Learning...

Beautiful Lemon Sunflower

God's been good.  I have been learning some great life lessons and enjoying the journey.  (I just want to always be looking for the Sun(Son)! lol.

First new idea is that if I can't help the person directly then I shouldn't be talking about them.  The Bible has lots to say about 'slander'.  I couldn't believe how many scripture verses  I found!

Second new idea is that I should talk about Jesus until Holy Spirit tells me to be quiet.  Completely different perspective from most Christians especially at work.   I prayed for healing out loud  for someone at work that was a Christian and I could see that they were uncomfortable with it.

Another time I was sharing with someone higher up in the chain of command about how God told me to be careful in a situation and he remarked, "So you're a Christian?"  "YOU BET,"  I responded. Sad thing is he doesn't know that over half the people I work with are Christians,  they just don't talk about it.   Fear in it's various forms has caused them to take the easy way.... and the devil wins another round and we shame the one who suffered so much for us.

I don't know about you but I reckon myself dead to the flesh.... and any fear I discover I have,  I am working to eliminate.   I have overcome a few things and have a ways to go, but I'm going in the right direction!  I have found that it's easier to overcome  when I stay strong in  my Bible promises.

Third new idea  is that I am busy, so I have to make time to stay strong in the word.  I usually have about 40 minutes before I leave for work in the morning, so while I'm letting the dogs out and getting ready,  I've been turning on Dan Mohler on youtube and getting some good anointed word in me.   Good stuff.

Fourth  new idea is that business doesn't have to take you away from God's plan for your life.  It can force the decision making process, so that you pare away the things that don't really matter.  The choice is really up to you.

Holy Spirit has been helping me through some really busy weeks and my family and I aren't suffering and neither is my walk with the Lord.  Hallelujah!  Holy Spirit has been helping me to keep my priorities straight and I am so grateful!  I do not want to miss this end time move of God.  I want to be in it somehow, someway.

On that note, I am going to go sing the Lord a few songs and see what else he has to say before bed.
I Bless you  abundantly; physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, and relationally, in Jesus' name!

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson

Glory Within....

The glory of God is coming out of us.  We keep looking around for the glory of God to come down and visit but God keeps telling me to release the glory that's already in me.   As I do by praying for others for healing, blessing etc.,  the joy of the Lord increases in me and I can feel the level of fiery glory increasing inside of me.  It's so awesome!

So for me the key is to praise and worship and then ask Holy Spirit what I am allowed to declare over people, situations, cities etc.  As I release his 'now' word I have occasionally seen small bursts of light out of the corner of my eyes.  I asked the Lord what it was and he said that it was angels taking off.

I hope this helps you.  We can all release the measure of God that we have already received.  Spending time with the Lord is never a waste.  You cannot give your time to the Lord in waiting on him and singing to him the songs he wants to hear and not come away changed.  It's impossible.  He's the greatest giver there ever was.  If he wouldn't withhold his son from us, how can we think that he won't freely give us all things?

Last Friday night our worship leader was playing and prophesying.  She encouraged us to say his name, "Jesus".   I took it one step further by singing who he was to me, Wonderful Counselor,  Prince of Peace, my lover, my helper, my Savior, Righteous Judge, Rose of Sharron, Ancient of Days.  The glory of God increased  as the spontaneous song went up.  A fellow told me later that as he came to stand behind me during the worship he nearly fell down.    I was blissfully unaware of what was going on.

Holy Spirit loves our worship.  I was taught by Ray Hughes about the power in a spontaneous song and it's so true.  Try it out sometime! Here's the link to the article I wrote about it... http://greatcommissionhow2s.blogspot.ca/2010/09/new-song-impact.html

Have a blessed day with Him!
Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson

New Knees!

I was helping with the ministry team on Tuesday night and happened to be beside the preacher as he prayed for a lady with metal in her knees.  She was in incredible pain just trying to stand up and move to where the preacher wanted the people to go stand for prayer. 

