Loving Your Separated Spouse I know in this community of unequally yoked believers, there is someone whose spouse has walked out the door and left. Your heart is breaking right now, and you don’t know what to do. Perhaps your spouse has never accepted Christ or perhaps, like my husband did many years ago, he or she walked away from their faith commitment. Read more →

Come Away With Me, Tiffany Carter, 4/18/2019 Come away with Me My darling, My bride. Revealed in the chamber The secrets I hide. I long for your presence I'll wait here all day. My love please don't tarry There's so much to say. I give you My heart You hold the key. All you must do Is linger with Me. No need to worry I'm protecting your heart. I'm faithful to you I vow to never depart. So come now, I'm waiting Believe Me, it's true. The treasures of Heaven Are poured out for you. The Lord is beckoning us to draw near to Him. I don't know about you but in this season I am in need of some refreshing! Will you answer His invitation? I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call... Read more →

Hey SUM Family, Tiffany here! I want to get really vulnerable with you today. Sunday was one of my proudest accomplishments. However, it was also one of my hardest days as well. The night before graduation my Jason asked me not to bring my flags to church the next day. I was crushed! I felt a sting of rejection rise up in me. Doesn't he love me the way that I am? Doesn't he know how much I love it? Is he embarrassed of me? Thought after thought came swirling in - all trying to pull me down into the pit of despair. I turned on some worship music in the kitchen as I washed dishes. I wanted to listen to God's voice but I also wanted to drown out the sounds of crying. I texted a dear friend from church and asked for her advice. She encouraged me that... Read more →

Hey SUM Family, Tiffany Here! I have some wonderful news to share! Today I graduated year one of ministry school. This was the first half of a two year program that will lead to ordination. I was very surprised to receive "The Heart of David Award" along with my certificate of completion. What an honor and joy! The words "thank you" are not enough to express the gratitude I have for you, my beloved family without walls. Your love, encouragement, and support has tremendously helped carry me to this beautiful moment. Thank you to everyone who has given time, prayer, finances, Scripture and hugs. My accomplishment is your accomplishment. So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. -- 2... Read more →

Hi everyone, Ann again! In Monday’s post I described how my children had sat at a table with me, my husband and friends and heard my testimony. Well, this week something crazy but parallel happened: My children sat at a table with me, my husband and friends and this time saw persecution. Yikes! We were at a Mexican restaurant, laughing, when suddenly my friend’s mouth opened and out came a painful comment about Christians. It was a comment that could have been considered funny but there was no opportunity for laughter as within an instant I went rage! I shot to my feet, hands on hips, stood over my friend, blurted out tempestuous words, and left the table. When I came back I was physically shaking. Nobody enjoyed their burritos after that, especially not my husband. Was my reaction good or bad? We turn the other cheek often, but this... Read more →

Hi friends, Ann here! Have you ever looked in the rear-view mirror, glimpsed the road behind you, and realized that something’s changed? That happened to me recently in relation to a friend who didn't want to know about faith. I thought I'd share the story today. When I first turned to God, I began to tell my friends my testimony. Little did I know how unenthusiastic they would be. In their eyes it was a ‘fairy tale’. I realize now that this is normal, but at the time I was perplexed: “How can you not believe me?" I had a particular friend who epitomized this. At the mention of my faith she literally had a physical reaction. She raced to the other side of the shop we were in, and starting looking at shelves with her back to me. The months that followed brought honesty about her feelings towards Christians.... Read more →

By Martha Bush The young mother tucked her little boy in bed, turned off the lights, and walked out of his room. It was then she heard him cry out: “Mom, turn the lights back on; I’m scared of the dark.” The mother walked back into his room to reassure him. “Now, son, don’t be afraid, Jesus is here with you.” To which he replied: “I know Jesus is in here with me, but I want somebody with some skin on!” Can we admit that we all have felt that way? “Yes, I know you are near Jesus, but, I really want someone to pray and study your word with me, someone to sit beside me in church, and most of all, Jesus, I want to talk to someone about how much I love YOU. That someone is my husband. Won’t you please tell him to come into the room... Read more →

My heart has been with the many who are reading here and are STILL waiting for your miracle. It may have been wrenching to read about spouses coming to faith while you languish in the loneliness and deep conflicts of a mismatched marriage. I know for me, reading about happy couples was sometimes a dagger in my chest. Read more →

By Martha Bush For the past month, we have celebrated with Lynn and Mike over his baptism. “Praise the Lord, hallelujah,” echoed around the world from those who had traveled this road with them. Can’t you just hear the angels and the heavenly choir also shouting, “Did ya’ll see that? Another soul has come into the kingdom! Whooopeeeee!” And yet, despite our happiness for them, deep within many of our hearts there is still that inner voice that cries out, “What about my spouse, Lord? When is it going to be my turn? How long is it going to take?” Whether it be the salvation of our loved-ones or some other trial in our lives, we often find ourselves in situations that it takes longer than we thought it would take. It is then that our emotions are tested. Actually we are in good company with David, the one described... Read more →

I want to release another testimony of a husband baptized. Susan Loyless sent me an email a few weeks ago and her husband went into the water! Hallelujah. I also know that Tina U. shared that her husband also was baptized back in March. Something in the water....... For all of you still marching along, my friend Shayla will be leading a study of, Winning Him Without Words, in May. To join that study on Facebook, at Shayla Ortiz. And if you need a book, click here and order. A small portion is sent to the ministry to further our outreach to spouses who are unequally yoked.  Read more →

