Happy Monday, friends!

Today I'm continuing the story about our SUM monument in Florida. For part one of the story, click here.

I left off where I described the fact that in Florida there is a certain house that has scriptures written on the beams. These scriptures were sent in by SUMites, as the house was being built, and now that house stands as a memorial for our ministry.

It's so cool. I love it! However, there is more to tell.

Way back in 2016, as the house was being built, we had our annual SUM community fast. And during that fast God gave the SUM community a promise. He gave it to Dineen. It was this:

SALVATION is coming to your homes.

In Jeremiah 24 there is an image of a basket of good figs. These figs represent people who I am going to bring out of captivity and return to Me.

Your spouses are like those good figs. I will build and plant them. I will not tear them down or pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know me. They will be Mine; I will be theirs.

Amen.

Dineen decided to write this promise on a piece of paper, sign her name beside it, put it in a plastic baggie, and bury it under the foundation of the house.

She duly buried it with her patient husband standing by her side. What on earth did he think of all this? Well, I think our spouses eventually get used to our little faith-filled shenanigans. If he's anything like my hubby he probably didn't read what was on the paper.

Anyway, that was that. But I have not forgotten that story or that promise; and about a year ago I asked Dineen 'What was the address of the house?'

She told me, I recorded it, then forgot about it.

On New Year's Eve 2023, however, just as the new year was coming in, God reminded me of that house, and I sensed I was to look up the address on Google maps. As I did, my mouth DROPPED. OPEN. On Google maps, just below the house was the word 'Marriage Saved'!

I am not making this up.

And just beside it was the word 'Promise'.

Ok, that was amazing. And after seeing that I sat back on the couch where I was sitting and thought "God, you are here, and you are speaking about the SUM community right now through this."

I've included the screenshot of Google maps here so you can see for yourself. The house is where the red marker is. If you look to its right you can see the word 'Promise' (Lily's Promise), and if you look down towards the bottom of the map you can see 'Marriage saved'.

My friends, what this does for me is leave absolutely no doubt in my mind that God has promised us salvations in marriages.

And I would argue that we should take this promise very seriously.

God does not want us to go into bitterness, pity or hopelessness in our SUMs. He wants us to walk in peace, and he wants us to trust him. What's more, he wants us to fight for these marriages and these salvations.

That's the story I wanted to tell you. Yes it's been seven years and counting since this promise was laid in the foundation of that house in Florida. BUT, let us not doubt.

My friends, I hope that encourages you. How easy do you find it to believe? Let's chat in the comments.

Ann

Dear friends, Ann here.

Today I'm going to share a very special story. It is a story that is important for our community. It is a story that is breathed by God's mouth.

I always try to write exactly what God wants me to write. He picks the topics. So today this is what he has picked: It is a story of a seed that was planted for us -- the SUM community -- seven years ago.

As I often say, grab a hot drink and make yourself comfy. Now I'll begin

Once Upon a Time there was a House in Florida

SUMites, did you know that there is a special house in Florida that stands as a memorial for us? Those of you who have followed this blog for years will know about it, but many of you won't, so let me tell you about it.

In 2016, this ministry was being led by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller. These two laid down their lives. Ministry is not easy at the best of times, let alone when you have an unbelieving spouse who is being dragged along in it and who is the topic of one's writing (Gah!!!) So, I really am grateful for the foundation that these two women laid.

But the story I'm going to tell today involves an actual foundation that Dineen laid in a house in Florida.

To begin, I'm going to start by sharing the story behind the house. Here's what Dineen shared about it on the blog in 2016:

"Roughly 26 years ago we moved away from Sarasota and family to find a better place for our growing family. At the early buddings of our careers, we couldn’t afford to buy a house. Though we loved being near our families, we didn’t see much of a future here. We moved away and lived in many places, including Switzerland for a short time.

Fast forward to the end of 2010. We (me, hubby and our girls) drove to Florida from California to spend Christmas with family. One day as I sat with my mother and my youngest daughter, we prayed a prayer that God answered so fast it made my head spin, yet would take four years to fully manifest.

I wanted to move back to Florida. My husband adamantly did not. Yet that day my mother, daughter and I prayed for God to soften my husband’s heart about moving back. Three days later hubby and I left the kids with the grandparents to run an errand and have a few minutes alone. Mike’s unusual silence told me something was on his mind. 

Suddenly he asked, “How would you feel about moving back to Florida?” 

I was so stunned I couldn’t speak a coherent word for about three minutes! Little did I know that the next four years would be filled with some tough times for us financially and would just about make me lose hope in that dream becoming a reality. Then everything “suddenly” fell into place."

So, Dineen and Mike ended up building a house. In Florida. A dream house. And that was all a nice personal miracle; but little did we know what God would do next.

Indeed. God had an instruction. As the house was going up, the Lord asked that the SUM community write in with scriptures about his promises for our families, and Dineen was to write those scriptures by hand onto the beams of the house.

I'll interrupt here to say I can't imagine what her husband thought LOL. 

I seem to remember he did walk past one of the scriptures and muttered "Is this one of yours?" "Yep" she smiled back, and no more was said.

Funny.

Anyway, the builders duly plastered over the beams, hiding these scripture promises. There these promises sat, sealed forever, in a seemingly ordinary house, on a seemingly ordinary housing estate, in Sarasota, Florida.

And there this house proceeded to stand as a monument to SUM, for the next seven, eight years.

Oh what a delicious story this is. Wait till you hear what God asked next. Stay tuned for the next instalment on Monday.

SUMites, do you remember this story? What does it make you think of so far?

Ann

Hello SUMites

Last week we fasted.

I want to share something cool that happened right at the end of my fast: In the last five minutes. Each year something fun happens right at the end of the fast. It's as if God gives me a little 'wink'.

Your fast will look different: You'll have different things that God does for you in your fast, different ways in which he makes himself visible. 

There's a song that goes --

All by myself, don't wanna be

All by myself, any more.

My friends, that's how I've felt in a SUM. I've felt it so keenly, sometimes.

Don't wanna be, by myself, any more!

Here's a photo that my church popped onto our Facebook page a while back. It's of me, all by myself, standing at the back. A married couple is in front of me. There I am worshipping, solo.

It's a cup I drink. We all have a cup to drink, of some sort or other.

Where I have felt this keenly is in ministry. It is difficult being in ministry alone, and I have found it very comforting indeed to have Lynn, who has the strength of an ox. If I had not had her, it would have been significantly more difficult. She's strong, and you need strong people alongside you.

But, yes, it is the cup that God has asked me to drink: To be in ministry as a spiritually single woman. So, I say in response to that: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word," (Luke 1:38, NKJV). And I mean it. It's ok. 

Now God is my awesome father and best friend, and he has not left me without encouragement in all this. So let me tell you this rather fabulous story:

One day, about four years ago, I was sitting in my prayer room (the TV room). It was my usual morning time with God, so there I sat on the couch reading the Bible and jotting thoughts down. One thought led to another, though, and I got myself into a state. 

Now, I can do drama well, LOL.

In my bad state I slid dramatically off the couch like a slinky, onto the floor on my tummy, and started to cry. The tears ramped up, and in between hot tears I cried out to God:

WHY DO I HAVE TO DO MINISTRY ON MY OWN?

I was almost angry. It felt so unfair. I think I'd also just seen on Facebook a poster going round with profile photos of lovely couples in ministry speaking at a conference. Yet there was me, having to do it on my own.

Well, at the moment a name popped into my head:

Winnie Banov.

