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Oh how I love planners, stickers, pens and such. Call me silly but that is ok. They motivate me and bring me joy as I plan or write to do lists, in hopes to be more productive and organized. Lately the Lord has been reminding me the importance of seeds and seeds planting and how important it is for so many reasons in our lives. Galatians 6:7 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  I was super blessed to be able to partner with Spiritual Seeds Planner to review their kit during this time of alignment and reminding from God the lessons of sowing and reaping. Let me tell you about it and give you a chance to win one!
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Spiritual Seeds Planner is a planning tool designed to help Christians prioritize living a fruit filled life, guided by the Holy Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-Control. (Galatians 5:22-23) The planner uses a gardening theme concentrating on four garden plots – Friends/Family, Self, Community, Vocation/Work. Each month focuses on one Fruit, detailing actions to plant + cultivate + grow.  Actions are planned daily for highest yield. Cute garden themed stickers provide visuals for tracking growth. Unlike any other planner, Spiritual Seeds Planner prioritizes and plans Spiritual growth over daily “to do” lists and activities focusing on growth rather than achievement. 
 

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​What makes it different than other planners on the market:
·       Puts God in charge
·       Inspired, led and powered by the Holy Spirit
·       Based on Scripture
·       Impacts all areas of life
·       Improves relationships
·      Fills life with an abundance of Spiritual Fruit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

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I am so excited to start 2021 off with this beautiful kit that will assit me in sowing well for the kingdom in my daily life. What better way than to use tools  (and support Christian small businesses) that are taliored to the heart of the our Lord in the sucess of our fruitfulness as we shine for HIS glory!

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Once a person comes to know the redemptive gift God has offered humanity through the acceptance of Jesus as their proxy on the cross, what would a person then do next?  Of course, prayer, reading the word of God, and actually learning and desiring life application of the scriptures one reads. Why is this even important? I will share with you a thought-provoking act of obedience out of love.
 
“A spiritual application of the word of God consists to applying it to the heart in spiritually enlightening, sanctifying influences. A spiritual application of an invitation or offer the gospel consists in giving the soul a spiritual sense or relish of  the holy divine blessings offered and also the sweet and wonderful grace of the offeror , in making so gracious an offer and of his holy excellency and faithfulness to fulfill what he offers and his glorious sufficiency for it, so leading and drawing forth the heart to embrace the offer and thus giving the man evidence of his title to the thing being offered. And so a spiritual application of the promises of the scripture, for the comfort of the saints, consists in the enlightening of their minds to see the holy excellency and sweetness of the blessings promised and also the holy excellency of the promiser and his faithfulness and sufficiency, thus drawing forth their hearts to embrace the promiser ,and the thing, promised,” (The Works of President Edwards,1808, p. 156 )
 
The scripture is text written to declare the giver, who he is and what he gives.

1. God is love. 1 John 4:16 (NJKV) God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Consider, the root word of ahava is "ahav." The term ahav in Hebrew means, "to give." True ahava, true love, is more concerned about giving than receiving. ... Consider that the Hebrew word "ahava" is not an emotion but an action. (Google Dictionary)
2. The very nature of God, the God that is pure love, is to give to you.  No one else has the right to say they are love.
3. That love never stops and it is impossible because according to Revelation 22:13 (NKJV) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” So, God is everything in time and outside of time. No one else has the authority to say they are the beginning and the end.
4. I would think one would trust the God of all creation and what he has to say. Psalm 103:2-3 (NKJV) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. But God continues to bless us, and forgive us, and heal us, and restore us, and renew us, and deliver us. Did you see that. Forget not his benefits? Why would you not want to remember his benefits or how to obtain them?
5. To desire understanding of the gift you have been given it will require to read and not only read the scripture but obediently live and apply it daily. John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.  This love is an ongoing circulation never ending. Once you accepted his son the only thing, he desires back from you is love for he is love, and that love comes from the grateful obedience of the heart to follow his commands.

 
Spiritual application is truly obedience that flows in a cycle of never-ending love between you and God. Because if you have said yes to His gift of salvation and that very love is now living inside of your heart, I could assume the God of love who made you in his image. (So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 ( NKJV))  has given you his desires of you in his Word and if you love God back freely, why would you not apply what you read. In doing so you are giving back love to the creator of love, love. He is a great Father who promises and lavishes his benefits now and forever more in the life to come.
 
