YOU CAN HAVE PEACE IN THE STORM

YOU CAN HAVE PEACE IN THE STORM

Sometimes you have to go into Gods strong tower and ride out the storm. Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord s a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.

Life is filled with storms; emotional, physical and spiritual. It's what we do in the storm that matters. As children of God we have the option of handling the storms in life on our own or with God. I can tell you from experience that running into the storm alone is a mistake. How do I know that? Well... I've done that a time or two. Lol!

But once I learned to run into God's strong tower, I was protected from the storm every time! There is protection, peace and provision in the loving arms of Jesus; the Prince of Peace. In the safety of His loving arms you will see and hear the storm raging around you, but you will be dry and at peace. What is your storm today? I encourage you to run into the strong tower of the Lord.

Pondering on a snowy day; Does perfect Love drives out fear?

Let is snow!! Okay please don't send me hate mail. Watching the snow fall is peaceful and lovely!!

I'm enjoying a fabulous time of studying the word of God for a bible study I'm leading tomorrow. Every time I stop to stretch my achy muscles, I smile at the delicate white flakes falling like confetti from the sky. Let's face it, the view out my window this time of year is rather drab; barren trees void of leaves, brown grass and remnants of dead flowers. Most of you know how much I treasure the glorious color in my garden during spring and summer. Well...At least the snow makes the barren tree limbs sparkle and paints a freshness over an other wise dreary landscape. So just for today Lord...Let it snow!!

Here is the scripture we will be pondering tomorrow in our bible study;
 ❤️1John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  

Question; What if, experiencing Gods perfect Love towards you made you fearless? Daniel was fearless when he refused to stop his prayer ritual and as a result had a miracle in the lions den. Shaddrach, Meshach and Abednego where fearless when they refused to bow down to a false god and they had a miracle in the fiery furnace. PERHAPS EXPERIENCING GODS PERFECT LOVE IS THE KEY TO REAL COURAGE OR THE PLACE OF YOUR NEXT MIRACLE!!

Just a thought. What's your thought on perfect love driving out fear??

Have you ever been so discouraged that you cried?

Have you ever been so discouraged that you cried? I have, in fact that was me on Friday. I was in so much pain and discomfort physically I could barely move. My neck, mid back and low back all went out at the same time. Thankfully the Lord opened the door for me too get into my Chiropractor first thing in the morning. Praise the Lord! But the pain did not instantly disappear.

Mid-afternoon I was sitting alone in agony feeling very discouraged when someone knocked on my door. At first I ignored it thinking; 'Go away whoever you are!' Thankfully my friend Vickie did not go away, she kept knocking. (We had set a date to pray and study the word of God and in my pain I had totally forgotten.) I hobbled over to the door to see her smiling face. Can I be honest? I love Vickie, but I was not in the mood for a prayer meeting or a friendly visit. BUT GOD!!

It turns out that Vickie was in need of a touch by God too. In fact she almost called me to cancel, but felt God telling her to keep our prayer date. PRAISE THE LORD SHE LISTENED!! We talked, we cried, we declared the word of God over each other, we cried some more and we entered into the most amazing time of worship! Wow! What a mighty God we serve!!! HE did not care that I was grumpy and discouraged from pain, HE met me right where I was!! Jesus received our prayers and gloried in our humble offering of worship!! It was a Matthew 11:28 moment; "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..." Vickie and I were both touched, refreshed and encouraged by the unfailing LOVE of Jesus!

My prayer is that Jesus will keep knocking at the door of your heart until you open it an invite HIM in, for HE has much to give you. Jesus wants to shower you with a fresh revelation of His unconditional love!!

ARE YOU A PLANNER?

Are you a planner? I AM...

The Lord has been teaching me the last few years, that my gift of planning can get me into a place of unrest. Hmm! Lately HE keeps showing me that it's great to accomplish things and planning can help me reach my goals. But that same gift of planning, can also be a hindrance, when I become so ridged in my planning that I DO NOT leave wiggle room for HIS PLANS and Purposes.  YIKES!!

I'm also a warrior for the Lord. Often when things don't go as I plan, my first thought is to rebuke the enemy, plant my feet and hold tight to my plan. Lol!! Which is great if it is the enemy trying to distract me. However, the Lord is showing me that often it is HIM wanting to change my plans. Hmm! The Lord regularly reminds me that HE knows the desires of my heart and that HE sees every situation in full, where I only see it in part!

I believe the Lord is wanting to sharpen my planning skills. HE is asking me to surrender my plans daily to His greater purposes and TRUST that HE wants more for me than I want for myself!!

(MY TAKEAWAY: Pray over my plans, surrender the plans, trust that the Lord wants the best for me and my plans. Then leave room for Him to tweak said plans!)