I didn't know who she was, but I'd seen her name float around on Christian things. So, once I'd dried my eyes and pulled myself together, I got up and looked her up. And there I discovered a beautiful story. Are you ready? It will encourage you, especially if your spouse has left the faith:

• Winnie and her husband were itinerant ministers who were both on fire for God.
• Then she lost her faith. She was completely missing in action and didn't want a bar of it.
• She didn't go to church, she didn't support him, she didn't care for it. So he had to carry on in ministry, and they had a big ministry which involved a lot of travel. Brave man!
• Everyone else in his world was part of a couple, and there he was, ministering on his own. 
• She was to him an impossible and difficult lost cause. 
• The only thing he could do was pray, in desperation. It went on for years.
• He would put his hand on the wall of their bedroom on the other side of the wall (like my TV room which backs onto my bedroom), and he would pray for her while she slept.
• One day, out of the blue, WOOSH the Holy Spirit came upon her and turned it all around. Suddenly, just like that.
• And now they're in ministry together again.

I went to see Winnie and Georgian speak in Auckland about a year after discovering that story. I loved watching them minister together as a couple, knowing that story.

Why did God show them to me, I wonder? 

I still don't quite know; but today I am doing well with my cup. It doesn't grieve me anymore. I accept God's will and timing in my life. But I also believe - fully -- that there can be a cheeky little turnaround. And who knows what God has up his sleeve next.

My friends, which parts of SUM life do you find particularly hard to do alone? 

Lovely chatting,

Ann

Hello my friends

This is the last post in my series of stories from our meet-up, what a blast it's been writing these. Well, this last story features my fellow SUMite Lucie, from Canada, who was the last one I was left with before flying home.

It had been such a wild few days together, that Lucie and I had much to reflect on. We spoke to each other about how there had been 'God moments at every turn.'

And it was against that backdrop that this final little thing happened. When I tell you about it, it might sound to you like it's not even a God thing ... But to me, it felt meaningful because it came as a kind of finale to a string of 'moments' that week. It was our final thing.

Ok, here's what happened:

Lucie and I were being looked after that final day by Jim Edwards, who has a house in Redding. Jim generously had offered to be our 'taxi driver' while were there, and looked after us beautifully --

(Thank you, Jim).

We had an errand to run: We needed to go and visit a particular lady's house. And so we parked up in a suburban neighborhood, Jim left Lucie and I in the car, and off he went to go and knock on that lady's door.

Lucie and I sat in the car; and I opened the door for some fresh air.

"Do you have pets?" Lucie suddenly asked, out of the blue.

(Funny, as I've just typed that my very own pet, Gizmo the cat, has made a beeline for me and given me a wet-nosed nudge on my leg to say hello)

"I DO!" I said, and pulled out a photo of Gizmo.

Instantly, I felt a wet-nosed nudge on my leg. And, before I could figure out what was going on, a ginormous German Shepherd dog was climbing into the car, on top of me! He was whining, panting, and drooling all over me. A big dog and a small Ann.

"Oh hello" I said, and started laughing, while also trying to avoid his lashing tongue, licks, spit and dog breath, and trying to figure out if he was fully friendly.

**

So just to recap and pause here: Lucie asks "Do you have pets?" and at the same time a dog enters the car. Isn't that a bit wild?!

**

The dog is crying. He jumps out, sniffs around on the grass, then heads back into the car. Gets out. Gets back in. Every time he comes back to us he's whimpering.

"I think he needs something," says Lucie. "I think he's upset about something."

"Could be," I said, and out I jumped. "Who does he belong to?" We looked up and down the quiet street ... The doors were all shut; the street was quiet.

"I'll knock on these people's door here, and ask them," I said. And so I did. 

I looked at the tag: The dog's name was Beau, and the man whose door I knocked on grabbed his mobile while we dialed Beau's owner's number from the tag. It turned out that he was indeed lost. His owner was visiting a house a few doors down and Beau had escaped into this strange neighborhood. 

"Come on Beau!" the man said, "Let's get you back to your owner," and off they trotted down the road to reunite Beau with his mum. As I looked at him disappearing down the road he was wagging his tail. A happy ending.

"Ahhh...." Lucie and I grinned at each other. And then we stopped and reflected: "Wasn't that weird that just as you asked me about pets, a dog climbed into the car??"

Mm....

"He was lost."

Mm. ...

"Is God symbolizing something about the lost?"

Maybe.

"Was God telling us we'll help rescue the lost?"

We mulled it over. And as we did we decided we liked the symbolism: 

The lost will want us.

The lost will come to us for help.

And we will connect the lost with their master.

And on that little quirky story, our meet-up came to an end.

My friends, it's been fun sharing the stories with you! On Monday we have a public holiday and I'm off hiking with a group of friends. So we won't have a post on the blog on Monday ... But I'll see you again later next week.

Loads of love,

Ann

My friends,

Thank you ever so much for cheering me on with this book draft I've written. I got quite a few messages from you in the comments and privately, and do you know, that really encouraged me -- To keep going, and get the story out there.

It's Friday early evening as I type, my feet are up, my worship music is on, and now I'm settled in on my couch to tell you the story behind this book. It is rather a gorgeous story.

I wrote part one of this book way back in 2017. It was my testimony: My testimony of being an adult convert, and all that came with that. I described deeply what it meant for my marriage, but also the stunning things God did to show me he was real.

Once a week while Bryce and the boys would go out to swimming lessons I would write one chapter. Chapter by chapter over the following weeks the testimony took shape. But it had a core message that was at the crux of the book:

God had given me a specific promise.

About my husband. And more.

After writing eighteen chapters, one day I heard God say "It's a wrap". Just like that. He was saying to me "Now wrap up this book, put it away somewhere, and I'll tell you when it's time to write part two."

"Should I get it published now?" I asked him.

"No. There's definitely part two," he showed me. "Wait for it." 

Wait for it.

Dot dot dot .....

And so I did just that. I decided to wait. 'Part One' of The Pair-Shaped Promise sat wrapped up under my bed while I waited for my promise to come, for six whole years. I barely told anyone about it. But sometimes I would pull the manuscript out and read it as a reminder of where God had taken me, and what I was believing for next. 

Well, my friends, after six years of waiting, God said to me in February of this year, "It's time to write Part Two". He gave me about ten confirmations that this was what I needed to do.

And so I pulled my laptop to me ... And I began to write .... About how the promise was fulfilled. 

Because, my friends, the promise was fulfilled. It did come. It surely came. And I've written barely anything about it yet on the blog, so the book is a special little surprise story for you.

I find myself bouncing on the couch as I type this, in anticipation. But what I'll also say is this: 'Does God ever do things the way we expect him to?' 

Well, the plan is to get the manuscript proof-read next. Ian has offered to do a read-through too as he's a writer and has judged memoirs in writing competitions: What a blessing to have him. And then I'm thinking of self-publishing it.

On that note, I'd better hurry up and get it done so you can enjoy reading it. For, somehow, I feel this story will be an enjoyable one for you SUMites. You'll 'get' it. 

Well, have a lovely weekend everyone!

Ann

Here at SUM we love, love, love prophetic words from the Lord; that is, words spoken by the Holy Spirit to one of us in our community for the edification of the rest of us.

Well, recently one of our SUMites, Libby from the UK, sent me something she had received from the Lord back in 2018 about our community. It was a set of words, and she was also inspired to draw a picture to accompany those words (the picture is included below). I hope it blesses you today and thank you to Libby for sharing.

The word was this:

Our unbelieving loved ones are here on earth and there is a huge abys between the earth and heaven (God). The dark chasm of sin separates humanity from God. The cross, representing Jesus' crucifixion, is a bridge that allows access across the divide. Without it, we could never bridge that gap, no human deeds could.

Us SUMites are 'standing in the gap' by standing on the cross. We form a human chain as we unite in prayer and intercession for the lost and unsaved. We provide a channel and are conduits for God to flow through. His love flows through us and onto the lost. This is our job and our position, to stand in the gap, and what a privileged position it is! Don't look down at the magnitude of the chasm; don't look across at the huge distance between the two sides; keep your focus on the cross of Calvary seeped in the precious blood of the lamb, shed for all the world. Remember, the cross is now empty! Our Lord is risen! The resurrection power of the cross forms the bridge, nobody on earth can get to the father, except through it (John 14:6).

