Hey SUM family, Tiffany here!

I have worked for my employer for a little over three years now. I do the same thing all day everyday. Monday through Friday, eight hours a day. I see the same computer screen as I fingerprint the numerous people who come into my office. The other day Holy Spirit alerted me to listen and pay attention to people's reactions to seeing their fingerprints on the computer screen, many of them for the first time:

Wow, that is so cool!

I have never seen this before!

Sorry, I am just amazed by this!

Look at that!

Can you believe that we all have different finger prints? No two prints are the same!?

Was I looking at the same machine? It is cool to see the detail, I guess.....

There are some of us who have forgotten how to be in love with and romanced by our King. We have been on this journey for a long time.  Our eyes have adjusted to the normalcy of life. We've braced for life's storms for too long that we've gone into self-preservation mode. We have forgotten what is like to have childlike faith. This isn't a rebuke but a call to see things from God's perspective. Be refreshed! Be renewed! Be invigorated again!

I felt a strong impression from our Daddy God to lavish you with love today. If anything today resonates with you, my challenge is for you to take it and meditate on it. Don't allow the familiar to blur your vision of God's great love relationship with you. Don't doubt that you aren't good enough to receive it. Don't think, "He must be talking to someone else..."  This word is for you...yes YOU!

I have loved you, [insert your name here], with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. (Jeremiah 31:3)

I will make you, [insert your name here], my wife forever,
showing you righteousness and justice,
unfailing love and compassion.
I will be faithful to you and make you mine,
and you will finally know me as the Lord. (Hosea 2:19-20)

My thoughts of you are countless for you are very precious to Me. (Psalm 139:17)

You can give me all of your worries and cares. They are not meant to be carried by you. I love you so much! (1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 55:22)

I am for you. You are my beloved and I am yours. (Song of Solomon 6:3)

I will give you everything that you need. You mean that much to me. (Romans 8:31)

There is nothing that can separate you from My love. (Romans 8:38-39)

I will rescue you. I will protect you. You can trust me. When you call on Me I am there. (Psalm 91)

One of my favorite things to do is watch over you as you sleep. (Psalm 3:5)

I will show you my goodness in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

I will never forsake you. I will never cast you off. (Psalm 94:14)

You are my masterpiece. My workmanship. I am so proud of you! (Ephesians 2:10)

You are my special treasure. You are so valuable to me! (Exodus 19:5, 1 Peter 2:9)

There is so much more that I could share. Every word in the Bible is dripping with His sweet love for you.

Beloved, stop striving. Stop trying to meet unattainable expectations of yourself...they're not from Him. Daddy God is so pleased with you. He delights in you so much that He breaks out in song over you. (Zephaniah 3:17)

I want to wrap up with this song. This is one to sit and soak in the love of your Daddy.

Let's share in the comments - sometimes life gives us a hard beating! What are some things that you do in order to remember the love God has for you? What are some things we can share with one another to fan the flames of our heart and fill us with hope? What keeps you standing firm and grounded in your relationship with Daddy God, Jesus and Holy Spirit?

Hey SUM family, Tiffany Here.

I pray that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is absolutely my favorite time of year. I love gathering with family, eating fantastic food and reflecting  on all of the favor, mercy, and goodness of Daddy that has happened for the year.

As I was thinking last week about what Holy Spirit wanted me to share, I fingerprinted a man with a business logo on his sweatshirt that said "Stillwater." This prompted me to look up "still water" in the Bible. The main passage that came to mind was in Psalm 23:

¹  The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

That is when Holy Spirit brought to my mind the song Surrounded (Fight My Battles) by Elyssa Smith from UPPERROOM. Forgive me if I've shared this song before. I love it so much. My favorite verses in this song say, "my weapons are praise and thanksgiving, this is how I fight my battles"

I have been seeing Psalm 23 all over the place since I first saw this man's sweatshirt. I know that of the Psalms, this one is so common and well known even in the secular world; however, this particular passage has not been on my radar for quite some time. Each and every time I am seeing a reference to Psalm 23 there is a different verse that is being highlighted. I think I need to dwell here for a while! I was inspired so much so that I committed this passage to memory. This is a first for me to memorize an entire passage. Woot!

