What kind of Fragrance am I smelling?

(This was yesterday's post but my hubby started chatting to me halfway through and so I put the computer off and had a good chat with hubby. It's these meaningful moments that I want to live in. So tonight I will share the post!)
 
Last night I watched a "faith - based" movie that turned out to haunt me long over the hysterical mass of actors had finally quietened down. I will confess that I did not turn my computer on today, my mind seemed to plead in prayer all day long for some answers to how I felt about what was portrayed in the movie. 

Let me come right out and very sincerely say that I do not believe it is a good thing to exploit every detail of your life on the internet. I also dont believe that our identity lies in being a parent, a father or mother, or being a wife or husband, or a dentist or artist. Our ultimate identity lies in who we are as children of God. The faith based movie I watched was about the reality of momy bloggers, while I believe it is good to share online and meet new people who can inspire and encourage, this phenomenon of mommy bloggers (as it is called) has opened up a somewhat scary and crazy world that makes little sense. Women who share intimate pictures of their births, details of their (and their family members) private areas, crazy habits and frequently employing the use of words like "guilt, failure, pathetic mess etc" is not the best God has in store for any of us, no matter who we are and how much we fall and make mistakes.It is good to share how human we are, but not good to be voyeuristic in our approach to something as beautiful as our families and the intimacy and privacy that should surround the most holiest of things. In Judaism there is an amazing belief in the sanctity of privacy. You will not find religious Jewish women speaking about their sex lives in intimate details because they believe that that type of relationship is intensely personal, beautiful and private. And I value this in such a deep way. I believe that privacy is Godly, so is vunerability, we just have to learn to discern between the two realities.

The wonder of life is how Yahweh creates beautiful openings for us to experience Him and the answers He wants to share with us. I walked down to the swimming pool but when I stuck my foot in the water it was freezing cold, so instead I got my Bible and went to sit with my feet in the water and just read at random. I opened my Bible and landed on a meditation about the Holiness of God and many things fell in place for me, regarding how I felt about what was portrayed in the movie. The Holiness of God is not a characteristic of God, but Holiness embodies who He is and He requires for me to become one with Him and grow in His Holiness. That is why He continually tells us to be holy as He is Holy. It is in fact a commandment, not a suggestion. Therefore if we are truly spirit - filled children abandoned to Yeshua, anything and everything we do even in the blogging world and beyond, should be holy. To use our gifts, our words and energy for reckless self indulgence is not okay in God's sight. 

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

1 Corinthians 10:31 

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I stand up with conviction and declare that I want to be all I can be for my King. I want to have nothing else but the fragrance of my Beloved on my Skin. I am sold out, wretchedly - sick at the worlds antics and committed to Holiness through obedience to my Saviour who gave it all for me. I love Yeshua and as an ambassador of His Kingdom and a princess in His realm, I walk with the authority on my shoulders that demands that I bring Honour to the Kingdom of Light and not seek out selfish gain or buy in to the world's sloppy standard. I am here for justice, it's a huge part of the reason I blog and I believe in equality, for everyone and for all. I am committed to my call and I am learning that no one needs to understand that or even accept it, only I have to accept it and embrace it. 

There are too many bloggers out there who confess to be Christians but don't live a Christian lifestyle, especially on line. This is a sad reality but while I will not go in to too much detail about my own feelings on certain issues, I will say that when I did switch on my computer to write this post, I got some amazing notifications from a handful of blogs I am subscribed to and these posts refreshed me again. I was encouraged to be shown again, that people are not just online to make a name for themselves or to paint an unrealistic picture of themselves for others. I was encouraged again to know that I can connect with like-minded believers who love God and want nothing but Him. Who speak up for justice and who are as real as mud. And that is refreshing! 

Father, help us be people who reflect You in everything that we do. Help us live in the moments where we find ourselves, help us enjoy the sunset without always feeling the need to capture it for everyone online. Help us revel in all we have so that we can gasp at Your Wonder and feel Lovesick at Your Precious heart of Love. Help us move away from that which dishonours You, even as we would choose our friends with caution in real life, help us choose our online "friends" with discernment as well. Help us be committed to the mission before us, both online and in living colour. Lift up the heads of my dear friends today who may just need a Hug and encouragement from You today. You love us all so much Yeshua Messiah, help us know that we are uniquely crafted and uniquely designed - for so much more then worldly lies of fame. Help us be a wild flower in the field, ready to turn our backs on everything else and just lie outstretched towards the Son! We pray this in the mighty name of our Saviour Yeshua! HalleluYah!