Keep standing strong SUMites on the bridge, interceding for the lost until they join us and take up their rightful position. 

Amen.

Thanks again, Libby!

Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion (Isaiah 12:5, NKJV)

My friends, thank you so much for sharing the joy with me last week over Miles's salvation. THANK YOU.

Last week while writing all that up, I happened to come across a 2019 blog post that I had written about how difficult I was finding it having teenagers who didn't go to church.

That blog post is here. In it I said something along these lines:

'My teenagers don't go to church right now, and that is really hard. I am stumped. I am fretful.

But God has told me not to worry. He has told me he will work it out. He's told me there will be a tipping point.'

My friends, when I wrote that I had no hope in sight of either of my children going to church or turning their hearts to God. It actually seemed so impossible it was a seemingly 'hopeless' situation.

Yet God had promised.

(Just as I typed that, the words 'I will trust the promise' came out of the song I was listening to).

So I type this again:

Yet God had promised.

It was September 2019 that I wrote that blog post. No hope was in sight.

Eighteen months later, the tipping point came. The Lord kept his promise to me: Miles suddenly signed himself up for church age 15. He did it out of the blue. There was nothing I did except pray and be there.

So now I say with full confidence: God keeps his promises.

(And once again, as I began to re-read this post and read the words 'cry out' at the top, the same words came out of the song I was listening to. Ok, God is in this post.)

The topic of promises and God keeping his promises is such a delicious one. To have a promise from God is quite an experience: You're asked to believe it, you have to align with it and keep nurturing it even when it seems the opposite is happening. And sometimes -- often -- you have to wait a long time. Decades even. But it is an experience.

Have you had a promise from God about anything in particular? Oh, how I would love to hear it. Share in the comments, or even email me if you prefer. I would love, love, love to hear about your promises.

So much love to you all today

Ann

SUM family, today we have a guest post from one of our long-time SUMites, Jan Bittner. I'm so happy to hear her voice on here as she has walked a great story. So now, over to Jan: 

By Jan Bittner

“Get over it,” I felt God say to me just a month after my husband revealed he no longer believed in Jesus. I remember feeling briefly amused by God’s command before pain flooded my heart again. We’d spent a long month fighting – my husband wondered why things couldn’t just continue with this one small change, and I wondered how things could possibly continue. The pain and grief were real. My marriage felt irreparably altered. Friends, it took a long time to ‘get over it,’ and in the meantime, my marriage, my children’s hearts, and my physical health were damaged as we teetered on the edge of divorce for nearly a year.

If only I’d known then what I know now! Learning that my spiritually unequal marriage is more ‘spiritual’ than anything has changed everything.

The first evidence of this was following an argument where divorce was again discussed. I prayed, “God, please give me a verse!” I felt Him say, “2 Corinthians 2:8.” “Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.” NO, I thought, I WON’T! And then…Okay, God, if I do this, you need to bless it. I then said aloud, “I affirm my love for my husband,” and within minutes, God supernaturally replaced the rage I felt with an overwhelming love for my husband! It was so remarkable, unlike anything I ever would or could have done in my own strength, that even my husband was dumbfounded. THAT IS MY GOD!

I learned that day that when I am unable to cast out bitterness, resentment, anger, and pain that I only need to be OBEDIENT to God, and He will help me. I also learned that the physical act of speaking out an affirmation of love caused a powerful shift in my heart and the spiritual atmosphere in my home.

That scripture is one that I return to, time and again, when I feel the need to set my heart right. But it's the rest of the chapter that really settles it for me:

“Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one [he] might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might [c] put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. (2 Cor 2:6-11 NASB)

In this letter, Paul was talking to believers who were hurt by another believer, but I think the spiritual lesson applies equally well to our SUMs. Paul basically told the believers who were hurt, “Enough is enough, get over it! If you continue to punish this person, you will cause excessive sorrow and open doors to the schemes of Satan.”

Is it possible that holding on to offense and unforgiveness against our spouses opens the door for Satan to create havoc in our families? Though we feel hurt by them, could unforgiveness cause our spouses to experience ‘excessive sorrow,’ that may spiritually manifest as sadness or depression, a desire to spend less time together, irritability, anger issues, division, self-medicating behaviors, and more?

Jesus also warns, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14–15 NLT) That’s a sobering warning. God’s forgiveness is directly related to our forgiving others. Forgiveness is that highly regarded by God, and unforgiveness is equally prized by Satan. By forgiving those who hurt us, we not only disrupt Satan’s plans, but we also wield stronger spiritual weapons. We can either partner with our Father to fight the spiritual battle for our husband’s salvation, or we can work against Him, as Paul warns, by harboring unforgiveness. 

Further, God recently revealed a bombshell! My season of unforgiveness EXTENDED my husband’s season of unbelief! Knowing this, I repented to God and apologized to my husband for my behavior. ‘Getting over it’ CAN reap supernatural rewards!

I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments.

My name is Janice Bittner, and I’ve been married to my husband for 20 years. We have two children, 19 and 15, and live in Virginia. I found the Spiritually Unequal Marriage ministry in 2014, and I am so honored to be a guest writer. I pray my story encourages you as much as the SUM ministry has blessed me.

Happy Friday everyone!

I had something happen on Wednesday that felt like God's way of saying to us: 'Know your worth to your families, SUMites.'

Know your worth to your families.

It was nice to get this, it felt like a real encouragement from God for our community. So here's what happened:

I've been recently choosing to sit and read the Bible in the morning at my dining table in the middle of the family clatter, while they're all getting ready for work and school.

The morning routine looks something like this: Bryce potters in the kitchen, Miles - age 17 -- sits at a breakfast bench on his phone while his Dad makes his breakfast, and I sit at the dining table reading my Bible.

There's the radio on, it's noisy, and I get interrupted.... But I've decided to do this as it must be a STRONG thing for a mum to sit reading her Bible in the middle of her family. She soaks in God's words, absorbs those words, and surely light emanates out from that. What's more, I want Miles to see it.

Now that he's a teenager it's one of the remaining things I can do.

Well ...

There I was, reading the book of Proverbs. And I had just read this verse here:

Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,

But a prudent wife is from the Lord.

(Proverbs 19:14)

I stopped at that, and reflected as I have done before with that passage. "A prudent spouse is worth rubies," I thought. And JUST as I thought that Bryce came out of the kitchen and over to me where I was sitting, stood over me, and smiled nicely:

"You're really dedicated to that aren't you?" gesturing at my Bible.

Then --

"Why do you do it?" 

"I love it!" I said, beaming quite naturally. Not self-conscious this time. "It's like health to me. I love looking at all the linkages between things in the Bible."

"Even in the Old Testament?" he said, scanning the page and seeing it was Proverbs.

"Yep."

"Oh look, you've got markings on it too... You write things on it?"

At this point he was bending down and peering over my shoulder at my Bible.

"Yeah... I do!"

Then he went back to the kitchen.

And I was left thinking 'How cool was that, just as I was reflecting on the fact a prudent spouse is from the Lord, my husband comes over and notices.'

Be encouraged SUMites. I just felt that was a little God moment to show that we are a gift from the Lord, an inheritance to our families, and what we're doing is worth more all the riches the world could give, really; it's worth more than rubies.

Love to you all,

Ann

Dear SUMites

It's Ann here, and today I want to share a word that God has given me for us all. So, settle in for a nice read and be encouraged by this one.

It's honestly such a blessing when we hear God's voice for this community. Sometimes he gives a word to one of us writers. Other times he gives it to someone else in our community to pass on to us. But however it comes, when he gives us a word of encouragement -- which he does periodically -- it always makes me see how intensely he hovers over those of us in spiritually mismatched homes.

So with that said, I hope the following word helps you along. It's this:

Dear SUMite, you are the person who He has chosen to move your family forward.

Then he showed me this:

Your family and mine are not in a place of stagnation. This is an ever-evolving, ever-moving, ever-changing situation.

His timing is not the same as our timing. A milli-second for him is like a year for us.

