The Engagement

What a day it will be when we are married to the Lamb!
We are to spend our time getting to know the One
whom we will marry. Enjoy the courtship to the king!

Courtship: 1. the wooing of one person by another.
2. the period during which such wooing takes place

As a man gives an engagement ring to that special girl as a sign that they will be married,
so He gives His Holy Spirit as a promise that He is coming!

There is going to be a wedding! Are you engaged to the KING!?!

2 Corinthians 5:4-5 "For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge."

How bad do you want it?

"Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly " And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." Acts 12:1-11

I don't believe that I will ever truly comprehend the depth of prayer. But I have seen and heard what He does when His children are on their faces before Him.

We want so many things, good things. We want our families to be saved. We want healing. We want miracles in those impossible situations. We want to see a move of His Holy Spirit. We want, dare I say it, Revival in the land! We want our churches everywhere to be burning with passion for His Name! To carry out His vision. But do we really want those things? I submit that we do not! It's just talk! It sounds good to us, just like going on vacation sounds good.

There's only one thing that brings those to us, PRAYER.
And I'm not talking about the little prayers that you shoot God's way in the morning before you rush off to do YOUR business for the day. I'm not talking about the half hearted prayer you mutter because it's the thing to do. That's NOT Prayer!

I'm talking about anguish, fasting, keeping you up at night, labored prayer. If you've never seen God do a great work through your family, then you haven't labored for it. If you've never seen Him do a great work through your church, then you haven't labored for it! If you are facing an impossible situation, why would you do anything else but drop to your knees in prayer? It doesn't matter how long it takes for you to get an answer, you stick it out and fight in prayer to the end.
Where are the people who are on their faces before a Holy God with prayer and fasting?
If you are not praying, then you don't want it! It's that simple.

From reading Acts 12, this is what we know happens when people are praying:

Chains are broken
The enemy is blinded
Doors open by themselves &
People's lives are saved

That should be enough to keep us on our face.

Nat

Promises

I know that God's Word is Truth. For He is God and cannot lie. So therefore, He cannot write or inspire a book that is full of lies. So when we read promises in His Word, and are trying to claim them and it's just not working out, why is it that we would assume that God doesn't keep His Word? That we cannot trust Him? We doubt His goodness.

I have been in John chapters 14, 15, & 16 for several months now. It is just loaded with promises straight from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are so many in chapter 14 alone that blows my mind.

The works I do, you will do also, even greater works (14:12)

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do (14:13)

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it (14:14)

I will disclose Myself to you (14:21)

We will make our abode with you (14:23)

Whatever you wish will be done for you (15:7)

Whatever you ask for in My name, so the Father may give it to you (15:16)

If you ask anything in My name, He will give it to you (16:23)

Ask and you will receive, sot hat your joy may be made full (16:24)

There are times when I absolutely anguish over Scripture. When the Holy Spirit leads me into a passage and I wrestle with it over and over. To me I think the passage to be elementary. I should already know this. He leads me to common verses, if the Word of God can be common, and I realize it's depth. I read it, but yet do not have understanding. I see it, but just like these verses above, they do not "SEEM" to be right. I have asked the Lord for things I wish. Even unselfish things. I have asked that this person be healed. I have asked that my parents are able to sell their house so they can move closer. I have asked that the Lord give this person a job, or fix that or do this. In my limited knowledge it seems the most logical solution. So why would God not do it?

But yet, those promises are still there. And if I know that He does not and can not lie, then I am missing something.....and so began my journey.

After reading this over and over again, pleading with the Holy Spirit to teach me, He finally gave me a little hint.

One Sunday afternoon a couple of months ago, I had the most horrible head ache that I had had in a while. It was bad enough that i probably could have gone to the ER. But instead i retreated to my carport outside with my Bible in my lap, opened up to John

I don't know how many stories I have heard from people that were angry at God because they read something in the Bible and then it doesn't happen. Or they were told by a person in ministry leaders position that they were intitled to something, and they DID have enough faith, but it didn't happen. Example-

There is a man who's mother was sick. She was dying of cancer. Their pastor told them if they had enough faith, that she would be healed and would not need to have treatment. She died!

Now he is left wanting nothing to do with a god that is so mercifulless, and nothing to do with his people.

That is an extreme case I suppose

January

I am waiting for January. I'm not exactly sure what is going to happen, but if I am understanding the Holy Spirit correctly.....something big is going to happen for Stephen and I.
Every day crawls by. i wish I could write a little of what He is showing me, but not clear on it yet. But hope is rising!
Too bad you can't speed time up with an energy drink.

