SUM Meet-Up, 26-29 September 2023

Well, we are continuing to plan our meet-up in September! It's so exciting. A number of you have already said you'd like to TRY to be there, and I thought it was about time I posted an update.

We first announced in January that we were planning this. So to start off, if you missed that original post you can catch up here.

I've now booked my flight so can confirm I'll be there, and Lynn is all set too -- It's ON! 

Now I want to pause and encourage you at this point: Even if you feel it's impossible, in terms of money or your spouse's permission, ask God if He will make a way. In the past, God has done some very interesting things with these meet-ups of ours. And, if God wants you to be there, you'll be there.

I say that because when we had our last SUM conference in 2019 I thought 'How on earth am I going to get a plane ticket for that? And if the plane ticket were possible, how on earth could I ask Bryce?' It was completely impossible, especially as I was coming from New Zealand which is a twelve-hour flight and extremely expensive! For two days? For a conference for people who are Christians married to non-Christians? Yeah right ((laughing)). But you know, something like that is easy-peasy for God and, blow me down, I got there. Here's a photo from that day of some of us.

So with that said here's the plan for our 2023 meet-up:

Tuesday 26th September: We'll spend the day at Lynn's house in Rancho Murieta. If you want to look up her general location, she lives on Puerto Drive, in Rancho Murieta which is close to Sacramento, California. It's just going to be a nice, relaxing day together spent as friends. We'll have some food, will worship together, go on a walk .. and enjoy a day of fellowship.

The closest airport to Lynn is Sacramento International Airport, which is an hour's drive away, and you will have to find accommodation near Lynn - More on that in a minute.

Wednesday 27th September to Friday 29th: We will attend the Bethel 'Open Heavens' conference at Redding, which is 2.5-3 hours from Lynn's house. We can hopefully ride-share and go up in groups from Lynn's house, and we will drive up on the Wednesday morning.

The link to the Bethel conference is here: https://www.bethel.com/calendar/open-heavens-2023. When you're ready, register yourself as an individual. There is open-seating, and no group registrations, so just go ahead and register. There is an early-bird rate, which is available until 31 May. 

You will have to find accommodation at Bethel, but perhaps you can liaise with some other SUMites to see if some of you can stay together.

After the conference, you could fly home from Bethel itself, as there is a regional airport 15 minutes drive from the conference location. That said, some of us will drive back to Sacramento after the conference, so there will be ride-sharing again. 

**

To make your travel plans, it'll be good to liaise with each other so that we can ride-share and stay near each other. For that purpose, we have set up a private Facebook group for the event. Here's a link to that group: Meet-Up in California | Facebook

If you're not on Facebook, send me an email on annhutch42@gmail.com (if you haven't already done so), and what I'll do is send out a monthly email to everyone on my list regarding this event and our plans so far.

So, my friends, those are the details so far. If you have any questions pop them in the comments, and if you'd like to attend and would like us to join in praying for you put that in the comments too.

We love you and can't wait to meet as many of you as possible in person. Exciting!!

Ann and Lynn

Have you ever thought much about what it looks like to 'die to self' in your spiritually mismatched situation? This week in our live chat on Facebook one of our SUMites, LuAnn Wendover, shared some thoughts on that. Hope you enjoy this, there is some great wisdom here.

Hello friends! Would you believe it, I still have more to write on the topic of Navigating Church. Are you still with me? Isn't it amazing that one topic can spawn so many posts!

Here are the posts on this topic so far:

When it's challenging to attend church

Phases of our church life

What to do when we feel offended by the church

What the spiritually mismatched bring to church

The power of church family

Friendships with Christians of the opposite sex

Now, today I want to talk about finding a church family. What do we look for when finding a church?

I've mentioned before that in 2021 the church I was attending closed. Yikes, what a thing to happen! The pastor simply lost his vision for the church and felt that we were meant to all disband. Strangely, I felt it was a God thing. God works unusually sometimes.

Something interesting happened next. As we disbanded, God seemed to show each person where they were meant to go next, and he put us into some quite varied churches.

One of us, for example, was a SUMite. She felt that God was leading her to attend the local mega-church, an enormous glittering presence in the inner-city of Auckland. Her response to that was 'Crikey, NO!' as she had formed a bad opinion of mega-churches. However, good on her for following God's lead because weeks later her non-believing husband gave his life to the Lord in the walls of said mega-church!!! 

((Let's just pause and take that in for a minute)).

God knows best. 

From all that, I say the key is to simply ask God 'What church do you want me in?' It's as simple as that. Ask him to give you a sign or two to help you figure it out. 

It's all about where God wants you. 

God will have a job for you to do in the church family of his choosing. Your job might be to care for the bruised and broken body of Christ in a less-than-perfect church, in which case you might have some differences with the church. Or, more comfortably, he might want you to go somewhere you are going to be nurtured because that's what you need right now. 

When it comes to church, though, there is one deal-breaker for me, and I say this because I can't imagine God putting me in a church that was otherwise. It's this: The church must preach the Gospel.

