Caused Because Our Receptors Are Broken or Turned Off

As a little child I learned that For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Although I certainly knew I was a part of that world, it has only been the past year that I have understood how unconditional that love and that no matter how much of His love I have received, there is more.
Why is it that we don't receive all the love He has for us so that we can pour it out on others. I cannot love in my own strength. I can't. However, if I receive the Father's love for myself out of sheer gratitude it pours forth.
Wrong doctrine tells us not to love ourselves. The Word says we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind and love our neighbor as ourself. We can only love our neighbor deeply if we first love the Father, then ourselves.
How grateful I am for His love.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

A Baby Changes Everything

This song is beautiful and an awesome way to share the Gospel. I hope it will bless you as it has us. Merry Christmas!

Happiness is a Choice

The first time I heard, "Happiness is a Choice," almost 20 years ago, it really riled me up. I was in the midst of rough time of my life and I was sure it was because of circumstances.
Now I am older and hopefully wiser and have learned that I cannot control circumstance, but I can choose my response to them.
I was reminded of this when I got this short email from my Mary Kay Director, Kathy Lee:

NO MATTER WHAT - CHOOSE HAPPY TODAY!
WHEN SOMEONE ASKS HOW YOU'RE DOING SAY,
"I'M HAPPY!" DO IT EVERY TIME & JUST SEE HOW HAPPY
YOU BECOME ...THEN HOW MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL
YOU WILL BE!!!! IT WORKS!
CHOOSE TO LOVE YOUR LIFE!
CHOOSE TO CREATE THE LIFE YOU LOVE!!!!!

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to
success."

If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
— Albert Schweitzer: Was a theologian, medical missionary, and philosopher

Please Remember Our Troops

Remember those serving and those who are not coming back.
Pray for the families that they have left behind.
Ask God to heal their broken hearts.

Merry Christmas!!

For as long as I am allowed to say, Merry Christmas, I will. For happy Holidays doesn't capture the love our Father had for us when He sent His only Son.
Merry Christmas!
Got this email. Don't know the author but I support most of it so I thought I would share it with you:
Letter from Jesus about Christmas --

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.


How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary--especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you..

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :


I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

Ring This Christmas Bell by the Way You Live

THE BELL

I KNOW WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )

I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)

I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)

I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)

I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)

I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)

I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)

I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)

I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)

I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)

I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)

I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)

I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)

I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )

I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)

I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)

I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)

I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)

I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)

I belong to God

Do you know

Who you are?

I was watching a Hallmark movie the other night and a remark caught my attention. The beauty of children is that they live in the present. They don't look back and they aren't worried about the future.
That reminded me of the Scripture, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:3
We have become converted but have not become as little children. A little child is totally dependent on his parents for food, home and safety. Are wee that dependent on our Heavenly Father or do we plow ahead to do it ourselves without His guidance?
Here's a testimony about seeking first His kingdom, then I have added the whole song uninterrupted. Consider whether you are seeking His kingdom or yours?
Enjoy.

Now consider the fullness of the Scripture as she sings all of the song.

Dare to Believe

My Director, Kathy Lee, called the other day. I could hear such excitement in her voice as she shared a Christmas party that she had just attended. Dreams were stirred in all that attended and that hope came from someone who had literally lost everything. She dared to dream again.
Do YOU dare? Do you dare to take back what has been stolen from you?
From Mary Kay Director Liliana Smith's signature line,
"Do you "Bee~lieve"?
How does the Bumble Bee fly?
It's body is too big and it's wings are too small.
God whispered in it's ear, "You can do it!" and it did.

I'm passing His whisper along...... "You can do it!"

1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

So many of us have lost our dreams along the way, but if you know Jesus and have a living relationship with the Father, then you know the power of believing.
The Polar Express tells the story of a young boy losing his hope in Santa Claus. Many of our dreams have been Santa Claus dreams. Not related to reality.
But the message of the power of believing is undeniable. When we know who we are in Christ Jesus, then fear has to go for perfect fear casts out fear. God's love is that perfect love and it is a free gift.
So I invite you to watch this Polar Express clip and remember the God-given dreams that you were given. Dare to believe for you can do it!

