This One Thing I Ask, This Only Do I Seek…

(Psalm 27:4-6 TPT – “Here’s the one thing I crave from God, the one thing I seek above all else: I want the privilege of living with Him every moment in His house, finding the sweet loveliness of His face; filled with awe, delighting in His glory and grace. I want to live my life so close to Him that He takes pleasure in my every prayer. In His shelter in the day of trouble, that’s where you’ll find me, for He hides me there in His holiness. He has smuggled me into His secret place where I’m kept safe and secure.”)

Each morning as I sit with The Lord and just bask in His Presence, I find that I am continuously enamored by His love and His goodness. I’m always amazed by how sweetly Papa God lures me into His Presence as I worship Him and how tenderly He speaks to my heart as I just lie at His feet.

Verse four of the NIV of today’s focal verses say, “One thing I ask from The Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of The Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of The Lord and to seek Him in His temple.”

This morning I had a moment with The Lord where I was just soaking in His Presence. As I was lying before Him, I closed my eyes, turned all of my affection towards Him, and simply waited for the sweetness of His voice. In doing that, I saw what appeared to be a candle lit chamber. It almost reminded me of a place where you would have an intimate dinner with someone, yet there were no actual candles only flickers and reflections of light. In this place, there was nothing but space; no walls, no ceiling, and no floor. And this is what Abba spoke to my heart, “Here, on the inside of you, is where I’ll meet you. This is the most intimate secret place there is. This is where you’ll experience and encounter the deepest depths of My love for you. For here, in this place, it will always be just Me and just you. This is where you’ll hear My voice. This is where the deep in Me will call out to the deep in you. This is our place of Spirit to spirit. This is where I will reveal to you wisdom, revelation, and the secret treasures of heaven. This is where you will sit with Me and you and I will dream, make plans, and beautifully create together. This is the place where My living water will gather and flow from within you. For it is this place, that the power of My Presence is ignited within you. Beloved, it is here, in this place, that you will be empowered to do the impossible. This is your place of rest, but it is also your source of power. For it is here, that I will renew your strength for you to soar like the eagles. And it is here, in this place, that when you seek Me, you will always find Me waiting to be with you every minute and every second of each day.”

If our bodies are temples that belong to The Lord— a place where His Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19 VOICE)—  where His kingdom lies within us (Luke 17:20-22 AMPC), then I would like to propose to you that perhaps when Papa says “you’ll seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart“ (Jeremiah 29:11-13 AMP), it could simply mean that the deepest and most intimate place that you can find His Presence is actually within yourself. Perhaps, when He says, “Arise, My darling, My beautiful one, come with Me” (Song Of Songs 2:10 NIV), it could be as simple as stilling yourself and your thoughts long enough to find Him within yourself and from that place you can start this beautiful journey of being led and taught by His Spirit. From this place you have the honor and pleasure of being able to intimately and continuously commune and converse with Him or to simply just be with Him.

I am a woman who fervently believes in having a secret place such as a prayer room or prayer closet where you can meet with The Lord daily. I’ve encountered and experienced Papa God in my own secret place in ways that I can’t even begin to describe to you, so I can tell you from personal experience that I know that The Lord will honor us seeking Him from those places.  However, I don’t think that it’s the space or rooms in the physical places that we create to meet with Him that mean the most to Him. I believe that it’s the room and the atmosphere that we prepare and set within our hearts—that sacred space that we create within ourselves as His temples that truly capture His heart.

That place on the inside of us is where He dwells waiting for us to still and silence everything else to meet Him there. That place is where our relationship with Him begins and is perpetually deepened. That place is sacred and it’s where we will always connect with and to Him in the deepest and most intimate of ways. It is there that He will reveal His heart to us and teach us the great and unsearchable things that we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV).

Today’s focal passage of Scripture says, “Here’s the one thing I crave from God, the one thing I seek above all else: I want the privilege of living with Him every moment in His house, finding the sweet loveliness of His face; filled with awe, delighting in His glory and grace. I want to live my life so close to Him that He takes pleasure in my every prayer. In His shelter in the day of trouble, that’s where you’ll find me, for He hides me there in His holiness. He has smuggled me into His secret place where I’m kept safe and secure.” 

We have this timeless invitation from The Lord to live in the truth of those verses every single day. Meaning there is never a moment where we can’t enter in and be with Him. It is my prayer that if you are reading this today, that you would accept Papa’s invitation daily and diligently seek His face from that sacred place within yourself where He is patiently waiting and longing to meet and be with you.