So yes, we have to wait patiently, and watch what looks to us to be an extremely slow process. We are waiting for the one, for the two, for the three. But he is moving.

The effort of moving our whole family towards him, towards eternity, is like the process of turning around a gigantic boat. Think of the Titanic, and how slowly it would have to turn if the captain wanted to turn it 180 degrees. Think of the power needed but also the patience.

So it is with our family: It's a mammoth effort and it takes time to turn their direction completely.

They will get there, he is at the helm, and you are the person whom he has chosen to partner with him for this purpose.

So we must confidently declare the following: "I believe that God is moving my family forward."

Amen, SUMites! Be encouraged, stand strong all over again, make that statement of faith today, and just keep going! There is power in our words and power in prayer, so if you feel like doing so pop a note in the comments to say 'I believe God is moving my family forward'. I will stand with you in that declaration of faith and pray for you and your family.

With love,

Ann

Friends, today we have a treat: Barb Twigg, one of our long-standing community members is sharing a word with us. So without further ado, I will hand over to her:

***

I’m in school….with the Holy Spirit! I’ve not graduated, He keeps teaching me. I’m almost embarrassed to say why has it taken me so long to get all this?  I’m not embarrassed, that’s negative talk and I don’t partner with the dark side ever! But why has it taken me so long to understand these verses? I’m certainly not saying I 100% fully understand but I’m starting to get it now.

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ‭(Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭3‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬)

"Who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" -- That’s it right there! We have a body, we have a soul and we ARE spirit. Once we said yes to Jesus Christ as our Savior our born-again status was awakened in our spirit. We are now spirit to Spirit with the Triune God! Our minds are now “set on the Spirit”. 

Here’s how I walked this out last week. All of the sudden my husband started having bursts of anger. Now, I was going to complete that sentence with “towards me” but after a second outburst the Holy Spirit got my attention. Let me back up here. These last few years I’ve been repenting…A LOT! And that’s such a good thing because repentance means to turn from. It’s not just a “sorry I won’t do this again.”  No, it’s “forgive me I don’t like this part of my flesh, change me from the inside out!”  One of my areas of repentance has been don’t be offended and overreact. I felt the Holy Spirit is teaching me when I’m offended and overreact I’m trusting in my pride, which is another repentance area, and not trusting the truth. And we know who the truth is! Jesus! 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭NASB1995)‬‬

Getting back to the outburst. When it happened the second time I grumbled to the Lord. “You clearly see what he’s doing. He’s not treating me with….etc”. You know what I’m talking about! But in that instance I had a thought:

“Let it roll off your back like water off the Otter. I’ll deal with him.”

HA! Say what? The Holy Spirit just shut my mouth and train of thought with that statement. “Water off the Otter” would’ve never come out of my mouth so I know it was Him. I laughed and told Him that’s pretty good! I continued the conversation because I really didn’t want to be treated poorly or be the one in the line of fire because of what he was apparently dealing with! I got the indication to take authority over this anger that entered my husband. So I did! I called it out, bound it up and forbid the spirit of anger to come around US!  Next day I was reading a devo and the Bible verse was:

To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion–to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit–that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭3‬ ‭AMPC).

Oil of joy illuminated off the page. I got up and blessed olive oil, rubbed it in my hands and anointed all things husband! I blessed him as I went through his areas. Knowing that God our Father hears me and sees my husband. I was expectant for the anger to be gone and it was! No more bursts. I figured out a possible cause with my flesh mind but more importantly my spirit was listening and receiving from the Holy Spirit. I needed to love him through this. It wasn’t personal.

My lesson was don’t react so quickly and take up immediate offense. That’s probably just good marital advice regardless! But instead ask the Holy Spirit what’s going on? We walk in the spirit so that should be my first reaction not offense which is from the flesh. The end of the Romans verse says those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Boom! There it is. I want to please God first! Now don’t get me wrong here. It’s not all fixed and now I know better and won’t do that again. No No! It takes practice. Just like working out your salvation, working on your relationship with Christ, your spouse, your kids! It takes practice to walk in the Spirit.  I’m a willing vessel and God gets all the glory! Are you a willing vessel?

Water off the Otter!

Be blessed,

Barb

Barb Twigg is wife to Rick of 33 years. They live in sunny south Florida and are enjoying retirement. She was born to teach and encourage.   The Lord led her to the book Winning Him Without Words and she found her beloved SUMites! She loves to encourage in the Lord and operates in the gift of faith. If you have doubt, she’ll lead you to belief! She’s always willing to learn from the Holy Spirit and God's Word then teach it to others. She is active in her church and community to reach the lost and walk out her God given assignments. 

How fun is the story of the two visitors at my door!

The two visitors, part one

The two visitors, part two

We left off where the two visitors had prayed for me, and as they did so they got visions and words for me from the Lord. 

WOW.

Now, anyone can say to us "I've had xyz word from the Lord for you", and we don't automatically have to receive what they say. It is our job to choose whether a particular word resonates with us or not. Some people will be speaking accurately from the Spirit of God, some will not.

So there is a caution there. However, the gift of prophecy is a very real thing in the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:10, Acts 21:9), and when someone has genuinely heard God for you and speaks a word from his heart, man is it a blessing!

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith (Romans 12:6, NIV)

Anyway, in this case with these unusual visitors in my living room, I already had a sense their words were going to be from the Holy Spirit. And what followed resonated with me 100%. You'll see why.

The girl begins. After sitting a while and praying for me, she says:

"The Lord says, don't worry about your sons. At all."

Well, I hadn't even told her I had two sons! So that blew me away right there and then.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34, NIV).

Dear SUMites, do we hear this? Let it sink in and let's receive it: We must not worry about our children. Of course, we must care, and contend for them in prayer, but we must still have peace. There is no place for fear in our lives.

Amen.

The girl continued: --

"Ann, there are many, many people behind you on the path. You have a responsibility to keep standing in your faith and keep walking this path, because it will make all the difference to them. You standing in your place of authority will impact so many people."

She said --

"Yes, it's hard being a Christian, but you just have to keep standing."

I nodded. I needed that. I actually needed the conviction of that, because as I said in my earlier post I had been struggling.

And now we come to my favorite bit, a part that made me burst out laughing. The boy said this: --

Ann, I've got a really crazy vision of you. I see it in cartoon form, which is funny. I see you sitting on a desert island. You're all by yourself, and you're sitting under a lone palm tree. There's rain and miserable conditions on this island, but you yourself are doing ok, you're actually quite cheerful.

I opened one eye to peek at him, thinking "Ok........ I'm listening ... what's next?" Then I squeezed my eyes shut again.

He continued --

And then SUDDENLY a spaceship comes down at top speed, picks you up and whisks you away! Just like that. God is going to swoop in and change your circumstance.

At that I burst out laughing. But then I became serious. Yes, that palm tree scene rang true.

My SUM circumstance IS the desert island. I have learnt to be content. I have got the point of being quite cheerful in it. I wasn't always like that -- Actually, I was a basket case a few years ago -- But 'coping' and 'fine' is the point I've got to.

Still, it is a desert island, there are battering conditions, and I am by my lonesome.

Well, the spaceship suggests that there's a change of scene coming. Right then!

And you know what, my friends? That's exactly what I've been hearing God about for the last 3.5 years: That there is going to be a change of scene for me of some sort, sometime. I won't always be sitting on this desert island.

And when that change of scene happens, I'll write about it. And I'll pull out this blog post to say 'See, God told us!'

Well, I hope you liked that story. Have you had an experience where you've been given a prophetic word by someone? Oh how I'd love to hear that if you feel like sharing.

So much love to you,

Ann

My friends,

I'm so glad you loved the two visitors randomly knocking on my door in the middle of a cyclone. If you missed part one of that story, it's here. 

Before I carry on, I need to tell you where Bryce was at this point. We had a national emergency going on in New Zealand, there was a cyclone raging outside and the government had told us all to stay at home.

