Heart to Heart

What our heart’s really desire; desires of our hearts; God’s heart for you; listen to His heart: follow your fully surrendered heart; etc. etc.

Restored on June 13th

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PHOTOS & VIDEOS 2013-2015 - 386 of 557

Twenty-three years ago today on June 13, 1994, I awoke to a nightmare like experience.  I will never forget it.  I remember the telephone ringing early that Monday morning, and immediately having an uneasiness in my spirit.  The next thing I knew I was belted over in a painful pool of unconsolable tears on my cold, tiled kitchen floor.  For some, their gut wrenching sorrow is released solely through tears that are only seen and never heard; but on this day, my wailing cries of lament were anything but silent, and they immediately prompted my husband to cry out for help too.  Amidst the foggy veil over my mind, the only thing I remember my husband saying to our Pastor on the other end of the phone was, “I need your help.”  

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Speak Life

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What was the last thing you said to one of your loved ones? Are you okay if that is the last thing they ever hear you speak? We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. Speak life today beloved one. 
#Speaklife 

#wordsarepowerful 

#encourageoneanother

#noregrets
“You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” (Words of Jesus, Matthew 12:34-37 The Message)

#wordsofJesus

#outoftheheartthemouthspeaks

#yourheartisspeaking
Prayer:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a loyal spirit within me. Amen. 

(Psalm 19:14; Psalm 51:10)

It is always good to pray The Word of God over your heart and life.

It is always good to pray before you speak too. Pray, pray, pray, wait, wait, wait…then speak life. Life giving words can be words of correction too, spoken in love from a heart that desires only the best for the person they are spoken to. 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (Words of Jesus, John 6:63)

Morning has broken…

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It is also good to proclaim and sing of God’s love and faithfulness in and through our mourning and loss.  
#morninghasbroken #mourninghasbroken

One of my dearest friends, a creative spirit, and a mighty warrior woman of God is using the beautiful, old song by Cat Stevens entitled “Morning has Broken” in our upcoming dance studio performance. While listening to it this morning, it made me break out in tears and in a spontaneous dance.

I love this song.  All beautiful music is a gift from God.🎼💜

Link below to song on YouTube:

I will praise the Lord at all times.  His praise shall continually flow from my lips. (Psalm 34:1)



Because I’m so close to this dear one, I haven’t been able to share much about the recent loss of her beloved son, which occurred only a little over a week following the loss of her older sister.  How many of us can relate to the old saying, “when it rains it pours.” Sadly it seems this is too often a true statement.  Our hard times and trials seem to have a tendency of crashing into our lives without any warning simultaneously, one on top of another until it almost seems unbearable (none of us want to relate to Job in the slightest degree).  I have felt the heaviness of the loss of her precious son, Ramey, with her. Prayers over my special friend, Jeanna, are appreciated. All of us Moms can only imagine what this painful loss would feel like. 
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15)
Still, we know our God is faithful. He heals the broken-hearted and He has and He will again turn our “mourning into dancing.” (Lamentations 3:20-24; Psalm 30:11; Psalm 147:3 Romans 12:15)

God brought this special friend into my life over 20 years ago through the calling to praise Him with our dancing (Psalm 149:3), and He is still using this gift of dance to minister to us and through us to this day. I love you and thank God always for the gift of you, my special and treasured friend. (Proverbs 17:17) I felt compelled to write this post in your honor today, beautiful one.

Our “mourning has broken” out into praise for all our days. Praise God in and through the valley and on the mountaintop too. For this is the only way for all the sons and daughters of God to make it through. Praise and worship the Lord through all your sorrow and your pain. After a while, only the powerful presence of the Spirit of God will remain.




Our God has given us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isaiah 61:3)
Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)




Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.” “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.” 1 Samuel 16:16-17

Worship over Worry

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#worship & #pray over #worry 

Desperation breeds either worry or worship. We always have a choice. 

Worship over worry is the better way! Choose worship and prayer over worry.



No, it’s not easy! But it works! Usually what’s harder and takes more discipline and an act of faith is always harder. That’s why so many of us are worriers instead of worshipers, prayers & trusters 🙄 – that’s probably not a word (?), but it fits.
Do not worry about anything!

