My Travels

 Much of my time has been invested in getting into The Word and helping out my friends and family in the ministry since then. It's been quite a journey. So many events and detailed things have happened...to many to share, but, I really do want to share some major marking moments. My family and I took a four day trip to San Antonio and Dallas Texas two weeks ago. We definitely came back home refreshed. Sometimes you've got to just get away to come back into a situation with fresh eyes and that's exactly my case. The whole point of our trip was to spend time together as a family and most importantly to be touched by God. We drove to Gateway Church and had a beautiful night filled with seeking God's embrace. Gateway's Generate Night of Worship brought me back to a moment of restored joy in my salvation. One of my greatest memories.

The worship night was packed but at the same time it felt so intimate. Here's one of the songs they played there, hope you like it as much as I did.

Just last week my family and I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday helping out our Pastor at an event through intercession and praying for the people who wanted to be ministered to. I'm learning so much and God knows it's been my desire to do so. Where there is anointing there is an out pour of The Holy Spirit. People in wheelchairs walked, men and women were healed, and freedom broke out. My family and I also had dreams throughout those days and The Lord just continues to sing over us. I can feel the peace that comes from being yoked with Him. It's been a crazy month. More to come I'm sure.

Highlights Of My Weekend

///Friday afternoon my Mom and I drove to meet once again with my Naturopathic Doctor. During our long wait the skies started to darken and then suddenly there came a massive downpour of rain with lightning and all. I just sat there in the waiting room thinking, oh Lord did you miss talking to me today (inside joke). God and I just dialogue like that because ever since he revealed to me that He wants to do life with me I can't go anywhere without Him nor step foot anywhere He doesn't want to go. Anyways, yes we eventually made it inside to the Doc's office and I quickly stepped on the scale anxiously anticipating some good news. Four more pounds gone! I'm feeling pretty good about my temple. There's room to meet with my Lord now (another inside joke, sorry I just had to). So to be super exact I'm totaling in at 38 pounds lost. I'm happy...ecstatic...I can't wait to jump and dance for my God freely the way He deserves (that's why this whole journey began in the first place, as stated in previous posts).

///I popped out my journals once again! It's been a long while, in fact, since I've written in my journals. Saturday night I crept downstairs with my three journals, Bible, highlighter and pen in hand. It was close to midnight so I was trying really hard not to wake anyone up. My Spirit was hungry and thirsty. I have no idea why I love having my alone time with my Lord at this time but it always just seems to click. I imagine The Holy Spirit sitting in the couch next to mine whispering yet another one of His teachings for me to meditate on. For those of you like me who attend school and have been called to God's ministry I know it's hard sometimes. Maybe you also have a job and other responsibilities. I've even told God...God, why aren't there more hours in a day. I got an answer pretty quick. We have been given the freedom to choose our priorities. But when you're in love time ceases to exist. God is first but I feel like there's confusion in this statement. If God has not told you do something then don't do it. Your Spirit, if you feed Him, will let you know instantly when something is not right. He gives us discernment. For instance, I've had about an equal amount of people express that full-time ministry trumps school, work, vocations, or careers just like others have also stressed the importance of balance in our lives because we are in this world and have been called to shine everywhere. The truth is this: nobody knows your calling except you and your heavenly Father. You have to know who you are and your personal mission so that you won't be moved even by the most eloquent of speakers. I speak from total personal experience because I see this plague sweeping over many people and it's...all that really matters is whether or not you're making God happy. Yes we want to please those we care about and yes we would like everyones support but it's just not going to happen. Know this for sure though, when God is on your side He will defend your cause because it is His cause. He will make a way when you're traveling down the road He's marked out for you to travel. If everything's going wrong and you feel like all doors have been shut and like you're getting no where then you have got to get back to seeking the Lord, something isn't right. Confirmation. We all know the Israelites that followed Moses thought he was a complete whack-a-doodle especially when they had to cross the Red Sea while at the same time an egyptian army was racing behind them trying to kill them. Imagine that. The thing is: the Old Testament is full of God's miraculous signs and wonders for that past generation and the New Testament is full of Jesus making a way for us to reflect God through His signs, wonders, and way of living. This way of living isn't about everyone selling all their possessions and moving far off into the hill country it's about hope, faith, and love. Three powerful words that have not been given enough credit. It's funny how people congratulate you once time passes by and they see the fruit of your obedience to God. Moses was applauded after God used him to part the Red Sea but right before that all the Israelites wanted to strangle him. What I'm trying to say is, live to know God's will for you because His plans are unique and individualized with the same purpose in mind. We have all been given The Great Commission but we have each received from God a way of acting out His Commission. While Paul's Calling involved preaching the Gospel to both the gentiles and the jews in foreign lands (1 Corinthians 1:17), Peter's Calling involved baptizing and preaching the gospel in other regions (Matthew 4:19). The same Great Commission was there but The Spirit of God guided them individually. If we don't have a relationship with The Holy Spirit we're going to be swept back in forth from one man-made teaching to the next. What is The Holy Spirit saying to you? The only way to find out is to speak to Him, to pray, to fill yourself up with God's Word. Only the Spirit of God can tell you what you have been called to do and how you've been called to do it.

