Happy Uncle, Coach, Cousin, Teacher....Day!

By the way...I just sent out a link to our Isaiah 58, In His Service, Inc. email list. I commented, "Dear Dads, know that you are prayed for and remember your little ones are watching."


Sometimes I have tunnel vision. Billy Graham said, "The greatest tribute a boy can give to his father is to say, `When I grow up, I want to be just like my Dad.' It is a convicting responsibility for us fathers and grandfathers."  I don't want to neglect the men who are making an impression on little ones and aren't the Dads!


There are so many children who don't have a Dad in their lives. Instead (or in addition to) they have an Uncle, a step-Dad, a Papa, an adoptive Dad, a Mentor, a Cousin, a Pastor, a Neighbor, a Teacher, a Coach...


Think of the little ones in your life and then stop and think about the men in their lives. Who is the example they are emulating? Who is teaching them right from wrong? Who is showing them how to be gentlemen? Who is praying with them? Who is encouraging them? Who is protecting them? Who is loving them?


All of us have a responsibility to the kidlets that God has put in our lives. Whether they are relatives or neighbor kids or our very own...we are called to teach.


So, to those of you who are not "officially" Dads...but are Godly men and aware that little ones are watching....THANK YOU, you are making an impact in eternal ways! Psalms 103:13


In His service, d

What really matters?

I caught a few minutes of a story about monks in Greece, the Vatopedi Monastery near Mt. Athos to be exact.  There the monks have been in continual prayer for 1,110 years!  Father Serapion stated, "The monks here have one goal and that is how they can get closer to God." They said total union with Christ is only possible when they leave this world, "Here, in this life (is how they earn their "ticket" to Heaven), that's what we do each day, we prepare for death - but with joy.  We are joyful about our journey to Heaven," said Father Matthew.

Thousands of miles away, on a secluded peninsula are about 1,770 monks who pray continually, seeking to be closer to the Father...and with no distractions.  Their world is a far cry from ours. Women are not allowed in the monastery; no televisions or computers; no sporting events; no Wal-Mart; no family; no road rage; no interaction with someone about to go over the edge; no stress...and what a view!!

So, our challenge here is to swim upstream to be closer to God while we struggle with distractions, disappointments and responsibilities.  Daily I try to talk with Jesus about everything.  When I can't locate something, I ask Him for help.  When I am so tired and I'm afraid I'll miss someone, I ask Him to point me towards that person.  When I say something stupid or I don't say anything at all, I ask Him to speak through me.  When I see an injustice and it angers me to the core, I ask Him to help me advocate.  When my eyes fall on me, I ask Him to heal my pride.  When I am disobedient and fail, I ask Him for forgiveness.

There are a number of churches in the midst of a capital campaign, my church is getting ready to start another one.  Even after the previous capital campaigns it is still difficult to get from point A to point B.  This go around they are saying it should cost $11 million to do what they want to do.  I know the expansion will provide convenience for people; it will create better space for our kidlets; it will be  easier to maneuver.  But, during the week many of the classrooms are empty.  We could be doing so much with what we have to minister to the least of these and to our saints...but we're not.  I just have a hard time picturing Jesus looking at our church building and then walking a couple blocks to the east and seeing the adult book store, or stepping over a homeless person sleeping in the parking lot at the Caring Center or passing by a car where Mom and Dad and their children are living and saying, "Yep, we definitely need to expand the buildings."

Will one person come to Christ because of the $11 million renovation? Maybe. But, if we used what we have to provide free child care, use our vehicles to take folks to work and the grocery store, taught classes on coping skills and life skills, loved on folks who were lost and came to our church desperate for hope, provided a meal and a movie...maybe more would come to Jesus!!!

A coworker's brother is an evangelist.  Recently she came to ask me for prayer support as he was traveling to Saudi Arabia to share the gospel.  She told me the initial plan was for him to preach in an open air venue to about 8,000 people. Reportedly, there were two heads of state that are sympathetic to the underground churches and agreed for the venue to be available.  However, by the time the evangelist got there (he had to take alternate routes because of violence), the two heads of state were out of the country and the one left in charge adamantly refused access to the stadium.