Someone Needs to Hear your Words

Are you slipping, peering through the empty glass believing your voice is not needed? That cyber space swallows up the whisper of your heart beat, in the words you have still to share on empty pages? Doubt creeps over so many some times, do my words matter? Does what I have to say mean anything? IS my story so great or so small that it means anything to anyone? Well I need to tell you tonight, that it does....

There is nothing that can convince me otherwise. How many times have we remained silent, believing it doesnt matter whether we speak or remain silent. But today God wants me to tell you - that dear heart your story matters. Your words are not always fashioned to fill a thousand hallways or to boom across certain fields. Oh no, your words were fashioned to create and encourage life in another heart. To encourage and blow breathe in to anothers. Success to the world means blog stats, pins, huge viewerships and ratings. Success in God's Holy eyesight means obedience. When you fulfil Father's call on your life, that is success, nothing else matters.

Tonight my husband and I randomly found some very interesting Josh Groban videos on YouTube. At his concerts, he lets audience members ask him questions and at his concerts he always has some young people wanting to sing with him. What blew us away was, how these young people could sing. Some could even sing spectacularly! It made me realise again that it is not always about the big voices, but about the everyday voices. Many people will never know a stage as big as the one Josh Groban gets to perform on, and that's okay, perhaps it is not their purpose, but anyone who gets to hear these guys and girls sing - whether in a local show, at a school, at church or anywhere else - well they will be super blessed. Because it is not all about the bigness of it all, it's about the quality of it all. I would love to sit in a room full of "unknown" men and women and hear them sing, more then the "seasoned" (often lip-syncing) men and women.

Life is not about the crowds, its about dancing for the Audience of One. It's about letting Him hear your words, your heart words. He believes in your story and the power of it. So much so that He left Heaven's throne and died on a Tree so that your story could be redeemed. This week I was reading some of Paul's words before his own story came to an end. At the end of his life he was imprisoned for the second time and he wrote to Timothy. In his final words he tells Timothy that everyone in Asia deserted me (2 Timothy) this was how Paul felt, I can only imagine how deep and how painful this must have been for him. He had given his life to serve Messiah by serving others and many had grown weary of him and his message and had deserted him. While he must have imagined that his words had fallen on deaf ears - he never realised how his life's story would impact generations to come, even 2000 years later. Here is the truth: we never quite know what God can do with a surrendered Life and Heart. Don't keep quiet precious heart, find the courage, the joy, the enjoyment and speak....

Little Quotes that made me Smile Today

 

A Word for Today - Psalm 43

A New Adventure

I sat this afternoon writing a piece on a horrific atrocity facing young girls in West Africa. I wont go in to it, I will share the link when it is posted but again my heart was moved with such depth at the reminder of what we are fighting for. The Bible tells us that we are not to be silent, we are to speak up for the oppressed and the hurting, the broken and the weeping (Proverbs 31). This reminder to all of us to speak out is found in the chapter known as the Valiant or Virtuous woman. In our modern Bibles there is a heading that separates the beginning section of 9 verses from the last 21 verses. However in the original text it was never split up because chapters and verses did not occur. That is because a woman of valour, is a woman who speaks up for injustice. I find it interesting how it was king Lemuel's mother, who taught him to speak up and pursue justice (verse 1).