Abba, I just want to start by saying that we are deeply in love with You and eternally grateful for the beautiful gift of the veil being torn allowing us complete access to intimately be and commune with You. You are so loving and so merciful— truly a good, good Father and perfect in all of Your ways. We are lovers of Your Holy Presence and we surrender our will to Yours with the sweetest longing in our hearts and souls to have more of You every single second of our lives. Lord, we make a covenant with You to seek You daily from the secret and sacred place on the inside of us where You patiently await to meet with us each day. Papa, we trust You, we honor You, and we thank You for the precious and powerful treasure that is Your Holy Spirit in which You have so graciously gifted and entrusted to us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

“He who dwells in the secret place of The Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of The Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].” – (Psalm 91:1 AMPC)

If you would like for me to pray for or with you, please click here.

Happy Soul Kissed Sunday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed!🙂

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Sunday Soul Kiss Album Of The Week

Click on the following link to purchase on iTunes!

Sunday Soul Kiss Book Of The Week

I actually have two books of the week for you guys this week from two lovely friends of mine who happen to be beautiful women of God. I pray that your hearts will be blessed by their words. I know that these books will be a great blessing to you all, but I have honor of giving away one signed copy of each. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will be praying over each person who does and I’ll give the books away to the person(s) that I hear Holy Spirit saying could benefit from them the most. The winners will then be notified via email and social media.

Book 1: “Peace Of A Lifetime: Embracing A Life Of Hope, Wholeness, And Harmony Through Emotional Abundance” by Lisa Springer Murray

Click on the following links to purchase: Amazon (paperback) / Kindle!

Book 2: “Embracing The Race: 40 Devotions For The Runner’s Soul” by Lisa Preuett

Click on the following links to purchase: Amazon (paperback) / Kindle / Barnes & Noble (paperback) / Nook / ibooks!

Sunday Soul Kiss podcast coming soon!

The Importance Of Prayer + (“Incense Rising” Giveaway)

(Psalm 141:2 NLV- May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship.)

Today’s focal verse holds such a special place in my heart. On January 10th of this year, I had a dream in which I saw the words of this verse come to life.

In this particular dream, I saw myself lie down and start to pray, yet there was this immediate cognizance that I was in Papa God’s Presence. The words of my prayers were leaving my lips and ascending before Him in what appeared to be hundreds of little folded journal pages.

I didn’t have revelation of what the dream actually meant until I woke up the next morning, sat before The Lord in worship, and began to write it down in my prayer journal. It was in that moment, that Holy Spirit revealed to me that God was giving me heaven’s view and His perspective of what it looks like when I pray. He was allowing me to see how sacred and dear my prayers were and still are to His heart.

I share this with you guys because if you’ve been a follower of “A.S.-K.S.” for any amount of time then you know that I’m avid prayer journaler. I keep record of my personal prayers, how Abba answers those prayers, and also how He speaks to me whether it be through His Word, dreams, visions, or simply just the sweetness of the inner voice of Holy Spirit whispering  truth to and within my heart and spirit.

You see, because God knows how much I treasure writing out my thoughts and prayers to Him, He designed the structure of my dream in a way that was special and personal to me and the intimate way that He and I converse in the secret place with one another.

How many of you know that what The Lord did for me, He’ll do the same for you? He will reveal things to us in a way that is sacred to our personal relationship with Him just to let us know that He’s listening, but we first have to be willing to speak.

I think sometimes in our humanness we may feel or think that our prayers aren’t heard or that they’ve simply gone unnoticed. But, I sit here writing you this morning as a living testimony that Papa not only hears, but sees our prayers as well. When we take the time to intimately commune with Him our words truly capture and ravish His heart. 

However, I believe the true treasure is found in His response to us. His answers to our prayers are always immersed within this profound love that is so pure, perfect, and true. His Words don’t just capture our hearts, but They cling to the soul and spirit radiantly providing light, love, hope, beauty, promise, life, and truth.

It doesn’t matter how we choose to converse with God, the only thing that matters is that we do. Our words are sacred to Him whether they’re spoken or written. He just simply loves when we make the choice to be with Him.

