in prayer

lord, i need you i need you in my heart you seem so mysterious at times i am confused i must learn to trust and keep hold of your hand the questions come why, Lord, why? and then I must remember you know our comings and our goings the reasons are yours to know i cling to all i know trying desperately to place it all the tumultuous thoughts and emotions to be hurt or not to be hurt? offended, offensive...? my decision is to be defended using Christ alone as my defense my heart may be wounded words, actions, deeds be the swords tip yet i will not waver i will not fall i place my well-being in your hand fear, torment, worry have no place in my heart the guilt, the blame, the condemnation satan is angered though it may be thrown my way, i refuse to let it stay as the duck QUACK QUACK and it rolls off it's back so be the fiery darts of the enemy drowning, spiraling down in the current i feel i can't break through i reach, i grasp, hurriedly hoping its all a bad dream calm, peace, serenity.... words flying incomprehensible through my head the tornado grows, the winds blow.... the rain begins, hard, angry, huge drops flood my soul beating away the hurt, the pain then lightly now, slacking ever so slightly, a smooth wisping sprinkle like fresh dew on the rose I feel the gentle drops carrying away all that should be gone refreshing, cold the smell of spring showers i feel the life stirring deep within, my heart is healing not worried, but at peace surprised at the change the storm can bring i awake, i smile. i dance, i pause. You alone, Jesus, are my salvation. You bring me peace no man can bring. Your word is wise, your patience longsuffering. You do not condemn. You speak life. You bring all that is good into my life. Your grace, your mercy - Always steady and unchanging. Washed away, in the sea of forgetfulness, all my torment, my pain - I thank you, i praise you. You alone are worthy My Lord My Savior My Christ My King..... But most of all, MY FRIEND

Food For Thought

I was reading a christian novel last night, and in doing so, the Lord opened my eyes to something I have been too blind to see. I do not have the book with me, so I am very much so going to paraphrase here. I hope it gets the point across. In this novel, a man was trying to comfort a friend who was faced with some difficult decisions. He began to tell her of a story his father used many times in sermons in days gone by..... There was this older fisherman who found himself alone out on the rough seas as a storm began to settle in. His small fishing boat was soon capsized by the overbearing waves, and the fisherman thought he'd surely perish. Much to his amazement, the Lord had it be that his boat capsized near an old and rusty buoy. The fisherman gave every ounce of determination he could muster fighting the waves to grab a hold of the old rusty thing. He climbed up on the buoy and held fast, praying and thanking the Lord that he'd not drowned. As he clung to the buoy for dear life, tossed to and fro in the tumultuous waves, the old man prayed that the Lord would spare his life. Minutes seemed like hours, and it wasn't too terribly long that another small craft happened by the buoy carrying a younger fisherman. The second threw the old man a rope and begged him to take hold so he could pull him to safety and get him to land.... time and time again the younger fisherman threw out a lifeline, begging the old man to let go of the buoy and come to the safety of the boat. The old man, out of fear, clung fast to the rusted buoy... He refused to loosen his grip for fear he'd be tossed under and swallowed up by the sea. The younger fisherman, heart wrought with despair, had no choice but to head inland before his craft be taken by the sea, thus leaving the old man to die, cold and alone in the midst of the storm. How many times do we, as Christians, hold on tight to all that is before us, praying God 'spare our lives', and when he happens by to send a lifeline REFUSE TO LET GO of the rusted old buoy and be pulled to safety? Lord, please, teach me to not hold on to the things I would believe to be my safety and life. Let me always be open to YOUR WAY, for you alone know my life's needs. I don't want to drown in the sea of storms because I try to work my life out on my own terms. Lead my life, Lord, in every way. I desire whole-heartedly YOUR WILL be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Thank you for your mercy and grace, Lord. I bless your name, Jesus. Amen.

Sight Past Your Horizon...