Hundreds of Christ followers continued to pray without ceasing and another location was secured.  There were 3 rooms with satellite feeds in two of the rooms.  These servants of Christ set up 8,000 chairs in these 3 rooms!  The chairs were filled with folks hungry for Jesus and the evangelist shared the message God had placed on his heart...lives were transformed!!! Not only did many of these Muslims give their lives to Christ, AND there were physical healings!! 

Father I believe, but help my unbelief...

I want to be part of that kind of service, don't you?  Those Christians live daily with the knowledge that they are in the enemy's camp serving Jesus and the outcome of such service could be death.  But, they continue to trust Jesus and serve faithfully and with joy.

$11 million or 8,000 chairs.


                                   WE can do more. WE can do better.   d

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

wear a blue ribbon

Rise early enough every morning to give yourself five minutes of quiet time

Say “hellllooo” first

Be a Good Samaritan when the moment arises

Compliment, only when you mean it

When someone is talking, LISTEN to him or her, no matter how many times you’ve heard the story before

Happy childhoods last a lifetime - so try to improve your marriage, your kids are counting on you

When others gossip, don’t join in

                                                   Lead by example - at home, at work and at church

Get to know your neighbors you might need each other one day

Hold yourself accountable

Hold others accountable

Every day write one thing on a piece of paper that you’re thankful for…

put them in a jar and pull them out at Thanksgiving and reread them

When you’re wrong, admit it

When you’re right - feel good - but don’t gloat

Frequent businesses that support local charities

Proof read everything you write

Volunteer

Don’t ask anyone to do anything you’re not willing to do yourself

Always use your manners, especially in traffic, at the mall and while waiting in line

Spend time with folks that you’d be proud to introduce to your folks

Forgive others and try to forget

Forgive yourself and try to remember

Boycott businesses you know to be unjust

Vote, but know as much as you can about their politics and their values

                                                 Always do more than you have to - at home, at work and at church

Pray Hard

Take yourself to dinner and a movie, if you don’t enjoy your own company, neither will others

Tithe with a pure heart and you’ll get back more than you give

Don’t get your blood pressure up over things out of your influence

Speak up over things within your circle of influence

Say “no” to requests that will encourage taking you for granted

Always say “yes” when you’re really needed

Child abuse is unbearable; if you suspect it, report it

                                             Always encourage fairness - at home, at work and at church

Be willing to take a little less, when someone else can get a little more

Buy only from roadside stands that misspell froots and vegtibles

Engage someone you don’t know in polite conversation twice a week

Support projects and programs that build “kidlet” character

Turn your music down in a residential neighborhood…turn it up when you’re on the open road

Always buy at least two plates at a food fund-raiser

Spend time with kidlets and seniors, and pay attention, you’ll learn a lot

When you make a promise – keep it, a child’s confidence is built on your word

Say “please” and “thank you” and hold a door – even when its not reciprocated

When you have a lot of mail, take it to the post office, give your carrier a break

Make it easy on the clean up person

                                                                Recycle – at home, at work and at church

Send someone a card, just because

Always corral your shopping cart, the next dent you prevent, may be your own

When you make it to the top, continue to visit the bottom…

you may have forgotten things and you still have things to learn

Pick up a piece of litter for every negative thought you have

Don’t force your children to go to church…introduce them to God and watch them want to go

Wear a blue ribbon in April and be prepared to explain why

 

You can make a difference in the lives you encounter today

and to make a difference in the lives encountered tomorrow?…

teach these things to your children

                                                                          deni-2006

No one listens to me....

We had the 2nd annual Mighty Women of God Conference at First Baptist Church last Saturday…about 100 or so women showed up. There should have been 1,000 in attendance. Where were you???? Okay, I know I should have sent out an email.

The guest speaker was Janet Denison. You can go to www.janetdenison.com to learn more about her. She and her husband, Jim Denison, PhD also have a ministry called Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, you can go to www.denisonforum.org to check it out…

Janet said that by the time today’s second graders get to voting age, they will be persecuted for their faith in the USA. She said that when you add all the Christians together from around the world, the USA and Great Britain make up about 6%. Since we have smart phones…we can now take the Bible EVERYWHERE we go in the world. Folks across the water are hungry for Jesus and are risking life and limb to find Him and serve Him…but not here.