This meant that Bryce was home. He was working in the shed in the back garden and could have come in at any moment to find these two sitting on my couch. 

In addition, my son Miles (age 16) was home, upstairs in his room.

So, there we were: Me and these two strangers, with Bryce and Miles also in the house. And now we continue:

It turns out the boy visitor was from California, he had a full-on American accent. And so I tell him I have been to California, to Temecula, specifically.

Now, some of you might remember that the reason I went to Temecula was that we had a SUM conference in 2019 there. It was where Lynn was living at the time. 

"I used to go to church in Temecula," says the boy. Temecula is some 10,500 km from where he and I are sitting at that moment. 

I look down at his hands and see that some of his fingernails are painted gold. Was he an angel? It was just so crazy.

I don't actually think he was an angel as I got his phone number later, but he might as well have been.

He continued --

"I went to a church called Providence Church," he said. "In Temecula. It's a Presbyterian church."

Hmm, I went. I didn't even register that properly.

After talking for quite some time, I said "Shall we pray for each other? I would LOVE to pray for you!"

Yes, yes, they were keen. And at this point I can say that if Bryce had walked in on me praying with two strangers in the living room he would have found that really weird. But for some reason I was ignoring that.

So we pray. You know, often when praying with others there's a pressure to speak too quickly but on this occasion it wasn't like that. We took it in turns to focus on each of the three of us. We lingered, sat in silence, lifted the person to God and listened for his heart. Then we spoke for five or ten minutes what we felt God was saying. 

As the boy and the girl together prayed for me, they prophesied over me. They got visions and words for me. God, where did you get these two????

I'll share that part in my next post. But first I need to come back to this: Temecula.

After two and half hours the visitors left. Bryce was still in the shed having missed all the action. Miles was still upstairs. Once they'd gone, it occurred to me to look up the church the boy had mentioned, Providence Church. As I typed it into my phone up popped a road called Pauba Road. 'Oh!' I thought. 'That's where we had the SUM Summit!' 

And THEN, my friends, my eyes nearly popped out of my head at what I saw next: Providence Church meets in Linfield School, which is the very school that we had our last SUM conference in.

WHAT???

Take a moment for that to sink in, and I'll recap:

I was feeling spiritually lacklustre. A random visitor turns up at my house in a cyclone. He has gold nailpolish on. He proceeds to tell me he used to go to church in Linfield School, and I find out that's where we held our last SUM conference. All of a sudden I can tell you I am no longer lack-lustre. God is here.

My friends, that story is a gift for us. God wants us to know he's in our community, he was all over that last conference in 2019, he is all over our upcoming one in September, and he adores us, his SUM Nation.

Honestly, I feel like blowing trumpets, but instead I celebrate by sharing a little picture of SUMites sitting in the sunshine at Linfield School, on that day way over in Temecula in 2019. 

As for what those two visitors prophesied over me, oh wow that's a whole other bottle of wine. Stay tuned for that on Monday.

God is real. God is good.

Ann

My friends, I am interrupting the series on church because something really crazy happened yesterday. Settle in for a good story!

OK:

The last two weeks, I have had an unusual spiritual battle. I've been wrestling with a weird spiritual weariness I've not had before.

Now, I'm normally bouncy when it comes to God. I'm completely ruined for him, and I hope with every fiber of my being that I stay HIS for the rest of my life.

Amen!

BUT the last two or three weeks I've struggled with a weird lack-lustre. God has felt like a distant 'fact', rather than a vibrant presence. I've struggled to read the Bible, which is unusual. And, this past Sunday I felt like I couldn't be bothered going to church. That's no good, is it, when I'm writing a series on that very topic!? Uggh, no fun. And a bit freaky. It's especially difficult to have something like that happen when you know you have a community to keep writing for.

Anyway, my response was this: I have to just keep going. I know that Christians sometimes experience dry patches. I also know that God does not promise that we will always feel his presence, even though he is surely there. So I determined to do that: Keep going. I made a deliberate point to keep reading the word, keep showing up for time with God in the morning, and get prayer for the issue from a couple of people.

Have you been there too? I know a few of us have. It's been a strangely difficult couple of weeks, and that's the backstory to what happened yesterday. 

Now for yesterday:

I was standing in the kitchen. My house was a little untidy, I was in my most unflattering clothes, and my hair hadn't been brushed yet even though it was lunchtime. We have a cyclone going on here in New Zealand, which you might have seen on the news, so I did have an excuse: I was settled in for a full home day while the wind and rain roared outside.

I texted a friend, "I am having a weird time ... feeling spiritual lacklustre." The friend texted back, "I'm praying for you." And no sooner had that message arrived than there was a knock at the door. Two people stood there who I'd never seen in my life: A boy and a girl in their early twenties.

Two knights in shining armor.

"We're here the prayer meeting!" they said.

"Prayer meeting?" I paused for a minute. "Ohhh! Yes, I WAS going to have a prayer meeting today, but cancelled it because of the cyclone."

I then hugged them both as if it was the most natural thing to wrap my arms around two strangers and said "COME IN!"

(Side note: I have no idea how these two found that there was to be a prayer meeting at my house.) 

Having hugged them I said, "Sit down. Let me just go and comb my hair .. and then I will be back." My hair definitely needed a taming before I sat down in front of these two again.

Two minutes later, with duly neatened hair, I plonked myself down in front of them, and we started to talk ...

Me and two strangers. This could be awkward? No, it wasn't.

We proceeded to talk .... about GOD. We talked about fiery things. The boy was 23, a traveler from California. The girl was 20, an Aucklander who lives an hour away from me. We connected deeply. We talked about what we were each wrestling with and hearing from God. In fact, I began to share quite a lot of my heart with them.

At this point I started to feel completely refreshed, like 'This is just what I need right now,' and 'How is it I can talk to these two like I've known them forever?' 

The effect these two were having on me they might as well have been angels.

It got better though....

The boy was from California. "California?" I said, "I've been there. Actually, I work on a ministry for Christians married to non-Christians, and that ministry was set up by a lady who lives in California."

And this is where it got particularly interesting, but I've gone on too long now, so will continue this story on Friday.... Be sure to tune in because this next part is a goody. Till next time!

Ann

By Ann Hutchison

On Monday of this week, I rose early while everyone else slept, opened my Bible to where I'd left off the day before and began to read. I was still thinking a lot about the fast we'd just been through.

I happened to be in the book of Exodus and, as I was reading, suddenly I saw a piece of glitter sitting on a verse I had just got to. It sparkled like a shard of light, glinting. It was next to the word 'Memorial'.

"Ooh... !" I thought, excited, and strained further to see whether it could be, could be, a speck of gold dust. Of course, the more realistic explanation is that it was a piece of glitter from a Christmas decoration, but we had just fasted.

Well, as soon as I noticed it, it instantly disappeared! I had not touched the page at all, blown on it, or done anything to make it move. Where did it go? It had been a definite chink of brightness, and now it was gone. I strained and looked some more, but nope it was gone.

I concluded then that I had seen it in the spirit. I had no problem believing that. And then I sat back and went 'WOW'. Wow. I stared into the distance for a minute, thinking Was that because we just fasted? Then I decided I need to go back to look properly at the verse in question: Exodus 30:16. Where in the verse was the sparkle located, and why did I see it there? In other words, what was God wanting to show me?

Ok, so let's look at this verse. I'm game! It sure is a tucked-away little part of scripture. In fact, if I hadn't seen the sparkle next to it I would have skimmed over this part of the Israelites' story.

The verse is part of a passage where the Israelites each give a sum of money to the Lord, while in the wilderness. It is a specified amount: half a shekel.

The purpose of the money was so that the people wouldn't be touched by a plague. That money would be an offering to the Lord. In other words, like our fast, their offering afforded them protection.

Well, that was the very topic I wrote about on Monday. So that was interesting. But verse 16, where I saw the sparkle, then built on that:

"And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves." (Exodus 30:16, NKJV)

The sparkle was next to the word 'memorial', so this stood out to me. 