Old-Fashioned Christmas

When I first moved here, I compared Thomaston to Mayberry. While it isn't that simple, it is a safe place with lots of good people.
The first hometown parade I saw here was the Fourth of July. It was like being transported back to the 50s with decorated cars and floats without all the pyrotechnics or other blaring electronic devices like a Macy's or even a college parade.
It is real people sharing neighbor to neighbor. I felt so safe that I stood there and cried with joy. They aren't the least bit concerned with being politically correct. They are just real.
We arrived home in time Saturday night to watch the Thomaston hometown parade. It is like a blast from the past and it passes right in front of our home.
First there were the screaming sirens from decorated fire trucks and police cars. These were followed up with tractors with Christmas lights on them. There was a particularly old one that seemed to huff and puff like chitty-chitty bang-bang. There was a gleaming John Deere as well.
All had lights and drivers and passengers shouting, "Merry Christmas!"
There was a horse drawn carriage with lights on its wheels creating a pinwheel effect as it traveled down the street.
We had begun our outdoor Christmas lights and they were the only ones on the block. So the kids would shout, "I like your lights!"
Soon I began shouting, "Merry Christmas!" back at them. It's contagious!
Yet I could not help but wonder how much longer we would have that privilege. In many places Merry Christmas has been replaced with Happy Holidays. Where is Christ in that? I am expressing my heart. Merry Christmas.

What is love?

"Divine love tender and self-sacrificing and devoted, and glad to bear and forbare, and suffer, and eager to lavish its best gifts and all blessings upon the object of its love. Put together all the tenderest love you know .... the deepest 'love' you have ever felt, and the strongest that has ever been poured out upon you, and heap it all up ... and you will begin to perhaps have some faint glimpses of the love and grace of God." The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. Hannah Whitall Smith

Sometimes in our journey called life, we focus on the circumstances that we would not have chosen -the broken heart, the grief, the dashed hopes. We spend so much time looking back, that we lose sight of the fact that God's love is all encompassing and unconditional.
Jesus told us that unless we become as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
It is my hope that the following clip will bring you back to the simplicity of God's love.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have so much to be grateful for. I had one cardiologist tell me that I would never see 60. I am 64 and happy. Each day is a gift.
I am married to a man who loves me unconditionally.
Recently we had a wedding at our church and at the close, they played, "Dance with me, Lord." All married couples were invited to come dance with the newly married couple. As Ray held me in his arms, I was reminded of our first date and our first dance. What a long way we have traveled.
A friend, Marcia Fisher, took a picture of us dancing. I don't usually like pictures taken of me because I am overweight. (translation:not perfect) However, there was something endearing about this picture- belly and all. So I made some copies to send to family and a 8X10 for our family wall of pictures. When I framed the 8x10 and took it to the wall, I noticed the similarity of that picture to the one that was taken 30 years ago on our wedding day as he held me in his arms. There was that same look of love for one another, that same surrender into the safety of his arms.

This 30 years has not been without sadness, even grief, rebellion and brokenness, but what matters most is we have come full circle with God's help. The key is to keep dancing. No matter what your dreams are, don't give up.
Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
Love as though you've never been hurt,
Live every day as if it were your last.
In the attached video, Paul Wilbur opens in prayer and if you listen carefully you will hear prophetic declarations towards the end...darkness has passed...sickness has passed... Then you see a woman dance across the stage and in my mind's eye, I see a little girl dancing for her daddy and I know that is how I want to dance and live for my Father God - in abandon.

Where Do You Worship?

One of the most powerful thing about the gospel is that it liberates people from the concept that God dwells in any building. That will challenge some.
I can remember as a child how proud I was of our church. I thought the church was the building I went to. I had no real understanding that the church was the people.
In Acts 7 Stephen reminded the Jews of the journey of the tabernacle and how it was full of pagan idols that did please God. He reminds them of Solomon's temple.
Then he challenges them by saying, "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven [is] my throne, and earth [is] my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what [is] the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" Acts 7:49-50
Because he dared bring truth about worship, he was stoned to death.
Our Father wants to meet with me not in just the concrete block building I call church, but daily as I take time to thank Him for being my Father.
I will never win a perfect attendance pin or be recognized by men in this place, but my heart will be warmed by His presence.
It is leaving the business of our lives and taking time to thank Him and praise Him.
[Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:26-27
Imagine carrying the hope of glory within you and literally spilling it on others as you make it through your day. Here a splash, there a splash. What a blessing to bring His hope to others. But we have to take time for that infilling, because sometimes the cares of this world cause us to "leak."
I love to go to church, There is time for fellowship before the service that serves to connect me to the body. Then there is corporate worship and then whatever and wherever the Holy Spirit leads. However, what I receive will be in direct proportion to what I prepared my heart for before I came.
The building isn't a filling station. The filling station is anywhere I pause to meet God. Frequent fill-ups are encouraged.

