WAITING WITH AN EMPTY NET (PART TWO) THE ALTER OF DREAMS

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish

John:21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.^[a] It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus^[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

“No,” they answered. Is this how you feel? I know it is how I feel some of the time. I have all of these dreams and hopes, most of them come from visions God has placed in my heart. I am a risk taker, I live by faith. There are times I get disappointed by God. Things He has done to direct my path that I know I am suppose to be doing, yet, they don’t work out as I thought they would.  I know what it is like to fish all night only to come up empty. Are my dreams to unrealistic? Are they to big for God? I don’t think so. I want you to think of His words to peter and other disciples.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

Is there a chance Jesus is asking you and I this same question? If so what can we do? First look at the definition of disciple.

Disciple: One who excepts and assists in spreading the teachings of another.

We must be discipled before we can disciple. So lets look at Gods word and see His plans for us.

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

A Letter to the Exiles

¹¹ 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. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.^[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

His plan is to prosper us. Bless us! So what happened next with peter and the disciples?

John 21: ⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”

He said to change the direction. Meaning try something else. So I will tell you where Jesus led me.

Ecclesiastes 1:12

New International Version (NIV)

¹² I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Son of David, King Solomon says all is vanity, meaningless! So could it mean that God isn’t filling our nets because it could be harmful to us. Could there be a lesson from Jesus to you and I, His students? Could the something else be surrendering our dreams, our will to His? I believe so! I believe deep work needs to take place in us before God can do His greatest works in us. Character comes before blessing. Maturity before responsibility.

Matthew 10:³⁷

³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Saints here is what I did today. I went to a quiet place in my room. I got down on my hands and knees, closed my eyes and built an alter before the Lord. I imagined all of my dreams and hopes as I placed them in the invisible bowl in front of me. It was a very intimate moment. I felt the loss of each thing I place in the bowl. I felt incredible humility. Surrendering to the will of my Lord Jesus Christ. Dieing to myself and my dreams as I picked up the bowl and raised it above my head and gave it all to him. I believe I was casting the net to the other side, off of my side over to His. I then placed the bowl back on the ground and asked Him to fill it with His will. I picked up the bowl once again, this time I drank it.

Saints may the Lord bless you! If you choose to cast your nets to the other side I pray your teacher Christ will bless you deeply. Be encouraged and may your life be meaningful.

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THE GIFT OF A ROSE

This poem came sometime after my poem Full Of Roses. I was actually out pruning the roses in my garden when a nice breeze blew across my face. I closed my eyes and pictured Jesus again as the rose. I then began to see myself as a rose and Jesus as my Gardner. As I felt His Holy Spirit I couldn’t help but feel incredible joy. Knowing when He prunes my branches, the love that He puts into it. We are His joy, as He walks us through the breaking of ourselves, as He cuts off dead branches making room for new. The care He puts into us, knowing it is going to be painful but also knowing the love and care He pours over us in the process.

When we allow Jesus to do His inner and outer work with us, He is like the Potter shaping His most beloved piece of work. This work is the living work He created in His likeness to share everything of Himself. The deep intimate relationship He has with us individually is so beyond amazing. I was going through so much change during that time. I was reading a book on the vine and the branches as I was literally experiencing His deep work in me. Here I was trimming the roses and His Holy spirit comes upon me, to love on me. When I think about that I am overwhelmed by it, especially knowing the moment I shared with Him, He had you in mind. Isn’t that amazing? We truly are the body of Christ. What I shared with Him that day, He is now touching your heart with the truth of His incredible love for you. It is wonderful to share the truth of God in my life with you. I hope it truly blesses you. If you don’t think you could have this kind of relationship with Him you are wrong. He waits at the door of your heart, waiting for you to open it.

Philippians 3:20

²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

God bless you, and may your life be filled with His presence. The gift of a rose can be purchased at www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com 

I want to let you know again, all proceeds from this ministry will go towards the leading of the Holy Spirit. Not only will you be blessed with theses beautiful pieces I have put together, but you will also help God expand His ministry. The internet doesn’t do these Framed inspiration’s Justus,  they are stunning in person.

THE LOVE OF THE FATHER

1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. …

Love is what we were created for. Love is the choice we have been given. Everything in this life was purposed to teach us love. Anyone who rejects love finds its opposite which is hate and evil. Turning from love, is like removing all light and entering into complete darkness. Many who are lost, whose hearts have been stricken, who have lost the knowledge and purity of love by clouds of darkness, through the invasion from one who seeks to plague its truth from our lives. Everywhere you turn you can see the hypnosis plaguing our thoughts, minds, eyes and words, seeking to squeeze love from our lives. The more we become busy, stressed and preoccupied by this life, the more love will be the furthest from our minds. If we allow it, this world will dictate what is in our hearts. If we don’t stop refocus and meditate on truth, the world and its darkness will consume us. Innocent children living in a curse because those intrusted choose darkness over light.

Are we so blinded? Do we lack the courage to lead the way? Is it so hard to choose love and light though we might experience rejection. Are we so easily manipulated and numbed by our hardship? Can we not see the wrong done to us and use it as strength to change the world? Where are the courageous? Where is my lamp? Why isn’t it shining truth? Why am I still falling to the lies? Have we lost where our hope comes from? We need to be praying and turning the tides! If we light our lights together and shine them as we come together, there will be enough light to light the world. Those in darkness would be forced to see. I want to start a revolution in the hearts of Christians. I want to start a fire. If my words are burning in your heart then break out in prayer.

If we as Christians have gifts and yet have not love, we are a lamp covered by its shade. We need to be praying and I would love to see the wall of this blog covered in prayers. I want to see them for your children, your families, your work place, and your personal walks. The Holy spirit wrote this post and it is burning in me as I hope it is in you. Join me in turning up our lamps and surrendering to our King. His love has covered us all. His banner over us is love. let us join hearts together across the world lifting our hearts in praise and love to the Lamb who is worthy. Bring your lamps to this alter, turn them up with the fire of truth and love to our savior, let mercy and truth kiss our lives.

0 Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

May God burn in you today a fresh and glorious lamp shinning fourth His love. The love of the father can be purchased at  www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

DRINK HIS BLOOD

Jesus the Bread of Life

John 6:53

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

We as people must drink water and eat daily to stay alive. We must feed our fleshly bodies to keep them strong. Our flesh requires it, if we go a day without water you will instantly feel the effects. Dehydration will begin to set in and you will begin to weaken. It is a routine we have become a custom to, simply because of our need. The body gives many symptoms or cries to get our attention such as stomach grumbling, Our moods can quickly change, Our mouth gets dry and Our bodies sweat. All telling us the need for food and water.

Ok, that takes care of the physical body but what about our spirits? If our physical bodies need bread and water, what about our spiritual bodies? Jesus said unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. What was He saying and why did He say it the way He did? Jesus always spoke in parables. Parables are like poetry, you must go deep to seek what is inside. His reasoning for this is simple, Jesus does not like superficial relationships. Jesus speaks in such a way to separate those who truly desire to know Him from those who only have personal agendas.

If you want to know Jesus, you must open your heart and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Continuing to seek Him as if He is your need for water. Let me explain. People during that time thought He was mad and crazy for saying you needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Lets look further, in the book of Genesis it says in the beginning was the word and the word was God. Meaning the word itself was and is God. The word of God is living. When we read the word of God we are to chew it. Meditate on it and seek its depth. The word of God is spiritual bread. If we do not feed our spirits this bread as our physical bodies will die our spiritual bodies are dead. The reason you can’t hear God, feel God, is your spiritual body is dead and it must be fed.

Revelation 7:17

For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]”

Jesus Holy Spirit is the living water we need to drink. As we read his word = eat of His flesh, He gives us living water, His spirit. We drink of His blood = spirit = living water. When He was on the cross and they speared Him through the side His blood was mixed with water, living water.

Let me tell you a story. One day I was in my backyard where I loved to read the word of God. I was studying a book of theology on the subject of the Holy Spirit and the trinity. My patio had three pillars, each had a grapevine growing up them. Two of the vines had connected and became one, the third was reaching for the other but had not yet connected. While I was reading on the spirit, a very nice breeze blew up against me. I looked up and I could see the two vines reaching for each other. In front of my own eyes they connected. Now all three were joined. Here I was reading trying to understand a very complex subject on the trinity and God explains it right before my eyes. The wind, the spirit, that’s how they connect! That is exactly how we connect to God, by His living water the Holy Spirit.

I pray your day is filled with eating His flesh and drinking His blood!

Please visit our store http://www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com have a blessed day 🙂

WAITING WITH AN EMPTY NET

How do we stay strong in keeping faith when we have done everything in our power to fill our empty nets? How do we see Jesus when all seems hopeless? How do we hold on to the vision when everything causes us to question if we are really doing His will?

Jesus told us to cast our nets, so why are we coming up empty? First of all we must understand Jesus is our Savior, Father and Teacher. Jesus is always establishing relationship, heart and faith. Before He fills the nets of your work, He will fill the net of your heart and spirit, which is in more need then the physical net.

John 21 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish

21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.^[a] It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus^[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.^{[c] 9} When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Notice Jesus left them alone for a time, He allowed them to exhaust all their efforts before He showed up and then He didn’t reveal Himself. The men did not recognize Him. Can you see spiritually what Jesus is doing? Are the men doing anything wrong by casting their nets? Why then can they not see Him? Unfortunately we get caught in what we are trying to accomplish and lose focus of Christ.

The reason they couldn’t see Him is they lost focus. He called out to them at that point, which He could be doing with you right now. He then gave them direction. It wasn’t until the change of course and their interaction with Him that led to the nets to be filled. Jesus was teaching them. He allowed them to do it in their own strength for a period. It wasn’t until after that, He spoke to them and they were able to see Him for who He was. Also see their persistence, the bible said they fished all night. He blessed them for their persistence, but not until He filled their hearts and spirit.

God says to seek wisdom as if it were riches. Wisdom is to know Christ. He wants you to know Him fully, trust Him fully and for you to have the faith to move mountains. He tests us for the kingdom purposes. Believe in Him, Hope in Him and remain in Him. Put your focus back on Him and your nets will be filled. After they ate the fish, Jesus restored Peter, remember? Peter do you love me? Then feed my sheep. Peter now had something to feed them, a powerful, loving, trustworthy, faithful, forgiving relationship.

May Christ fill your nets and bless you beyond your dreams. Put your focus in Him. God bless you.

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ENDURANCE

No Confidence in the Flesh

3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What is ahead? That is the question. Everything in our lives is about what is ahead. Every morning we wake up we are faced with, what is ahead? Right now as I write it is about what is ahead? The other question is how are we going to walk towards what is ahead? Are we going to walk in the flesh or His spirit? When we find ourselves walking in the flesh what then? What is your life’s purpose? What are you living for? What do you need to accomplish right now, to achieve the purpose of God in your life? These are important questions which I hope are stirring your thoughts.

We must have a goal and decide how we are going to walk towards that goal, so that when we are walking wrong we can quickly change it. If you don’t have a goal, the first thing you need to be doing is praying to God for direction. Once we have direction we need to decide how we are going to walk. Hopefully the direction we are going to walk is by the spirit of God. So that when you find yourself walking in the flesh you can quickly change it by repentance and seeking God.

What does the flesh do to slow us down? It loads you up like someone putting weights on your back or handing you one heavy box after another, then expecting you to get there just as fast as if you weren’t carrying the extra load. What are some of the things we carry that is walking in the flesh? UN-forgiveness, judgement, resentment, anger, hate, envy, pride and arrogance. Those are just some. The more weight we can throw off, the better our lives and walks with God will be. If you are handing the heavy load to someone, stop! Begin to take the load back off of them, OK?

So back to the question, what goal do you have? If you had one, did you just add to it? If you didn’t have one, do you now? You don’t have to deal with them all at once but take on what you can with Gods help. If you are carrying any of those things, it could explain why your life is struggling. I know in my personal life I have been working on a couple of these and everyday I need Gods help. The only way to walk in the spirit is to walk close to God, get into His word, worship Him, and do as He says. This isn’t about anyone else, this is about you. Your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend have nothing to do with this right now. This is about you and God. How are you and I going to be victorious for God?

How serious do you see this? I am telling you times are coming and if you begin now learning how to walk in the spirit of God, you will have the endurance to accomplish all God puts before you. Once you have the endurance of God you will be able to even carry someone else load.

God be with you and give you a Godly endurance. Bless you and stay blessed.  Endurance can be purchased at our store. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

THROUGH WHAT HE SUFFERED

Saints there is so much God has put on my heart to say to you. I can tell you I am excited for us! God gave me a vision that touched my heart in the deepest way. He showed me what I told you from the beginning, we are not going to become just a spreading fire but catch a blaze.

The vision He gave me was of a rose garden, I’m sure you are not surprised :). He showed me my purpose for this blog. I am to tend to the roses He sends. I am to nurture, care for, trim and love these roses. Gentleness He placed on me to be the key to His heart. You must know the love of the Gardener before you can truly blossom. God is about to bless us! Before I get into the message I also want to tell you I am not doing this to sell you stuff. I will do this regardless if I sell a thing. I feel at times I must do my part to tell you about the store so God can do what God chooses to do with it. I am living in faith to my best ability. I don’t want you to be confused why I am here. I am here for you! The store is only for those God puts it on their heart. It is to allow God to position me to help even more people. It is my heart to serve you and whoever else He calls me to.

Hebrews 5:7

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

I am going to ask you to join me in a challenge this week. This is where the trimming of the roses comes in. Understand I will be doing this with you. First I want you to pray and ask God what he wants you to give Him. What area of change? What area of sin to work on? It could be anger, pornography ,bad language you get where I am going with this. As you begin each day, try to pray first thing in the morning about whatever it is that you are working on. As you go through the week if you struggle and fall short I want you to be quick to pray receiving His love and forgiveness. Before you can break any stronghold it has to be done through grace and love. Continue the same steps until you are free. I will be praying for you and I ask everyone to pray for this group as we step out in obedience.He learned obedience from what he suffered. Once you know what He has truly done for you, you will be willing to suffer some for Him.

Galatians 3:13

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

You must know His love before you can break the power of the strongholds. If you carry the law in your heart it will not have the power to free you. The only thing that can free you is the grace and love of Christ. His true love in your heart will set you free. Notice in His word He doesn’t say the law will set you free. Instead it says the truth will set you free. Christ has fulfilled the law for us.

God is preparing the saints that will hear His voice. The sheep that will come to the call of the Shepard. Here is His call to you.

The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah

42 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”

Thank you, and be blessed. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

FAITH

Faith, what we as Christians strive for. When times are not working as we planed, it is much harder not to question God. The scope of things are much bigger than you and I can understand. God has a bigger plan. Fifteen years ago, God launched me into ministry. After seven years of preaching to hundreds. The ministry got cut short and I was sent in a different direction.

I went through a testing period of about five years. What was taking place in me for those five years? I believe I was being prepared for something much greater. God seems to have no since of time like you and I. God knows us better than we know ourselves. When you give your life in service to God and His purposes, no matter where it takes you, we must hold on to faith. Faith is the rudder steering our course, the wind upon our sails.

God hasn’t abandoned us. As Moses climbed the mountain, the mountain was covered in clouds the bible says, which means Moses had to climb at least half the way without seeing. It must have been quite the journey. Once He reached the top He saw the glory of God. Which was described as glowing metal, a rainbow in the clouds. God has made us to be rainbows in the clouds, as in my first poem. We are the ones God has asked to climb the mountain of faith, isn’t that wonderful? We get the blessing of climbing without seeing, to be the Shepard of the flock God has put us in charge of.

We are called to climb the mountain covered in clouds, and with our faith lead the way. Not one of us do this perfect and it seems we stumble more than we climb, yet Christ gets us there. We might even ask Christ where is there? He would answer, “to the glory of God!” Saints we are on our way, don’t loose faith. Stand strong, for He is faithful. His plan is bigger than our plan. Remain in Him, push out the lies that want to get in the way of your path, hold strong and lead up the mountain by your faith. See the Glory of God.

God bless you, be the rainbow in the clouds, trust Him, you will get to the top.  Faith can be purchased at our store. http://www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

OUR WEAKNESS CAN BE OUR GREATEST STRENGTH

As I look back on my Christian journey, thinking about who I use to be, compared to who I am now, I am amazed. I, like you, am a work in progress. It is good at times to look back and see what God has done. When I first gave my life to Christ, I was so caught up in the world that if I was honest, I would tell you how much I feared it. As a man discovering who I was, along with the world claiming my identity, I found myself lost, not knowing how I fit into this world or my purpose for being here. You know what I am talking about, it began in our childhood. When we were teased, chosen last for a team, rejected among the popular groups, and you were left feeling less than, or you experienced the complete opposite.