What's more, I noticed that I had previously scribbled a note in the margin, about another place in scripture where a 'memorial' to the Lord is mentioned. That place was Acts 10:4, where we see a Roman Centurion, Cornelius, who has been faithful to God. An angel appears to him and says:

"Cornelius! ... Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God." (Acts 10:4, NKJV)

My friends, I believe that God is taking us on a little journey this week to say well done for this fast, and to show us what it's done.

On Monday we talked about how the fast afforded us protection. That was a beautiful thing to know, and though we may never see on earth what that means exactly for our lives, I believe it and receive that word.

And now today it seems God is saying that our corporate fast came up as a memorial before him. What is a memorial? My dictionary tells me that it's something that preserves the memory of anything, serves to keep in remembrance.

It is that God remembers what we've done and will remember this for the rest of our earthly lives. We remember it too. We have put ourselves into God's remembrance.

That is such a simple, but new thought for me in relation to these corporate fasts. It thrills me!

Well, SUMites, wasn't it good fasting together! Let's see if God has anything else to share with us by Friday... And I close with this scripture, which seems relevant:

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him (Malachi 3:16, NKJV)

Love you all,

Ann

By Ann Hutchison

Hi SUM family,

We finished our fast on Friday, and WOW what an effort. I talked to a few of you over the week and know it was a special time for many of you.

I'm going to linger on this topic of fasting a little longer, if you don't mind. What did our fast do?

Personally, as a little wink from God, I've sometimes found that something happens in the last hour of our corporate fast. In one of our first fasts, for example, I walked into the bedroom in the very last hour to find Bryce lying on the bed reading a Christian book!!! 

It's as if God was saying "Yes, your fast did something in the Heavenlies. Be assured."

This year, however, nothing happened in the last hour, and I wondered... Would God show me anything about the fast? Well, roll around Saturday morning and I had a cool thing happen. That morning, I rose early. The whole house was quiet, I wrapped myself up in my cosy robe and stood in the kitchen making coffee, ready for some time with God. 

As I did so, I checked email and saw that I'd received an email from a ministry friend. The title was "Sorry, weekend note that could not wait." This man did not know I'd/we'd been fasting.

He had not wanted to disturb me on the weekend but said that he felt like a baker who had just produced a fresh warm loaf of bread and it had to be delivered NOW. As in, the Holy Spirit was prompting him to write.

Well, that was fun, as I'd been fasting for a week and now it seemed God was sending me a loaf of steaming warm bread as if to say "I'm giving you a word now in response to your hunger." Awesome!!

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:9, NIV)

So, what was in the email? What was the loaf of steaming warm bread that God wanted to deliver to me so urgently in the form of words? Well, wouldn't you know it: The email was about fasting!

I reiterate, my friend did not know I was fasting, but in this email he had been led to tell me about a difficult fast he'd done, and how there was evidence that fast protected him from later attacks by the enemy. The crux of the email was that fasting had afforded him protection. 

Because of the timing and content of this email, I believe it was a word from God for us. And I think what God wants us to know is that our fast has afforded us protection. It might be protection we never see with our earthly eyes or understand, of course, so perhaps we just have to know it's there.

I personally had never given much thought of that outcome of fasting -- protection -- but what a great reason to fast.

It's always important to check everything against scripture, of course. And there is an example in the Bible of a corporate fast bringing protection. It's in the book of Esther, where Queen Esther asked the Jews in her city to fast for protection, and that protection does come following their fast:

Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish! (Esther 4:16, NKJV)

So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. (Esther, 5:2, NKJV)

So, our word to take to heart and believe today is this: Our SUM corporate fast has afforded us protection. There is a massive battle in our lives. That we know. And in some form or other the Lord has decreed, "Do not touch, do not touch, my anointed." I thank him for that.

SUMites, I have another insight about our fast too that I received this morning in my prayer time. So I will share that on Wednesday. 

In the meantime, would you like to share anything else about how your fast went?

Ann

By Ann Hutchison

A few years ago, I was witness to a miracle that will stay with me forever. I tell quite a few people about this miracle as it's truly remarkable.

I have a good friend called Jess. She lives close to me in Auckland, we met at the church I used to attend, and she reads this blog sometimes. She's my age, well a teeny bit younger, and has three young kids.

One day Jess came to a church evening event looking devastated. She'd been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. 

Her kids were preschool and primary school age at the time, and she was in her thirties. You can imagine.

I'm not sure what the prognosis was - She knows I'm writing this, I'll have to ask her -- but she needed surgery. She had already had a biopsy that had revealed it was cancer, and now this surgery was to cut it out. Naturally, she was completely traumatized.

Our pastor, Cam, had a particular love for encouraging people to pray for healing in our church. So, one Sunday shortly after Jess had been diagnosed, he gathered a few people together while they were chatting after the service, and said, "Let's pray for Jess."

The group gathered around and prayed for her. 

As they prayed, Cam said this: "Jess, I pray that when the doctors open up your throat, they will take the thyroid out, cut it up, not find any cancer, and be confused ."

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven (Matthew 18:19, ESV).

Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20)

We always prayed beautiful prayers in that church, and there were big hearts of love for Jess amongst those who gathered around her. And that was that. She went home and duly awaited the operation.

The time came for Jess's operation. She's like me, she hates medical procedures, and so this was dreadful on the highest scale of dreadfulness. I don't know how she coped, actually; well, she told me she didn't.

The doctors put her under, opened up her throat, and removed the thyroid. Jess sleepily came to, and went home. Then it was time for her follow-up meeting to find out what the doctors had discovered.

The doctor frowned as Jess entered the room and sat down in front of him. "Umm.. We took the thyroid out, cut it up and couldn’t find any cancer. We were thoroughly confused.” 

!!!

Sorry what?? Jess nearly fell off her chair. Was she hearing things right? Yes she was. The surgeon told her later that he had a pathologist meeting board discuss her case along with others that needed reviewing and they compared the before and after slide to make sure there was no mistake. They had more than one pathologist identify that the first slide showed cancer so they had no choice but to remove the thyroid but the second slide showed nothing.  

So, Jess was discharged from any further treatment and declared completely cancer free. Say what??

She now has a wicked battle scar across her whole throat, from left to right, to prove what she went through. She wears that scar with pride and tells the story to people. Some love the story, some reject it, some even get offended by it. But this is my friend, and I know it to be true.

Praise God, is all I can say!

Jesus, name above all names.

Ann

By Ann Hutchison 

"I have a husband at home, and he's not a Christian." I was standing opposite a man at church whom I'd never met. "It's all a bit new to us this whole church thing," I said, munching away on a biscuit. My companion nodded sympathetically.

It was a couple of years into my spiritual mismatch in marriage, and I was in full SUM-pain-mode, talking far too much about it to anyone who would listen. Yak yak yak, I continued, telling this man all about the situation, and how hard it was.

A short time after that God whispered to me, "Ann do you realize what you did there?" And he showed me something:

He gave me a vision of a view that you would see if you held a piece of paper up between your two eyes and then looked at the view using both eyes. Perhaps you could try it now to see what I mean? What you see with a piece of paper between your eyes is two different things at the same time, and a blur -- - Your eyes do not work together.

God explained the vision to me:

"Ann, what you've done in speaking those words about your husband to another person is construct a spiritual barrier in your marriage. By putting that barrier in place with your tongue, you have prevented Bryce from seeing spiritual truth jointly with you. Watch every word you speak about him from now on. Only speak life, not death. Then, if you do that, you will eventually see as one."

I put my head in my hands and groaned. And I believe that as I repented that barrier dissolved. Thank God for Jesus, and the power of his restoration. Still, I learnt a serious lesson.

That vision was so instructive for me, in fact, that from then on I watched every single word I spoke about Bryce, and militantly so.

Every. single. word. My prayer is this: Lord, let my tongue promote health!