Just in casual conversation with other believers, I’ve found that praying doesn’t come natural to everyone.  And not that there’s this secret magic formula that you have to remember when it comes to prayer. I think the majority of my most precious moments in God’s Presence have been the times that I’ve just sat with Him, spoken very little, but listened very intently.

At the same time, I do believe that there are a few essential tools that help usher us into The Lord’s Presence and help us to connect with His heart a little more intimately.

One of those things being a good devotional. I say that because a lot of devotionals will not only aid you in becoming familiar with Scripture, but can also help you to commit and focus on setting time aside daily to be alone with God. A lot of them also end with a prayer that you can read through and speak over your life which I think can be helpful in developing a habit of praying everyday.

If I had to recommend a great devotional for you to read it would be “Incense Rising: 60 Days To Powerful Prayer” which was actually written by my lovely friend, Carolyn Dale Newell.

Within the pages of “Incense Rising”, each day, you’ll find a different topic to focus on that will help inspire you to seek The Lord on a deeper level, a focal verse or passage of Scripture to read, an encouraging word from Carolyn, a verse to commit to memory, a recommended passage of Scripture that you’ll have to open your Bible to read, a different name of God that will help you to call out to Him more intimately, practical words from Carolyn to aid you in truly walking in your new found intimacy with The Lord, and then an ending prayer that all you have to do is read and receive.

I know that this book will be an incredible blessing to you all, but I have honor of giving away only one signed copy. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will be praying over each person who does and I’ll give it away to the person that I hear Holy Spirit saying could benefit from it the most. The winner will then be notified via email and social media. If you would like to purchase a copy of “Incense Rising”, you’ll find the links to do so located below in the Sunday Soul Kiss book of the week.

In closing, this is my prayer for you: I pray that as you seek The Lord, He would fill and surround you with the precious gift that is His Presence. I pray that you would truly come to know Him intimately and that His pure and perfect love would overtake you drawing you deeper unto Him. I pray that your greatest joys would be found in the moments that you’ve simply said yes to being with Him. I speak life and love over you and I bless you in Jesus’ name— Amen and so be it!

If you would like for me to pray for or with you, please click here.

Happy Soul Kissed Sunday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed!🙂

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Sunday Soul Kiss Book Of The Week

Click on the following links to purchase: Amazon (paperback) / Kindle / Barnes & Noble (paperback) / Nook / Books-A-Million (paperback) / iBooks / E-book at Smashwords for all other formats!

Sunday Soul Kiss podcast coming soon!

Eyes To See Truth

(Song of Songs 1:15 NIV- How beautiful you are, My darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.)

The Song of Solomon is one of my most favorite books in the Bible. I’ve read it countless times and every single time I read it, Holy Spirit whispers to my heart another little divine nugget of it’s precious truth.

So with today’s focal verse in mind, I’m going to take you on a little journey to reveal just a token of that truth.

As many of you know my heart truly values intimacy with God. Quite often as I’m praying or even just simply soaking in His Presence, He’ll bring a verse or a particular passage of Scripture to mind.

There have been many times where those very passages have come from the Song of Solomon.

Whenever The Lord uses His Word as an avenue to speak to me, I first pray for revelation of that particular verse and then I start to mediate on it’s truth.

This morning as He brought Song of Songs 1:15 to mind, there were also two other passages Scripture that I immediately began to reflect upon as well.

The first one was (Matthew 6:22 AMP – “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear; spiritually perceptive, your whole body will be full of light; benefiting from God’s precepts.”).

And the second one was (Matthew 3:16-17 NIV – As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw The Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”).

Two key points to remember from those verses are:
1.) Our eyes are lamps to our bodies. Meaning, not only are they the light for our souls, but also how other people come to see the light within us. And 2.) Biblically speaking, doves are symbolic of The Spirit of God.

Now with those two things in mind, let’s go back and reflect upon the words that Solomon had spoken to his bride-to-be in today’s focal verse.

His words to her were, “How beautiful you are, My darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.”.

If you’ve read the entire first chapter of the Song of Solomon then you know that just a few verses before that, Solomon’s bride-to-be was conversing with him expressing to him how negatively she viewed herself. She asked him not to look at her out of fear that he would see her the same way she saw herself. She then proceeded to give him specific reasons why she felt so unattractive and unworthy.

At first glance, it seems as if Solomon’s words to her were just to assure her of how beautiful she truly was to him from a physical standpoint.

But what if his words to her had a much deeper connotation than just to express what he saw in her physical appearance?