Perception

PERCEPTION (author unknown)

. . .Something To Think About. . .

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.


4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made..

How many other things are we missing?
*****************************************
My question is how many things has God set before us? Are we so busy doing "good" things that we totally miss the "God" things?
How many thing are we doing because we think we "ought" to do them? Yesterday I unplugged the phone, turned of my cell and watched three chick flicks on the Hallmark channel. I had laid out some jewelry findings to create some more jewelry when I thought, "No. I just need to chill. I don't need to DO anything." I put everything back up.
For SIX hours I literally struggled with being still and relaxing. I was never truly successful as I cooked dinner and folded clothes during the movies.
Why is it so hard to be still? To do nothing without feeling guilty? How many things are we missing because we are rushing through our "to do" list?
Why is it so hard to "be still and know He is God?"
Do we fear not being accepted unless we are doing? Do we get our identity from our activity? Who taught us that?
I think one of the reasons it is so hard to receive the love of the Father is because we won't be still long enough.

What Do You Deserve?

A couple of weeks ago while watching a Mary Kay training video, I heard the term deserve level. Apparently the term has been out there some time, but I had never heard of this self-imposed glass ceiling. It certainly helped explain some of the restrictions and boundaries I had put on myself.
I really didn't think I deserved any more than I had in life. Oh, there would be bursts of belief, but like a boomerang, I would return to my comfortable corner.
So I began to explore (and I am still exploring) how this all came about so I can move the boundaries.
We all have a deserve level. It is ingrained in our belief system. But what is the source of those beliefs? Is it a godly source or have have a believed lies spoken over me whether in ignorance or malice?
Subconsciously, we all have a a limit on what we believe we deserve. It is a reflection of the way we see ourselves. This is our "deserve level." We find it in the work place, our home life, on the golf course, we pretty much get what we expect to get based on what we think we deserve. This is insidious, because we don't wake up in the morning and consciously say, "Today I only deserve to be able to pay half of my bills. Or I only deserve to be able to third in the sales contest."
But are we self-sabotaging to arrive at the level we deserve?
Our life experiences are all governed in quantity and quality by our own personal deserve level. When we don’t get what we deserve, we find a way to get more. When we exceed our deserve level, we find a way to lose what we perceive to be more than necessary. We rise and fall to the level we feel we deserve.
As children, we think the world revolves around us. Then through abuse or abandonment, the paradigm shifts. Our sense of security, worth, and love is threatened, we adapt to that condition. We drawn the conclusion that life just happens. We see ourselves as receiving what we deserve. After all, as children we have nothing with which to measure or compare. We emotionally accept as much or as little as we are given. We believe what our parents and others in authority tell us about ourselves. As we mature, these experiences become our internal regulators.
Some people have unreasonably high deserve levels. They may be spoiled brats, but sometimes it comes out of victimization, too. Often these are the "takers". They believe they are entitled to have anything and everything regardless of the expense to themselves or others, because the world owes them.
At the other end, are those of us, who have allowed artificially low caps to be placed on our deserve levels. We unnecessarily limit our participation in life’s abundance.
I had a friend once who bought a house beneath her ability to pay just in case something happened in the future. She always wanted to be able to afford her house. She lived in an unsafe neighborhood in a house chocked full of family heirlooms out of fear of tomorrow.
This deserve level defines our commitment level as well. It colors our attitudes and acquisitions, as well as our position and possession. What if you really knew what it was to be a child of God? You would find that He doesn't give us what we deserve, but in His mercy, He gives us all He has. Changing your deserve level by knowing your identity in Him can change your life.