 
 

First let's recognize and acknowledge the ways Mothers Day can be so lonely for some. 

So you see those Hallmark commercials where the grown kids honor their mom with some loving attention and "thought enough to say the very best" in a card. Or kids who think on their own and make a craft showing mom their love and creativity from the heart. These acts of love are priceless. It is not the gift but the time the gift giver said to say I love you, I honor you in some way. That is really what mom's want on Mother's day.  Just to be remembered. 
But what do you do if your kids are grown and they are "to busy" to honor you in some way on Mothers day? The day can be lonely as thoughts of 18 or more years of caring for the needs spiritually,educationally, physically and more for that individual come flooding back. All the good and bad memories and the struggles and sacrifices you made come flooding back but they are not noticed or feel that way. 
In times like that utter lack of honor on the part of grown kids can, if left to it's own, do traumatic damage to a mom's heart. 

Another reason some feel so lonely on Mothers day is because they never had children and regret it or maybe even tried to have kids and could not for whatever medical of finical reasons. 

Some suffer on mother's day because they lost their mom's too soon to death or maybe was an orphan and never knew their mom's. Some even maybe had mom's that where difficult and did not show love in a way you longed for and maybe have had disagreements and cuts ties. 

Let's face it some of us sometimes suffer from one or more of these realities and at times when you see a mother and her kids out in public celebrating mothers day it can stab at your tender heart. 

I can relate. I have experienced not one but three of these situations. I am writing this blog post on Mothers day May 2020 and will tell you today was one of the loneliest Mother's days I have ever experienced. But I have a message for you that you are not alone. 
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How To Deal With Loneliness on Mother's Day

1. First let's address the brokenness of your situation and the remedy. Know that God loves you and see's your heart. Take time to sit with the maker and lover of your soul and find Him. He says he will draw near to the broken hearted. Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” 
2. Mother's bring joy. Go give your self a gift that day and bring yourself some joy then go find someone to give some joy to even if it is a pleasant smile out in public. 
3. Wanted kids but did not have any? If you always wanted to be a mom but could't first focus on YOU and go do something to bring yourself some joy that day as well. Then set a plan to find people who need a mother's nurturing (NO matter your age) such as seniors, aged out fosters who are kicked to the curb at age 18 and need some love & tlc (contact your local foster unit they can direct you for aged out fosters it takes no money to spend time with them, you might be the mom they always looked for!) If you never had kids but God still gave you a mother's heart he does NOT want you to waste it. Ask him to guide you to those who need it. Sometimes motherhood looks different then they typical. We can not put God or motherhood in a box. Do you love animals? Go to a shelter and volunteer and love on the unwanted animals! DO not waste that mother's heart. God showed me this a couple of years ago when I started off on my empty nester journey and showed me he was going to repackage my mother's heart for more than what I had known!
4. Had a mom or adult kids who did you wrong? Forgiveness is key. It is not so much for them but it is to set you free ultimately. Jesus was your proxy on the cross and forgave you he expects that from all of us as well to those who we may feel do not deserve it. Colossians 3:13 – Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Matthew 6:12 – From the Lord's Prayer – “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
5. Your mom died? You miss your mom and you miss giving her honor and love on Mother's day. You still can! Go have some fun making a sweet mother's day craft and go to a rest home and ask the nurse who in the center never has their kids come see them or never had kids but wanted them? Go sit with that lady and present to her your Mother's day gift and tell her it is in honor of your own Mother. Then ask her to share some sweet memories of her mother as you also share some sweet memories of your mom. It will help your mom's memory to live on every Mother's day and be a new tradition you can look forward to by bringing joy and filling a void in someone while you fill your own. I guarantee she will shed tears!

