longing for an encounter

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Do you long for an encounter with Jesus? Do you just have a deep seeded need to reach out and feel Him?

As Christians we should have this feeling every day of our life. We need to be longing after Him and craving His presence in our lives.

I long for an encounter with Him. I long for His touch. His presence.

I long to feel the weight of the Holy Spirit pressing firmly down on my head. I love the heavy feeling of His Spirit looming over me and the way it takes my breath away.

I ache with an empty hunger for more. More of His Word. More of His Spirit. More of His almighty Presence.

My heart cries out for a fresh touch. One that renews. One that restores. One that reminds me...

Of Who He is...

Of His power..

Of His Love..

A touch that sears my skin and leaves the invisible fingermarks of God behind.

A touch that anoints. A touch that penetrates deeply to the yearning in my spirit.

I long for His embrace. His covering. His sweet mercy.

On my face, I cry out in sheer desperation of the Lifter of my head to minister to the deepest recesses of my being. I want. I seek. I long. I yearn.

For the deep mystery of Him to be revealed to the inner depths of my spirit.

As His presence fills the room, my spirit rejoices! Lord you are good! You are life to us.

Breath on us Oh, God and let your Holy Spirit consume our hearts and light a fire in our souls that we in turn ignite those around us. Let Your fire burn in us and engulf all that we come in contact with . Show us Your Glory!

so thankful for so much

I just love Thankful Thursday. It helps me to sit back, relax and focus on all the God has done in my life. It helps me to be reminded of God's goodness and His blessings. Thank you to GREG for leading us in this each week.

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~ I am so thankful for the amazing revival God allowed Jimbo and I to be part of last week in Arkansas. It was truly a life altering experience for me as well as for the church we were at. God moved so powerfully each night. The Holy Spirit literally blew in like a hot wind and fell like fire on us. Revival came along with renewal and restoration.

Thank you, Lord for the way you come to us when we call and how you delight us with your presence!

(looking out the church window at Johnson Baptist Fellowship)

~ I am thankful that there are 3 little ones tucked snugly into 3 beds in my house tonight. My heart is in each room with Mikaela, Eli and Mercie tonight. After I read Mercie her bedtime story, she wanted me to sing to her. I started singing 'Jesus Loves Me', and she said, "No, sing to Mercie, Nana." So I sang 'Jesus Loves Mercie'  and she reached her little hand up and touched my face and said, 'Nana, you're my angel'.

Thank you Lord for these precious times with such precious grandchildren.

(sweet Mercie)

~ I am so thankful for God's Word. I just love to sit and devour the scriptures and I love how He speaks so loudly to my heart through them. Today, this verse just leapt off the page at me and I clutched it to my chest and have hidden it deep in my heart.

"Arise, shine, for Thy light is come,

and the glory of the LORD is

risen upon thee."

(Isaiah 60:1)

~I am thankful for a loving church family who was so glad to see us after we had been gone all week! It is certainly a blessing to have such an amazing body of believers that we are privileged to serve and to fellowship with.

~ I am thankful for life. God has blessed me abundantly. He has graced me beyond measure. He has placed His healing Hand upon my life and lavished me with His sweet love. If I am never blessed again, I have been blessed more than I could ever deserve.

Thank you, Lord for the rich gift of grace. Thank you for the abundant gift of eternal life. Thank you for loving me enough to die on the Cross that I might not have to experience death, but instead am able to partake in life everlasting with You.

i want to want Thee

I awakened this morning with a full heart. Full of such awe and wonder for an awesome and wonderful God! Full of amazement at how much He loves me. Full of such gratitude for the sacrifice He made on the Cross. Full of joy at the grandeur of His majesty and the limitlessness of His mercy and grace.

I also opened my eyes with a new longing to know Him more. A deep, deep longing to grow in knowledge of my Lord. I yearn so within my heart to ascend higher every day in my intimacy with God.

I hunger with an increasing hunger.

I thirst with an insatiable thirst.

I want to know Him.  Feel Him. Taste His Goodness.

I desire His Presence to be manifest mightily in my life.

I want to smell the sweet fragrance of His Glory as His Spirit blows in.

I sit in His Presence and can't move. Each breath I draw takes effort as His Spirit presses down upon me. I feel His fingers like fire on my skin sending chills from head to toe. I sit and bask in the absolute joy that threatens to overtake me as He begins ministering to my soul.

Filling me.

Renewing me.

Overwhelming me with His blessedness.

Astounding me as His Glory falls.

Oh, Lord show me your glory! 