In the USA we have Miley Cyrus twerking, Phillip Seymour Hoffman dying of a drug overdose and kids suing their parents after they leave home at 18 for financial support. A man carried a gun - legally, mind you - into a movie theatre, shoots and kills a man over texting. Kids are killing themselves because they're bullied at school and online.

Let’s bring this closer to home…we have a task force discussing "what to do about" the downtown homeless population, a woman using a walker was run over by an SUV at 3^rd and Lewis…and the driver kept going.  A man shot and killed himself and before his body was taken away, folks stopped to take pictures. Subsidized housing units are being destroyed in order to make room for lofts and apartments for the upper middle class.  Before a woman became `a dying woman’ she applied for Title 19 so she could get on the transplant list (you can’t be on a transplant list without insurance) but every medical record started out with, ‘cirrhosis of the liver from chronic alcoholism’ even though she had been sober for years…she never got the insurance and died.

I could go on, and on, and on…

So, how did you react to what I just wrote? Did you shake your head and then say, “Hey, after we drop the kids off let’s go to a movie?” Did you skip over it because it’s “just too hard to read,” and act like everything “out there” is fine. If our heart is hard, if we are desensitized to the hurting of others, we need to beseech the Father to remove the cheese crust from around our heart. What we’re missing is compassion. We really don’t care anymore. It’s just none of our business. Really???

We can do more. We can do better.

I have never seen so many people who, to everyone looking on, should have hit rock bottom years ago…but people’s rock bottoms are further down than I have ever seen. People have hard hearts. Loving people to Jesus in the USA is harder than it’s ever been. Immediate gratification, “I deserve it,’ the notion that ‘God never did anything for me before, why should I seek Him now’ or "God, who?" – is running rampant. People are willing to try anything to numb the pain…something like 38,000 people overdosed in 2010 – that’s more than traffic accidents and guns.  Scary stuff.

We didn’t make this mess over night. But, what are we doing to make it better?

GUTS church is working on putting together a public/private event at Union Public Schools; a massive outreach to our community - the details are still being ironed out.

It’s not enough.

Roughly 84,000 people live in a `food desert' in Tulsa.  The Real Good Food Truck, a mobile grocery store will be making stops at 12 locations in north Tulsa and west Tulsa starting this summer.

It’s not enough.

Winter Jam, E Conference, Christian musicians, Beth Moore, Secret Keeper Tween Conference, Promise Keepers…they all come to Tulsa.

It’s not enough.

Many churches in our community have benevolence ministries and give away food and clothes and help with utilities.  There are ministries throughout Tulsa who set up shop once a week to share the gospel and provide a hot meal. My church, First Baptist Church Tulsa provides a night of respite once a quarter for caregivers of special needs kids. We have two Caring Centers, one downtown and one in south Tulsa.

It’s not enough.

Tulsa does fundraisers – tons of them in our community – for breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, etc. The idea is to raise awareness and raise money to help fund a cure…

It’s not enough.

Many churches have Celebrate Recovery meetings, Grief Share, Divorce Care, Stephen Ministry, etc.

It’s not enough.

What can truly make a difference? You. Yes, you.

I’m a social worker, it is very easy for me to look around and see all of the holes in the system; the enormous gap between the rich and the poor and I fight like crazy to keep people from falling through the cracks and perishing. But, there are so many and they are perishing so quickly…partly because the system sucks and partly because nobody cares enough to advocate for the down and out. It’s hard, really hard to do, there are many obstacles and often it takes so long that we lose people in the process.  There are not enough advocates. I hear pew sitters all the time saying we don’t “know anyone” who needs help or we can’t find anyone to invite to church.  Really?  We’re looking with our eyes closed. If we don’t see a problem, then we don’t have to do anything…so we live in denial and ignorance until the poor, the hurting, the mentally ill, the addict, shows up at our doorstep or they turn out to be a family member and THEN we want to do something.  If we’re hiding in the closet of denial until “one of those people” touches us…I promise, we won’t have to wait very long.