///What can I say about Sunday? The Holy Spirit did His thing and I love His invitation for me to be apart of it. We had our Tardes De Gloria Service one hour earlier so that at 7:00 we could make a way for Chuck Pierce to speak over us as a body of Christ, as a congregation, and as citizens of The Rio Grande Valley. Needless to say the time I spent from 4:00 to 9:00 was well spent. If I can worship my God freely then I'm there. Great prophetic night.

Worship Freely Tunes {14}

I literally just found this song yesterday and it just feels like total confirmation to what The Holy Spirit has been teaching me as of late. Beautiful prophetic song. Words fall short really. God bless!

"He Is Like" - Tim Cones & Joy Maves

Holy Spirit Teachings //&// The Anointing

There are things that only The Holy Spirit can teach us. Books, other than God's Word, expand our knowledge and enhance our spiritual lives without a doubt;However, only God's Spirit can reveal the hidden treasures of our Father's heart unto our hearts and these are the "things" that no eye has seen and no ear has heard. What do I mean by "things"? Teachings. Lessons. Guidance.

I want to share a scripture with you that I've been meditating on for days. I decided to introduce this verse in two different versions mainly because what I'm leaning toward saying is that The Holy Spirit and the anointing go hand-in-hand. And it's this continual overflow of a relationship that equips us with wisdom, character, and thoughts from above. Our minds are renewed over and over again and we get a glimpse of God's Kingdom each and every time.

(1 John 2:27) As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. NIV

(1 John 2:27) But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. NLT

There are three main points that I want to focus in on: God wants to pour out His anointing over us, this anointing that is The Holy Spirit teaches us everything God wants us to know, and we must remain in Him. Just like branches must remain connected to their tree so must we remain connected to, abiding in, Jesus. As we seek Him more and more He shows us more and more. As we surrender ourselves to God more and more and find rest in Him more and more He takes more and more control. What a beautiful season when we come to the fullness of God's Spirit...we are made whole. Some may not understand the vocabulary yet they do have the anointing because this is something that only The Holy Spirit can give. It's not a mind thing, it's a Spirit thing. God does use us to transmit His anointing but The Holy Spirit is the one who can supply it. This power is born out of a deeper relationship with God. Just like the Psalmist David said, He anoints our head with oil and all the rest of the benefits he describes come from sitting at the table with God. Out of this relationship with The Holy Spirit comes anointing and out of this anointing comes power.