By preach the Gospel, I mean:

The church must preach that Jesus is the only way to salvation

The church must preach that there is such a thing as sin, therefore we need the cross.

The church must preach the need for repentance and living a changed life; not choosing to live life on our own terms.

There is more to the Gospel; I mean the gift of eternal life is AMAZING! But in all seriousness, the above sentences are critical parts of Jesus's message; and, as our presence supports a church's mission, I can't imagine God putting us into a church that didn't preach the above. That's one thing, therefore, that I would look at before settling in. 

On that note, God wants his church to become pure and spotless, not swayed by the world's morals. The church must be willing to be counter-cultural on certain difficult topics, because that's how we honor the cross of Christ, his blood shed for our sin. That means being gracious and truthful. We must be a church that frees people from the things that enslave them, and that involves being truthful about sin. Hard stuff.

The church is called to be very different to the world; and to be brave ...  And that is all part of what it looks like to preach the Gospel.

Will the church ever be perfect? Well, we're a bunch of humans, so no. But our job as little SUMites, spiritually single and all, is to help our church be the best it can be. 

That's a challenge I can rise to!

Ok, let's chat in the comments. What has been your experience of trying to find a church family?

Ann

Hi Sum Nation. Lynn Donovan here.

I’ve been pondering the spiritual principals of the Kingdom of God. There are spiritual laws that are unbreakable and cannot be subverted. Just as there are laws in the natural (physical) realm there are principals set down by God, that when followed, result in a powerful life.

For example, the law of gravity governs our daily life and cannot be escaped.  Today, I want to bring understanding to the Kingdom Principle of Persistence.

Let me state some absolutes regarding this principle:

1. The Principle of Persistence is real.
2. This spiritual principle is powerful in two ways.
3. It’s Biblical and was taught by Jesus.
4. If followed, you will see results.
5. It’s not easy. But anything worthwhile and powerful in the Kingdom isn’t for the weak of will or heart.

Let’s start with number one and number two. Persisting in faith, (faith = what you believe) is the key to breakthrough and powerfully answered prayer. Giving up is failure to see what you hoped and prayed for come to pass.

So, there is a positive outcome if we choose to remain steadfast in faith. And the opposite is true that our wishy-washy faith and belief will not accomplish much.

And my friend, this principle is available and at work in our unequally yoked marriages EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!

Take it from me, as I write to you today on my 31^st wedding anniversary, my persistence to believe in Jesus and the Bible is what carried me through the early years and every struggle I have ever faced.

My bulldogged approach to faith, my bite down hard and will not release, give up, waver, nor backdown is what has led to my Promised Land years, where I now live and dwell.

So, today, it’s time to sit down with Jesus and ask for the gift of faith and belief and decide to stand in the Kingdom Principle of Persistence.

I would even dare you to post a prayer asking for this Kingdom gift right now in the comments. This sets a public statement to be read and I will agree with you. And it tells the demons that you won’t back down or give up.

Next time I share, I will show you where this principle is hidden, in plain sight, in the Word of God and what Jesus said about it.

Okay, right now go to the comments and make a statement of faith. I bless you in the name of Jesus to step into this Kingdom Principle today and to see the breakthroughs that will occur because you walk in faith. In the name of our Savior, Jesus, the Messiah, AMEN.

One of our long-time community members, Jan Bittner, joined me this week to share her testimony -- And it is such a good testimony. I will say no more, and will hand over to Jan. Enjoy!

Dear SUMites,

Sometimes I have a pre-planned idea of what I'm going to write about in a particular series, but then God completely interrupts my well-oiled ideas! Well, that is what happened yesterday with this Navigating Church series.

I was going to write next about how to handle it when we feel jealous of Christian couples at church, followed by a post on how our spouses respond to church. But instead yesterday I got an overriding phrase from God about all this. It was a phrase where God seemed to be saying 'Take a step back and look at it differently'. The phrase was this:

A family has the power of a nuclear bomb!

If that sounds a little weird, please don't give up on reading yet! Let me carry on a little:

I think what God is saying is that when the church behaves as family to each other, there is a spiritual power that comes from that that is beyond what we can even imagine. And, like a lot of spiritual truths, we can't see it but it is there. The unity of a church as a family unit provides a spiritual power that is matchless -- A power that can overtake anything in its path. Just like a nuclear bomb, except in a good way because it's the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's the stuff that Jesus talked about when he told Peter that he was going to build his church:

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt 16:18, NKJV)

It's like the ultimate bomb. A smart bomb.

On the other hand, if the church is not unified, and not behaving like a family to each other, they will be weak and powerless.

Now, this issues us a challenge: Can we approach the whole messy issue of 'church' in a way where our fellow churchgoers become to us like siblings, children, or parents? To do that we have to lay aside quite a lot of our own 'stuff', I think.

Yes, our church family and our blood family (especially our spouse) might not mix. So be it. But we are called to steward both things as SUMites.

For me personally, there's quite a lot more that I can do to be a good family member to those in my church. The thought of that simple action and attitude bringing power is awesome and interesting, and I am game for this challenge.