Tears are rolling down my face. Hot tears bathing my soul as the Holy Spirit ministers. Washing me with His Love and bringing the fires of renewal and revival to my heart.

I soak up the goodness of His unfailing Love and am drenched in the rain of His powerful Presence.

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Thank you Lord for the promise of Your Word. Thank you for loving me. You are my life and my all.

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"I want to want Thee; I long to be filled

with longing; I thirst to be made

more thirsty still."

A.W.Tozer

thankful thursday - God's Word

We have been so busy with the revival here in Fayetteville, Arkansas, I haven't had any time to blog, but I did want to join my awesome friend Greg with THANKFULness today! I am so thankful for the way gives us His Word and we find so much peace and solace there.

The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup... (Psalm 16:5)

(thank you Lord, that You are my portion)

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak... (Psalm 6:2)

(Oh, thank you Lord, for your infinite mercy)

And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in His salvation . (Psalm 35:9)

(thank you Lord for putting JOY in my soul!)

Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  (2 Cor. 3:17)

(Oh, thank you Lord that there is freedom and liberty through YOU)

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.- (Galatians 2:16)

(thank you Lord that I don't have to depend on my works to save me  but that through my works I bring glory and honor to you!)

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I love listening to Travis Cottrell sing praises to God. He has a true and authentic love for God. I had the honor of meeting him in person back in January and truly the joy of the Lord was present in his spirit and on his face.

So when I was presented with the opportunity to read and review his new book that was just released by Zondervan and titled Surprised by Worship, I was thrilled.  I was looking forward to seeing what God had placed on his heart to put down on paper in contrast to what He usually places in his heart to bring forth in song.

In his book, Travis leads us through the many facets of worship and really opened my eyes to the magnitude of all that worship encompasses. We tend to put our own interpretation of worship in a box and close the lid tightly. Travis encourages us, through the Word of God, to "let God astonish us with the unexpected". The true surprise of worship.

Worship is the place where God meets us. Where our hearts connect. The book guides us down the worship road with new understanding of how joy, trust, hope and surrender all make up that wonderful experience of true worship.

I enjoyed every page of this book and highly recommend it for anyone that desires to expand their view and their act of worship. It will give you a new awareness of the reason we worship our Creator and put a new longing in your heart to wholeheartedly lift your voice in praise and worship to the King of kings.

will we also go away?

"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou are that Christ, the Son of the Living God" (John 6:68-69)

You, my precious Lord, have the words of eternal life.

I love Peter and his response to Jesus' inquiry. Many of the followers of Jesus had turned away and gone back to where they had come from. They no longer had the desire to follow after Him. So He was talking to the ones who remained. The twelve disciples. And Jesus simply asked them, 'Will ye also go away?'

Peter, like so many of us, didn't always say or do the right thing, but he had such a precious heart! I just love Peter and his child-like response to things. But this time, Peter nailed it. His response was straight from his heart and it was  nothing but the TRUTH. 

The Truth of God's Word. The Truth of who Jesus is. The Truth of the Words of eternal life.

Peter knew who Jesus was. And Peter knew he wanted to be right there in the middle of what was happening.

Where else would we desire to be but smack dab in the middle of the presence of Christ? To be standing shoulder to shoulder to the One who holds these Words. To be walking in step with the Son of God. To be following hard after Him.

I think too many times I don't let the fullness of who Jesus really is penetrate my being. I don't focus so much on the magnitude of His Greatness. And I sit here reading these verses again, I let each Word settle deep into my heart as to capture and ponder them with conviction. I want each word to cascade down and saturate me to overflowing.

Jesus IS the Christ! He is the Son of our Living God! He is not only the Words of eternal life, He IS Eternal Life! Hallelujah!!

He is Holy and True and He has the mighty and saving and powerful Words of Eternal Life.

He is the Word.

He is.

Praise you, Lord.

breathe on me...

"And when he had said this, he breathed on them,

and saith unto them,

Receive ye the Holy Ghost"

(John 20:22)

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Breathe on me sweet Holy Spirit.

With a cleansing breath,

a healing breath,

a restoring breath.

Breathe on me with the power given by the Father.

Manifested by His Glorious presence.

The mighty breath of God sending forth the winds

of refreshment to my needy soul.

Bringing strength and power.

Falling down fresh upon me in a wave of

abundant mercy and sovereign grace.

Lighting on my spirit with new revelation.

I close my eyes and lift my face toward heaven.

I breathe in the tantalizing aroma of a thrice Holy God.