(1 Corinthians 2:10-14) These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

I especially love how this verse ends: The Holy Spirit explains to us spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. Spirit-taught words. This kind of vocab can only come from above. It's something fresh and new that the Father has in store just for you. And I can't stress this enough, power is the result of anointing and anointing is the result of our relationship with The Holy Spirit. These encounters mold us and the fruit is more and more anointing which produces power upon power. Jesus lived it.

(Acts 10:36-38) You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Ok, I'm sorry but I love this, I just have to emphasize this: because God was with Him! Why? Because God is with you. He is with you. He. Is. With. You. He wants to give you a fresh portion of Himself as He anoints your head with oil. This subject is so near and dear to me because The Holy Spirit has taught me along my own journey that without His anointing my music just makes noise. I need Him to break through, to satisfy, to transform, to heal, and to restore. We can't do anything worth doing without The Holy Spirit. I pray right now that as you read this your cup overflows and not only is your spirit renewed but it is set on fire. And here I go sharing some more quotes from Bill Johnson's Book, "When Heaven Invades Earth." Amazing book that I can't wait to finish and that I just can't seem to stop sharing.

*~*~*

"Those who discover the value of His presence enter realms 

of intimacy with God never previously considered possible. 

Out of this vital relationship arises a ministry of power that 

formerly was only a dream. The incomprehensible becomes 

possible because He is with us."         

                         

                                     —Bill Johnson

"Even though we may know the will of God from scripture, 

we still need The Holy Spirit to help us with the interpretation, 

application, and empowerment to perform His will."   

                                                    —Bill Johnson

"The anointing is actually the person of The Holy Spirit upon 

someone to equip them for supernatural endeavors."  

                                 —Bill Johnson

*~*~*

Bringing Your Intimate Worship to The Public

In the intimate we come to know our Father's heart. Because our spirits are seeing Him we come to know Him. Now from personal experience I can honestly say that it took me awhile to learn to love seeking The Lord without a live worship band playing, because of how involved I was in this, and without the large building we have come to call "church". When I first received Jesus in my heart I went through a series of processes and one of the first ones was my constant desire to be in "church". I'm talking about spending more than three days a week and hours and hours at "church". I had to be there because my spirit was a baby and was hungry and extremely thirsty. It was a season of separation: from all that the Lord showed me was unholy for me and from any triggers that reminded me of who I was. In fact, at first, if I wasn't there I couldn't find myself. You come to realize whether or not it's really God that occupies first place in your heart when you lose it all. God strips us of everything that we hold on to that isn't Him because He wants to be our fountain. This happened to me and I struggled, cried, and even turned away for a moment from my pure love for my Father. I couldn't sing, I didn't want to sing. 

Reflecting on this I compare my situation to that of King David's. I felt just like David in The 2 Book of Samuel when him and his team were carrying the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem after it had been stolen from them. They were so happy, celebrating their great victory, when suddenly the ark slipped and in order to break its fall one of David's men touched it with his hand causing God to kill him on the spot. David became so angry and so afraid of God that he sent the ark away to another's home because he didn't know how he could trust The Lord after that. Time past and God showed David His faithfulness. God showed David that what He did was not because He was a cruel Father. The Lord showed David how much He loved him, because he was a man after God's own heart, by proving that His people die because they lack knowledge. The Word of God shows us in the 1 Book of Chronicles that David accepts what God had done because he realized that there were laws that God Himself established in the times of Moses that he and his men had disobeyed.