There is another scripture that alludes to this power that comes from unity. It's this one:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing -- Life forevermore (Psalm 133, NKJV)

I wonder why that scripture mentions Aaron specifically? I guess it is that Aaron, as high priest for the Israelites, had the powerful role of standing in the gap between people and God. Unity, then, brings an 'Aaron' kind of power: It's a power where God turns his ear to us.

So, if we take this word, that being a family leads to power, I wonder if we can pause now and consider this question: What does it look like to treat those in our church like family?

I would actually love to see your comments about that, so I'll pause here and see what thoughts spring to mind for you.

I think there are some complexities in it. It's not straightforward. Still, let's chat. I look forward to your comments!

Ann

Friends,

I had something sweet happen to me at church this past Sunday. 

But I'll say this first: It's funny, I'm finding that because I'm writing this series on church, church memories are bubbling to the surface, including some of the harder moments in years past, and I've had a more difficult time than usual with church since I've been writing this series. It's strange. Sometimes I guess we live out the things we write about.

Anyway, this past Sunday at church a lovely young girl who I admire (age 20) bounces over to see me. We talk for a while about her life. Then she asks if she can pray for me. 'Do you need anything in particular?' she says. I smile: 'You just pray whatever God puts on your heart to pray for me. I'd love to hear it!'

So she closes her eyes and puts her arm around me.

Out of her mouth comes a beautiful, long, long prayer. She is speaking words about the various good things I bring to this church! On and on she goes about all those good things, elaborating on them in quite a lot of detail. 

... Then suddenly I feel another arm come around me from the other side. It's one of our elders. So, these two are both standing there, arms round me, like a pair of family members.

The prayer finishes, and the girl says to me straight away: 'I love what you bring to this church, Ann. I love what you're doing here. In particular, I find you such a SAFE person.'

The elder nods to all that, adding in things. 'You're very safe.'

Safe -- hmm, that's interesting. I think us SUMites are safe people for others.

I thanked them hugely for those words. Honestly, it was just what I needed to hear.

Finally, I headed to the door to go home to Bryce, but as I did I hugged another girl by the door, hello and goodbye. 'Oh Ann, you make such a difference!' she said, not knowing anything about the conversation I'd just had.

Do you think God was trying to send me a message? ((laughing)). But seriously, to have that experience just after writing a blog post about feeling invisible and not properly part of the family, I thought "I really must take notice and know that I DO belong in this church family."

In that spirit, I'm including a photo from my church. That's me in the glasses on the far left of the photo. I sit alone in the pews without my husband. AND, I am part of the family.

I genuinely don't think the people who gave me those words this past Sunday had read my last blog post. People in my life don't read this blog even though they know it's there. No, instead I think it was all God: He wanted to bring perspective.

So, let's ask ourselves what do we bring to church, as SUMites? Do you think it would be true to say that we underestimate what we bring to the church?

What we bring is a unique, sparkling, shiny, glorious, hand-crafted set of gifts that the Father has placed in us. And beyond our unique personalities, we also bring some common strengths as a direct result of our unequally yoked marriages:

1. We know how to pray.
2. We know about spiritual warfare because we live with it.
3. We know how to talk to people who are on the fence.
4. We understand those who are on the periphery at church
5. We have an uber-strong dose of faith -- Faith that has been tested like crazy.
6. And, finally, we are SAFE people. Yes, we are safe!

So today I pray one thing: I pray that we all know, and settle in our hearts, just how valuable we are to the church, and to our church family.

For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body', is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say 'Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.' (1 Cor 12:14-18, NKJV)

Hi everyone, how fun was it sharing that story of the two visitors! The word jolly comes to mind.

That's God and who he is for us. He crafts stories for us, and he is full of joy. But the story is not done yet, because something else just happened. Get this:

Today I was all set to continue our series on navigating church, and was preparing to write my next post. Well just as I was preparing to start writing, the phone rang. It was none other than one of the two visitors!! The girl.

I'm not making this up. I promise.

At this point you may be wondering if you should grab a cuppa. I think so. And let me catch my breath for a minute ... !

Anyway --

I answered the phone and declared "HELLO!" buoyantly, surprised to see her name pop up.

She came straight out with the reason for her call: "Hey I know this is a crazy idea, but I just wondered if I could come over and play your piano? I don't have one at home ..."

Could she? Why not. I was only planning to write SUM posts today, so she could play while I wrote.

"Please do!" I said. "I won't be very present as I have some writing to do, but just come over and make yourself at home, I'd actually love that."

It turns out she is a song-writer. She usually uses her guitar to write songs but she saw my piano when she was at my house the other day ... And being young and having parents overseas she doesn't have one of her own. She was so enticed she just had to ask.

So she is here, in my living room, as I write. She is tinkering on my piano and singing out certain phrases over and over with different combinations of chords.

Now, this is the interesting part. What is she singing? Hang on, she sounds like she's writing a song about my church! And she has the most beautiful, deep, rich singing voice.

How do I know she's singing a song about my church?