I think with all of the apparent darkness and chaos going on in our community (illness, death, financial struggle, marriage breakdown, depression, chronic pain, etc) and in the world today I want us to meditate on this phrase, "I am beginning to see the darkness around me is just the shadow of Your wings." *Note: this is not my phrase, this gets me every time I listen to this song...SO SO GOOD.*

⁵ God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding. (Psalm 47)

Please know that our Daddy is surrounding you with His love, presence, favor, mercy, and grace. I know we all know this but may we truly rejoice and sing praises with understanding! Understand your are highly favored. Understand you are loved. Understand you are cherished. Understand in your weakness He is strong. Understand that even in the toughest time of your life He is in control. Understand you are seated with Christ Jesus. Understand you have authority. Understand you are the victor. Understand it. Is. Finished!

Let us lift our voices in one accord today:

I don't know about you the Lord uses songs to get me through the darkest days. Share in the comments some songs that see you through tough times. Your suggestions could be healing salve and oil of joy to another. I love you SUM family.

Hello SUM Family, Tiffany Here!

The last couple of months I have been sharing a bit about what I have learned from reading a book called From Dream to Destiny by Robert Morris. I was assigned to read this book in class and I am so glad that I read it! This book has been truly amazing. To read the previous two posts I've written in this "mini-series" click on the links below.

This Is Just The Pits!

Do You Want Evidence Or The Truth?

In September I began to take steps to transition into a new church. As you read this, I have now been at this new church for 3 weeks. Each and every week has been so powerful and effective. Today I want to share with you a recent experience unlike anything I've ever had. It happened a little over a week ago on October 14, 2018. The following is what I posted the next day on Facebook (sharing here as well since a lot of you may not have Facebook or seen it because we aren't "friends"):

 Worship at Hub is amazing. God is there. Holy Spirit presence is thick and tangible. We were singing a song I had never heard before. The lyrics were powerful and the words that floored me at the time were talking about laying my whole life down before Jesus our Savior. I was already worshipping on my knees but I couldn't help but crouch face down before God. I felt so heavy and overloaded. I was just crying and crying before God. My words spoken in tears and sobs. All of a sudden it was like God said, "get up." Not in an angry way but an empowering way...if that makes sense. I sat up and it was like I saw myself in the place of the woman caught in adultry that was brought before Jesus. The crowd, stones in hand set to stone her. Jesus calmly and matter of factly said, "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone." Slowly, one by one the people left. Once everyone was gone, I pictured Jesus lift up my chin so I would look him in the eyes. Crouched on the ground seeing His eyes intent on mine. Looking into my soul. Just like He did with the woman that day, He said, "who condemns you?" Looking around I reply, "No one Sir." In that instant...I felt all the weight of condemnation lifted. It was like I had an hour long deep tissue massage. Every fiber of my  being, relaxed and stress free. I realized later after worship and after the service...reflecting on what happened in that moment. Those people standing and surrounding me so quick to condemn and judge...were different versions of ME. How often I have shot myself down, I have stoned myself for a mis-spoken word, a harsh tone, a forgotten task, a wrong thought...I have been stoning myself for years and as God clearly told me to get up - it was giving me my life back. It was His GRACE UPON GRACE. His mercy. His true love. He doesn't keep record of wrongs...and neither should I. NO LONGER DO I. This morning, as life went on as usual...I reacted in ways I am tyring to change (short with my daughter when she cries about everything she wears - meltown after meltdown this morning and my shortness with her, attitude from tired children, etc) but the major difference was this. No one condemns me...not even myself. I made a mistake, asked for forgivenenss and moved on. The first instance my flesh tried to condemn me I heard the words "no one Sir." Loud and clear and it reminded me of the freedom that I was given. Once and for all. I will never go back. Once that transaction was finished Jesus said, "Go and sin no more." Can you image the freedom, the joy, the apreciation she felt with that moment? I can...because I do.

 You may have to click on the picture to better see but I found the moment in worship where this exchange happened. Today I stand free from years of mental torment. As I think about this moment it still brings tears to my eyes because every moment since then has been a blessing. Please know that it doesn't mean that I am perfect or care free. I still have some struggles that God is working on in me. Holy Spirit is still pruning and I've got a lot of work to do. However, I am no longer hopeless.