Choosing vs. Trying

I am beginning to see than many times when I say I am trying, it is a lame excuse for not giving it my all. When we choose to do something as opposed to try to do something, then we will have to make decisions at many levels. Choosing to read the Bible will result in turning off the TV. I can try to read my Bible but not find the time because of the choices I make.
In Hebrew try means to test. However, if trying was transliterated to test, I would not get a good grade at all. Try gives room for gray coming out of default.
Choose is black and white. Where we fall short is gray and there is mercy.
So today are we going to try to be obedient to what God has called us to or are we going to choose to be willing and obedient?
God is moving some pieces around in my life and I swing from fear to faith. Am trying to LABOR to ENTER into HIS REST. It is almost an oxymoron. I first thought the dichotomy was labor and rest. Today the LORD showed me it was labor to enter. Once I enter, the rest will be there. The labor is simply making a choice as opposed to trying. Labor means to make haste, do it diligently. It isn't a casual decision.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Hebrews 4:9-11
I was trying in my own strength.
This is my journey.

Forgive Me

I think it is very important to speak out the things in our heart.
Sometimes because we don't "see and touch" God, we mutter prayers in our heads, but our heart needs to hear these prayers to help shift from regret to hope.
What do you need to ask God to forgive you for today?
Or is it possible you need to forgive God for the time when you thought He failed you?

Worthy of Love?

I found this "accidentally" while looking for something else. There is not much more I could add to this.

His Strength Is Perfect

Last week I was blessed to have my Mary Kay Director, Kathy Lee, spend a week with me. She spent a week coaching me and encouraging me. We almost hit a $1,000 in sales that week and gained two very good recruits. Then as soon as she came, she was gone.

I was flooded with doubt and unbelief. Can I do this without her? That was not God speaking to me for He had already enabled me to lead the unit in sales my first year and I came in second my second year.

So what was the real problem? The self-conflict comes from loving a job I have at Be In Health where I have an opportunity to speak into people's lives and balancing it with a 10 hour a week job with Mary Kay where I speak into people's lives that I would never see in church. Last week I prayed for ear problems, ulcers and more as they came for a facial. Which is better? Can I have both?

I recognize that some of the conflict comes from having been so sick for several months. Seems that when you are worn out physically, your spiritual strength is apt to wane as well. But it doesn't have to for when we are weak, He promises that He is strength is strong. Now that I am healing, I am better able to see places where I was relying on my strength and not His. For this I repent for my best strength is as a wet noodle compare to His.
As I draw near to Him and take the time to be still and listen to Him, He will give me direction.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect.

Pursuing God

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 29:11-13

When we find God in the little things, then we need to tuck ourselves up under His wings like a baby chick does with a mother hen. Our Father loves us and we need to hear His heartbeat for our lives.
Most of my life, when things got too intense, I ran to avoid the pain. I hated confrontation. Soon I found I had gone full circle and this unresolved issue was facing me once again.
It isn't running away that works, it is drawing closer.

God's Original Masterpiece

since I have been working at home, there have many more opportunities to work on that "stuff" that keeps me form being the Diane that God saw before the foundations of the world. He knit me together in my mother's womb. He fashioned me.
Now I am trying to remove the baggage that I picked up in my journey. Baggage from words spoken against me that I took in as reality. They came from the accuser.
Now I must stay in the Word so I can rightly discern good. God's good is so much richer than man's version of good.
I am giving God irrevocable permission to chisel away anything that was not part of His original masterpiece. Yes, sometimes it hurts. But in the end, it will "yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Pushing Against the Rock

Pushing Against the Rock
~Author Unknown

There was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when suddenly his room was filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all of his might.

The man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture placing thoughts into the man's mind sauch as: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it!" Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. "Why kill myself over this?", he thought. "I'll justput in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough." And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in Your service, putting all of my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all of this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

To this the Lord responded compassionsately, "My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it.

Your task was to push. And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are calloused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done.

I, my friend, will now move the rock!"

Holy Is the Lord

Do You Really Want to Go Deeper?

There is a cost to going deeper. You will not be particularly popular for you will have to withdraw from the day to fray and choose your time carefully realizing that it can never be regained.
It may mean turning off the computer and the p-hone and just listening to the Father. can we be still that long without any results for the world to see?
You see the things that are wrought deep in our heart may not show for weeks or months. It isn't a microwave experience but a slow cooker one.
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:11
You may even be deemed unfriendly as you withdraw to spend more time with the Father to fully receive His love not just for yourself, but so that yu may heal and pour out that same love on others.
There is a cost. Do you really want to go deeper?