Well, the other day when she was at my house she mentioned the fact that God is doing things in my church, which meets in a school hall. She said when we roll out the carpet and bring out the chairs we're doing something wonderful for God ... And she made an especial point about how good the simplicity is in my church. 

And now she is literally singing out those same phrases from my piano. It seems she's writing a song about my church, just as we're about to carry on writing our series about the church. Could this whole story get any weirder? LOL.

Rolling out a carpet ...

Bringing out chairs ...

This old school hall .... 

Was it always this simple to let you in, Lord?

Quirky. Weird. Cool. 

After all that, I just had to ask our piano-playing visitor for another photo, so here we are, she and I at my front door. I asked her 'Was that song you were writing about my church?' Yes it was, she confirmed.

"Please come and play my piano again," I offered-asked. And we hugged and said goodbye.

So now we come back to reality: Yes, we are the SUM Nation, and we can do church. We can roll out the carpets, bring out the chairs, and be ready to bring that simplicity that God wants to his church: Simple intimacy with him. Next week we will start writing again about that topic ... Well, unless God interrupts me/us again. 

Have a great weekend, all of you. Love 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

 Hello all, Amanda here. I am excited to share with you all what has been going on so we are going to dive right in!

 I shared a post not too long ago about the throne of my husband's heart. How I audibly heard God tell me to be prepared for Him to take that seat, and the changes that would take place in my husband and in our lives as a family. Well, for a while nothing new happened. Things have been going along pretty normally and I had really stopped thinking about that moment so much. It seemed to spring up hope in me, and I was afraid that hope would lead to disappointment. So I put it on the back burner of my mind and got on with life.

 Then last Sunday something else happened. After church service an older lady I greatly respect came up to me and said, "I just want you to know God has put it on my heart to pray for your husband. So I want you to know I will be praying for him.". I almost started sobbing on the spot! Haha! I had not talked about my husband in a long time, and this woman and I are not super close. So it was very surprising for her to bring him up out of the blue like that.

Again, hope started to grow... God is something about to happen?!

Fast forward to this past Friday. I was grocery shopping with our kids and discovered one of my kids had stolen something! It was a very small, cheap thing, but stealing is stealing! I promptly took them back to the store and made them apologize and return it. When my husband came home that evening I told him the whole story, one of his responses was, "Did you tell them not stealing is one of the ten commandments?". WHAT?!?! You could have knocked me over with a feather in that moment! Haha! My "atheist" husband bringing up the commandments in a respectful way??? I sat there like a deer in headlights for a moment before I could respond!

Something must be happening...God, what are you telling me?

The cherry on top of this whole thing came this Sunday morning. One of the verses my pastor preached on was Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer" (CSB). Once again, I felt God shouting in my head, this time saying to REJOICE IN HOPE!

 My dearest SUMites, we cannot have faith without hope. It is vital to our survival, to our thriving and our growing. We MUST hope! We must have our eyes so very focused on the hope Jesus offers that even if the world around us is burning down we still have hope in HIM! Wild, reckless, consuming hope! Hold on to that hope during afflictions, it will help you to be patient. Believe in His hope during prayer, it will make you more persistent! Hope is key!

There may be times when we fail. When we lose hope and just cannot seem to find it again. If this is where you are it is okay, we have all been there. It will not last forever. I have found when this happens one of the best things we can do is reach out! Share with a trusted, Godly friend how you are feeling and ask for their prayers. Another thing we can do, the best thing, is GET IN THE WORD! The truth is, if we have time to be on our phones, we have time to read a few verses and pray for a minute or two. Just that happen alone can change the atmosphere of an entire household. Trust me on that one :)

I pray this post inspires hope in you my friends. I would love to hear how you keep your hope alive. What promises are you standing on? Let me know in the comments!

Hi SUM family, we have an exciting thing to share today.

Would you like to meet other SUMites in person?

Well, at the end of September, we're hoping to make that happen. Read on ... 

First of all, from Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 September, Lynn and I are going to attend the Bethel Open Heavens conference in Redding, California, and would love any SUMites to join us who would like to. Would you be keen?

It would be an amazing way of us meeting face-to-face, worshipping together, and spending quality time with each other.

The conference itself is something that Lynn has attended regularly for over a decade, and it has had a marked impact on her faith life and this ministry. She has been very blessed by attending, and in past years she's sometimes had groups of friends attend with her, so we would just love to do that this year.

As for the conference itself, registration has just opened here. More details will follow soon, but it's a good idea to register early, which I'm going to do this week. I realize it costs money and spouse's support to attend, and that can feel completely impossible. However, if God wants you there, it's surprising what can happen. So, if you're reading this and would like to go start praying about it.

Wouldn't it be amazing!

The second thing is, the day before the conference, on Tuesday 26 September, Lynn would like to invite you to her house in Sacramento for a big meet-up involving food, prayer and fellowship. If you can't attend the conference, you can even still come to this.

Next Steps

If you are at all interested in attending any part of this, send me an email on annhutch42@gmail.com. You're not committing by contacting me, you're just registering interest and that way we can keep in touch. I'll then set up a chat group on WhatsApp or a closed group on Facebook for discussing travel plans.

As for God making a way, I can tell you I had to pluck up the courage to ask Bryce if I could go, which I did this weekend. As often happens I thought it was a ridiculous request on my part. He knew I had some air-points that I could use, but he didn't even ask about that. He simply said yes!

So, believe that God will make a way. We love miracles here at SUM. Be brave, and game ... And let's see where this takes us. I, for one, cannot wait to meet some of you in person, pray with you, hug you, and just generally... talk.

Are you keen to attend? If so, post in the comments and let's start praying for God to make a way.

Loads of love,

Ann

SUMites, I popped a video onto Facebook and YouTube this past Wednesday, sharing a little something we can do next. Happy Friday to you all.

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

Hi everyone, we have made it to day five! It's Friday morning here in New Zealand, as I write. How has it gone for you? I can't wait to hear.

I don't feel too bad here but am slow. At points in the week, it has felt overwhelmingly long and difficult. This morning, I could finally see the end: I went out to buy a big lasagne and garlic bread for tonight... Which I cannot wait to gobble up.

But first -- before that joyous lasagne -- I am going to have the afternoon with God in my shed, and you know wha .... I'm looking forward to that more.

Sometimes our fasts go smoothly, other times less so. So don't worry if you did less than you hoped. I have had some fasts where I have given up, then re-started. One time God showed me how much he valued even those failed attempts. He smiles on our efforts.

One new thing I did this year was carve out more time for God. I've suddenly found myself at the stage of life where I can do that. The cabin in the garden was a real treat, and I even got to retreat there in the evenings this week. 

Bryce didn't seem to mind that, so I went for it. And there I would lie .... on the floor in that cabin, talking to God. Because our theme was friendship with God, I tried to just go there.

It was a gentle, quiet week with the Lord that seems apt for a week where we're trying to be God's friend. I personally didn't feel his presence more strongly than I do normally, but perhaps you did. In a way, the flavor for me was more quiet than usual. But on Thursday I was excited to receive a word from him about our community, and so I recorded that on video yesterday, and I did it from the shed, in the spirit of fasting. Here it is, and I hope it blesses you. He is good to us.

As for ending our fast, shall we do this one last thing? Just before the fast draws to an end today, let's all get a piece of bread and some wine/juice, and take communion. As we do, think of this scripture and even read it out loud:

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

It feels especially meaningful to take communion when you're hungry, and to say "Thank you for being my bread of life, Jesus, and thank you for your blood, which also has given me life."

SUMites, we love him, and we are his army of warrior men and women. I think he would say to us, as soldiers who've gone through a lot, "I know what you fight for and what you do." As I think of those I know in this community, I find you pretty incredible.

Now, I would love to hear how your fast is going so far -- or has gone. Share in the comments, and all the very best as you cross the finish line!

Ann

Welcome to day one of our annual corporate fast!

As I write, I am sitting here in a shed/cabin in my back garden. I asked Bryce if I could commandeer the 'cabin' this week, as he normally uses it for work. He said yes, smirking a little at my weirdness LOL. So this is my place for spending time with God this week - intimately, I hope.

My friends, I always start this fast feeling terribly nervous about going without food. Do you have those fears too, I wonder? I suppose it's understandable as fasting is no easy feat. Still, I pray that God will hold my right hand and help me do this thing.

And the same for you too – I pray now that God will help you.

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10, NKJV)

As for the plan this week, we have a nice treat: The writing team is going to take it in turns to write each day, so you'll have a few of us keeping you company. Our theme: Friendship with God.

That theme came to me when I was recently studying the story of Abraham and found a scripture in James that described Abraham as a 'friend of God.' Here's the scripture --

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. (James 2:23)

As I read that scripture, I cried out inwardly, "Lord, I want to be your friend, like that!" Really and truly. Please, Lord.

Well, who knows what God will do in your life when you pray that. But I do know that when I reach the end of my life and pass into eternity, if I have been God’s friend on earth it's going to lead to a very rich time in the kingdom of heaven.

So with that said, are you up for a week of us talking about being a friend of God? The good thing about God is he has space to have many friends. For Jesus said that in his father's house are many rooms: That is, there's a lot of space for anyone who wants in.

As a starting point, then, take some time today to ask God this question and see what comes to your mind:

Lord, what does friendship with you look like?

And, as we journey through this fast, share in the comments how it's going for you, and what you’re learning from him. If you have the energy to share, I'd love to hear what you're fasting for and hoping for this week.

Much love to you all,

Ann

Hi SUMites

It's Ann here. Only a few days now until our fast begins! So, on that note let's talk about the practical aspects of this fast.

Our fast begins on Monday the 9th at sunrise and ends on Friday the 13th at sunset.

If you're new to fasting, this may be the most special fast you'll have. God will meet you there!

A good option, if you're new to it, would be to go without food each day until sunset, then have a small meal in the evening. If you do that, make sure you drink plenty of liquids - Juice, tea, and coffee, for example. 

On the other hand, if you've fasted before, you might like to consider the more radical option: A liquid-only fast for the whole five days. Gulp! Hard it is -- But that kind of sacrifice for God holds a power in it that may well radically lift our game.

A few years ago, Lynn shared that she had decided to intensify her fasting practices during the SUM fast. Instead of having an evening meal each night, she went without food all five days. The rest of us watched incredulously, thinking 'I couldn't do that!' For my part, I actually was too scared of doing it, lest I do my body some damage!

I can be a bit silly about things like this, and I actually thought 'Would I die?!' LOL. But honestly, fear just needs to GO, right? 

Well, Lynn actually had an incredible vision from God during that fast. And, after hearing that I too wanted more of God. I was hungry for him and still am.

About three years ago, I began doing that kind of fast, and it's what I'm going to do again this time. I have a little cabin in my garden where I'm going to hang out, hungry, and I know it will be a blessed time. 

Preparation for a fast does help. So here are some thoughts on how to prepare:

• Pray now about it, asking God what kind of fast he'd like you to do. Apart from food, for example, is there anything else he'd like you to fast from? 
• Pray for your ability to fast, too. Pray that the enemy cannot stop you from doing it.
• Clear your week from commitments as much as possible.
• Have plenty of juice and liquids ready in your house to help you along.
• Tell your family, if possible, and plan ahead so that you don't have to do much cooking.
• Find a special space in your house where you can retreat to, to spend time with God next week.

You might also want to talk to God about what you're fasting for. You might have some questions you'd like to put to him this week. Or, there might be some particular things on your mind that you'd like to fast about. I tend to write down before the week starts what I hope to talk to God about.

Do we tell our spouses? Yes, I do, and it helps that Bryce knows. I found it very hard to tell him initially but plucked up the courage. He thought it was mildly weird, but ok. Fast-forward a few years and now he knows it's something I do in January and "Oh, it's that time of year again. Right then."

Anyway, it's exciting. Do you have any questions? I'm praying for you as you prepare for this, and I can't wait!

Let's share in the comments how we're each going to fast, and feel free to ask questions in the comments too.

Ann

Hello SUM Nation:

Lynn Donovan here. I feel a GREAT expectation for 2023. 

Almost everyone I've spoken to in the past year has shared that they have experienced tremendous challenges. One after another tell me their difficult circumstances far surpassed the warfare and hurdles of any other season. 

I'm one of them as well. 

But my dear friends, I NOW feel hope settling. There is indeed a shift happening right now in the spiritual. Our God is setting many things into place. People have been shifted, moved, relationships changed. All of this has been by His divine hand to bring you into greater alignment with His purposes, specific to your life.

SO TAKE HEART. TAKE UP HOPE. Our Father is good.

As we move into 2023, I will offer you two suggestions that will help grow your maturity in Jesus. And becoming His disciples is our high and holy calling. 

First, read the Bible. Get in the Word and pray daily. I can't express this enough.

Also, if you haven't made a donation to receive the training I'm offering regarding the power of Mark, chapter 11. Any recurring donation and you are invited. Read more here. THIS teaching I lived out in real time this year and it's straight from the Bible. It's true and it works. MOVE YOUR MOUNTAIN 

Second, for the spiritually mismatched, pick up and read, Marching Around Jericho. This book will change you, your marriage and your faith. Truly.

OR, if you want a tremendous 90-day devotional to start the year, pick up, Kingdom Conversations. This book is like Jesus Calling and filled with affirmations of our identity and God's purposes for your life.

Okay, we are on our way into another year. Ready or not. Let's walk this together. Because united SUMite Community scares the crap out of the devil!

Hallelujah!! AMEN

Love you all, Lynn

Hi SUM Nation,

The writing team will be taking a break over the next two weeks. However, we will be back January 1. We will be prepping for our successful fast the week of January 9-13th. Plan to join. We will share more about how to fast and what our focus will be starting on the first.

We love you. You are covered in pray. You walk in the Spirit of the Lord. 

Have a blessed and holy Christmas. Love, Lynn & Ann and the entire team.

By Ann Hutchison

On Wednesday, Ian led us into Advent so nicely. And, continuing on that theme, in today's post I want to mix a little of advent and SUM together.

What I want to do this month is look back on some miracles from our community, and perhaps some other miracles too.

I want to do that because the nativity story is a story of miracles. Crazy things went down that year. The characters involved must have thought 'What on earth is going on?' 

A feeling of holy awe would settle on the people involved, and they were bowled over in wonder. 

Sometimes in this SUM ministry we've had moments of holy awe too; that is, moments where we've sat back wide-eyed because God's hand has been on something. In fact, the journey this whole the SUM community has been on over the last sixteen years is a story I want to curate.

Yet, as Ian said on Wednesday, us SUMites also have long and difficult periods of longing. There are things that happen that are glorious and things that happen that are bittersweet for us. 

Bittersweet often can be part of a glorious move of God. For example, when Jesus was a baby, a man called Simeon prophesied to Mary "A sword will pierce through your own soul."

Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34-35)

There is often a rawness behind any given miracle, and here at SUM we see that. We go through raw things that pierce our soul... Yet in those very things lie seeds. There's always a feeling that 'What will God do next?'