Worship God thru everything!

Pray constantly and about everything!
Lord, help us practice what what we say we believe.🙏 We aren’t blessed by what we know, but we are BLESSED and live victoriously as we PRACTICE the Truth we say we know. We are blessed when we hear and obey, not when we hear and keep doing things our own way.



John 13:17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. #wordsofJesus



(Also see Isaiah 1:19; James 1:22)


Philippians 4:6-7 The Message:

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 


Psalm 34:6-9 The Message:

When I was desperate, I called out, and God got me out of a tight spot. God’s angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray. Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness. 

It’s Time for #Restoration & #Release of God’s #Freedom #Healing & #Joy

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This is the passage Jesus quoted when He began his public ministry here on earth.  Of all the scriptures He could have chosen, He picked this one to announce His mission (Luke 4:14-21).
#Jesus is the #Healer of #Hearts #chainbreaker #freedommaker #releaserofcaptives #joygiver – This is the #goodnews of the #gospel #joytotheworld
God has sent me on a mission.
I have some great news for you.
God has sent me to RESTORE and RELEASE something.
And that something is YOU.
I AM here to give you back your HEART and set you FREE.
I AM furious at the Enemy who did this to you, and I will fight against him.
Let Me comfort you.
For, DEAR ONE, I will bestow beauty upon you
where you have known only devastation.
JOY, in the places of your deep sorrow.
And I will robe your heart in THANKFUL PRAISE
in exchange for your resignation and despair.*
Jesus made this announcement after being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days by the devil.  After we go through our own “wilderness,” resist all the temptations the enemy throws at us, keep pressing into God in prayer and worship, and receive His restoration and healing, we too can go out in the power of the Spirit to release the restoration, freedom, healing and joy of the Lord to others. (See Luke 4)
*Excerpt from John & Stasi Eldredge’s book, Captivating

Come Away or Come Apart

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#comeaway #rest #bestill #behealed #befilled by the #Loverofyoursoul #Jesus our Bridegroom
In Song of Songs 2:10, the lover, a spiritual picture of Jesus as the Bridegroom, is calling his  fair one to simply come away with her lover.  We, who belong to Jesus – the church – are the fair ones of Jesus.  We are the bride of Christ; the ones He died to be in a love relationship with.  Jesus is the lover of your soul – in case you didn’t know that.  You know, true lovers love spending time together, and it doesn’t matter what they are doing, as long as they are together.  Just being in the presence of someone you love is pleasurable and brings joy to your heart.
Are you “COMING AWAY” ALONE TO JUST SPEND TIME WITH JESUS?  When we neglect taking time to COME AWAY from our busy schedules and activities for the purpose of spending time to be refilled and refreshed in God’s presence, eventually some type of COMING APART (spiritually, emotionally or even physically) is inevitable.
This is our choice.  We can…
COME AWAY OR COME APART.  TAKE TIME and BE STILL before The Lover of your soul.  Don’t even speak.  Quiet all the thoughts and plans spinning in your head.  Turn off every other voice and sound.  Shut down all social media.  Open God’s Word and meditate on it.  Find a solitary place outside to just observe the beauty of His glorious creation around you.  CEASE FROM ALL YOUR ACTIVITY, WORK, AND BUSYNESS.  Wait and listen.  God desires to fellowship with you and speak to your heart personally.  Sounds like a crazy or impossible idea to some, I know, especially in today’s busy, go go go and always doing something culture, right?  TIME, and seemingly not having enough of it, is the issue or excuse for all of us.  But when we don’t take at least brief, regular times to pull away from everything else and spend time with The One who made us, loves us more than anyone on the planet, and knows us intricately, there’s where the falling apart, backsliding, compromising, and weariness all begin.  EVEN JESUS PULLED AWAY FROM THE CROWDS TO SPEND TIME ALONE WITH THE FATHER. The Biblical principle of the sabbath still applies today; not in a legalistic way, but taking a day of rest and worship every week benefits our minds, spirits and bodies.  God knows us.  He created us with the need to rest in His presence.  Other people, things, or activities never fulfill this need.
Have you been OVERWORKING, OVERSCHEDULED, OVERLY STRESSED, and maybe even OVER SERVING (yes – that’s another topic) for a lengthy period of time?  If so, the Lord might be ordering a long OVERDUE season of REST for you.  Perhaps even an extended sabbatical?  Pray.  Seek His heart for you. He will lead you beside His still waters and He will restore your soul.  That is, if you give Him some time and space to do so.
Yes, there is a time for family, work, corporate worship, serving, connecting and fellowshipping with others, but there is also a time for solitude and one on one fellowship with the Lover of your soul.
Many daughters and sons are awakening, rising up, and uniting together in one voice in worship, and, yes, that is good and pleasing to our Father God.  Many are rising up to serve within the church and in our communities, and that too is an honorable act of obedience as well as a beautiful display of faith with some works.  May we also be sensitive to the Spirit of God’s invitation to COME AWAY from all other loves and lovers in order to draw closer to the greatest Love of all.
Can you hear the voice of your Father and The Lover of your soul?  Come away with me my love.  I’ve been waiting for you.  I long to spend time with you. 
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Revelation 22:17
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:29-31
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.  He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.  Psalm 23:1-3
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10
 