I have vented many times asking churches to do more. To provide free child care, to provide respite for caregivers taking care of family members with Alzheimer’s, to serve food 3 or 4 or 5 times a week, provide transportation to those trying to get to work or school on time because if they rely on our transit system they’ll be late or if they work on Sunday they’re out of luck.  There are kids throughout our community who need mentors – men and women. We have more seniors living alone; isolated, overmedicated, hungry and depressed than we could ever imagine.  Trust me, there's at least one in your neighborhood.

When I ask the tough question to a leader in a church, “So WHY are we not doing more outreach to share Jesus with our community?” It’s not because we don’t have money, we have a lot of financial donors; Tulsa has been “the” charity capital before.

We don’t have volunteers. We don’t have you.

We’re a selfish bunch. We also have our priorities messed up. How many activities do our kids really need to be in? How many vacations to Disney World do we need to take? How much TV do we have to watch? How much time do we REALLY need to text? twitter? Facebook? Instagram? Pinterest? Really??? Really???

How many outfits do we really need? How many concerts and evenings eating out do we need? How much “me” time do we need?  How many hours do we have to golf or scrapbook a week?

When we say we don’t have time to volunteer…so what exactly are we filling our time with? And did we talk to Jesus about it? Is what we fill our life with what we want, what we think we should do, because we want to sound, “Busy with important stuff?”

My pastor has thrown down the gauntlet…over Lent he has asked us to sacrifice one thing with intention and faithfulness; his family is giving up TV in the evenings.  He has also asked us to share Jesus with one person…over a 40-day period. That’s it. It’s really not a lot…except to selfish people.

I would be willing to bet if we sacrificed “me” God would teach us a lot. Make a point to spend time with Jesus over Lent…ask Him if we’re living “my” life or are we living “His?” There’s probably a whole lotta “me” in there.

We’re selfish and we like it that way. We’ve earned that expensive dinner, that new purse, that antique bookcase, that vacation to Hawaii.  So, we can either accept that we are selfish and we want to live for our enjoyment and pleasure and quit acting like He matters when there's dust on our Bible OR we can pray for forgiveness - and mean it.

When we repent, then we can truly become servants. It’s hard. Darn hard. But, nothing is more important than our relationship with Jesus. Nothing.

People are perishing. Are you listening? People are literally dying all around us and we’re acting as if it’s okay, “Maybe I should have talked to him about Jesus...well that's life.” Hard hearts. 6% - USA and Great Britain combined are Christ followers. That’s not very many. It’s time to care. It’s time to sob over people perishing and then wipe our eyes and ask God to show us how He wants to use us. Right here, right now. Hurry. Eternity is urgent.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me,” I cried (Isaiah). “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? 

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!!” Isaiah 6: 3-9

Where are all of the Isaiahs????

 d

 

 

 

 

Pray without ceasing...

Priority Prayer!!

Happening NOW on Wednesday nights at First Baptist Church Tulsa, 403 S. Cincinnati Avenue, in room 316 south, the Luke 10 classroom, at 6:15pm -we are gathering in prayer!!

You're invited to join us...In person, or By emailing prayer requests, By texting prayer requests, By sending someone in need,

Join us...For a meal, For prayer for yourself, For a listening ear, For a word from Jesus, To testify what Jesus is doing in your life!

We would love to buy a meal for you...Get in touch with me so I can tell you more!

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light!:" Colossians 1:9-12

deni A. fholer

Luke 10, director

Isaiah 58, In His Service, Inc., executive director

918-260-1933

i58ihs@gmail.com

www.i58ihs.blogspot.com

We can do more. We can do better.

I'm Gonna Do Something!

I woke up this morning

Saw a world full of trouble now

Thought, how’d we ever get so far down

How’s it ever gonna turn around

So I turned my eyes to Heaven

I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”

Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of

People living in poverty

Children sold into slavery

The thought disgusted me

So, I shook my fist at Heaven

Said, “God why don’t You do something?”

He said, “I did, I created you.”

If not us, then who

If not me and you

Right now, it’s time for us to do something

If not now, then when

Will we see an end

To all this pain

It’s not enough to do nothing

It’s time for us to do something

I’m so tired of talking

About how we are God’s hands and feet

But, it’s easier to say than be

Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves

It’s alright, “Somebody else will do something”

Well I don’t know about you

But I’m sick and tired of a life with no desire

I don’t want a flame, I want a fire

I wanna be the one who stands up and says,

“I’m gonna do something”

We are the salt of the earth

We are a city on a hill

But we’re never gonna change the world

By standing still

No we won’t stand still!!!