Leaving things behind

Corrie Tem Boom once said, "Hold everything loosely, because it hurts when God pries your fingers open."
When God calls you to a task, there are things that must be left behind. The inability or unwillingness to do that keeps us from receiving His best for us. Some call that His permissive will. I am not convinced that a permissive will really exists. I think it is more likely our rebellious version of what He really called to do.
The older I get, the more rebellion I see that still needs to go. Why is absolute surrender so difficult? Part of it I think is cultural. We have performance and drivenness and no one exceeds Americans in competitiveness. That unfortunately is not God's mindset, but the enemies. As long as we compete, we are at odds one with another.
Let's skip through the Bible and see who God called and what they had to leave behind:
Beginning in Gen 12 we see God calling Abraham. "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.'" (Gen. 12:1)
God told Abram to leave his father's house, bid farewell to his relatives, leave his country, and move to a country to which God would lead him. To man's way of thinking, what God asked Abram to do was extremely difficult, but God had plans to greatly bless him.
Through out the Old Testament men and women were called to leave what was familiar and follow God. You didn't have to be royalty or notable. Rahab, the prostitute, left everything familiar and became part of the lineage of our Lord.
In the New Testament, Jesus continues to call people out. He calls Matthew, the tax collector, the fishermen, the woman at the well, the beggar. After Jesus' death, Saul is called out.
The call has never stopped.
And in a way that only God could perfect, when we lay down those things so precious to us, we find true freedom and a peace not known before when we clutched those things. When we open our hands, we no longer struggle. We surrender to His will. There we find peace and the fullness of His perfect will.
I so encourage you to read and meditate on Ephesians 3. Ask the Holy Spirit how to reach that exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. He says it is "according to the power that worketh in us..."
What is He calling you to leave behind to follow Him?

When We Know Our Father Loves Us...

There is a new commercial for Publix that I adore. Publix has some of the best, most wholesome commercials centered around family values.
This one is called First Game. The little boy comes with his parents to his first soccer game. The Dad is more nervous than the son.
If you watch it closely, you will see how all of the time the Dad spent with his son to prepare for that game gave the boy incredible confidence.
Each time I watch it, I think that is the way I should trust my Heavenly Father. If He is watching (and He is) what is there to fear?

When we don't understand

Rick and Mary Pat are my bosses though they cringe when I say that for they see us as team members. Nevertheless, in the past 18 months, Mary Pat has lost a son, a mother and this morning her last son after a 13 month struggle for his life after an auto wreck.
I have seen them pray and stand. I have seen God move on their behalf. I was not prepared for last week's turn of events. I do not understand, but I know my understanding would pale to the Father's. So I release it all to Him.
Please keep Rick and Mary Pat in your prayers.

Love Letter from the Father

Are in the Desert?

In God's order nothing is ever wasted. I have done some pretty inane things in my lifetime. Not all am I proud of, but all have proven to be threads of a tapestry God is creating of my life.
What seemed like wasted time has often proven to be seeds of insight to help another or to avoid an even greater pitfall.
Moses was in the desert for forty years. I get impatient if nothing is happening immediately. But just as you cannot rush the rising of bread or the slow-smoked pork butt, you cannot rush the fulfillment of God's plans.
If you break open the chrysalis of a butterfly or crack the shell of a baby chick to allow them to experience freedom sooner, they will be crippled and die an early death.
Should we not be content to stay where we are until God makes the way for us to move forward?
Os Hillman in his daily devotion, TGIF, says, "The time frames may not be quite as long. But the characteristics of the training are still the same. Do not try to shortcut the desert time of God. It only leads to cul-de-sacs, which force you to revisit the lessons you are meant to learn. Embrace them, so that He can use your life for something extraordinary."
Ask God how to maximize your desert time. Very importantly, make it a time to spend with Him getting to know Him intimately and in a very honest relationship.
That relationship will guide your future.

Hillsong has released the Desert Song. Here are the lyrics:

VERSE 1:
This is my prayer in the desert
When all thats within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

VERSE 2:
This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

CHORUS:
I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

VERSE 3:
This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise Ill stand

BRIDGE:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

VERSE 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favour and providence flow
I know Im filled to be emptied again
The seed Ive received I will sow.

Here is the music for you to play: