OOPIE! Yep, Lynn's back and I'm showing my blonde. Many of you have already registered for the LIVE online class, Praying The Word of God with me. AWESOMENESS! However, I gave you the wrong date. The date of both classes is now scheduled for August 16th. Class times at 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. PACIFIC. This is the following week on a Tuesday. If you already registered and cannot make that date, please forgive me. I hope to offer the class again later in the fall. It's not too late to sign up. To register visit the registration page Praying the Word with Lynn Donovan. The class is FREE. Let me ask you a few questions. Do you want to pray with power? Do you want to pray and actually know God heard you? Do you want to see the results from your prayers? This class is intended to instruct... Read more →

A few weeks ago I experienced a breakthrough in my faith walk. Breakthroughs are amazing but I find in my life they usually follow a difficult season. This was true once again for me. However, the result of persevering in faith through the challenges is astonishing. So my friends, if you are in the darkest part of your valley, press in to the Father, because the breakthrough is SO worth it. This particular breakthrough increased my belief in the prayers that I utter for others. I began to really see powerful and immediate things change when I prayed for people. Say what? Being filled with a fresh anointing of faith and exuberance, I posted something to my Facebook wall about breakthrough and how I was walking in a fresh anointing of Holy Spirit fire. At the end of this post I asked a simply three-word question: Who want’s prayer? Within... Read more →

Photo courtesy of taoty/FreeDigitalPhotos.net You know when you’re in church listening to the sermon and you feel the pastor is speaking specifically to you and only to you? Well I had that experience a week ago. The message was all about disappointment. But I also sensed the Lord wanted me to share some of it with us. Yes, leaning on my pastor for inspiration once again. I trust you don’t mind. Misplaced Expectations We’re often disappointed aren’t we? Things aren’t turning out the way they should be or how we hoped they would? Our spouse still hasn’t made a commitment to the Lord even though we’ve been praying for it for however many years. In fact, they appear to be even more opposed to it. Our kiddies are struggling too which grieves us so and increasingly sends us to our knees. What about our dearest friendships? The intimacy we once... Read more →

My friends, are you ready for more of God’s amazing truth and love? Are you ready to have your thinking transformed a bit today? Let’s go back to the book of Jeremiah and take another look at King Zedekiah’s story. Let’s look at the first five verses of Jeremiah 34, because this is where things get really interesting. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face... Read more →

Recently, I sat in a big room with about 50 people worshiping God in their own way, creating one big mass of noise. But when I closed my eyes, Holy Spirit tuned my ears to hear each individual sound—instruments, voices singing and praying. Each one was distinct and clear. Then I opened my eyes and heard God in my spirit say, “Things won’t look the way you expect.” The next day, God brought me to Jeremiah 33-39 and sat me there for at least a week. I’m still trying to digest the full range of God’s heart in this, my friends, so I suspect more will unfold as I share with you what God is teaching me right now in this season. So let’s start with the story of King Zedikiah of Judah and Jeremiah the prophet. There are so many details to this story so I encourage you to... Read more →

Hello, SUM family. I'm with Lynn in wondering how this month has gone by so fast! Here I thought I'd run out of stories only to find I needed to pick and choose the best ones, because there are so many. And I will say they are truly God's stories—the evidence of His love and presence. We all have His-stories to tell, my friends. They are our testimonies. My story today has it’s roots in the past and is blossoming in unexpected ways today today. I never expected to be ordained. In a way that truth is still settling into my heart and mind, because it's not something I ever felt worthy to aspire to. But we know our worth is determined by what Jesus did and not what we do. I find I must remind myself of that daily. I trust God daily to free me from that performance... Read more →

On Tuesday I wrote about God’s promises and asked you to choose one promise you are standing for right now, write it on an idea card and as a prophetic act, stand on it and speak this promise over yourself, your family, or whatever the situation this promise is for. I want to back up just a bit and be sure that our community understands just how powerful it is the speak God’s Word back to Him, to speak what came from the supernatural into the natural realm (Heb. 11:3). If if you read the Psalms, you’ll notice King David was a master at this. Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. — Psalm 27:13 In the early years of my Christian faith, I didn’t understand this. I always read my Bible, studied Scriptures and memorized verses... Read more →

My friends, I want to take our theme of standing for Jesus and move to standing on His promises. What does that mean? How do we identify a promise in the Bible? How do we pray and stand upon them, especially when what we see happening in our lives or those we love or in the world around us doesn't agree? I love God’s promises. I firmly believe and declare regular that they are my shield and protection as it says in Psalm 91. When daughter Leslie was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, I stood on every promise He gave me through that and He was faithful to His Word. God has proven His faithfulness to me mainly through my daughters and my marriage. But I will also be honest and authentic in saying I feel like this area of my faith has been tested more in the last... Read more →