When he prayed for her she went down and he moved on to pray for other people that had surgical metal in their bodies.  I could feel an empowering as I was praying for her and I saw a quick vision of leg bones with knee caps.  The Lord wanted me to pray for her so I downloaded knees into her by faith, while she was down on the floor. 

She then moved her leg a bit and started to cry and when I asked what was going on, she told me that she this was the first time she hadn't been in pain bending her leg in 4 years.  Praise the Lord!   I found out that she had hurt herself while in military service and had had both knees replaced surgically.  She couldn't have been over 35 years old and was awfully young to be so debilitated.

I told the preacher  what was happening to her and he had her stand up and asked her what had happened. All of the pain and most of the metal was gone from both knees, so he prayed for the last little bit of metal to go (I joined in quietly) and she got totally healed.  I was so encouraged and empowered by the preacher's authority and to realize that I heard the Lord right and that he used me.

Also,  I believe I received something from the Lord as I prayed for the preacher... because initially I was just praying for the preacher, covering and protecting him in prayer.  He had asked the people to pray in tongues for him a couple of times... so I thought he might want help spiritually.  We can never out give God!

What an exciting service. I want to encourage you to get involved whenever you can because you get trained up as you help serve men and women of God.

Bless you today!  May you walk in the anointing you have received!

Big hugs,

Brenda Gale

Desperation for Him

There was a young boy crying out at one of the services last week.  He was wailing for more of God for almost a half hour off key yelling, "I love you God! I want you God!"  I could feel God" presence all around me and many others were getting touched by Holy Spirit, but this little fellow was so distraught that he was oblivious to it all. I could feel his throat starting to get sore and the frustration in his voice as I started to pray for him.

You see, that used to be me. For years I cried out for more of God because I didn't know what else to do.  I was so desperate for more of Him.  "The God Chasers" by Tommy Tenney really kindled the fire in me even more. Unfortunately no one told me the next step.  I stumbled upon it when I heard an off-hand comment by a preacher.

"Everything in the Kingdom of God works, or is accessed by faith."  Holy Spirit enunciated His words and it kept reverberating through me.  I asked Him what to do when this desperate hunger came upon me and nothing would satisfy.  Holy Spirit told me to go to the next step, which was to believe I received, regardless of what I felt at that moment.

That is not an easy thing to do when your flesh is all worked up.  You have to quiet yourself if you want to hear His gentle voice. Elijah the prophet was hoping God would talk to him in the storm or the wind, but no... it was the quiet, gentle voice.

So this little guy was getting caught up in a frustrating cycle just like I had been.  God was all around and he was basically oblivious.   My heart went out to him.   I laid a hand on his back and prayed for peace and that God would show him the next step.

We owe it to people to not leave them frustrated. I got so exasperated with seeking God that I chose not to, for a time, because the emotional upheaval was exhausting and I felt so unfulfilled.  

Now I know better.  When the desperate cry of hunger comes on me, I cry out to Jesus, break open my alabaster box of worship and adoration and then calm myself at Holy Spirit's lead to receive whatever He wants me to receive.   It can be a hug, a hint of His presence, a bubbling joy, an impression or a  word of knowledge.  I just receive it all as a gift from Him.

May you always find Him and never leave a worship service frustrated. He is closer than you know. He has promised that those who seek will find Him when they search for Him with all their hearts.  The next time you feel totally frustrated with crying out, ask Holy Spirit if it's time to stand still,  then quiet yourself and believe you receive by faith.  Then ask Holy Spirit to open up your spiritual senses so you can receive even more.

Let me pray for you now. "I bless you in Jesus' Name.  May the zeal of the Lord consume you. May you always be passionate for His presence.  May you discover keys to walk in His presence more and more every day, every where you go. Amen!"

You are blessed and highly favored by the greatest King of all, Jesus!

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson
(p.s. photo is from  http://npgallery.blogspot.com)

Open Heaven then What?

The visiting Evangelist told us  that we have an open Heaven over our church. I have heard this before from other visiting leaders and I know we do.