I inhale His sweetness and my senses are assailed

with a deep awareness of His omnipotence.

It enhances the depth of my love for Him.

It fills every part of me with a deepening longing

for His touch.

I sense His presence.

I feel His love.

I taste His goodness.

I hear His voice.

Breathe on me sweet Holy  breath of God.

Cleanse me.

Heal me.

Restore me.

Overwhelm me with the reality of your Godness.

Astound me with your magnificent glory.

Delight me with your beauty.

Breathe on me sweet Holy Spirit.

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"While Peter yet spake these

words, the Holy Ghost fell on all

them which heard the word."

(Acts 10:44)

drinking from my saucer.....

Do we really know how to count our blessings?

Do we honestly understand just how blessed we are?

There are so many times that I know I don't fully recognize or appreciate a blessing until time has passed. Sometimes MUCH time...

Sadly, I think I miss many opportunities to render my humble thanks to my almighty Creator and King for all He does in my life! Just the fact that I am because of the great I AM is a blessing!

A little of 48 years ago, He gave me life. He blessed me with wonderful parents and a wonderful family. When I was a small child I was very ill and after 9 years, not only did God so graciously heal my physical body, but in His awesome mercy He healed my spiritual body. He gave me new life. Life everlasting!

I am blessed.

".... and with His stripes we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:5b)

He protected me through some rebellious teenage years. He kept His hand upon me and lovingly guided me back to the path He had planned and ordained for my life. When I called upon Him He was there.

I am blessed.

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6)

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband. A true man of God. A caring and generous man. A loving and faithful partner.

I am blessed.

God blessed us with 3 amazing daughters who all have a personal and intimate relationship with Christ.  They all love the Lord and are serving Him in their daily lives.

God so graciously blessed us with 6 grandbabies. Praise His Name! What a wonderful and joyful blessing they are.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17)

God graces me daily in ways that are too numerous to cont. Grace upon grace. Blessing heaped upon blessing.

Breath - life - sustenance - health.

Safety  - protection - freedom - worship - His Word.

Friends - family.

Indeed I am blessed. So blessed. My cup is overflowing. It overflows in abundance and I am drinking from my saucer.

Thank you, Lord.

following the sound of His voice...

My 3 1/2 year old grandson, Bryton, is obsessed with a survival show called 'Man, woman and wild'. In this show, a married couple is dropped off in a remote area of the world and has to depend on their own skills and resources to survive for 4 days and be rescued in that time period.  Bryton watches the show with all his attention focused on Mike and his survival techniques. He plays 'survival' often and imitates what he has seen on the show.

The other night after Ashlie had put Bryton to bed she had gone back to the living room to finish folding clothes and after a bit she heard Bryton calling her from the hallway. "Mama.. Mama...."

She answered him and asked him what he needed and he replied, "Keep talking so I can follow the sound of your voice"

Well, we all got a good laugh at that and decided that if we were ever lost in the wilderness, Bryton could probably get us out with all he is learning. But it also was a good lesson for me as I pondered on what he had said.

"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice." (John 10:4)

Do we recognize the sound of our Masters voice? And do we follow Him?

God clearly tells us that if we are His sheep, we WILL hear His voice when He calls and we WILL follow Him. But we have to KNOW Him to be able to distinguish His voice from the voice of the world.

The closer we get to God in our intimate, spiritual relationship, the better we are able to discern His voice and the more eager we are to listen for it and to heed it.  We have to keep ourselves faithfully engrossed in the Word of God so that we can grow in our walk with Him day by day. Only through a continual and deepening knowledge of our Lord and a deepening fellowship with Him, are we going to get to the point in our lives where we readily recognize Him when He calls.

Indeed, there have been times when I have had to say, "God, just keep talking and calling my name so I can follow the sound of your voice!" Amen anybody?

God wants us to know Him like that! He is continually working in our lives to bring us to where He desires for us to be! He is working to sanctify and transform us. He is working to redeem and restore us. He is working to cleanse and refine us.

The more we allow Him to work in our lives, the closer we draw to Him. And as we become more intimate with Him, we will always be listening for His voice and learning to recognize it immediately.

We will then have the desire to follow Him wherever He leads. And we can do this knowing that where He leads is where He will be with us. Close enough that when He calls, we can hear Him and follow the sound of His voice.
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Lord, keep molding us to be more like you and teaching us how to listen for your voice.Give us the growing desire to heed and follow you, wherever you may take us. For we know that where you take us, you are right there with us and will never leave nor forsake us. Thank you for the promise of Your Word.