Many of us are on this journey. The journey God has placed in our hearts. The journey to speak up for others, even if we dont know how. The journey to raise funds for suffering orphans or to share Bibles with those who dont have. The journey to climb Mount Everest to give a voice for human trafficked victims and rape survivors. The journey....
And now a few of us are bringing our journeys together in a God - ordained Book!
This book is a big punch in the spirit realm, that I know for sure. So let me give you a little snippet.... Women from around the world - Switzerland, China, Mauritius, South Africa, Finland, America, Ghana and India, have put their pens and hearts down on to paper to share their stories of oppression and hardship. These stories are vulnerable, they are real, stories of drug addiction, abortion, gendercide, brokenness, sexual trauma, human trafficking, food addiction, stories of hope and stories that end with Christ's redeeming Love. HalleluYah!
While we are working behind the scenes to dive in to the places God has led us to go, we are prayerfully holding up every word to the King of Kings Yeshua (Jesus) and saying Father let this be for Your Glory and for the women in this world who are being oppressed. At the heart of this book, is the women of India. From the very corner of God's watchful, loving eye He is broken for the women in India. So this book entitled "Windows across Oceans," will be released on the 21st March on this blog. The three weeks leading up to the release, some of the writers will be featured here and you will get a glimpse of their hearts and beautiful faces. So that we may take hands with our sisters in India, the book will be made available for a donation fee and the funds raised will go to Gospel for Asia's women's programs (but more on this when we get there!).
For now I want to encourage all of you to go out there and do as Amy Goodman suggested "Go to where there is silence and say something!" We have the greatest thing to say, the greatest message to bring, the message that the Bridegroom Warrior King came to earth as a Man, He died so that we could live. He took our place and wept for our chains, His tears undid our shame, He came to set the captives free - the ones chained - you and me. He died that day on that tree but rose again to Life, so that we could be forever changed and alive in peace and love, eternally. 
Spread the word, don't be ashamed - the time is now so that all the world may be saved!

(Sharing over at The Loft / Grace & Truth this week!)

One Word 2015 - "Spirit-Birth Expectancy"

WOW! I have been waiting so long to write this post and with a lot of others things going on, I have finally got to it! Besides, blogging is suppose to be fun isn't it and so here is my "one word" or rather "one phrase" Yeshua has given me for 2015.
Let me just say that I was really reluctant about this one word vibe. Yeah, I dont like to be confined, I like the dynamics of life but then Father started prompting me a big smile, and whispering "hey I got something for you!"

I had a beautiful vision of the Messiah standing over 2015 and birthing something new in to this time season of Life. Something in the Spirit Realm first - a new time, a new season, a new reality on this earth. The old way of doing things, with religion, oppression and bondage is passing away. It is like the time period that Saul and David lived in. King Saul was part of a time period that was passing away, so that the new established way under king David could come in to being. Swiftly, we are moving to the time where Messiah will return and establish His Kingdom here on earth. After the passed few years I have seen and heard about the depth of change that intercessors and intercessory groups have undergone. God has been placing something new in the hearts and lives of His true followers and He Himself is about to change things up. I am really excited, because we as a people can collectively be expectant for the spirit birth newness that is coming. That is the greater vision and for many of you - I know you are sensing the newness too. 

On a personal level, I have walked a journey with this Beautiful King and He is telling me much for my own life, which is personal. But I am to live with the expectancy that all He has birthed spiritually in my own life, He will indeed bring to fulfillment. Much dreams, much step - ups in the passed years, much growth and much depth of change. I hold these dreams in my heart that He has given me and I live to serve Him faithfully for His Kingdom Glory. Spirit - Birth Expectancy.
Yip, not one word, not one meaning - but dynamic, with so many meanings on so many different levels and truly I proclaim it because when we speak out things, it echoes in to the atmosphere! 
With this in mind, Father has also given me a fresh, renewed vision for my blog. It was a vision always there but at times got clouded, I will share His heart on here and I will share the messages He tells me to share and I will share the things I feel to share. This is Yeshua's space and it is mine - for fun and for Love! Part of this refreshing was revamping my blog too and I am so happy to have done it! This is my word for this year! truly He crowns the year with abundance.....

Thank you so much to Traci Michele for offering to do our One Word Design Signs for so many of us bloggers. I love it when we use our giftings to bless! Thanks Traci!

An Overview of Gendercide

Shalom All!

Part of my purpose is sharing truth about Injustice! Gendercide is one such injustice.
I am blessed to be part of a wonderful organisation that works towards teaching and equipping believers with the truth about Biblical Equality.

This week, I shared about Gendercide! Please take the time to read the the article, along with the prayer points and scriptures!  

An Overview of Gendercide