I've gone a little long this time so let me wrap up with this:

I have been blessed to be a blessing. So today, I bless you with joy unspeakable; freedom from weight (even YEARS worth) of torment - mental, emotional, spiritual, physical; victory beyond belief; confidence in your Daddy; hope to weather the storm; faith, life, salvation for your spouse and loved ones; light in the darkness; advancement in the Kingdom where you feel backslidden; fire shut up in your bones; fight and fierceness; and love beyond compare.

Below is the song that brought me to the feet of Jesus and ushered me into freedom.

See you in the comments. I would love to pray over you for your own deliverance.

I’m deeply moved on this day, Good Friday, as I consider my Betrothed. Since writing the Wedding Day series a few weeks back, and my experience meeting the Prince of Peace, I’m continually reminded that I am a bride. We, all of us believers, are a bride. We are THE bride of Christ. 

This past week while I was on my walk-n-pray, I was listening to a new song on my iPhone. This song was sent to me by a sister SUMite, Colleen Rogers. It’s title: Holy (Wedding Day) 

As the song queued up and began to play. It was very early in the morning just before the break of dawn. There were low clouds on the horizon and as I walked the sun burst through to greet me. The music swelled and I saw a picture in my mind. 

We, all of us, millions upon millions were gathered for a wedding ceremony. 

We were in heaven, it was light and bright. I could see all of us clothed in white. But I saw clearly that I was standing at the foot of the throne. I was wearing a floor-length, pristine white gown. It was belted and the cloth was soft and it almost shimmered with movement. The sleeves were long and open as they rested against my hands that were at my sides. 

The music was playing and there was to be a wedding. 

It was the marriage of the Son of God. 

Gulp…. 

And we are the Bride. All around me were my friends. You my SUMites, my husband (double gulp), my children. I wanted to press into you closely and hold your hands and link arms with all of you. I have walked this journey so long with so many of you and I LOVE YOU deeply. I felt like I just wanted to be surrounded by you as we are prepared and about to participate in the most important ceremony to ever take place throughout all history. The heavens have anticipated this very moment since before the world began. The Angels were there singing as we stood before God and the Mercy Seat. 

The Son of God steps out. He is smiling. He is filled with excitement and I’m taken back to see the love and thrill on His face for me. (I burst into tears on the trail at this point) 

The ceremony began. In my head the next thing I saw was myself stepping forward. I stood before Him and watched as my Betrothed placed a long chain necklace around my neck. At the end of the chain was a stone and my name was written upon it. I couldn’t read my name. I just knew that is what it was. (Revelation 2:17)

One by one, each of us stepped forward and received this necklace as we became the Bride in the most significant event in all eternity. 

It’s the marriage ceremony of the Lamb. 

Holy…. Holy….. Holy….. Worthy is the Lamb. 

As I take in this scene the lyrics of the song are my undoing. As I remember today that my betrothed was hung on a cross for me….. 

I am undone.

I pray you are undone today too! The Bride becoming, Lynn

Related articles

I Meet Prince Jesus- Who Am I?

It's About A Wedding. It's About Covenant

Psalm 29: 1-2 Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

So, what is worship? So many people think that in church, we're worshiping God with singing, but really we're just praising.

What is real worship? What does it mean to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness? 

When was the last time you bowed down before the king, you-alone in your bedroom-when nobody's around?

What does worship look like in heaven? 

And finally what happens when we worhip the name of Jesus? See you in the comments, Lynn

 

 

True worship is: It’s posture and attitude of your heart. It’s recognizing God’s rightful place in your heart.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. — Ephesians 6:10-12

My friends, today I  want to encourage to continue to stand strong in your faith, marriage and family; to be patient with how God is leading and moving you forward in your spiritual gifts and trust Him in that process; and to desire above all else His presence and to rest in Him.

Right now I'm reading Daniel and Revelations side by side and see more and more how our battles really are in the spiritual realm more than we realize. Thus why we must stand firm in Jesus. He is our strength, our rest and our unending source of hope. And hope is crucial to perseverance. Amen? Amen!