There has been much to celebrate in SUMite land in recent weeks. The SUMite Gathering at the beginning of April and our dear Lynn’s Mike coming to know Jesus as his Lord and Saviour being two BIG highlights. My family received some wonderful news this morning. John, my brother, some of you may recall, has been going through treatment for lymphoma since November. Today, he received news that he is in FULL REMISSION! Hallelujah. Praise the Lord! We’re naturally excited but I’m especially pleased for my mom and dad who found the whole experience very stressful. Like Lynn’s Mike who has stepped into a completely different ‘life’, John has also. Prior to his diagnosis he had lived a ‘quiet’ life as a Christian, so quiet that his wife and children weren’t really aware of his faith. However, in this ‘dark valley’ he discovered not just the ‘rod and staff’ of... Read more →

Couple of things: I’ve decided to take the month of May off from all the ministries in which I serve with the exception of book writing and publishing. I am diligently preparing my manuscript, Marching Around Jericho, and must dedicate my time to writing. This book is the warfare map for every Freedom Fighter of the Kingdom to battle for the salvation and baptism of souls, especially an unsaved spouse. I feel the urgency of the Holy Spirit to finish this manuscript swiftly, as I believe this path that I traveled over the past seven years, can be emulated. Let’s waste no more time. Read more →

After the Party He threw a party for me, to welcome me back! After I’d gone and lost all his wealth, I’d broken his heart, shamed his fame, Yet here he is, calling my name. Read more →

Hey SUM family, Tiffany Here! During the leader's meeting on the Friday morning before the conference I said I would share a spoken word piece during the offering time. I didn't have anything prepared at the time of volunteering. In fact I just heard the words come out of my mouth. You know those moments when you realize after the fact that you were pushed into things by the Holy Spirit? Maybe it's just me. It happens quite often. *grin* The rest of the day seemed to fast forward pretty quickly. Filled with fellowship, food and fun. I was exhausted after the meet and greet at Lynn's house - in a good way - and went to bed shortly after everyone left. Saturday morning I wake up and realize that I didn't take time to prepare a spoken word! Out of desperation I laid flat on my back with my... Read more →

Friends, I will tell you that my Easter was strange. I attended my church on Saturday evening and was overcome by the presentation and the holiness of Jesus and what He gave to me. And then on Sunday morning, I attended my old church with Mike. It was weird and different and good. Read more →

Very early in the morning... Read more →

John 12: 24-25 Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal. ~The Message Read more →

Ann here! Lynn’s news last week was so amazing and today I just feel like speaking from the heart and sharing a little more about last week’s summit. Our summit intersected with a long-awaited baptism. What an almighty ROAR this was, one that we will now carry into our future. Our summit was called ‘Hear the Roar’, and our logo for the event was a lion. Well, the 'God winks' began when we arrived at Lynfield School and saw that its logo was a lion. We had fun taking photos of the lions adorning the school’s walls (here are a couple) and I still just keep coming across that word 'ROAR'. The whole Shortly before the event I developed a strong sense that this event was about the ‘whole’ of the SUM community. Alongside this, something crazy happened: Before I arrived at Lynn’s house, God gave me a picture of... Read more →

My dear SUMite Family, To write the title of this post, brings tears. I've waited since I began this blog in 2006 to write this very post. So with intentional honor to our Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit, today let me share my news, officially. Please hear me first, THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. This moment was a lifetime of love of God for my husband. And I’m trying to remain low-key about it all. I’m allowing my husband to walk into this new season and let him take his time and find his own way forward in faith. And I’m still really processing. But for me, my I give all honor and glory to our Lord. He has been faithful. On March 14, 2019, on our 27th wedding anniversary, my husband, Mike, was baptized and made his confession of faith in Jesus Christ. In the last seven years I... Read more →

By Martha Bush God spoke to Abraham and said: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3 MESG) In that day, going into Canaan, the place God was leading Abraham, was like going into Indian territory in the Old Wild West. There was no law; it was the survival of the fittest. It was not a land filled with good crops, a lot of it was barren wilderness. Nevertheless, God told Abraham “if you go that way, I will bless you and make you a blessing.” Abraham decided to go the path God directed him and, indeed, he... Read more →

Photos From the Summit Read more →

Jesus tells the story to His followers of the Prodigal son in the book of Luke 15. And there is so much more going on in this story than we comprehend. I hope you have enjoyed the posts about this passage over the past few weeks.But today, we are going to look at the Father in Luke 15. I’m so excited.There are so many things I love about this story. I often share on radio and television my personal story about my prodigal years and how I met and married my unbelieving spouse during that season. So, when I recount my return to the Father and how I see this story in Luke as my own, I become positively  emotional. Read more →

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net I was reading the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 the other day and was challenged to reflect on it from the eyes of the boy who had the five loaves and two fish. If you wish to read along I used the version in John 6. I don’t think I’ve really even considered it from his perspective and with the SUMite Gathering this weekend I thought there were some wonderful insights to encourage all of you who will be attending. And especially for those of you who might be nervous or a little apprehensive as is very normal before such an event. Jesus asked the boy for his loaves and fish. Conceivably the boy could have refused the request. But he didn’t as I suspect Jesus, like he was with every child he met, was kind and considerate in making his request.... Read more →

I wonder if you feel offense for the older brother?After all, this man dutifully stayed at home, working hard, toiling in the land and never disobeyed his father. Honestly, if you’ve been a prodigal, you wished you had never run away, and you feel guilty that you come home and are welcomed back. You compare yourself to your brothers and sisters and feel shame. You also feel admiration that they were faithful. Read more →

So, gang, let’s look at this Prodigal son and consider our spouses. They have been hoodwinked into a kingdom of darkness. And what is flabbergasting to me is this. They are convinced, passionately, that they are neutral to faith/religion. Or they are committed also with a passion in opposition to our God, in which they believe they know all about, but actually don’t know at all, and are deceived into blindness. Read more →