You see, as I was praying for revelation of what Solomon was saying, Holy Spirit revealed to me a deeper truth. I do in fact believe that his words were an expression of his attraction to her physical beauty, but I also believe that he wanted her to know that her true beauty wasn’t just physical. But that it was in fact when he looked into her eyes— because it was there that he saw and recognized The Spirit of God within her.

To reflect upon those very same words with a more in depth perspective revealing an even deeper level of truth… I also believe that’s how The Father views us.

In those moments when we’ve felt unworthy or less than, God is always there to remind us of the beauty that He sees within us— that radiates from the inside out. He never sees us as unworthy or broken the way we sometimes view ourselves. As His beloved, He connects with us Spirit to spirit. The deep in Him calls out to the deep within us. When He sees us, He recognizes the wholeness that is Him living on the inside of us. He sees us as whole, uniquely gifted, beautifully, fearfully, and wonderfully made just as He created us to be.

So today, I just want to remind you that your worth and value has no limits. You are loved and treasured beyond measure. You are chosen, gifted, and empowered for greatness through The perfect and Holy Spirit of God living on the inside of you. Nothing is impossible for you!

Beloved, your eyes are doves which means you have the capacity to see yourself and the world around you from Abba’s perspective and with His perception. You have the capacity to see and recognize His truth. And today, that is my heart’s greatest prayer for you.

Abba, before we ask You for a single thing, we first say thank You for Who You are in us and for Who You’ve empowered us to become as we abide in You. Today, I simply ask that You would open our eyes that we may see ourselves and the world around us with the same love and beauty as You do. Let Your Holy Spirit awaken our hearts to the promises and purpose that You have chosen and set us apart for. Renew our minds with Your truth that we may rest and trust in Who You’ve called and created us to be. Help us to always recognize our worth in You and Your truth in us. Draw our hearts so closely to Yours that the vision You have for our lives would then become the vision that we in turn would have for ourselves. Lord, we love You and we’re so very grateful for Your Presence. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Happy Soul Kissed Sunday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

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Sunday Soul Kiss Book Of The Week

Click on the following links to purchase: Amazon (paperback) / Kindle / Barnes & Noble (paperback) / Nook / Books-A-Million (paperback) / Books-A Million (E-book) / ibooks!

Sunday Soul Kiss podcast coming soon!

Hi, Loves! I know it’s been a while, but I’m super excited to be connecting with all of you guys again! I’ve missed you so much! First, I just want to thank all of my fellow Writers and friends who’ve reached out to check on me during my little blogging hiatus. ;-)You all are the absolute best! I treasure you and I’m so grateful for you! Secondly, all blog posts will be posted on Sundays instead of Fridays from now on. And last but certainly not least, I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

I Give You MY Heart

(Ezekiel 36:26 NIV- I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.)

This evening as I was just soaking in The Presence of God, I had a vision that left me weeping with tears of joy and praising The Lord for Him allowing me to experience and encounter Him in such an intimate and profoundly beautiful way.

In this vision, I saw myself in a white flowing dress standing on what seemed to be a golden-paved pathway. The pathway was very long and on both sides of it there was this smoke arising that had a sweet-smelling aroma to it. I say smoke, but it was more like a vapor because there was a mist within it.

I knew that I was in The Presence of The Lord and I felt this gentle tug upon my heart and noticed that without me ever taking a step His love was drawing me closer to Him. I never actually moved to walk, but before I knew it I was standing right in front of Him.

I never saw The Lord Himself, but through this vapor-like cloud I saw His hand stretch out and begin to open as if He was going to place something within my hand. As I opened my hand He placed within it this beautiful, bright red, heart-shaped ruby.

I closed my hand and drew it to my heart as we naturally often do with the things that we cherish. As I placed my closed hand over my heart I felt the heart that He had placed in my hand begin beat. When I opened my hand, what I saw was that that little heart-shaped ruby had been transformed and it was now in a beautiful gold setting that was connected to a gold necklace that was somehow already around my neck. And within the gold setting, the heart was pulsating with Life.

When my hand let go of this little heart that now beating with The Life of our Lord, it fell to my chest and it was hanging perfectly positioned over my heart.

I closed my eyes to savor the moment— this precious, Life-giving, life-changing moment where I could physically feel The Father’s heartbeat drumming against my own. In doing that, I began to intently focus on the rhythm of His heart and the very second I did that, my heart began to beat in perfect tune with His.