Holy awe.

Zacharias was told by the angel Gabriel that his barren wife, Elizabeth would bear a son. He said "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." And so the angel told him he would be mute until the time that these things would be fulfilled (Luke 1:18-20). Zacharias's family and friends later talked to him using signs, so it seems he was deaf and unable to speak. Can you imagine the trauma of that? 

Yet, the minute Zacharias declares that his miraculously born son is to be called John (the baptist), immediately his mouth is opened and his tongue loosed. And at that point, scripture says:

"Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying "what kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:65-66, NKJV)

Holy awe. I can just imagine that feeling of awe descending, everyone looking at each other wide-eyed and acknowledging, 'This was a moment; and God was there.'

Have you ever seen something you would describe as a miracle?

Love you all

Ann

(p.s. I am travelling this coming week, so may take a few days to reply to comments!)

Dear SUMites

We often describe ourselves as a church without walls -- Isn't it amazing how we manage to gather like this online? I love it!  Anyway, today I wanted to tell you a little bit about who is in our church.

As you know, we did a SUM community survey recently. Reading through those responses it was so good to see your names and a little more about your lives. 

So I thought you, too, might like to hear a little more about who your friends at SUM are. Below, I'll share a few of the questions we asked in the survey, and what the answers were.

Where does our community live?

All over! Most (70%) live in the USA, followed by a decent proportion in Europe. We have a smaller number in Australia and New Zealand, and some in Africa.  I can't express how much I love that spread -- it's so beautiful. 

And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations (Matt 24:14, NKJV)

How did our SUM community members become spiritually mismatched?

Here's what our community said:

My spouse lost their faith: 6%

I became a Christian after marrying: 27%

I thought my spouse was a Christian before marrying, but perhaps they weren't: 20%

My spouse and I have experienced different rates of spiritual growth to each other: 6%

I married a non-believer: 36%

Other: 5%

There is such a range of stories there and each of the above has its own distinct challenges, but I hope it makes you feel less alone seeing that there are at least some out there with the same story as you.

Do our spouses attend church?

About 20% of spouses do attend regularly, and a further 22% occasionally. But the rest don't, so if your spouse never attends with you, you're in good company.

How many of our spouses say they're Christian?

I was surprised by this one: 30% of spouses actually do say they're a Christian, which means that the couple is mismatched even though both are nominally Christians. The rest of the spouses, of course, don't yet say they're Christian, and we do know that quite a few spouses currently say they are atheist. I say 'currently' on purpose. These things change.

Are the spouses supportive?

Here's what our community said: 

A lot: 30%

Moderately: 40%

A little: 20%

Not at all: 10%

Again, I hadn't realized so many were that supportive. But clearly there is a need for our ministry even if an unbelieving spouse is supportive. The loneliness of the walk likely makes it so. For those whose spouses are not yet supportive I am praying for you specifically right now.

What kinds of churches do we attend?

Our community attends all kinds of denominations. The most prevalent is non-denominational or Baptist. After that, about 10% attend protestant denominations (Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican, Church of Ireland), 10% Pentecostal, and about 10% don't currently attend church.

How long have our people been with us?

About 15% of our readers found us less than a year ago. If that's you, welcome! This tells us it's important that we keep writing about some of those common issues such as attending church alone and raising kids in faith. However, almost half of our readers have been with us for more than five years, and many for more than ten years. Amazing! We are a community that has been together a long time.

And finally.... What does our community look like, faith-wise?

This last section really opened my eyes. We asked two questions here: Do you have regular time alone with God, and how often do you read the Bible? The vast majority of our readers said they spend daily time alone with God, and daily time reading the Bible.

That tells us something about our specific church. We are not lukewarm, we're the opposite. We are all passionate followers of Jesus Christ, and that's exactly why we need this ministry and why we gather here.

**

My friends, there's more to the survey and I'll share more eventually, but I hope that gave you more of a picture of who's here. 

What else would you like to know about us and this community? Pop any questions in the comments and I'll answer them.

We all love you!

Ann (and team)

Friends, Lynn Donovan and Ann Hutchison here:

Do you have a mountain that MUST MOVE? (see below)

And did you find a word of hope or encouragement here in the past year? Did you discover some aspect of faith and connection with God that was new and helpful. Did you stop in and read a truth, find your heart touched by love, did you have a prayer time that changed things? Do you feel less alone in this journey?

Only once a year we bring finances before our community. It takes about $7,000 annually to pay the expenses. 

That's A LOT! 

So, Today on Giving Tuesday would you consider a one-time gift to further the ministry into 2023? More, would you consider a recurring gift.

Here is the giving breakdown and how I'm giving back to you.

Any gift of any amount and you are invited to the Zoom teaching: Five Truths Vital to every spiritually mismatched marriage. Over 30 years these are the five things we MUST know to thrive in these marriages. Donate and you are invited to the live teaching or the video.