A week ago I shared in my post the things I am standing for. I sensed then Holy Spirit might be leading me to share a story that began in 2013 that had to do with the word and command in the Bible, to “stand.” Jesus presented it to me as a question, but its full meaning wouldn’t become clearer until almost a year later. Will you stand for Me? The question came as I worshiped with over a thousand others at a faith based conference. Will you stand for Me? So unexpected and suddenly there. Often I would hear something and wonder, “Is that me or is that you, Lord?” This time I knew it was Jesus. I went to my knees. Yes, Lord, I will stand for you. That was at the end of 2013 and before I understood that this question was the beginning of what was... Read more →

Hello, my SUM family. I'm writing to you while on the road. An asphalt ribbon stretches before us as my hubby drives us across the United States. The U-haul attached to our trusty VW wagon holds the remainder of our possessions—at least all that we could fit. And in the backseat our 18 year old Mitty kitty rides trustfully with us to his new home. He's a good little beastie. We have officially made Florida our home. Our daughters are now on their own adventures, living in different parts of California. As they helped us pack up the rest of our home of 11 years, my heart walked a dance of memories, both good and challenging. Yes, that house saw a lot of challenges and more importantly, a lot of love. I will say leaving it was harder than I thought, yet in the same breath I was ready to... Read more →

My friends, in light of some of the questions generated by my post yesterday, Lynn and I swapped days so I can address some of those today, specifically the mention of fortune cookies. First, I want you to know that my heart is for every one of you to walk in deep intimacy with God and hear His voice clearly. I want His very best for you, because I love you so much and we are family. And having that kind of relationship with God makes all the difference in our lives and especially our marriages. When we put God first, He brings order and peace to our lives even in the midst of the storms in our lives and marriages. I know I would not have the marriage I have today had I not made the decision twenty plus years ago to put God first. But I want to... Read more →

Photo courtesy of Chaiwat/FreeDigitalPhotos.net As December progressed I began to meditate upon a word for 2016. Last year, my word was ADORATION. I’ve loved taking a few moments at the beginning of a day reflecting on a characteristic of God.1 Over the past couple of years I’ve felt the Lord calling me to want more of Him. So much of my life had become ‘me-focused’; even my devotional time would be spent on building me up. Fears and anxiety had dominated too much of my thinking in recent years: fears of illness, unemployability and so on have filled many a session with my counselor plus anxiety over a bevy of stuff. This was what my wife and sons were seeing: the fearful and anxious husband and father. How was I demonstrating the love and power of having Jesus as my Lord? As my pastor said only yesterday in his message:... Read more →

SUMites, I pray this week of fasting has brought you encouragement and strength this week. I wish I could have fasted more, but my pain medication only allowed me to fast a couple mornings. I am encouraged however that even in the midst of this recovery, which has made focusing on God very challenging, I was still able to hear His heart for our community. That right there knocked another lie out of my spiritual life. For that I am grateful. He has shown me that even in such places of challenge when I don't feel close to Him, He is still speaking and He will make sure I hear Him. Our own Cindy C. shared this profound truth perfectly: "Trust God's hold on you MORE than your hold on God." (Thank you, Cindy!) Now, the rest of Abba's message for us is in Jeremiah 33, where I started on... Read more →

On Saturdays we continue to post from our archives. Last year starting in April I did a series about the transformed mind. I'm feeling led to rerun that series over the next fews week, my friends, and I pray it gives you more encouragement and inspiration to let the Holy Spirit transform you with the Word of God and His truths! Amen! Love you! ~Dineen The Transformed Mind: Feasting on God's Word What are you thinking right now? What are you worried about? What has your heart and mind twisted in knots on a daily basis? Do you know you have control over this? That you are not at the mercy of your thoughts and emotions? I didn't understand this for a long time. Only recently have I come to more ably see just how much I judged my faith (and myself) by my emotions. It’s an ongoing process that... Read more →

Dear friends, our very own Ian Acheson has a wonderful post for us today about how we spend time with God. This is such a good reminder of how much our God loves just spending time with us and for us to be be in His presence. And the importance of reading and knowing God's Word. I love it! Thank you, Ian, for sharing your wisdom and testimony with us! May we become wiser and stronger in our faith because of it. Amen! Enjoy and grow in Him, SUMites! ~Dineen Abiding… Not Just Visiting My twenty-five-plus years in the Corporate world mostly reflected a life where I chased after my goals and fulfilling that sense of achievement that drives many of us men. Typically, my relationship with the Lord was one where I’d grab a few minutes in the Word prior to leaving home and then pray on the drive... Read more →