Perhaps there was more that The Lord was going to show me tonight, but I was so undone by the river of His love that began to wash over me the very instance that our hearts started beat as one that tears of worship and adoration began to uncontrollably stream down my cheeks and there was this praise leaping within my soul that was longing to cry out to Him and couldn’t be contained any longer.

I’m sharing this with you guys because I want you to know and understand that when The Lord said that He would give us a new heart and a new Spirit, He truly and wholeheartedly meant those very words. I think we often have the understanding that it’s just a metaphor of the transformation that takes place on the inside us once we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but I’m here to tell you that it’s so much more than that.

If we’re willing, God will not just give us a new heart, but His heart; a heart that doesn’t just beat because of Him in the sense that He’s our source of life or for Him in the sense that that’s how we offer ourselves to Him in worship, but a heart that beats with Him and with His heart.

In receiving His heart, you’ll effortlessly feel His everlasting love for you. As your heart begins to beat in perfect rhythm with His you’ll begin to hear Him whispering to your heart His beloved thoughts towards you and all of the incredible plans that He has for your life.

Abba, as You give us Your heart and pour out Your Holy Spirit within and upon us, give us the understanding and knowing to receive, embrace, and cherish it as not just mere words or as this metaphoric Christian ritual, but as Your very Life that You are so freely gifting to us that we may intimately know You and commune with You every single day of our lives. Lord, You and You alone are worthy. We love You and our hearts beat with affection, adoration, and gratitude toward You as The One True Living God and The Lover of our souls. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo

Dear Hearts, welcome to week 15 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me today and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

Happy Friday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends – Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf – Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East –
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /

by Martha G. Brady @ Gritty Grace

“ZEAL IS A FIRE IN YOUR SOUL!…“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Martha!

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.

Come Away With ME, MY Love

(Song of Songs 2:10 NIV- My Beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, My darling, My beautiful one, come with Me.)

My one word to focus on for this year is “be”. As I was spending the last few hours of 2015 entering into 2016 praying and just soaking in The Presence of God, He whispered to my heart, “Just simply be with Me.”. And so, my only focus this year is to just continually and intimately “be” with Him— reveling in His Presence and getting to know more of His heart every single day.

I’ve been meditating on the entire Song of Songs for the last couple weeks and if you’re a regular here at “AS-KS”, you know that my heart delights in intimacy with The Lord. But the reason today’s focal verse truly echoed within my spirit is because a few months ago, The Lord said to me, “I’m taking you higher in Me.” and so as soon as I read— My Beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, My darling, My beautiful one, come with Me”, those words came alive to me because the deeper The Lord allows me to experience Him and to know His heart— He’s still always in the midst sweetly and gently whispering to my soul, “And yet, there is deeper still. Come away with Me, my Love.” .

There have been days when I’m cooking or just doing simple chores and He’ll say, “Come be with Me.”. You would think that if The Lord calls you to the secret place it’s because there’s something urgent on His heart that He’s longing to share with you. Well, in my experience, sometimes that’s true and I love those moments, but sometimes it’s not and I love those moments even more because sometimes He just simply wants to be with me and know that I’ll be obedient when He calls.

I’m sharing this with you guys because I want you to know that mere words cannot express how deep The Lord’s love is for you. You are His most treasured. His heart desires and delights in simply being with you. (Song of Songs 7:10 NIV- I belong to my Beloved, and His desire is for me.)

And as His beloved, He lovingly calling out to you, “Smile, My beautiful one. Come away with Me, My Love.”.

Abba, today and everyday forth, our hearts will fearlessly and faithfully respond to the deep in You whispering to the deep within us to come closer. I ask that as You continually draw us near to Your heartbeat that You would give us a divine understanding of Who You are as The Lover of our souls and what it truly means to be Your beautiful ones. We are endlessly grateful for Your perfect, unconditional love for us. Lord, we love You, we exalt You, and we are lovers of Your Holy Presence.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

The song below is my go-to song to sing to The Lord when I just want Him to know that I love Him and He’s on my heart. I encourage you to listen first and then sing along as token of affection from your heart to His.

Dear Hearts, welcome to week 14 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me today and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

Happy Friday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends – Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf – Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East –
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube /  Instagram /

Patti Krank – Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Susan Shipe – Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

by Betsy de Cruz @ Faith Spilling Over

“Waking Up to the Awesome Wonder of God“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Betsy!