If you give more than $100 or sign up for a recurring monthly gift, you receive a monthly email with a Ministry/Donor Update. You catch a glimpse of the behind the scenes in the ministry. I typically share the planned future training, upcoming events, some of the ministry efforts that happen that we don't write about.

AND ....If you give a one-time gift of $100 or more or create a monthly recurring gift, you will be invited to the training in January. This will cover Mark Chapter 11. Moving our mountain. I've truly learned what this passage is all about and how it's true for us now, today!

Who could do with a prayer powerful enough to move a mountain? Below is the link to give. From there you can make a one-time donation or a recurring, monthly gift. 

This link takes you to our not-for-profit processor, Square. 
From there you can make a one time or recurring gift. Thank you.

Hi SUM Nation,

Lynn here. Take time this week to sit alone with the Lord. Write down all the good that came into your life because of His love and kindness. Thank Him for His faithfulness.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Ephesians 1:3

Father, thank you for your goodness, faithfulness, and love. Thank you for Jesus who by His stripes heals me and my family. Thank you for every time you intervened to save me from disaster and deception. Thank you for the love of family. Thank you that you are present and care deeply about my life. I love you Love. I am humble. I am thankful. In Jesus name. AMEN

Dear friends

Well, we’ve reached the end of our How I read my Bible series. I hope you enjoyed it. I always say 'God made us each as unique as a snowflake'!

Some of us have a special place where we curl up to read each day …

Some of us have a favorite book of the Bible …

Some of us have a creative method we use …

And as we read, we encounter God.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, NIV)

Ahh..

Well, with that wrapped up I'd now like to share some ministry updates:

The team is going to take a couple of weeks off while our American SUMites enjoy their Thanksgiving season. We’ll pause the ‘Let’s Talk Live’ videos too, restarting early December.

While off, I'm going to be doing some planning and praying using the feedback from the SUM community survey. I want to say a huge thank you for completing that survey and sharing your hearts with us. It painted a picture of who we are writing for, and I have to say I shed a few tears reading the responses and getting to know you a little. Sometime next month I’ll share a little more about the demographics of our community, and a summary of what our survey showed us. I think you'll find it interesting like I did.

Well, that’s all. To our USA SUMites, have a wonderful thanksgiving. To the rest of you, stay standing! And we’ll see you - fresh and raring to go -- when we're back.

Ann and the team

What I would tell my 30-year-old self as a newly unequally yoked woman.

My friends, Lynn Donovan, here with you for a few posts. I’ve been pondering what was the most difficult part of my loooooong unequally yoked marriage. And viewing it from 30 years of experience now, I have concluded a few things that I wish I would have known when my unequally yoked marriage began.

I believe the greatest struggle for me was dispelling all the lies I believed about faith in God. Your story may be a bit different but for me I had to struggle, alone, wrangling with doubt, unbelief and the truth. Not only did I have my own doubts about God, the Bible, Jesus and faith when I was a young woman, but I also had to fight against my husband’s unbelief.

So for many years I would make small gains in belief through my church attendance and Bible reading. And then something would happen (an evil assignment) to make me doubt that God was real. And after fighting that doubt, then to fight against the thoughts that God wasn’t really good. And on and on. Three steps forward, two back. Then forward and back.

I think many young people go through this when figuring out their faith. For many who have believing husbands, they have a partner to hold them up when they are in doubt or struggle. They have a voice in their home that is strong in faith when they feel weak. But for us who are married to unbelievers, we lack the support AND we face their doubts and unbelief as well as our own.

Would you agree with this?

Their unbelief is a double smack down to our floundering faith life.

I know for me; Mike would ask difficult questions. And I lacked answers. Or for many of us, accusations come at us like we are God and must answer for him. For example, “If God is good, then why …….. (insert a number of things here). Or I received several statements such as:

• The Bible is a flawed ancient book. It’s been misinterpreted.
• God isn’t real. He is only a figment of imagination that weak people need to explain the unexplainable.
• Jesus was only a man. How could a man be God?
• Science will one day explain away these things you believe are supernatural.

Can any of you relate?

As I consider all of these statements, I wish I could put my arms around my younger self and whisper in her confused ears. “Lynn, just chuckle at these statements. The Bible is absolutely true. It is the voice of God. The Words in it will lead you to a life of abundance and utter fulfilment. Lynn, you are stronger than you know. And God is always with you. Jesus adores you and the Holy Spirit is standing by to empower your beliefs.”

My young friends who are in the trenches, please feel my arms around you today. Be empowered by what I am about to speak to you.

You are stronger that you know. Pursue God as He will take care of you. He is real. He is absolutely good. His plan for your life will give you the highest and best experience here on earth. You will live a life of goodness and walk in miracles. Believe the Bible. It is true and God is all around you, every day. Choose to do the right thing and live always in hope. Pray and pray and pray because He hears and moves upon your words of faith.

Laugh at the enemy and command him out of your life, home, marriage and relationships. Stand in faith because Jesus is real. He has everything you need and more. He is glorified when you live your best life now.

I love you, my friends. Take this advice deep into your heart. It’s absolutely true and it will change your life. Blessings, Lynn