Over at our Mismatched & Thriving site, author Cynthia Ruchti shares an encouraging word about hope for those surviving the fallout of people's choices. She has graciously offered two copies of her book, Ragged Hope, to our SUM community. Leave a comment over at her post, HOPE RUSH, to enter the drawing for a copy (leaving one here doesn't count. LOL!) 

Also, Lynn and I are blogging once a month with ChooseNOW Ministries. Click HERE to read our first post there.

And finally, dear friends, I pray your weekend is full of love and hope, I pray that the extreme GOODNESS of our Lord manifests constantly in your lives, and I pray that the Holy Spirit fills you to overflowing and floods your home with His constant presence. I love this community so much and am praying for each of you.

Be shiney for Jesus!
Dineen

 

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Weekend Worship - Letting Go

We're reaching the end of our spiritual warfare series, my friends, and I can't think of a better way to punctuate all we've learned than praying on our armor of God. Join me in prayer and then let's praise God for His outlandish and extravagant love for us.

Ephesians 6:10-18
Lord, we are strong in You and Your mighty power. We put on our full armor of God, so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. Remind us daily that our struggle isn’t against our spouse, our children, our family, our friends, our jobs, our situations, our neighbors, the strangers we meet or even our government. The battle is truly against the rulers, authorities and powers of evil present in this world and in heaven, against satan and his demons working to steal, kill and destroy us.

So today and everyday from now on I put on my full armor of God and stand my ground against the enemy’s schemes against me and my family.

I buckle on the belt of truth, which is Christ dwelling in me because He accepted, adopted, blessed, chose, forgave, loves and redeemed me (Ephesians 1). This is the truth of who I am in Jesus and the foundation of my authority and power in Him. (Luke 9:1-2)

I put my breastplate of righteousness in place over my heart because your Word says to guard my heart above all else for it determines the course of my life. (Prov. 4:23) Lord, I pray that the eyes of my heart be enlightened so that I will know the hope that You have called me to, the riches of my inheritance in Jesus, and the amazing power for us who believe—the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in Heaven as our intercessor forever. (Ephesians 1:18-21)

I stand with my feet firmly placed in the gospel of peace because your word is lamp to my feet and light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

I take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, because He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) The enemy cannot prevail for I am already the victor in this battle. (Romans 8:37-38)

I don my helmet of salvation because the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

I lift sword of the Spirit, which is your Word that I will use faithfully to pray against the enemy and to faithfully live my life in accordance to for we live on every word that comes from Your mouth, Oh Lord. (Deut. 8:3/Matt. 4:4)

Lord, teach and help me to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. And keep me alert to pray for all my sisters and brothers in Jesus. In your mighty, powerful and holy name we pray, amen!

I love you so very much, my precious and beautiful friends. You bless me, inspire me and show me everyday the wonder of God in our lives and what it means to be unified in the Spirit.

Hugging you so very tight with the love of Jesus in my heart,
Dineen

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Know Your Enemy's Tactics

How the Enemy Targets Us

Where the Enemy Attacks Us

Hey Everyone, 

I’m writing this on a Thursday morning. 

After arriving home from Little Rock, I’ve been balancing school meetings, back to school was Wednesday, my son and his girlfriend arrived for a visit, my daughter dropped a quart jar of salsa on her toe, spent the day in urgent care, canned another 10 quarts of salsa and wasted a few hours watching Big Brother (Don’t judge me. It’s a weird obsession this summer, go figure?????) 

Whew! I’m overwhelmed just writing about it all. 

Needless to say, my friends, I’m running a tad behind. More than anything I want to reply to the comments that were left here way back on August 6th and every day since then. I have read them but just haven’t had time to sit down and type for several hours. 

I’m thinking I’m going to save my next post in this series for next week and do the right thing today. I need to spend time with my son today as he will be leaving tonight. I think a beach trip is just what we all need. So please forgive me for leaving you hanging. He brought along some big, BIG news. More on that later…. 

I hope to reply to some of your comments from the past two weeks tomorrow as I will be sitting in the urgent care once again. There seems to be an annoying pain in my right arm that will not go away. Time to have an x-ray. 

For all of you who left your play lists on Monday, a GIANT THANK YOU. I will be listening to your suggestions all weekend long. Some of you emailed songs to me, AWESOME. I loved them all. Here is a photo from Brie. 