So what do we do next?  How do we get it to spread?  That's what I am asking the Lord these days. This move of God has got to get outside of the church walls!

It is nice that people are experiencing visions and supernatural encounters and yes people are getting saved and healed, but something in me is not satisfied.  There is a longing inside me for more, for something deeper.   He has promised that if we would seek him that we would find him when we seek Him with all our hearts.

So I am going to continue seeking Him every day and  I will record the songs He gives me and write down all the visions He shows me.

If you are hungry for more than pray with me, "Lord we want more of You in our lives because nothing else matters,  You said that the pure in heart would see Your face, so we are coming.  We determine to surrender all for You, for Your presence and for Your pleasure.  May we bless Your heart today Lord.  Holy Spirit help us to hear Your precious voice and give us determination to obey you at all cost. Amen"

Bless you!
Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson

Great Testimony about Giving Out Tracts.

This is the testimony that inspired me to start giving out tracts again.  Enjoy!

(It's here or in the post above... your choice.)  The Man on George Street

What I did when I was too chicken to give one out was to leave a tract on a car's windshield.  Bathrooms are a perfect place to leave one too. Really any place where people will stop and pick it up is fair game.  It's amazing how after giving out a few you want to start talking to people.  Holy Spirit is a really good helper.   Don't worry about the fear you might experience at the beginning.  Keep declaring that you are bold because you are righteous and that you haven't been given a spirit of fear.  (Prov. 28:1, 2Tim. 1:7) Then command the devil to get under your feet where he belongs.

A church study found out that on average  it takes eight different witnesses before someone gets saved.  You never know how close they are to reaching out to the Lord.  People wear all sorts of masks and only Holy Spirit knows how ready they are.

Have a great day with Him!  I declare that you are bold because you are righteous.  Yes, you are bold and stouthearted and you don't faint along the way.  You are armed with God's love, strength and power. Hallelujah! Amen.

Big hugs,

Brenda Gale Thompson

Daily Prayer Covering

Good morning Saints.   This is the best prayer covering I have found thus far on the internet.

I love this ministry so I am going to post it here with all the links.   They have a real Father's heart to see the flock raised up and functioning in full authority.

The  link is:  www.eagleworldwide.com/data/DailyPrayerCovering.pdf

Eagle Worldwide Ministries - Russ Moyer
P.O. Box 39 Copetown, ON L0R 1J0
(905) 308-9991  www.eagleworldwide.com
e-mail:  bro.russ@eagleworldwide.com

DAILY PRAYER COVERING

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray this prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the Name of Jesus Christ I bind, rebuke and bring to no effect: all division, discord, disunity,
strife, anger, wrath, murder, criticism, condemnation, pride, envy, jealousy, gossip, slander, evil
speaking, complaining, lying, false teaching, false gifts, false manifestations, lying signs and
wonders, poverty, fear of lack, fear spirits, murmuring spirits, complaining spirits, hindering
spirits, retaliatory spirits, deceiving spirits, religious spirits, occult spirits, witchcraft spirits
(including Jezebel, Delilah, Apollyon, and Absalom), and spirits of Antichrist.

I cover myself with the Blood of Jesus.  I bind all curses that have been spoken against me.  I
bless those who curse me, and pray blessings on those who despitefully use me.  I bind all
spoken judgments made against me and judgments I have made against others.  I bind the power
of negative words from others, and I bind and render useless all prayers not inspired by the Holy
Spirit; whether psychic, soul force, witchcraft or counterfeit tongues that have been prayed
against me.  In the Name of Jesus I bind up all ungodly power from every source.

  I use the Name of Jesus as your weapon of war to break down, undamn, and blow up the walls of protection around all witches, warlocks, wizards, American Indian Shamans and witch doctors, voodoo witchdoctors, and satanists, and I break the power of all curses, hexes, vexes, spells, charms,
fetishes, psychic prayers, psychic thoughts, all witchcraft, sorcery, magic, voodoo, all mind
control, jinxes, potions, bewitchments, death, destruction, sickness, pain, torment, physic power,
psychic warfare, prayer chains, incense and candle burning, and everything else being sent
against me or members of my family.  