No we won’t stand still!!!

No we won’t stand still!!!

• Matthew West, Into the Light

                                                                                                                                

Eddie Warrior Commencement Address November 2013

I was asked to give the commencement address to the graduating class at Eddie Warrior Correctional Center on November 07, 2013.  There were 44 ABE graduates, 18 Literacy graduates, 4 Connors State College graduates and 61 GED graduates. It was an honor I will cherish forever. Thank you to Harrel Tomlin and Warden Sharon McCoy.

Hellllooo. It is just so awesome that I get to be here with you on this special day!           

Not long after I graduated from high school my Mom told me I could either go to college or I could go to California and try my hand at my dream career – which was becoming a stuntwoman!  At the time I did NOT want to go to college so I headed to CA. I stayed out there for 3 years and I was stoked to be able to learn all kinds of stunts, like being thrown out of buildings, set on fire, hit by cars, doing vehicle transfers. I got to write and perform in live action dramas and meet some really famous people. I eventually got my Screen Actors Guild card and did a few movies and television shows. I must tell you that after a 20+ year career my entire screen time lasts about as long as a cat in water…meooww...

I returned to Tulsa and got involved in a church and an incredible life group. Even though I was saved when I was 8yo, this period of time with Jesus showed me what relationships were all about. He introduced me to serving outside my comfort zone and taught me what obedience was all about. During this time Jesus revealed to me some invaluable truths. At some point in my life I would be called into ministry. He gave me the chapter of Isaiah 58 in the Bible as a promise that the lessons and truths in that chapter would one day come to fruition in my life.  He also impressed upon me that I would never marry and I would never have children. He was preparing me for a life that would be radically different from many of my peers.

However, I was enthusiastic and impatient so I met with one of my pastors and I told him what God had shown me. I guess I thot he’d go, “Wow, that’s great, let me help you get that ministry up and running.” Instead he was somewhat condescending and patted my hand and told me that I was too young and inexperienced to serve God in such a big way.  He told me I knew nothing of the world and I needed life experience before I could minister to others.  I was devastated and I began to doubt my faith and my relationship with Christ. Did I not hear God? Was I really that far off base? I figured I had no discernment and was just screwing everything up…

I distinctly remember talking with a friend at the time and I said, “If the pastor is right then I need to find out what the world is all about. So, I’m putting God on a shelf and maybe I’ll get back to Him and maybe I won’t.”  As I said that I felt as if Jesus’ hand was lifted from me – He didn’t leave me mind you – but He is a gentle God and He allowed me to exercise my free will and go out and mess up my life…at least for awhile.

I experienced the world and I made tons of mistakes, I hurt lots of people but mostly I disappointed me…and with each mistake I made there was a part of me that was sad because in my heart I knew I was intentionally and knowingly choosing to sin. 

I began working for a residential treatment program for abused and neglected children. Those little ones had been physically, sexually, emotionally and verbally abused.  They were  very damaged children and experienced more torture and suffering by the age of six than many of us experience in a lifetime.   

During my 7 years at the Yahweh Center…I saw how God could transform lives.  Because one of the lives He transformed was me.  Jesus reminded me that He loved me and He still had a plan and a purpose for my life…if only I would seek His forgiveness.  He reminded me that He knew all about my rebellion and my secrets and He still cared for me.  He was still waiting with open arms for me to repent and turn from my life of sin…and eventually I did!

I met two amazing Social Workers and they encouraged me to go to college. I was 33 at the time and I laughed at them and said I would never make it, first, I was too old and second, I really sucked in school.  In fact when I started the first grade I hated it. I was used to playing outside and then all of a sudden I had to sit in a class and write and listen!! AAHHH. So, one day I decided to hit my teacher over the head with my lunch pail and I went screaming down the hallway and out the front door. My sister was in 6^th grade, sitting in the principal’s class as I made my dramatic exit. Needless to say she was mortified.  However, she did eventually forgive me, which is a reminder of God’s ability to soften hearts.