I received this quote today: God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road. - Isak Dinesen Sometimes, we may become baffled at the fact that we don’t know what our tomorrow holds… or where each crossroad we face may lead. It is this simple fact alone that should propel us to seek after Christ’s face each and every morning. The scripture says in Proverbs 8:17 “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”Today, if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed with the world that is swirling around you, your lack of vision past your horizon, or the stresses of past regrets, SEEK HIM. The “Theme” for Word Alive this year is “It’s time to Shine in Two-Thousand Nine”… and for the past few weeks I have had a song (Jesus Calling by 33Miles) in my head…T he lyrics are so fitting with what I have on my heart this morning. “What do you see when you look at your world today Is it so full of clutter that you feel like you’re going insane And you can’t fight back cause you’re just too afraid and it seems like the clouds in your sky don’t wanna change You see there’s always another story, another side to every coin, And how you see your circumstance is all about a choice When you see the rushing wind , feel the pouring rain, hear the thunder now as the clouds roll in and you’re blinded by the lightning, do you also hear that still, small voice saying It’s okay, you’re not alone, you may be scared to death, But I won’t let you go You may think the sky above is falling But can you hear Jesus calling What do you see when you look at your world today Do you see a glimmer of hope, or has it all turned to gray Well start by counting your blessings one by one Oh and I’m sure right there, you’ll start to see the sun You see there’s always another story, another side to every coin And how you see your circumstance is all about a choice When you see the rushing wind , feel the pouring rain, hear the thunder now as the clouds roll in and you’re blinded by the lightning, do you also hear that still, small voice saying It’s okay, you’re not alone, you may be scared to death, But I won’t let you go You may think the sky above is falling But can you hear Jesus calling Because the darker the night, the brighter He can shine When you see the rushing wind , feel the pouring rain, hear the thunder now as the clouds roll in and you’re blinded by the lightning, do you also hear that still, small voice saying It’s okay, you’re not alone, you may be scared to death, But I won’t let you go You may think the sky above is falling But can you hear Jesus calling…..” On top of it all, last night’s sermon was just awesome. Can you hear the cry of those unsaved around you? I do hope you realize its nigh to midnight – “The night cometh when no man can work.” John 9:4 The scripture tells us in Luke 17:24 “For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” Be that light. Be the Salt. The Darker the night, the Brighter we should shine. Have you accepted your “Go Ye”? (Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name [JESUS] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”)SEEK HIM. Be a Light. Reach out to those around you. Be amazed at the sight God gives you to see just past your Horizon. Love. -Pam

In Need of a Reboot

Wow. My desire to write has about driven me insane for the fact that I haven’t sat and made time to jot down what’s all been in my heart! This morning, I had this huge burden on my heart… the desire for a “reboot”. Have you ever had that thought? Let me explain… Microsoft. Wonderful Microsoft. What would we do without Windows and the Ctrl+Alt+Del feature? You’re on the computer… you click on a few different things, you have a bajillion and one windows open and trying to operate at least 6 programs AND check your e-mail online and all of a sudden all you’re getting is a twirling hour glass… you watch as it goes round and pauses, round and pauses, round and pauses. You click on a window you have minimized and much to your NOT surprise, nothing changes. Your screens are frozen in place, your clock now shows the time it was 6 minutes ago, and still your hour glass is going round – and round – and round. What do you do? When Ctrl-Alt-Del gives you no response, you do what every computer-savvy hates to see – you hold the power button on your computer down until *beep* it shuts off. You wait 10 seconds, press the power button and *whhhhhhrrrl* you hear the wheels start turning as you reboot your system. You are greeted by the beautiful wallpaper you’ve set, no windows, no bogged-down programs, no hour glass twirling… and look! Your clock even has the correct time!!!! How many times in my life do I wish for a reboot. I get so caught up in the things of this world…my clock gets to lagging, I’m late *again*, the need to rush has completely stolen my joy, I have no zeal or zest for many things, including the word of God – I push all that is important to the side in an effort to get in the rat-race of life; I snap at my husband, I snap at my daughter – wow, I even snap at my friends and family, when all they are trying to do is calm me down by hitting a little Ctrl+Alt+Del and “End Task” a few unnecessaries in my life…. Yet what do I do? I refuse to respond to the command, I don’t even let them near my Task Manager – I give them my twirling hour glass…round -and round – and round……all the while, no progress is made ANYWHERE!!! Not at work, not at church, not in my Spirit, and my ministries suffer just the same. I pray that when you are feeling bogged down, you listen to those around you – listen to the messages your Pastor preaches, the words your friends, and mentors have to say – they may just be trying to hit those three little all-too-important buttons that can eliminate a few of the unnecessary processes that are bogging your system down. Thank you Lord, for my cold reboot this morning; I need times like that to realize that YOU are my power supply. Without you, my life does not exist. Dec. 9th 2008

Just a Test using Ping.fm

okay, using ping.fm i am attempting to make a post to (4) of my 5 blog sites..... this is just a test. :-)

Trying...

Ya'll whisper a prayer for me :-) I'm trying my hardest to locate a good trustworthy way of updating my blogs at one time. *heh*
It's hard maintaining ONE blog, let alone MySpace, FaceBook, Everyone'sApostolic, Twitter, Yahoo 360*, Blogger...... I know, I really want to downsize, specially beings I don't do much on any of them other than sign on, post and sign out.... *lol* anywho. This is a test, trying out ScribeFire using FireFox