​The MOST IMPORTANT take away.  Lastly know this, today as I write this and struggled with loneliness the Lord gave me something beautiful so beautiful it is to be shared and it is a message for you too. Diamonds are made in the dark pressure. They are pure and radiant. Someday you will have the moment that will blast ALL mother's days of all mother's days out of the planet when you stand before the Lord and everyone else in all eternity and he himself presents you with a crown of jewels laden with love and forged by your suffering in the dark loneliness, just as he suffered on the cross a dark loneliness and yet in that suffering you chose to give IN HIS name the heart of a mother and the heart of a Father which is unconditional LOVE to those around you in need. You have that to look forward to and no Hallmark card or Mother's day on earth WILL EVER compare.

So today on Mother's day go give LOVE to yourself and to others!

God's timing is always perfect. He sees our deepest heart aches and problems and knows the solutions before we do. But so many times we think in the natural and that if something happens beyond our control we will let the brain take over, and not even realize it. Trying to frantically in the natural to figure out a solution, rather than first seeking (in step one) the one who already sees the problem and knows  what you need.

We recently got hit again with life. My husband lost his job due to reasons beyond his control. We had been down this road before and the uncertainty and shock can consume you if left to it's own. But this time instead of panicking while still numb from shock I felt we should run away. Literally get in the car and just run somewhere with Jesus. I had tucked a few dollars away just for an emergency like this because we had been there before. This time we knew we must approach it differently. Mental health is so important and I knew if we did not do something different asap my husband might fall again into a deep depression. So off to the beach we went. 

Of course with my husband being from the coast of Rhode Island and an ex cruise director I knew hearing waves would be soothing. It was! It helped him so much. He surprised me one afternoon and started reading to me a page in Our Daily Bread. I had no idea he was reading it at all. He read a verse out of 1 Kings 17:6 NIV the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook. This was God's way of taking care of the Prophet Elijah daily as he camped where God told him too.  So that really spoke to my heart and I journaled it declaring that as our first sign of hope. 

A little while later as my husband walked the beach alone this time, I stayed behind to spend some alone time with the Lord. I just felt to get up and go stand at the balcony and watch the waves. I saw my husband looking up at the fourth floor balcony but as I waved down to him a couple of sea gulls flew by but beside them was one lone raven. It was almost as if it flew by in slow motion looking at me. I was shocked. I had not seen a raven the whole time I was there and I spend a lot of time looking at the nature around me. 

My husband did not fully understand my excitement later when I told him of it. I said, " It was a sign from God he is going to take care of our needs because he even used ravens to take care of Elijah! Why not us! I think it was a God wink. Well my husband did not see the raven so it did not mean a lot he wanted to see something himself but he did not say although I knew. 

Later the next day as we where leaving the island we pulled over to get a snack before we left the island. As we got out of the car he was so excited saying , "Susan look, look!" I look over next to me on the bush only inches from me is a raven, sitting just staring at us. I walked up nearer to it and said, "did God send you?" Most of the time if I have ever seen a raven or any type of bird in my life if you try to approach it , it will flee. This one did not. I said, thank you bird for obeying God and coming to give us a message of hope. 

We are only two weeks post that day and we are still talking about those two raven sightings after we read that verse. It was the hope we needed at just the right times.

My eyes are open with expectancy as we wait on God and see how he provides. Meanwhile every provision we see I say there is another raven provision! I want to share with you the first one. Bible Gate Grid Bloggers sent me a new Artisan Collection Bible to review. It came at just the right time just to bring me hope just like God used the ravens. This Bible is a type I have always wanted but never got. it is a New International Version with journal space on each page! 

Of course the first verse I had to journal and highlight to test it out was the verse from that day that began my quest for verses and promises of God that we could claim and proclaim and hang onto in these trying times. It brought me such joy. God knows the desires of our hearts and he knows I have been wanting a Bible just like this! 
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This Bible is stunning in every way. I love marble and this has a marble look to it. I love the gold accents here or there. Every time I hold this Bible it evokes joy not just because it is the word of God but also it was a raven provisional to make me smile and it was even in the color I wanted as well. God knows the desires of our heart even when we do not pray to him about it.
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He cares about every single detail. 

Here are somethings I am enjoying about this Bible so far.

I am so grateful for God's word in any form be in print or digital. If you would like to get this Bible yourself ( they offer various colors) visit the Bible Gate Way Store.