WEDDING

Wow! So I'm going to have a brother soon! ha ha. A brother in love, as my dear friend Glenna puts it. Stephen's sister is getting married and we are sooooooo excited!! My heart is rejoicing for them! It has been long awaited......isn't that right Christina? ; )
Brad asked her to marry him Saturday late night. They are getting married in a little over 2 months. Not a lot of time for planning, but oh so wise!
May God bless this marriage! Please grant them a heart that will love You Lord, more than anything else!

Partying for the Davis and Jansen families!! Bring it on! :D



Nat

job

One day when I have a job that I actually like, I will be able to smile at people and really mean it. Can you tell that I'm not feeling very well? ;P'

Life At Present

Stephen and I are leading a college Bible study. It has been so much fun! One day, we will be able to do that full time. Lord give me strength as I expectantly wait!

Our church is taking part in the Beth Moore simulcast this weekend! It is going to be so good. The Lord has anointed her to teach and I know He has given her what needs to be spoken this weekend! Lord prepare my heart!

PASSION 2010- Steve and I are taking some of our college group to the Passion conference in January! We are doing a fund raiser this nxt Saturday. A car wash.
Some of the speakers will be Beth Moore, Louie Giglio, and John Piper! And worship bands will be Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Matt Redman, Charlie Hall, Christy Nockles and more! So good! I can't wait.

Stephen is back to teaching again. The summer didn't stay long. It came to pass.... Oh God, please sustain us! Refresh our souls!

Well, I don't feel like there is anything else to write about. Hopefully I will be able to write some very good news soon for me and Stephen about our future....We're just waiting on an answer from God. :)

Jesus Christ is Everything!

* Click on the title to watch this video.

We Are a Sent People

I wonder when it happened that the church today, the true church, -those who are in Christ Jesus- missed what the great commission is all about. Matt 28 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

When were we taught that it said "IF you are called to be a Pastor, Evangelist, or Missionary, THEN go into all the world...?

I know, as a ministry leader, I have been very frustrated in the past at the lack of participation in different in reach and outreach ministries we have done in our church. But here lies the problem....
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, and each church will have to answer that, laymen ( just regular church folks) are being told from the pastoral staff or teams that it is the job of the pastors to evangelize our friends, family, & neighbors. That for some reason the laity does not know enough to tell anyone about God and what the Son did for them. And I know that well meaning pastors never intended for that message to be broadcasted, but that is what is being heard.
How many times have you invited people to come to your church? A few times. But how many people have you yourself told about Jesus Christ and what He did for you? Not too many.
My point is, without even thinking about it, we have pushed the responsibility of reaching "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the remotest part of the earth.(Acts1:8)"off on someone else. What easier way out than to put it on the Pastor. And of course the Pastor, he's "called".

IT IS NOT THE CLERGY'S JOB TO EVANGELIZE YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY. IT IS YOURS!!
We are convinced that somehow we are fulfilling our Christian duty when we invite them to church. "Oh I've got to get them to church because church will fix all of their problems."
It is a lie that is straight from hell. And we have taken the bait with no reservations. The enemy is winning this battle by far! And I'll tell you why. This may actually shock you so get ready.....

LOST PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO COME TO YOUR CHURCH!!

I don't care what program you are doing, I don't care if you have the latest technology, the most popular songs, or the greatest carpet in town.....they do not want to be apart of your church. If they did, they would come.
Let me prove this point. How many people of the world that do not know God are coming to your church? If your church is growing, is it because of salvations, or are you just swapping members? People that come because they got bored at their old church or got their fragile little feelings hurt. That's expanding the Kingdom? I don't think so.

So the enemy is winning. Not because we don't love God. Oh we love God! "How great is our God", we sing! And we mean every word of it. We love our pastors, we love their teaching, the music, the people(most of them), the programs! It just makes us so happy to be there! And there's nothing wrong with that. We need to be there. The problem is that we expect the world to come to us.
You want to know what they are thinking about your church. "All they want is my time and money." and that says "they don't care about me". That saddens my heart. We have convinced ourselves that the world will come to us and it is simply not true. Gone are the days when everybody went to church. Jesus used the word Go because he knew that they would not come to us.

Here is a TRUTH for you. No matter who you are, or what your job is when you wake up in the morning, if you know Jesus Christ as your savior, then you are called to the ministry and called to be on God's mission. So if you have been struggling, not knowing if God has "called" you, Then stop. The answer is a big YES. So that is no longer a question for you. The only questions you should be asking is Who and where?