Yesterday we stopped right at the point in Joseph's story where things looked pretty good. God's favor had blessed Potiphar's house greatly, but then things took a turn to the worst. Joseph was falsely accused of trying to rape Potiphar's wife and Joseph wound up in prison. What happened to God's favor? But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. — Genesis 39:21-23 ESV God’s favor never left him. Despite the false accusation (sin... Read more →

Every year as I read my way through my daily Bible, I arrive in the book of John and read the passage about Jesus, The Good Shepherd. Each time I read John 10 my heart and mind goes to a story I once heard about sheep. It overwhelms my heart every year. Today I want to share it with you. John 10:4b-5 He goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. John 10:9-11 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am... Read more →

On Friday we asked the question; Do we as modern day believers have access to Resurrection power? Here is the short answer: —Ephesians 1:15-23 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness... Read more →

Dear friends, I've finished reading the book of Luke and have one final story to share. Again I thought this was two stories, two nuggets but the Holy Spirit impressed upon me the bigger picture AND how they are linked together to my previous post about the the Kingdom of God Within Us. I just love it when He helps us make those connections! This time the story begins with Zacchaeus. Is that Sunday School song going through your head? ​He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that... Read more →

SUMites: I have a thing about keys. Last week I believe the Lord poured out revelation upon me regarding keys and their significance in the Kingdom. I also believe that the revelation was not only specific to myself but also to others. Way back in 2009 I penciled together an idea for a book. That book was centered on 10 keys. Winning Him Without Words, was the result and the keys became profound in my life and by default, in a lot of other lives who have read the book and will read the book. Then last year I had a dream. I rarely remember my dreams but on this particular night I dreamt that Jesus handed me three keys. I could clearly see bronze skeleton keys. It was obvious to me they were tarnished and ancient. I knew somehow they were large and weighty. That’s all I remember about... Read more →

My friends, the Holy Spirit is still walking me through the book of Luke and showing me specific things. And now I have a confession to make. No longer will I make the statement, “God shows up.” Why? Because I’m learning more fully the depths of His kingdom already present in us. It’s astounding, for sure. In many places Jesus makes the statement that the “Kingdom is near.” I’ve even written about this in the past—how when He makes this statement, it’s like He’s saying, “Here I am. I am the kingdom and I stand among you.” But this verse the Holy Spirit showed me takes this to a whole new level of understanding. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’... Read more →

My friends, my post today is a kind of merging of two stories. You see, I thought they were separate, yet as I prayed for Abba's clear leading on what to write, He impressed upon my heart that they are indeed connected. The first story is one we are very familiar with. The prodigal son. I find myself caught by the father's love for this wayward boy of his... And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. — Luke 15:20 ESV For several days I kept reading and examining this one line, because I was so touched by the father's heart before he even embraced his son with forgiveness. It's that small little word that we can often overlook. The son's father saw him. I looked... Read more →

Dear friends, we are in the tomb waiting for the promise to be revealed. Yet we know the promise already. We know Jesus and He knows us. I told you on Wednesday that I had another nugget to share with you and this one is so tender and intimate as it shows our Savior’s heart for us long before He even came. Let’s take a trip back in time to the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is full of prophetic words and pictures of the Messiah, but this one touched my heart deeply. Our English words don’t fully bring the meaning behind it. Take a look specifically at the words I’ve italicized. He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. — Isaiah 40:11 (ESV) Again,... Read more →

My friends, I have a story to tell you and a powerful nugget to share with you today. As you know God moved me my hubby and me to Florida in December. I have to say I am loving it here more than I ever imagined possible (Eph. 3:20). And I am seeing and understanding each day how this move was and is part of my word for 2015—Sanctuary. My new church here is the setting of this story and the driving force of this story is the Holy Spirit. You see, the first or second week I came to church, He pointed out a particular person and told me to take note of her. I knew that meant at some point there would be an exchange between us. He’s done this before so I’ve learned to pay attention. That exchanged finally happened last Wednesday, my friends, and the “nugget”... Read more →

On Saturday I shared how the Holy Spirit has had me reading the book of John and revealed some insights into two of the stories there. These insights have had me on a new tangent to understanding what it means to have a change of perspective, specifically when Jesus brings a change to our perspective and how He does this. This time we’ll look at the story of the adulterous woman… But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us... Read more →