America... Holding on to Hope

To My Dearest Friends: I wanted to shoot a quick e-mail out this morning, expressing my feelings about our newly elected President, Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama…. But as I began to type it became rather lengthy… I did take my time to express my heart, so I hope you take the time to read through to the bottom…. Over the past few weeks I have been a bit ‘zealous’ and ‘hyped up’ over the McCain-Palin campaign, and have sent out various e-mails that expressed as much….however, they “lost” and Mr. Obama will take office January 1st, 2009. I do, however, have a few things I would like to share with you about my future. Last night as I watched as the polls closed, updating every few moments I had a wave of mixed emotions just flooding over my heart time and time again. Even as Mr. Obama’s EV’s peaked 270 I was grasping at the hope the numbers would change and Mr. McCain would pull ahead…. And as you all know, this did not happen. I began to think… Churches across America have been in prayer throughout this campaign. Even our church has called early morning focused prayer regarding the election – and during that time we focused on GOD’S WILL for America. We prayed: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13 We prayed over each candidate running for office. We prayed that God strengthen them, give McCain favor of the people, and to soften Obama’s heart to the One True Living God, Jesus Christ. Either way, however it turned out to be God’s will, we prayed specific prayers for both potential leaders of this nation. I’ve heard over the past few weeks that if Mr. Obama got office, it was God repaying us for our sins. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that – I know that God gave the country in the bible a King after they begged and begged for a King, and that King was practically their destruction – but I know our God is a merciful God. I do know that: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44-45 And I also read that: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:8, 10-12 So my response is – although America as a nation has gotten its morals so turned around, or priorities are not in order, we deem the view and plans for the Economy more important that a candidates view on Pro-Life/Pro-Choice issues… “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14 Regardless of the majority of America’s views CURRENTLY, we must stand fast in knowing that we serve an Almighty and Merciful God. Whatever God’s reasons for allowing America to elect such a liberal president, “To Every thing there is a season, and time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 Putting aside the fact that my carnal instinct is to worry, panic and feel like America has thrown away all hope for religious freedom, saving unborn children, standing up for traditional marriages, economic rising…… I force myself to recall that - “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 We mustn’t stand paralyzed in fear that there is no hope. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Ephesians 1:11-12 And the bible instructs us to “And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” Luke 12:22-24 I don’t know about you, but I KNOW my God values the life of a human being over the life of the fowls – Yet men can sit idly by why we rant and rave “Save the Whales!” “Protect the Bald Eagle!” and they DEMAND a woman can kill her baby in the 3rd term of her pregnancy and call it FREEDOM OF CHOICE?! I weep before God, at the obvious – our Nation is turning its heart away from the Foundation it’s been built upon by our Founding Fathers…. But there is a people – a Christian people, that REFUSE to let go – we refuse to give up. We cannot afford to just give up and let liberals rule and command America. We MUST be the ones to cry out to God just as Abraham pleaded over Sodom and Gomorrah “Lord, hold back your hand!” We must be the ones to take a stand and lead America to a repentant state of mind. We as Christians need to bow before the throne and follow His words - “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 DON’T lose hope! You know the Lord CANNOT lie – His Word is Yea and Amen. The Bible tells us both in the OLD Testament and the NEW Testament: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:” Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:17-21 The Churches across America need to stand up and believe that HE IS and HE WILL. We read that: “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” Isaiah 44:3 Read it for yourself! “And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.” Joshua 23:14 So, devil – go on with your “bad” self. I’m here to tell you there’s nothing that can shake my faith in God!! “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” Psalm 16:8-9 God has given us every bit of reason to hold fast to HOPE. We must follow HIM if we are going to turn the tide in America. Become ACTIVE in what you believe in. We CANNOT sit idly by and watch the world “go to hell in a hand-basket”. SOMEONE has to be willing to take a stand. “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 I am consoled and have hope through Grace. My heart is comforted, and I am ready to be eSTABLISHed in good Word and Work. I can honestly say that fear has no place in my life. “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.” Psalm 34:4-5 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6 The LORD is my Protector. I will continue to BLESS the Lord, no matter what the circumstances around me are screaming. “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 I am going to lift up my brethren and sisters in the Lord. We MUST bind together and make our voices be heard! “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;” Hebrews 3:13-14 We DO NOT HAVE TIME to become complacent. We need to hold fast to our confidence that we had in the beginning til the very end. And remember – We are to have respect for those who have charge over us. God allowed Mr. Obama to take the presidency and as all our previous Presidents, even if we do not agree with him on every point in his views and beliefs, we need to show respect for the position he will hold. Pray daily for your President. It IS true that only God knows the heart of man – the Bible does tell us out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks…. So although we may not know the heart of Mr. Obama, we see the fruit and the actions of it. We must remember that God isn’t willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance – We need to pray that Mr. Obama comes to the knowledge that Jesus Christ is the only One True Living God, and this country NEEDS to desperately become once again a CHRISTIAN NATION. “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” I Timothy 2:4-6 I hope and pray that as I have bore my heart with you through this email, you are encouraged, maybe even enlightened that there is hope. There is a hope for our tomorrows, and I honestly believe that the Christians of America can pull together and ‘multiply’ and once again become a majority. Cling to the Words God penned us. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 And ALWAYS - “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” Lamentations 3:21-24 Keep the faith. Forever indebted to my Savior and Friend, Pamela R. Williamson 601.928.8572 pamwwilliamson@yahoo.com