I took one college class with encouragement from these social workers and hey the school didn’t implode and I actually passed the class! I worked full-time and went to college on a half time basis for 7 years. Finally, one of the counselors called me in and said, “You know deni if you ever want to get a degree you’ll need to go to school full-time.” I applied at Meredith College in Raleigh and was accepted and earned by Bachelors in Social Work degree. Then I went to UNC-Chapel Hill for my Masters in Social Work. It took me 10 years to get 2 degrees. I got a few scholarships but I took the responsibility for paying for my education myself. I now have a license in Social Work and I’m a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional. I will always have student loans…but I would do it all again the same way in a heartbeat.  My education is something I worked hard for and it means the world to me. Most importantly, it is God’s plan for my life. Because of my education He has me serving Him in ways I never could have without going to school.

In 2004 I moved back to Tulsa after living in NC for 16 years.  My family lives there and my house is in the heart of the population He has called me to minister to.  I spend most of my time w/ folks who are hurting. People who put God on a shelf, like I did and are lost in despair and hopelessness.  I am a Crisis Social Worker now and there are days when I am literally in the midst of life or death situations.  I could never do what I do without my life experiences or without my education or most importantly without my Heavenly Father.

God fulfilled His promise to me when Isaiah 58, In His Service became a 501©3 nonprofit ministry in 2010. You see I did hear the Father all those years ago when He told me I was going to be called into ministry. However, the pastor was right, 30 years ago I wouldn’t have been prepared for the ministry I am doing today.  Even though I left Christ to experience the world…He was teaching me and growing me even in my disobedience.  He knew that one day I would come back. He knew that He would one day use me to serve Him once I got out of His way and got the world out of my system. I was His prodigal daughter.

I must admit there were days when I felt so small, so insignificant in a big cruel world. I wondered how God could care about me. With all the chaos out there He had to be distracted from even knowing I existed.

I went on a mission trip to Guatemala last month. This trip was being planned about a year before we were to leave.  The villages we were to visit were being decided upon months ago.  One of the villages we went to was St. Joseph’s high in the mountains in an extremely remote area.  When our van rounded a corner, we could see on the crest of a hill hundreds of people standing in line waiting for us.  It was a humbling sight.

We took a medical team with us.  This village had NEVER had a medical team visit them before, in fact many of the villagers had never seen a doctor.  But, on this particular Wednesday on this particular day in October God divinely guided our team to this village for a specific purpose.

One of the doctors listened to the heart of an 8yo little girl and determined a defect. She had a hole in her heart.  The pediatric nurse practitioner examined another child that had pneumonia.  Both of these children were transported to Guatemala City for medical treatment that saved both of their lives.  The coordination and networking that had been established over the proceeding years came into play on that specific day so that these two little ones could be saved.

God cared so much for these 2 children that He orchestrated everything so we would be there and have the supports in place to make a difference in the lives of these families. We were not there by chance or coincidence.  Isn’t that just the coolest?  Now, if God can bring a bunch of Americans thousands of miles away to a remote mountain village for 2 children – He can touch your life right where you are, right now, even in this little town of Taft, Oklahoma. He sees what you’ve accomplished, what you are struggling with, what you’re afraid of, what you want, what you need and He wants to be here for you.

Psalms 139 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well…How precious to me are your thots, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand, When I awake I am still with you!”

So, now it is not my life, it is His. He is no longer on the shelf…but I am. You see the greatest gift He has taught me is that He is all I need. I have worked with so many women who feel as if they have to have a man in their life to feel complete or because they are codependent or just can’t stand being alone.  Now, I realize not everyone is called to be single like I am. But, the key is laying your life at the foot of the cross and being willing to do whatever He calls you to do.  Once you do that…then He will give you the desires of your heart. Because once you give Him all of you, you’ll only want what He wants for you and that is His best.

Ladies you have accomplished much. Don’t stop. Now that you’ve come this far…keep going.  Ask God to show you what His plan and purpose for your life is.  I promise it will be better than anything you could ever dream of yourself.

Ladies, you rock!!!  Congratulations!

 

Thursday, November 07, 2013