Because God took me by the hand and led me into the next season of my life, which was about seeking Him at any cost, I learned to love pursuing Him without the four walls that I had become so accustomed to. That basically looked like my best friend and I spending hours and hours and days and days in my living room just expressing our worship to God with our voices and instrument. In that season I learned that where the Spirit of The Lord was there would be freedom. This scripture became real to me. My friend and I learned so much not just about music but about what seeking and finding God really meant. More seasons past and suddenly I found myself in a totally different time and place in my life in which The Holy Spirit introduced me to simplicity. What happens when the instruments and the mics are gone? He taught me the simple joy, peace, and love that flows in His presence when I close my door and forget about the noise of life to fall on my hands and knees to worship Him. Just Him and I. Because I read His Word and began to learn who He really was I became not hungry for the expressions that I utilized to connect with Him, but merely hungry for Him. I craved Him. At any cost I wanted Him. Freeze that and picture this please. That is exactly where true worship is born. Because I sought Him, He faithfully revealed Himself and then suddenly our family worship times became overtaken by The Holy Spirit, which then led to that pouring out over any place that I found myself walking through or singing at. Because now worship wasn't a word I used so lightly and singing wasn't at all anything without worship. Before I sing I worship. Before we sing or play music or do anything else we need to worship. We are worshipers first and that will clearly be reflected wherever we go. In your spirit you can perceive the atmosphere and whether or not mountains are moving and lives are changing. You don't worry first about tuning and teamwork, first worship Him alone on your own and The Holy Spirit will show up wherever you go if that is your prayer and heart's desire. He will. In order for the public to experience the presence of God those that carry the ark and know how to enter God's presence at any time must cling to the moments that they spend seeking God so that they can release that wherever they go. These are the reflections of a psalmist, of a worshiper, and of a lover of God's presence.

(Matthew 6:6) But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Worship Freely Tunes {13}

Someone put my heart's desire into words and transformed those words into song. I know I always say how much I love a song but what can I say, music is a big thing for me and I love this song. And so, I share. 

"Sweet Sweet Sound"- Sarah Reeves

Venturing Through The Book of Psalms

(Psalm 23) 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul. 

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me 

in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely your goodness and love will follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 

forever.

*~*~*

If there's one book of The Bible that I can't get enough of that's the book of Psalms. I find myself currently there, trying hard not to highlight every verse. Lately, as my best friend and I sing to and worship The Lord together (me on the mic and him on the guitar) I find myself flowing with psalms. My heart is storing up what I read and as I begin to release new songs in the spirit I notice that my own words have now meshed with God's word. It feels so right, so beautiful as The Word of God is being declared and released into the spiritual atmosphere. I can't quite say how long it'll take for me to finish this book but I'm definitely enjoying the journey. Yup, it's been quite a journey.

Today my day was filled with some early rising, prayer, and gardening. I went with my Mom to her prayer group "Genesis" and loved seeing The Holy Spirit show up. I'm telling y'all, amazing supernatural things happen when two or more people come into agreement. Though I was the youngest one there, there is no age in the spirit so I connected the minute I stepped foot through the front door. As my Mom preached what The Lord was putting in her spirit, some of the other members and myself prayed in tongues. There was a point when we started reading through a passage of the book of Revelations that I began to feel electric pulses gently moving up and down my arms. My eyes could not hold back my tears. His presence is so sweet. The Holy Spirit made Himself tangibly known. Toward the end of the meeting we all held hands and as I began to sing in tongues and as my Mom began to anoint with oil The Holy Spirit just completely wrecked us for His glory. Someone was about to fall over. When we are The Lord's vessels and we seek for more of Him He gives it to us. Yes there is a price to pay, but just like Bill Johnson said in his book, "More God. More! I must have more of You at any cost! If I lose respectability and get You in the exchange, I'll gladly make that trade. Just give me more of You." It's mind-boggling how God has been answering so many of my past and current questions as I read His Word and also Bill Johnson's book "When Heaven Invades Earth." This season of my life has been busy but full of revelation, restoration, and yes tribulation. But I rejoice! I've tasted and I've seen that The Lord is good so my peace is rooted in Christ and my anchor is He.

*~*~*

(Psalm 32:7-8)

You are my hiding place;

you will protect me from trouble

and surround me with songs 

of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you

 in the way you should go;

I will counsel you 

with my loving eye on you.

*~*~*

It's official, my Mommy and I are starting a mini-nursery. 

I'm in love!