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.

THE SPIRIT Of THE LORD Is Here

(Jeremiah 1:12 WEB- Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well; for I watch over My Word to perform It.”)

As The Lord began to write the words of today’s focal verse upon the walls of my heart, I felt those very words come to Life within my spirit. And so today, my Loves, I want you to be encouraged and know that our God is watching over His Word and every promise that He has spoken forth— He will perform. For His Words are perfect and true and They will never fail, but will accomplish the purpose in which He decided to draw you near and ever so gently whisper Them upon the tablets your souls. The promises of love and hope that He has planted within your heart in the secret place will bloom and be established in your life.

Today, as we’ve entered into the new year, let us begin to declare the promises of His Word over our lives and over the lives of the ones we love every single day. For our Father is watching and wherever He sees His Word, there His Spirit will be to bring that Word to Life. (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV- For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.)

The song below that I’m sharing with you guys this morning is one of my favorite worship songs. The beginning of the song says “The atmosphere is changing now. For The Spirit of The Lord is here. The evidence is all around and The Spirit of The Lord is here.”.

Take just a moment and allow the truth and promise of those lyrics to imbrue the walls of your heart and spirit because as you begin to declare, believe, and stand on His Word, I can promise you that you’ll see everything change not just for the better, but for the very best. (John 11:40 AMP- Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe in Me, you will see the glory of God; the expression of His excellence?”)

With that being said, I leave you guys with three things to allow your hearts to embrace and your minds to reflect upon this morning: speak His Word, believe in It’s Truth, and watch for the evidence of His Presence as He performs those very words in your life.

Abba, we come to You this morning first to say thank You for breathing Your Life within us and allowing us the beauty and privilege of entering into this new year. Words cannot express our gratitude for The Life that You have gifted to us through Your Holy Spirit. You are truly a good, good Father. And this day, as You are watching over The Word and promises that You’ve spoken to our hearts, we patiently wait upon the power of Your Presence to bring Them to Life. We love You, we honor You, and we give You all of the glory.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

Dear Hearts, welcome to week 13 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me this morning and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. I didn’t get a chance to write last week, so I have two features for you guys this week! Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

Happy Friday and Happy New Year! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /

1.) by Brenda Bradford-Ottinger at Chasing Holiness

“Heaven And Nature Sing“

2.) by Dr. Michelle Bengtson at Hope Prevails

“The Gift That Matters“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Brenda and Dr. Michelle!

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.

May Our Prayers Be A Sweet Aroma Before THE LORD

(Psalm 141:2 NIRV- May my prayer come to You like the sweet smell of incense. When I lift up my hands in prayer, may it be like the evening sacrifice.)

The NLV translation of today’s focal verse says, “May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship. “. 

In mulling over the words of today’s focal verse, they began to deeply resonate within my spirit and have been permanently tattooed upon the walls of my heart since yesterday morning. I love intimacy with The Lord— the joy and peace that comes in sweetly communing with Him.

It is my heart’s prayer that my words would always be a sweet-smelling fragrance of praise and honor before Him and that the lifting of my hands would be a sacred gift to Him on the altar before His Holy Presence in heartfelt worship.

I have my very own love language with God and every single morning as I enter His Presence, I believe that my words leave a lasting impression upon His heart in the same manner that His Words are so deeply ingrained upon mine.

If I could leave you guys with one thing to reflect upon today, it would be this: religion means nothing without relationship. With religion you get to know about Him, but with relationship, you get to know Him. It’s in knowing Him that our prayers become impressed upon His heart— that they become like a fine orchestra of music to His ears and a sweet aroma wafting before His Holy and perfect Presence.

And so, my prayer for you guys this morning is that you would seek Him in the secret place for yourself and that you would not be content in just hearing about Him, but that you would long for an intimate relationship with Him; The One Who has not only given us life, but perpetually sustains our lives through His Life within us.