Brie said, “Thank you for your beautiful blog post on Worship! I've discovered it’s the way I can publicly display my thanks to God with others who share this belief. I wake up, gulp my coffee, grab my toddler and take off to the beach while listening to the most amazing music that lifts my heart & soul.

I am sending you a pic (in the following email) of how God greets me in the morning! I feel his presence so so so much when I start my day like this. 

I just give him my worries, my heart and praise Him for all he's done in my life.” 

My friends, I know it may be difficult to carve out time in your busy, busy lives but the message I’m hearing from so many who enjoy a rich and vibrant relationship with Jesus is; He is worth every minute we give. 

Thank you for loving me in my everyday life, the busy, the weird, the BIG news, the pain in my arm. But mostly, thank you for loving Jesus and for being the salt and light in this dark, dark world. I promise you this. Every hour you live for Jesus in front of your unbelieving spouse and your children IS NOT WASTED. God's will is being accomplished. His love is trampling the darkness. His purposes will come to pass in you and your spouse. 

Thank you for loving me and your prayers. I’m a bit nervous about this whole arm business. See you Monday. 

I leave you with another question. Am I the only one who looks like a crazy woman driving in my car and singing out loud, sometimes with my arm in the air? Anyone??? 

*grin* Lynn

Spiritual Warfare - How We Fight Back

A few months back, I began a series on the natural world and how nature, the world God created, can bring healing and joy to our soul. We started with light. If you missed that post, you can read it here. Then we looked at darkness and how we are adversely affected. You can read that post here. In a bad mood? How are soul and body can be refreshed outdoors, read that here.

Today is post four in this series. I’m completely convinced the natural world was created for our health; physically, emotionally and spiritually. The environments where we spend time affect our lives and they impact the spiritual realm and impact the spiritual warfare going on around us.

TURN ON THE MUSIC.

This morning I read in my Daily Bible this passage:

2 Chronicles 20: 22 (NLT) At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.

I know many of you are living in the thick of spiritual warfare. I received several emails just this week asking for prayer to fight the spiritual battles. The warfare IS REAL. Don't ever doubt that. Also remember that your enemy is NOT your spouse but the lies and the influences of the demons that are at work around him.

But, we have power over those forces in a very real way. All of the posts in this series, I am convinced aid us in spiritual warfare. I don't pretend to understand why. I just know that regular practicing of the suggestions I share, make a profound difference in the spiritual realm surrounding my home.

There is a power in praise. In Worship. In Song. This passage in Chronicles alone, speaks to this truth. God dwells in the praises of His people. Therefore, the enemy must flee.

My friends, if you lived with me you would know that I have praise music playing whenever I can. The worship music fills my home and the enemy flees. I sing along with it. I blare it through my Ipod when I jog/walk in the morning. In the car, when I'm not praying and even when I am. I listen to it often as I sit in my office writing.

Now I get it. Playing "church" music at home is a recipe for a fight when you live with an unbeliever. But this is how it often plays out with us around our house. I play music through my television in the kitchen when I'm in there puttering around. If I leave the room, I leave it on. I will often come back later and my husband has turned it off.

At first this kind of music would send him into a frenzy. I get it. So, I am respectful but also remember, you are a partner in this marriage and there are times it's okay to listen to what you want. When my husband is away on a business trip. My friends, music blasts...

all

day

long.

Music selection in a marriage actually turns out to be a really big deal. I know we have argued over stations in the car. After many discussions fights about it, we have agreed just to leave the radio off. 

I don't understand why playing words of worship makes such a difference in the spiritual realm but it does. Uplifting music and praising God empowers my soul, stirs my prayer life and simply, it makes me happy.

So turn on the music as often as you can. Let it play, sing along and I will assure you the enemy is in retreat and confusion, just like the armies in Chronicles.

Be blessed, Lynn

PS. I need some new songs for my Ipod, suggestions? 

Yesterday in honor of Father’s Day we experienced: 

Every year ~ fantastic. Here is a taste.

Prepare to experience an urge to dance, giggle and jump up and down. You will want watch every second of this video. I promise.

Have a fantastic week. Be blessed, Lynn