It would be so easy just to read this and say, Amen, right on, preach it girl. But what difference would that make in the kingdom? Are our lives backing up our words? We can hear good whole truth all day long and still be completely ineffective for the Kingdom.

Lord, let me be the first to confess that I have just been full of words. I know what sounds good. I know how to talk like someone who is really on fire for God. But that's all it is. Talk.
When will I realize what I'm doing? When will my actions back up my words? I want my life to reflect someone who is empowered by the Holy Spirit and who is faithfully fighting the good fight.

We must live as a sent people. Letting go of everything that we will not take with us when we die. If we did not love this world, we would have no problem going where ever the Spirit leads.

Acts 12:5-10

O.k. It will be a while before I have pictures.....and I have no idea how long a while is.It's taking forever to finish because I can't make up my mind on the colors!

So I was reading in Acts today and this is what God showed me. In Acts 12, Herod put Peter in prison basically for a political reason. He didn't break any law, he had just ruffled some feathers of some of the non-believing Jews, and Herod saw that it would please them to have Peter killed. But the awesome thing is, the church was praying. It says in vs. 5 "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." The most important word to me in that sentence is the little word, BUT. "But the church was earnestly praying". And because the church was praying, his chains fell off, the gate opened, he was set free and his life was saved!

That's so amazing!! I could spend an hour on this......
Just in closing, remember this -

When the church prays, chains are Broken, Doors are Opened, and peoples lives WILL BE SAVED. Amen

~NaT~

Painting

O.K. We are finally painting our house today. I just hope the forecast was right that it is not going to rain anymore until Saturday or Sunday!

Before and after pictures coming soon.........



~NaT~

Can You pour Your Spirit out on ignorance?

This morning after I dropped Steve off at work, I drove back here to the office at HHBC. It was 7:35. I had 25 minutes before I was supposed to go in to work. So I decided to read my Bible and spend some time praying. ( This is not every easy for me to do because of all the commotion that is going on around me. WAY too many distractions)

Something caught my attention though. As I was looking out of my jeep window, I glanced up at our WC and immediately prayed, "Lord, can you pour your Spirit out on ignorance?" I have asked this many times but never get a reply....usually because I'm complaining and not really being sincere. But I meant it this time. I really wanted to know if He would pour His Spirit out on people that do not even want it. Or that just flat out deny that He pours out on people. But the very instant that prayer left my mouth He reminded me of Numbers chapter 11. So I turned there and read it.

I had not read this in a while, and even when I had read it before, I didn't see this. These Elders were complaining and whining to God. Actually, most of the Israelites were. They were tired of the manna that miraculously fell from heaven. They wanted meat! And the Lord punished them for it....it says in vs.33-34 that "But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.".After all that God had done for them they still longed for their old life as slaves in Egypt!! But He called all the Elders to come and He poured His Spirit out on them so that they began to prophesy. And even two old dudes that didn't even meet with them couldn't hide from the Spirit. They began to prophesy in the camp where they were at! Amazing!!

So Yes, the Lord can and will pour His Spirit out on people who are not even expecting it! Praise God!! Holy Spirit, pour out on me and this church and hold NOTHING back!!


~NaT~

Oh Summer

Where art thou you beautiful place. The warmth of your sun, the sweet embrace. The gentle breeze that sweeps my face. Oh summer, do not delay.
_____________________________________________________

Ha ha!! Sorry. i am just so ready for summer.....90 degree weather! Bring it on!! A better tan. Lake trips with friends and my dogs!! : )
Bright sun shine! I already have spring fever! And that makes me want summer even more!


~NaT~

Bassets

This is my baby Basset.
His name is Samuel Lou.
He will be a year old this month.
And he is nothing but trouble!











This is Annie( for now - we might change it) We adopted her back in December. We are guessing that she is about 2 years old.


This is a pic of her when we first got her. She was very skinny. I'll put another pic of her once I fatten her up. : )

~NaT~

Painting

We are getting ready to paint our house. Haven't decided on colors yet. But I do not like the color that it is right now. I think that it clashes with the color of the brick.
This is going to be a big job. Probably will take up 3 or 4 days of spring break. But I'm excited!
I also remodeled my bathroom. I took the shower doors out and hung a curtin. Hung a towle rack and made a few more changes. It feels so much cleaner to me. Those shower doors were so hard to keep clean.
I will have some before and after pics of the house when we paint it.