I will stay on the rejected first. Regardless of the reason you and I were rejected at one time in our lives or many times, we know the feeling. These experiences can have a very negative impact on who were are as people. If you were abused or had a handicap of any sort you know what it means to feel less than. I found myself falling into perfectionism at a very early age, not realizing it. The problem with that is, I held such a high expectation of myself, never allowing myself to succeed or find excellence. Instead I had a false Identity built on lies straight from Hell. I believe the lies alone had the power to imprison me from my true potential.

Let me give you some examples of the lies I was believing when I found Christ. First of all, I hated who I was, I hated the fear I had inside, so I created a tough image to hide it, without realizing I was doing it. I held on to guilt from my past, some which was mine and some that wasn’t. The rejection I had experienced caused me to react to things in ways that kept me chained. I thought negative about myself so I would choose things that were not good for me but rather kept me feeling safe, or I wouldn’t choose things that I should have chosen due to fear.

I was a very weak person. When I found Christ I began to change, first when I started believing Gods truth and pushing out the lies. Second when I started trusting Him and walking In faith. Dealing with my fears, like when God led me to do poetry readings at Barns And Nobles. I was terrified to speak in front of crowds but I knew it was what God wanted, so I did it. For a year straight I humiliated myself trusting God, and the power of my fear for the most part broke. Now I write on a blog knowing I am not the best writer and I can’t spell all that well, though again I am trusting God and being vulnerable. If I hadn’t taken the chance with trusting God I would never have seen the truth I am In Him. I would still be afraid to speak in public, I wouldn’t have taken the chance to share my walk with you.

1 Corinthians 1:27

New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

You see If you are struggling with things about your past or who you are, God can and will heal you, If you will allow Him to. It requires believing His word and trusting the Potter which is Christ, with the Clay you are in His hands of love. God promises to take your weaknesses and turn them to strength.

Those who grew up the opposite, You were chosen first, you were in the popular group or even those God has healed and now uses powerfully, face the danger of the other side of the coin. Trusting in your own strength and abilities, which leads to pride and arrogance, and the lack of realizing your real need for Jesus. I have and still do at times deal with relying on my own strength and pride. As long as you walk close to the Lord and recognize your need in Him, He will walk you through it. The important thing is to have our hearts open to God, submitting to His inner work and living by His word. We need to find the heart to surrender to Christ so that He can shape us into our true identity which is only found in Him. Whether your weakness is pride and strength in your abilities or you believe lies of who you are. Place them before Christ so He can take your weakness and turn it to strength.

I have exciting news, our store is now open. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com

If this ministry has blessed you and you would like to be a part in it reaching others, we are so excited to join hands with you. If God places it on your heart to sow into this ministry, not only will you have heart felt worship through the framed inspirational pictures with words ,you will help our ministry expand to others, it will also feed the hungry because a percentage of each sale goes to

http://www.graceresources.org/.

Thank you so much for your prayers and partners to spread the word of God to people in fresh new inspiring ways. God bless you and be strengthened in all you do. 🙂

THE STORY

The story was written during a winter season when I found myself going through storms in my own life. I remember the nights with thundering lightning storms, high winds and it seemed to match what I was feeling inside about the circumstances I was going through. I am one that looks at life in such a way that it brings correlation to the life I live with Christ. For example if you were to draw a line with two sides dividing the correlations, Night and day, light and darkness, good and evil, Winter and Spring and Hell and Heaven. In the Winter things appear dead, empty, dark, cold, and sad. In the spring things appear alive, colorful, warm, and joyful. I believe God created things that way for a reason. To reveal His truth in all of life. I believe His signature of truth is revealed in everything.

Have you ever had a season of difficulties? Did they ever match the weather? Did they seem to go hand to hand? I hope I’m not alone. I never desired spring like I did during this time. Isn’t that like our hope and faith in heaven? To be with Christ with no more death, pain, sadness or even bad weather. The glorious things we have to look forward to in Christ. The amazing thing is we live on the line of the correlation in between both places Hell and Heaven. We have the living truth with us as we walk through the valley of death waiting for the sun to shine once again. As I walked through that correlation I realized that when I am going through tough times, dark times, pain and sorrow the correlation of His promises are not far away as spring is not far from winter. His promise of our reconciliation, our transformation  will be like the difference between winter and spring. Our God is wonderful in the story He tells. When your life is in Him you will always know spring is coming.

I pray you were blessed and encouraged, God bless you and spring is here! The story can be purchased at our store,

Please visit our store www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com