I wanted to share that story because last week in our study of the Book of James we reached the famous passage on the untamable tongue:

We put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:3-8, NKJV).

In that study Lynn shared a true story: There was a man whose way of hearing God was that he would sometimes see things in the spirit realm with his natural eyes. He was having an argument with his wife one day, spoke some thoughtless words to her that labelled her in some way, and as he did he saw a cut appear on her face as a result of his words. That's how stark this thing is.

In our marriages, this means that we have the power to speak life or death over our spouse. We want to bring life to them -- We're desperate for that -- so we need to put our tongues into the right kind of action. 

Instead of a cut on the face, I wonder what kind of visual it would be if we used words of blessing over someone. God showed me once that when I bless people with my words, it's like rainbows come out of my mouth and hit those people. I like that image!

So these days, instead of referring to someone -- anyone -- as 'atheist', 'not a Christian', 'narcissistic', 'addicted to xyz', or any other kind of label, I'll stop and think quite carefully about what I say. For that little tongue of mine is a powerful little thing.

How easy or difficult do you find it to watch the words you speak about your spouse?   

Love you all,

Ann

Hello, dear friends, it's Ann here.

Last week we talked about life with the Holy Spirit. I so enjoyed those conversations.

Well, this week I want to share a couple of simple stories -- one today and one on Friday -- to describe something the Holy Spirit did on an otherwise ordinary day. In each story there is a truth for us SUMites to take away.

Are you sitting comfortably? Ok, here we go:

A few years ago, I was fast asleep in bed when I suddenly woke to feel a jolt of explosive power break out of me. KAPOW!!!  It felt like shards of diamonds had just exploded from within my innermost depths.

POW!

It was the descriptiveness of it that struck me. The sense I had was definitely of shards of diamonds. Precious stuff.

Why did I experience that, and what was God trying to say? I wasn't sure.

A few weeks later, however, he whispered this: Ann, that power was the breakthrough power within you that you carry. It will break out of you and change people and circumstances around you.

Amazing. What's more, I know that word wasn't just for me: It's for our community. For you carry the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, and I know that many of you stoke your relationship with God so fervently that this power will shift things around you eventually.

How I love this on-fire community of ours!

Christians use the word 'breakthrough' quite often to describe a change in circumstances, or even an inner change that they've been waiting for and praying for. As far as I'm aware it's not a term that's obvious in the Bible, but I do believe it's in there. Sometimes these terms catch on because a Spirit-led believer has experienced it and talked about it. 

So, where is breakthrough in the Bible? Well, I think a few tucked-away places.

First, the book of Micah describes a situation where the power of God is so great that breakthrough will occur --

He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the LORD at their head (Micah 2:13, ESV).

Second, there's a little scripture in the story of King David where David experiences a victory and declares God the Lord of breakthrough:

And David came to Baal-Perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-Perazim. (2 Samuel 5:20, ESV)

Reading that, I actually feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as I type. That tells me God is breathing on this concept for us. Perhaps we can linger there a moment. 

Jehovah Perazim, you are the Lord of breakthrough.

And finally, there's a curious story in the book of Genesis, where Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar carries twins, and during the birth one twin miraculously breaks through out of her womb:

When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. (Genesis 38:27-29, ESV)

Perez means the same as Perazim: Breakthrough. That baby, who broke through miraculously, ended up being the ancestor of Jesus. Breakthrough was in the DNA of Jesus and it's in ours too.

What do we do with all this? I think we are to just know about it. That is, we're to know that's what we carry, even if we can't see it with our natural eyes. What's more, we'll carry more of it the more time we spend with him. And, those around us will be changed by that, including our families.

We have the God of breakthrough intimately with us.

Whew, what a thought. Do you have any thoughts to share in the comments? I'll see you there.

Love,

Ann 

By Ann Hutchison

Years ago, I asked God a question: "What does it look like to walk with the Holy Spirit?" I had not read the Bible through yet, but I noted scripture mentioned gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as healing, tongues, and miracles; and I had questions for God about this.

A night or so later, I woke with a phrase in my head. The phrase was this: The voyages of Paul.

The voyages of Paul? Hmm. 

Now, I was a babe in the faith. I knew who the Apostle Paul was -- he wrote parts of the New Testament, but I didn't yet know he took voyages. "Did he take voyages?" I asked. Well, I went to Wikipedia and found that indeed he did! WOW.

Yep, that was the Holy Spirit speaking to me, and I sensed God was telling me to go and look at Paul's voyages to see how the Holy Spirit works in someone's life. When Paul took those voyages the Holy Spirit was active in his life, and his stories leave us examples of what that can look like.

Well, I still have those old notes from that day, and I'd like to share them with you now. I hope you like them. For me personally, they have refreshed me all over again, years on.

The Holy Spirit:

1. Speaks to you --

Especially when you worship and fast. He speaks through visions of the night or the day, dreams, pictures, symbols and analogies, and helps you understand scripture.

He warns you about certain things; and sometimes he gives instructions. This might be, for example, whether to step forward in a certain situation. Sometimes he will even forbid certain actions, not necessarily things that are a matter of conscience; rather, it's a 'not yet' or 'not here'.

He confirms his words to you by confirmations from others, and he says, 'Do not fear', and 'Take courage', strengthening you so that you continue in faith.

2. Helps you discern --

The Holy Spirit helps you look at a situation and know if it's God or Satan, enables you to recognize others' faith and, conversely, recognize the influence of evil in a particular situation.

3. Helps you speak --

He gives you words for others, which can greatly help them in their belief.

He enables you to speak accurately when necessary, though you will always be learning. Through him, you can speak true and rational words. You will testify to the grace of God, and he makes you God's witness.

He even might enable you to give others some divine insight, if you grow your skills in the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Finally, he will enable you to speak boldly. Some still won't believe, but God does open hearts.

4. Grants signs and wonders

As you grow, the Holy Spirit will enable you to shake off the devil and be completely unharmed.

He will enable you to heal others, and even raise someone from the dead (Can I believe that? Yes I believe it).

Just as miraculously, he will enable you to open others' eyes and set people free of troubling spirits, strengthening the church as a whole, and increasing the size of the church. 

5. Strengthens you

Finally, he will have the effect of great joy on you and others and put a fervor inside you that stands up against anything on the outside.

**

WOW. How amazing, exciting and inspiring this is. All I can say is I want more and I know that it is there. This list was, after all, compiled from scripture (The Book of Acts chapters 13-28).

As for what it means for us today? Well, the Holy Spirit can come from an appropriate person laying hands on a person (see Acts 8:17-19), or by simply asking God in the quiet of one's home to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

To be baptized with the Holy Spirit is life-changing, and begins the above adventures. I believe God will give us only as much of the above-listed experiences as we can handle, according to our maturity and other circumstances. It's a beginning.

If you are reading this and haven't ever asked God for a baptism of the Holy Spirit, or simply want to ask him for more, you can do that in the quiet of your home. But, it would also be our honor to pray for you. If you would like, leave us a comment and we would absolutely love to pray for you! 

Love you, friends,

Ann

Ann here!

I've got a little story today that may make me sound bonkers. But I'm laughing as I write, because sometimes you've just got to die to yourself and tell the story. I hope it gives you a smile.

In my spiritually mismatched marriage, there was a real season of tears that lasted a number of years. 

To everything there is a season and a purpose under heaven: (Eccl 3:1)

A time to weep and a time to laugh (v. 4, NKJV)  

It wasn't that I didn't love my husband, but the spiritual mismatch itself was just so upsetting, uncomfortable, and stretching that I cried most days about it.

One day I was home alone thinking about it as usual and, yep, crying. I happened to put a CD on, and as I sniffled away a song began to play that was catchy. Words floated out:

Don't cry. Open up your eyes and know there's someone else out there that feels this way.

I'm singing to you 'coz I know what you've been through and it's not so long ago I felt the same.

Like soldiers, march on. If we can make it through the night we'll see the sun. March on, march on.

