Free At Last

Gospel Graffiti - Bridge To Life (D2BD)

2009-08-27T22:21:00.001-04:00

Amazing way to share the Gospel

1of3 Laura Petherbridge - When "I Do" becomes "I Don't"

2009-08-27T22:09:00.001-04:00

My HOLYwood Moment

2009-05-10T22:37:00.004-04:00

It was a good day. Happy Mother’s Day!
This morning I was getting ready in the usual way, makeup brush in hand trying all sorts of things to calm the baby, including different toys, my jewelry (no beads), hair brushes, etc…when I finally got the picture that I needed to step away from the makeup brush and calm my little Katie my self, so I put the make up brush down and scooped up my little girl and rocked her. At first she resisted, because, like her mother she likes to be up and ready and never missing out on anything.
Finally she began to calm down in my arms and I rocked her face to face looking in to her deep blue eyes. I had the Christian radio station on in the back while I was rocking her I was hearing the words “You Reign, Glory in the Highest You reign” and I was reminded of God’s awesome sovereignty and how he knows the beginning and the end and how this little life in my arms so dependent on me right now would face this world and its temptations and trials and joys and she too would come face to face with the Lord having to make a choice, but.. “Lord You Reign” and He has my children in His hand. The next song came on and I heard these amazing words “Your love o Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness stretches to the sky, your righteousness is like a mighty mountain, your justice flows like the ocean tide.” I was reminded of the comforting nature of our God. He is so good, and He loves us, nothing can separate us from Him, and he knit us together, knowing the deepest parts of us (Psalm 139). I then thought, while yes I am my children’s mother, we are on the same level before the Lord. We all are His children and God has no grandchildren. I was in total amazement that the Lord had entrusted me with His children; it was truly a HOLYwood (misspelling intended) moment. During this time the words of a well known lullaby came to mind, but with a very different sound and meaning. One that each one of us can picture our heavenly Father singing to us as we enter His rest.

Rock-a-bye child in the tree top
When the wind blows this world may rock
When the day breaks NO child will fall
Cause in your Lord Jesus, is comfort to all

"I"ve Never Met a Man Like You" a poem by Jennifer Dow

2009-02-16T01:16:00.002-05:00

I've never met a man like you.

You are of the mighty type,
Strong
An unshakable frame.
I've never, met a man like you.

Careful,
a gentle man,
one who speaks tenderly to me,
I've never met a man like you.

A warrior,
whose victories have been told of unto the ends of the earth,
I've never met a man like you.

The center of attention,
yet rejecting all fame,
I've never met a man like you.

You know me so intently......
I've never met a man like you.

You tell me things like I'm your precious jewel,
and how you are enthralled with my beauty,
I've never me a man like you.

You have called me to dwell with you
knowing all the filth I have done
I have never met a man like you.

After I spat in your face,
rejected, blamed and betrayed you
You still paid my dues.
I've never met a man like you.

Because of me and what I have done
Your beautiful flesh... TORN
you blameless blood... POURED OUT
your body... MUTILATED , BEATEN
your hands and feet... NAILS DRIVEN IN
I have never met a man like you.

But wait..
What did you say?
You did this because of ...love.
for me?
I have never; met a man like you.

A sketch of my savior Jesus Christ through a poem; by Jennifer Dow

First Day of the Fast

2009-01-05T09:35:00.001-05:00

I just have to say this is so far a tremendous expereince. I have never fasted before and I don't think I ever made my self be so disciplined and stick to something like this before, even while cooking beautiful things for Ernie and kids!! :)
I was so excited about some of the things the Lord brought my eyes in front of I just had to share!

2 Chronicles 14:11"Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty, Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and i your name we have come against this vast army('giant'), O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."

Then, here is an excerpt from Jan 5, from the devotional 'Streams in the Desert' by LB Cowman

"Our God is the "Lord of Hosts" (Isa 10:6 KJV) who can summon unexpected reinforcements at any moment to help his people. Believe that he is between you and your difficulty and what troubles you will flee before him as clouds in the wind. -FB Meyer)

How appropriate. Keep fighting giants siestas and brothers!!!

Spiritual Insight from Kung Fu Panda

2009-01-02T09:38:00.004-05:00

This morning I am a bit tickled. I woke up with my husband and we were watching Kung Fu Panda. I love this movie, if you haven;t seen the movie, the story is about this large awkward Panda named Po who makes noddle soup just like his father, who is actually a goose. His dad expects Po to follow in his footsteps, but all Po thinks about and dreams about is Kung Fu. The problem is Pandas, esp this panda are large, clumsy and really doesn't even know kung fu. There is a legend in this town that one day the great kung fu master will choose the great dragon warrior who will receive a scroll with the dragon secret inside of it. Well the day has come and of course Po plans to be there and watch. In the process of Po trying to get to this ceremony he ends up being shot up in the air by fireworks and land smack in the middle of the tournament, right in front of the great master with the great masters finger in his face hearing "you", "your the one, the dragon warrior". Po along with everyone else knows there is something wrong with this picture, but the great master assures him there are no accidents. Po is sure that he is not the dragon warrior, but he wants to be so bad that he stays.
The turning point came when the new great Master Shefu, come to believe in Po, and takes him to a secret place to offer to teach Po kung fu, and be his Master. Po sees that Shefu believes in him and he gladly accepts. Po puts himself under Shefu's authority and submits himself to Shefu's rigorous training regimen. The transformation is historical.
Po then becomes the dragon warrior, receiving the scroll he reads it and to his disappointment all he sees is his own reflection. After dealing with a spout of doubt, he realizes that the secret to being the dragon warrior is there is no secret at all, that who he is in the inside is all it takes. He returns to defeat the enemy of his village and then accepts his new identity as Dragon Warrior!