Abba, we enter Your Presence with one desire this morning, and that is, with each second that passes by— our souls yearn to know and experience You in a deeper way. Father, we give You not just our hearts, but our entire lives. With every fiber of our being, we long for more of You. With every beat of our hearts, I pray that it be a sweet perfume that is forever arising before You and all of heaven. And with every breath we take, may it be a sacred gift of endless and fervent worship that lies upon the altar for You and You alone. Our heart’s desire is to forever intimately commune with You. We love You and we treasure each and every moment in Your Presence.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

“True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that – it is spiritual transaction with The Creator of Heaven and Earth.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

Dear Hearts, welcome to week 11 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me this morning and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. I didn’t get a chance to write last week, so I have two features for you guys this week! Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

Happy Friday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /

1.) by Kristi Miller at Finding Our Feet

“Instilling a Thankful Heart in Our Kids: 6 Tips from Colossians“

 2.) by Lauren Gaskill at Making Life Sweet

“Advent 2015 Week One: Clinging to Hope and Truth In the Waiting“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Kristi and Lauren !

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.

We Are THE LIVING LETTERS of CHRIST To The World

(2 Corinthians 3:2-3 VOICE- You are our letter, every word burned onto our hearts to be read by everyone. You are The Living Letter of The Anointed One, The Liberating King, nurtured by us and inscribed, not with ink, but with The Spirit of The Living God—a Letter too passionate to be chiseled onto stone tablets, but emblazoned upon the human heart.)

I just love that passage of Scripture.

As believers, our lives are The Living Letters of Christ.

Those few words embody such incredible power.

How often do we think about the fact that every person we encounter can see us, but read Jesus? Meaning, others actually have the ability to see us, but conceptualize Him in us. The Bible says that we were made in The Lord’s image. So, isn’t that exactly what our lives should mirror?

As I was meditating on today’s focal passage I began to think about my own life. The greatest desire on my heart is to make sure that I represent Him well.

Being a Christian means so much more than just assuming the title and attending church on Sundays. When we accept Christ in our hearts as our Lord and Savior, essentially what that means is that we are to carry on His legacy through the power and Presence of His Holy Spirit living on the inside of us.

We are to be His light shining His love, grace, and glory in the darkest of places. We are to be the salt of Christ helping those who don’t know Him to taste and see that He is good. (Matthew 5:13-16 MSG- “Let Me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.)

The prayer of my heart for us today is that our lives would truly exemplify The Life of Christ in word and in deed and that we would always be mindful of the fact that our presence in someone’s life could be the deciding factor in whether they come to know the heart of our Savior.

Abba, we come before You this morning incredibly grateful for Your Presence in our lives. We thank You for Your unconditional love for us and we’re so very honored that You trust us to carry on the legacy of Your precious Son, Jesus Christ. Father, help us to realize what a priceless treasure You have entrusted us with by You freely gifting Your Holy and perfect Spirit to us. Lord, give us the wisdom, provision, and strength to walk, live, breath, and stand in the great purpose of this indescribable Gift living on the inside of us. Give us the courage and boldness to be Your salt and light. May our lives spell out the heart of Jesus to everyone around us. Abba, we love You, we praise You, and we give You all of the glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

“I’m just a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, Who is sending a love letter to the world.” – Mother Teresa

Dear Hearts, welcome to week 9 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me this morning and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

Happy Friday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /

by Tyra Lane-Kingsland @ Inspired Life

“Will You Be The One?“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Tyra!

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.

Molded To Perfection In HIS Hands

Dear Hearts, I welcome you all to week 8 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m honored to have you guys join me again today and I pray that you’ll join me here every Friday for prayer, love, and encouragement. As I explained in week 1, I may not be writing a message every Friday, but I will have a focal passage of Scripture in which I will be meditating on as I write a prayer to encourage your hearts. I will also be available to pray with or for you throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here. Also, each week I will share with you my favorite post from the previous week’s link-up.  … So, link-up, be encouraged, and spread the love!

(Jeremiah 18:4-6 NIV- But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then The Word of The Lord came to me.  He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares The Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, Israel.”)

The Father is The Master Potter and we are His clay. If only we would fully entrust our lives into His hands— He would mold us to perfection.

This morning as I was mulling over today’s focal passage, I just wanted to remind you guys that you are the flawless masterpiece and workmanship of The Father’s heart and hands. (Song of Songs 4:7 NIV- You are altogether beautiful, My darling; there is no flaw in you.)

Abba, I humbly yet boldly enter Your Holy Presence this morning with an incredibly grateful heart. Simply thankful for the beautiful truth that we are the preeminent creation of Your heart and hands. Father, I ask that you would help us to continuously surrender our hearts to Your heart daily that You may freely mold us to perfection. Your Word says that we are Your workmanship: Your own master work, a work of art, created in Christ Jesus, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used for good works, which You prepared for us beforehand, taking paths which You’ve set, so that we would walk in them living the good life which You’ve prearranged and made ready for us. Lord, today, I ask and pray that you would help us to know, understand, and embrace our worth in You. Abba, we love You and we praise Your glorious name. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

Happy Friday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /

by Karen Woodall @ Switchbacks

“Commissioned: Make“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Karen!