I leapt to my feet. "I am a soldier of Jesus Christ" I thought, and began to march on the spot. Well, I marched, marched, marched, and marched some more, snot-crying with a big man-sized hankie, and listening to those words Like soldiers, march on. The song finished, I put it on again and continued to march.

Honestly, I must have spent about twenty minutes marching on the spot in my living room. Good job no one could see me. But, bonkers as it may have seemed, it turns out it was a prophetic act.

A couple of years later Lynn Donovan, our founder of this ministry, announced that her husband Mike had got baptized after 27 years of her waiting for it. She announced it to the room at a SUM conference, and told us how the Lord had taken her on a seven-year march around Jericho before he suddenly said yes to baptism. 

That seven year march involved Lynn learning something new and specific each year in order to get the Jericho walls of her husband's unbelief to crash to the ground. What's more, God was asking her now to write a book about those seven years and call it Marching Around Jericho.

The talk Lynn gave about her seven-year march and Mike's baptism is here. She marched .. and then Mike got baptized in March. Just because God is fun. It's as if he was saying 'Let's just have a complete marching theme here!'

When Lynn finally finished the book and had it published in December 2019, the book ended with these words on its last page:

March on, Warrior! We WIN!

March On? Well, that was the very name of the song I marched to: March On by the band Good Charlotte.

That little march in my living room was a foreshadowing of that great book and all that it has meant for our community. That book lifted our spiritual skills so that we could break through those Jericho walls. It also had - and has -- the power to change a season.

Yes, here on the blog many are still marching through that season of tears. That's why we need this ministry. But, in the words of that song, if we can make it through the night we'll see the sun. March on. March on.

Even when there's no one there for you, march on.

Even when the days are hard for you, march on.

Like soldiers, march on.

I'm going to finish with the song itself and, hey, if you're game why not have a march in your living room? It's Friday and we can be a little bonkers ((laughing)).

Ann

By Ann Hutchison

Often-times a spiritually mismatched marriage can make us feel we're in a real quandary. I wonder if that's how you'd describe it too?

Dictionary definitions of the word 'quandary' include:

A state of perplexity

A hard plight

A state of difficulty

A state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation.

Yes, I'd say that's how it's often been. But today I'd like to share something that God seemed to show me about that state of quandary. What he seemed to say is that a quandary has its purposes Here's the story:

Three years ago I was sat in my church's Easter service. The pastor put on some music and said "Let's sit and reflect for a while." The soft music played.

Gazing down, my eyes began to wander. They wandered over to a certain molded indentation on the plastic seat beside me, where my husband should have been sat. And still the music played. Instead of thinking about the empty tomb I began to think about a different empty thing: That empty seat, and my absent-from-church husband.

"He is not here," I thought to myself. And I wasn't thinking about Jesus now.

One thing led to another then, and yes this may sound dramatic but I threw myself forward, hurled my head into my hands, and let my shoulders heave in quiet sobs.

He is not here. He is not here.

Meanwhile, the reflection music just kept on playing.

It was at that moment that little thoughts came to me that seemed to perfectly articulate my problem, like some kind of 'eureka' moment. I grabbed my phone and began to type. Here's what I wrote:

"I can't do faith without you, Bryce.

You won't do it with me.

I can't be without you.

I can't not do faith."

"Wow" I thought, clicking the save button with a sense of resolution. "That there is what's going on. I'm in a constant quandary." Indeed, what I realized from writing those four statements is that this SUM situation was bringing me a set of tensions that seemed impossible to hold. Well, at least that's how it felt.

At that moment, however, God seemed to give me the following as a way of countering the problem I had just typed out. It landed in my heart as an analogy, a quiet answer from the Holy Spirit:

"Ann, there are numerous facets to your character, just like a glitter ball has many facets. These tensions in your life enable the different facets of your character to be examined by Me. These tensions have their purpose: They enable Me to test your heart. Know this, then: Every time you hold two contradictory things in tension in your marriage, you are being tested and refined. I am watching to see how you navigate it and what choices you will make."

Amazing. "I think I understand, Lord," I said, and I have thought a lot about that image of the glitter ball and its facets ever since. Is this whole SUM situation one big set of tests, even?

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts. (Proverbs 17:3)

Well, that was three years ago and of course I've had numerous thoughts about spiritually mismatched marriage since, just like I imagine many of you do. But, three years on, some of those things I'm holding in tension don't seem so hard to combine any more. I can't say why exactly. Perhaps it's that Jesus has come into the middle of it and brought ease.

There is one part to that quandary that I can say has actively changed, though. My first statement that Easter three years ago was this: "I can't do faith without you, Bryce." Well, I have learned that I can do faith without him, and I do. For, after all, though I am one flesh with my husband, I do stand on my own two feet before God.

Overall, then, perhaps our lesson is today is that we mustn't despise the quandary, but instead see it for what it is: a tool for us to draw closer to God, and a tool for him to refine our characters.

Do you have a quandary you're wrestling with at the moment?

Let's chat in the comments!

Ann

Hi SUM family, Ann here.

I hope you are all doing ok at the moment with what our world is going through, especially the distressing images from Europe. We are certainly in challenging times.

Today I want to talk a little about that. Specifically, what does God want us to know currently?

First, a scripture:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

My friends, one of the earliest things that I heard from God when Covid broke out was a very simple phrase: "Watch and pray."

In some ways that took the pressure off. I could certainly watch and pray easily enough. So far, so good.

But what does watching look like? Well, I'd say it means adopting a quiet spirit, taking our time to assess what's going on, looking at events while staying in the Word every day, and constantly asking God at every step: "Here's what I'm seeing. Would you tell me about this?" 

Lately what we've been seeing has been different to anything we've seen in our generation. It's been startling. We hear only in part (1 Corinthians 13:9), but here are some specific things I've heard from the Lord about this time. I hope it helps you along and gives you some points of focus:

**

1. First, this is a spiritually significant time, and the pandemic is a spiritually significant event. It's not some random event. It does reflect a movement in the Heavenlies of some sort.

2. It is a time that will pave the way for God to bring salvations. Our job is to prepare ourselves to partner with God when it's time.

3. God is using this 'shaking up' of the world and church. He is allowing certain things to be stripped away, especially in the church but also in the world. Painful as it is, this is a purifying time for the church. 

4. It's a hard truth, but parts of the Western church needed to be woken up. Parts of the church had aligned themselves with the world's morals, making sin seem ok. Universalist ideas had crept into some pulpits, watering down the truth of Jesus and what he did for us. In other parts of the church, lukewarm Christianity had taken hold. This is a serious issue.

5. God is deeply merciful and compassionate, but also righteous. Because he is righteous, reformation needs to come to His Bride (Ephesians 5:27).

6. We should be prepared for God to move in new and unexpected ways next in the church, and be open-hearted in readiness for that. 

7. We need to be on guard ourselves: The enemy is using this pandemic as an opportunity to distract believers from Jesus and from spreading the Gospel. Stay alert; be careful; go to him for every answer.

**

So yes, that summarizes what I've heard from the Spirit over the last two years. For me the Book of Jeremiah has been a great help in understanding what we've been walking through. In that book, God allowed some very difficult circumstances for his people on a national scale but he explained his perspective behind it. His intent is always to try to bring people back to him. Further, he looks after those who listen to him. But tough stuff happens because people and nations take themselves far from God. 

It would be an oversight if I didn't mention the vaccine. All I can say is I've asked God about that, and his response was "Stay focused instead on the work I have for you to do." I have never had any information from God to say that this vaccine should or should not be taken. So, that's all I can say there. 

Ultimately, from all of the above I'd say our priority has to be the health of our relationship with him. Then, walk in love for others, and always be found waiting to work for Jesus. That alone will enable us to stay at peace. 

Well, phew, that was a serious post, but I hope there's been something in there for you. 

Next time I write I'll talk about about what we are to do, how we are to respond. But for now, let's chat in the comments?

Much love,

Ann