Or you can study God's word for free in any translation at BibeGateWay.com it is my most favorite Bible resource site when I do not carry my Bible with me. 
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Recently I asked the Lord what was on his heart. I heard the word gopher. I knew he was referring to me in my spirit. I was sitting in shock. Lord, ok what does that mean? So I look up what does a gopher mean.  They are a small animal that makes tunnels and has cheeks that can store items. I thought ok well what now? Well by accident while I was reading it in Google I saw the word gofer and felt I should look into it, it sounds like gopher. I had never heard of gofer before. (I am sure he also had a meaning for me too in gopher but I am still praying on that and waiting on what tunnel making means for me.)

Gofer's meaning is someone who's job is running various errands. Gofer means a guy or girl Friday basically doing any little task that needs to be done. The term originated in the 1950's. 

I have always been interested in many things and doing many different things for the Lord and some would say focus on one. Well I never felt a peace about that, now I know why. That is not how he made me. Some focus really well on one thing.  I am a gofer for God. Even now with the Messenger of the Glory series I am delivering messages as well as doing many other little tasks of service for the Lord. It can be done, because in Christ we can do anything. Philippians  4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is not about me at all but what he can and will do in a weak vessel like me. I like variety. I do not mind being a gofer for Abba. Do you feel like your not good enough to do what he has asked you to do? Read this article from last week. God Chooses the Ordinary to do the Extraordinary. 

​In a way we all are gofers for Abba. But are you doing all he really wants you to do in obedience? Are you his dependable gofer? 

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Need more encouragement? Need a boost? These short inspirational supernatural stories are free in Amazon Prime and only .99 cents for non members. You can read on any device! Sign up for my newsletter to be informed of the newest stories and printed book release!
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Today I was sitting and waiting on the Lord. He gave me a word for me and for you today. I was daring to venture on the thoughts that I am not good enough to be a writer, speaker and anything else he calls me to do. He said to me "I specialize in taking the ordinary and using them for extraordinary things."  The Lords words gripped me and made me feel so welcomed to do things for him rather than being left out feeling less than. This word is for you who are reading this today too! 

Here are some examples of this truth in God's word. 

1. Jesus was born in an ordinary manger. Luke 2:1-20
2. Jesus uses five loaves of bread and five fish to feed 5000. John 6:1-14
3. Jesus turned ordinary water into wine. John 2: 1-11
4. Jesus looked ordinary. Isaiah 53:2
5. He made simple Ester a Queen. Ester 2
6. He used a gentile prostitute named Rahab to save his men And become part of the lineage of Jesus. Joshua 2
7. God used two elderly people to birth a new nation, a new covenant and promises for all Gods people forever more to come. Genesis 17

 
There are many more examples all in the Bible. Just look and you will see that using what we think is ordinary is indeed God's specialty. And if you think about it nothing God made is ordinary in my book. Never feel you are not good enough. God loves to make himself strong in our weakness. If you feel you do not measure up guess what you do not on your own in this fallen world but he does and that is what it is all about. 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Need more encouragement? Need a boost? These short inspirational supernatural stories are free in Amazon Prime and only .99 cents for non members. You can read on any device! Sign up for my newsletter to be informed of the newest stories and printed book release!
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Today I asked the Lord what was on his heart. He said Royalty, his children are royalty. Think about that for a moment.  The word will speak for itself. 

Isaiah 62:3 (NKJV)  You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God.


​1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

​Ezekiel 16:13 (NKJV)​ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.

​1 Peter 2:5  (NKJV)  you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.​


​Ephesians 4:24 (NKJV)  and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
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2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.


​Revelation 5:10 (NKJV) And have made [a]us kings[b] and priests to our God;
And [c]we shall reign on the earth.”


​Revelation 1:6 (NKJV) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
 
 

Jesus mighty Yeshua is indeed King of all. He made us to be seated in Heavenly places with him.

Ephesians 2:4-10(NKJV) 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

If you do not believe me I challenge you to take that up with God this very day. Sit quietly for a bit today and wait and listen without distraction. Ask him are you royal? Ask him how he feels about you.  

Need more encouragement? Need a boost? These short inspirational supernatural stories are free in Amazon Prime and only .99 cents for non members. You can read on any device! Sign up for my newsletter to be informed of the newest stories and printed book release!
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