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.

Knowing GOD As FATHER

(James 1:17-18 NIV- Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from The Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through The Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.)

Most of us know and believe in The Lord as Creator, which He is and there is none other. This morning, however, I want to talk to you guys about knowing Him intimately as our loving, good Father, Who has chosen us as His own. (Jeremiah 1:5 AMP- Before I formed you in the womb I knew you and approved of you as My chosen instrument. And before you were born I consecrated you to Myself as My own…)

One of my favorite songs is “Good, Good Father” and every morning as I enter The Lord’s Presence, it’s one of the songs that I sing to Him because I want Him to know from the depths of my being what a good Father He has been to me.

The beginning of the songs says, “Oh, I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think You’re like. But, I’ve heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night. And You tell me that You’re pleased and that I’m never alone. … You’re a good, good Father. It’s Who You are. And I’m loved by You. It’s who I am.”.

As I was mediating on today’s focal passage, I was reminded of those precious lyrics from that song. … Every good and perfect gift comes from The Lord because it’s His nature to be a good Father to us. He, Himself, is Love. So, to know that we’re loved by Him is so much more than just a description of how He feels about us. Truly knowing in our hearts that we’re loved by Him, is to know that being loved by The Father is in fact Him offering us an extension of Himself— His very Life, in which there is no greater gift.

Beloved, accept and embrace The Life that The Father offers. He is the endless supply of everything good and perfect; the very source in which you draw your next life-giving breath.

Before I pray for you guys today, I just want you to know and truly take to heart that you don’t have to just listen to the stories of what others think our Heavenly Father is like. You can know Him— like truly and intimately know Him for yourself. You can experience Him, hear His voice, see as He sees. He will show you the great and unsearchable things. He’ll make His Presence known to you in ways that you’ve never even dreamed of.

If I could leave you guys with one thing that will change your life for the very best, it would simply be— seek Him. I can promise you that as you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. There is nothing in this entire world that compares to knowing Him.

Abba, I come before You this morning asking that You would continually draw our hearts unto Yours. Father, I pray that the deep in You would unceasingly call out to the deep in us that we may know, encounter, and experience You in ways we never imagined possible. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would flood us; heart and soul to overflow that even the ones we love may be engulfed by all that is You. My deepest cry for every heart reading this is that they would come to know You as the loving, good Father that You are. Lord, let nothing hinder us as we seek to know You more. You’re a good, good Father. We love You and we long for more and more of The Life that is Your Presence. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your precious Son, and our Lord and Savior— I pray, Amen and so be it.

“When I was a little child, my parents taught me by example to pray. I began with a picture in my mind of Heavenly Father being far away. As I have matured, my experience with prayer has changed. The picture in my mind has become one of a Heavenly Father Who is close by, Who is bathed in a bright light, and Who knows me perfectly.” ~ Henry B. Eyring

Dear Hearts, welcome to week 7 of the “Fridays Are For Faith ‘n Friends” blog hop! I’m so happy to have you guys join me this morning and I pray that you were truly blessed by today’s message. Also, know that I am available to pray with or for you all throughout the day and you can contact me for prayer anytime by clicking here.

Happy Friday! I love you guys!

Believe, Be Beautiful, Be Brilliant, and Be Blessed! 🙂

Faith ‘n Friends Blog Hop

We’re so glad you’re here!

This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.

Hosts

Faith ‘n Friends
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Deb Wolf
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Tai East
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Instagram /

by Crystal Hall @ The Good News

“Look For His Whispers In The Wind“

Thank you so much for joining the “Faith ‘n Friends” Blog Hop, Crystal!

The Rules

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels.
This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent faith/life posts.
We reserve the right to delete posts that are deemed inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment!
We want to encourage friendship, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – so link as early or as late as you’d like.
The playing field is even!

Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

In order to be featured next week:

Grab a button or link back to Faith ’n Friends.
This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

By linking up you agree to let the hosts use your post image
if you are chosen as next week’s feature.

Please link back to the host or Grab the Button
and join the link-up below.