I have realized some of the things God is showing me are private and not for the public arena.

I encourage you to get a copy of the book and allow God to mess you up.

I apologize for speaking too soon. I am sure this book will make it’s way into my future writings.

God has given us instructions in his word for an overcoming life. This doesn’t mean there won’t be heartache or trouble, but being a survivor won’t do.

John 10:6-10

^6-10Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

There is a ceiling of possibilities I can accomplish in myself, if I let go of my expectations things change. God is all power, all knowing and everywhere. When I completely submit myself to him then my limits come off and it’s all him. When Jesus went back to heaven, he told the disciples he was sending another, the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit came to not only be our counselor, comforter and teacher, but when we invite Holy Spirit to fill us, he empowers us. His power is not for our gain, pride, or glory. He wants us to have power to overcome our weaknesses.

You may be willing to keep making the same mistakes over and over again, but I’m ready to settle some issues. I am ready to move on to the promises of God through his power in prayer.

2 Corinthians 4:7
We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.

1 Corinthians 1:18
The message about the cross doesn’t make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God’s power at work.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he replied, “My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am.

1 Corinthians 6:14
God will raise us from death by the same power that he used when he raised our Lord to life.

John 15:26
I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me.

This post is based on the book by Stormie Omartian The Power of a Praying Woman.

Even though I am a Christ follower, I will still experience sorrow, pain, sadness, and hurt, I am not exempt. The difference between myself and a non-Christ follower, I have the power of Jesus Christ to overcome the situations and circumstances that come into my life. Many times the overcoming is a process and a path Jesus takes me on.

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a gracious woman who had prayed for her husband for many years. She had loved him, honored him and watched him almost destroy his life. He told me how God took him to the edge of death and gave him the opportunity to see how he was living. He gave his life to Christ and has followed him for a year now.

His wife had a copy of “The Power of a Praying Woman” with her. The cover was worn and tattered and the pages were coming loose from the book. She shared with me how she had prayed this book over her husband and how it had changed her life.

For the next 31 days, including Saturday and Sunday, I will be blogging from The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian. Join me as I examine different areas of my life.

Well, it seems I have a different kind of old spice in my house. I have a cabinet full of old spices. While cooking dinner one evening a couple weeks ago, I decided the overcrowded cabinet had to go. I was tired of looking for spices and not being able to find them.

I threw away a garbage bag full of old spices. Bryan and I have lived in our current house for almost 9 yrs, and there were spices in the cabinet that we brought with us from the other house. There were no dates on the spices, but I knew how long they had been there. I think after 9 years they had lost their flavor.

The most exciting part of cleaning this cabinet is the amount of time it took. I was already in the kitchen making dinner, so why not tackle a cabinet. One cabinet, drawer and shelf at a time here I go!

I recently saw a post about a new spice rack that mounts on the inside of the cabinet door with it’s own bottles. It would free up space in the cabinet and be another space saving feature. These are of course on my dream list from Ikea. It would take more than one of these for all my spices.

Yesterday, my husband and pastor, preached a message that can change lives if put into action. He talked about the poisonous fruit of bitterness and what it does to us.

There have been times in my life where I didn’t realize I had unforgiveness or bitterness in my heart. Bryan gave us ways we can know if we have bitterness.

Bitter People:

• Justify their bitterness- “I’m different, if you had been through what I had been through then you would understand”
• Become overly critical
• Secretly celebrate the misfortunes of others
• Write off entire groups of people- Example: Teenagers are lazy and disrespectful
• Struggle to see bitterness in the mirror

To kill bitterness I must forgive. There are times when I have to forgive each moment of every day. I don’t want bitterness to kill me and divert me from the purpose God has for me.

Ephesians 4:30-32

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Go to Rockwilmington.com to listen to the entire message “Redemption Week 2″.

I have felt like that about music most of my life. How do I not know about some of these amazing artists? Well, I’m a little late to the party when it comes to Brooke Fraser. She is my “new” favorite artist.

The first time I heard her was on the Faith+Hope+Love Album by Hillsong. I heard the song “His Glory Appears”, and wondered who was singing this song. I did a little research and found out it was Brooke. She was the voice on several Hillsong recordings I really enjoyed.

This video is of her singing His Glory Appears.

2. My parents decided to name me Jennifer after watching the movie Love Story. I’ve never seen it because they told me it wasn’t a movie with good morals. Everyone makes mistakes, even parents.

3. My second toe is longer than my Big toe.

4. I love headbands and pretty things to put in my hair. Especially by Black Bird Blue.

5. If I am not wearing my rainbows I will probably be wearing my Monkey slippers.

6. There are five projects I am working on in my garage right now! I love taking something that looks like trash and making it look great. Jesus did this with me.

7. One of my dreams is to travel Europe for a month riding the Eurorail.

8. I don’t like any kind of turnip greens, mustard greens or the like. I know I live in the south, but Yuck!

9. When buying clothes, I don’t usually try them on at the store. I take them home and try them on. I don’t really care for dressing rooms.

10. I cherish my family and revel in the moments I get to spend with them.

On Sunday evening, after spending a day celebrating the resurrection of our Saviour, our family came together to have dessert and hunt for eggs. We changed our plans due to the events of the weekend. It would have been easy to for go everything all together, but family is worth it.

To make it even more special for us all, I made Bryan’s grandmother’s famous Sour Cream Pound Cake. It is comfort food that melts in your mouth and was devoured, savored and mashed into mouths.

I am so thankful to Papa and Nana who let us crash their house with dessert and eggs  one hour after their arrival from Florida. They had been there due to Papa’s father’s health.

Nothing is more important to me except my relationship with Jesus Christ than my family. I treasure you all my loves.

You may have heard the story before but the facts may have been twisted, and Jesus death and resurrection are just another event that supposedly happened in the story book called the Bible. Don’t believe the lies others have told you and deny yourself the peace and joy that only God can bring. Jesus’ love is so powerful that it can heal your hurt and drive away fear.

Going through the motions does not make you a Christ follower. Reading your Bible does not make you a Christ follower. The only thing that makes you a Christ follower is acknowledging your need for a Saviour, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, confessing your sins to Christ and giving your life fully to him.

If someone you know hasn’t given their life completely to Jesus Christ, then they need an invitation to church for Easter. Don’t wait for someone else to invite them. It’s not easy to invite people, but each empty seat represents a person who needs Jesus.

Who do you know that needs to hear the story that will change their life forever?

Instead of keeping all the art projects my kids have done over the years I decided to take pictures of them with my iPhone. I will then upload them to iphoto on my macbook and store them in albums under each child’s name.

While performing the task of clearing out clutter, I found several pictures I haven’t seen in quite a while. I thought you might like to see how Bryan and I have changed. These pictures were both taken of our families about the same time, so we are the same age. Look at the styles. Wow!

Jennifer’s Family

Bryan’s Family

Hope you enjoyed this flash into the past!