Pray this:
Here I am, Lord, waiting in Your presence.  Speak to my heart.  Let me hear Your voice of truth clearly above every other.  Thank You for bringing peace, healing, and restoration to my body, soul, and spirit.

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Superwoman mindset vs. Godly woman mindset

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My thoughts a few weeks ago – just now posting!
Superwoman mindset:
Today I will (not necessarily in the order listed):
  • pray
  • worship
  • study the Word
  • water plants
  • feed my dog
  • exercise
  • clean my house (least likely to occur – made beds about as good as it gets)
  • create a grocery/store list
  • go to the store
  • mail a card of encouragement to a friend or family member 
  • prepare or at least buy some healthy takeout for lunch, dinner or both
  • Complete a Compel Training session online (personal growth & improvement to hopefully get better)
  • write (you know that thing you keep feeling like God keeps leading you to do or so you thought?)
  • write a blog post or maybe save time and just create a video – it would be funnier
  • post on Instagram & Twitter
  • contemplate and discuss with my hubby regarding the small groups and ministry teams we may lead, co-lead or be involved with in the fall
  • choreograph and prepare for at least 1 or 2 of the 4 dance classes I am teaching
  • help my college daughter move, unpack and decorate her new living location
  • answer emails
  • clear out the thousands of emails that need deleting from my inboxes
  • do laundry
  • make vacation plans or plans in general for remainder of 2016 
  • schedule doctor’s appointments and checkups
  • reschedule doctor’s appointments 
  • text or talk with several friends and family members 
  • finally print all of my thousands of photos from my iPhone!
  • take a walk with my husband
  • spend quality time with my husband
  • read a chapter or 2 from a good book or 2 before I go to bed
  • not be distracted by too much time spent on Instagram, twitter & Facebook 
  • Oh yes, and have plenty of time to BE STILL in the presence of the Lord!  
…nor will I be bothered by unexpected interruptions to all of the above – yeah, right.   No, instead I prefer “calgon, take me away” or I might just go sit, swing and daydream in my flower garden.  
“You won’t get half done.  I never planned to do a lot of things but something happened to prevent me.”  quotes from character Marilla Cuthbert from Anne of Avonlea
#superwoman #mindset
Godly woman mindset:
Not my will, but Your will be done in my life today, Lord.  Order my steps today and help me be about what You desire for me.  Help me to accomplish what is most important and to let go of the rest.  Apart from You, I can do nothing. #John155
#godlywoman #mindset #letsberealistic #calgontakemeaway
#canyourelate? #justbreathe #bestillandknowthatIamGod
Perhaps I truly need to read the book #simplify by Bill Hybels
Prayer:  Dear Lord, please bring the “SUPER” power of Your Spirit into my natural strength and help me live  supernaturally for today.  Thank You for reminding me the only way I can do anything or all things is through Your strength empowering me.  I need You Lord.  Amen.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I will be honored by every nation.
    I will be honored throughout the world.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (Amplified Bible)

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”