I couldn't help but to see myself in Po; awkward, unsure, full of lacking, and the most unlikely of heroes. But somehow, there is no mistake. God has chosen me and you (Isaiah 43:1) He has chosen us to be his great warriors; to "bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God." Isaiah 61:1-3

And while some of us may not see this at all, Jesus still call you out with a finger in your face saying "You, your the one." There are no accidents, in fact His very Spirit is upon us; and he anointed us. (Isa 61:1) He wants to be our master, and to teach us and train us into the warrior he knows we are, the warrior he destined us to be. And then when we look at the scroll of our lives, the historical transformation we see when we gaze into it, is the very reflection of Jesus Christ, saying back at us "well done good and faithful servant."

Can you imagine? How awesome would that be. I want to be trained by the great master, who by the way has defeated the most deadly enemy in the history of mankind and beyond. We can say "NO!" to the other masters in our lives weather it be recognition from others, food, money, alcohol, sex, our children, friends, job, spouse, the career path or anything else, and transfer all that dependence onto our new master - Jesus. How about you; are you game?

If so, lets start by letting Jesus know that he is now master and we are not.

Dear Jesus,
Thank you that you see the greatness in me that I don't really see. Thank you that you put that greatness in me by entering my very life. I realize now that I am not meant to be master but you are Master and Lord. Help me to become the person you want me to be. Amen.

Centerpiece

2007-12-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

Good morning!!
Two days ago I finished a piece of art for a friend that she was giving to her husband as a present. It was so awesome to have created something that someone else wanted to hang and display in their home!! As I began to ponder this I realized that my art work was going up in their living room above the fire place. This is the center piece or focus point of their home. Wow!! My art work is the focus point of someone Else's home!
This made me think about God and how he created us. He spent time and creative energy creating us. Psalm 139 tells us that God knit us together in our mothers womb and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!! How proud God must have been at the final moment when he completed His creation and He said "This is good!"
As I thought about this further, I wondered what God thinks about how we 'place ourselves'. What I mean by that is; Are we placing ourselves in the center of God's plan for our lives? Are we putting God and His purpose for our life in the living room where everyone can see who we serve and what we are living for? Or, are we putting our selves in the back corner of the closet where we are hiding from and avoiding what God has planned for us? Are we even placing our selves in God's home at all? Have you ever entered God's home?
I want to challenge everyone, to take the next step. Weather it be responding to God for the first time ever, or starting to share your faith. Place your self in the center of God's house, and display of splendor for all to see.

My Testimony

2007-10-25T20:42:00.000-04:00

I had to write my abbreviated testimony for someone so here I am sharing with you!

I was raised in a home that proclaimed Jesus as Lord. I attended church on a regular basis. When I was 13 I came to know for certain that Jesus died for me personally, therefore I said the sinner’s prayer. From that point, I grew in the faith, and learned more about my Lord. The next 9 1/2 years would bring a strong current of struggles, temptations, and sin, with fragments of pursuing my Lord. This season left me mentally out of whack, and trapped. It was like I was on a spiritual bungee cord, where I could never go past a certain point. I knew the Bible said I was free not to sin, but I believed I was the exception, and that freedom was not possible for me. Praise God I was wrong. One of the most profound seasons in my life, began when I realized that God wanted freedom and abundance for my life. Therefore, I began to change my thinking. I allowed God to reveal that I had been held captive, by the father of lies, Satan. Since then God has given me the opportunity to experience true repentance and real freedom. I now know I am equipped with authority and discernment to come against the devil’s schemes in my life, and live the life of freedom for which I was created.

You know what is so awesome... That everyday I learn something new, and everyday I am being changed more and more in to the likeness of my creator. Every experience and interaction provides an opportunity to learn something great and grow.

So what is your testimony? We each have a great one. I would love to hear yours.
Remember God says...

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Have a splendid day!!

Expect to be Blessed!

2007-10-20T08:11:00.000-04:00

Good Morning!

I am so excited to be here this morning. God is so good, His creation is so magnificent, I am sitting at my kitchen table and I am watching the way the trees surround my apartment, and the way the sun hits the leaves is like a glistening dance of the Lord's majesty and splendor. What a special treat to experience this beauty this morning and be blessed.

God loves us so much! He cares so much about the details, why else would the leaves glisten, and sing His glory. What a God we serve that even the trees worship Him. Today I want to encourage you to remember that God Almighty loves you and He has overcome the world. I challenge you to go to Him and expect to be blessed. Because after all God want to bless each and everyone of us. He wants to take us away and give us the rest for our souls that we so long for, that we need.

Have a blessed day daughters of the King,

Jennifer Dow