Aww.... Help me Jesus to not let my gift of planning become a hindrance. Help me to keep my eyes upon you as I plan and to surrender my plans into your hand!! Amen!

Changing Seasons

                                   CHANGING SEASONS WIGH GRACE AND GUSTO!

I heard God say today; "The ending of a season is just as important as the beginning. In fact, I want my people to finish each season in life just as strongly as they started it. It matters to ME how you finish!"

I love God's beauty in my yard. But when frost hits my plants and they begin to die, a sadness comes over me. I believe I will witness their beauty again next spring and that brings me hope. Now I begin my fall clean up. To do that with gusto I must let go of the summer season and embrace the changes that come with fall.

Many of you are coming to the end of a season in your life. Prehaps you will be promoted to a new job leaving your current job behind, or your child just left for college and you are saying goodbye to their childhood days. Whatever your seasonal change, embrace it. It is important to God that you close out the season with His wisdom and His strength. HE has wonderful things in store for you in this next season that you don't want to miss because you still have one foot in the old season. Finish strong and then let go and let God bless you!!

SURRENDER IS NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING!

SURRENDER IS NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING!

Today a friend had a vision of me, while she was praying for me. In the vision I was standing on a large rock with both hands held high to the sky. She immediately sensed the Rock was the Lord Jesus. Then she heard the word; surrender. I knew immediately what that meant.

I was having one of those days where I woke up with a plan for my day and nothing was going the way I had planned. I wanted to spend time with the Lord in His word studying. One thing after another came up that took me away from that. As my frustration escalated, my determination grew more fierce.  I suppose my Dad would say; 'That is the Italian in you Tina Marie.' I have often been told that I'm like a bull dog at times, I don't give us without a good fight. After the fight I might be bloody and bruised, but I can stand tall saying; "I gave it my best shot!" 

Many times in my life that spirit of determination has served me well and I am thankful for it. As I have grown with the Lord, the word surrender, has taken on a whole new meaning to me. Surrender is not so much about surrendering to an enemy or giving up on my mission, as it is yielding to my Heavenly Father and trusting Him to fight my battles for me. 

Today the Lord is asking me to surrender my time, my schedule and my plans to him. He is standing lovingly at a distance waiting on my response. I know HE will love me either way. Yet, I love the Lord so much I want to obey Him. One of the things I love about Papa God is, He understands the reason my hands tremble as I surrender. 

In my mind I hear the Lord whispering; "Tina Marie, surrender is not always a bad thing. In fact, I long to give you so much more than you are surrendering to me." 

God is always by your side!

My Friend, this was my FaceBook post today, July 20,2014. My prayer is that it will bless you and encourage you.

It seems as if leaders in the Body of Christ have been under attack, myself included. I have spent hours praying for and encouraging leaders lately. The sad thing is, that many of the enemies missiles, seem to be coming from 'friendly fire', right within our own camp. The Lord has been reminding me, that He is all we need. I believe that one of the reasons we are experiencing this 'friendly fire' is to bring purification. We are stepping into a mighty move of God's power, being released upon the earth. This release of power will come through His Servants, in the form of signs, wonders and miracles. Papa God needs to know that His servants are trust worthy, humble and chasing after Him and Him alone. The days of being a 'people pleaser', with a little bit of Jesus mixed in, are over. We need to be sold out 100% to The Lord God Almighty.

 I have been faced with many opportunities lately, to bow my knee to the expectations of man, instead of the expeditions of God. People... My heart is pounding right now as I type this... Be assured we need to hear God's voice and His voice alone. We need to silence the voices coming from any other source and follow the example of Jesus. Jesus did only what the Father told him to do and He said only what the Father told him to say. That needs to be our example. Jesus was kind, gentle, loving, YET he was firm and focused, calling sin, sin! I ask you to join me in remembering that God is all we need! I was particularly reminded of that as I listened to this song.

The lyrics say; WHOM SHALL I FEAR, WHOM SHALL I FEAR. I KNOW WHO GOES BEFORE ME. I KNOW WHO STANDS BEHIND. THE GOD OF ANGEL ARMIES IS ALWAYS BY MY SIDE. THE ONE WHO REIGNS FOREVER HE IS A FRIEND OF MINE. THE GOD OF ANGEL ARMIES IS ALWAYS BY MY SIDE.

In fact He lives inside of you if your know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He is always with you...whom shall you fear? May The Lord bless you as you seek after Him with all your heart!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg&sns=em  I pray that this song by Chris Tomlin blesses you.

Blessings, 

-- 
Tina Marie Brown

Tina Marie Brown Ministries

www.tmbministries.com