I use the Name of Jesus to cut their silver cords.  I ask you God, to send angels to carry all of these demons and their associated and connected family of curses, and assignments away with confusion to the place You want them to go. 

I am God's child.  I resist the devil.  No weapon formed against me shall prosper.  I put on the
whole armor of God.  I take authority over this day, in Jesus Name.  Let it be prosperous for me
and let me walk in your love.  The Holy Spirit leads and guides me today.  I discern between the
righteous and the wicked.  I take authority over Satan, all his demons, and all people influenced by
them.  I declare Satan is under my feet and he shall remain there all day.

I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  I am God's property.  Satan you are bound from
my family, my mind, my body, my home, and my finances.  I confess that I am healed and whole.  I
flourish, am long lived, stable, durable, incorruptible, fruitful, virtuous, full of peace, patience and
love.  Whatsoever I set my hands to do shall prosper, for God supplies all my needs.  I have all
authority over Satan, all demons, and beasts of the field.

God, I pray for the ministry you have for me.  Anoint me for all you have called me to do for you.  I
call forth divine appointments, open doors of opportunity, God ordained encounters and ministry
positions.  I claim a hedge of protection around myself, spouse and children (name) throughout
this day and night.  

I ask you God, in the name of Jesus, to dispatch angels to surround me, my spouse and children today and to put them throughout my house and around our property, souls and bodies.  I ask angels to protect my house from any intrusion and to protect me and my family from any harmful demonic, physical or mental attacks.  I ask this prayer in the name of Jesus.  Amen. 

Now that's covering all the bases, don't you think?  I really like this prayer covering and try to declare it over myself every day.

Here is a simple song that I got from the Lord to help remind me to speak good things over myself and others. Enjoy!

 Let's declare, "We are blessed and highly favored by the greatest king of all, JESUS!  Amen!"

I Won't Let Anything Stop Me

A few months ago I got this song and it has helped me to set aside things to pursue more of the Lord's presence in my life.  I trust that it will bless you.

When I start to hum this song I know it's time to count the cost and make time to hear His voice. Without Jesus I am nothing. Without Jesus I can do nothing (1Cor. 13:2, John 15:5).
 I bless you with a determination to seek His face at all cost.

Go On The Offensive

It really bugs me when I see Christians taking hits from the enemy and not thinking they can do anything about it.  I have been there and it's no fun.  So I have learned to do something different.

You heard right. I go on the offensive.  If I am having a spiritual battle then I go and deliberately bless people. If I am fighting on the financial front I go sow some extra seed and mess with the devil's kingdom. Smack him in the face with how good my God is. I sow in faith and pretend I'm the widow with the widow's mite. You cannot out give God.  He will not be anyone's debtor.

Now that's not the only thing I do. I start to do double duty on the word of God and MAKE time to hear His voice.  I also ask another intercessor to pray for me and see what they get.  It pays big time to stay under spiritual authority.

For example, yesterday I was fighting offense and frustration which I don't normally fight so I was praying in tongues a lot and watching my mouth to make sure I was speaking words of life.  My children wanted to go shopping at a big mall in Ottawa so I took them and stocked up on tracts  before I left. I asked the Lord to give me boldness to give them out and to show me  how and where.  Well  I handed out about 10 tracts to different people and left out another 30.  Smack in the devil's face!  People are getting touched and saved from the seed I sowed. I was able to pray for a man in a wheel chair and speak life and blessing over him.  His mind and body are getting healed in Jesus' name!

I got home to a phone message from a dear friend.  She called and was concerned about me as the Lord kept reminding her to pray for me.  We prayed together and asked the Lord to show me what was going on.

About half an hour later I was deliberately praising the Lord when it dawned on me that this attack had started after I laid hands on a friend.  I was getting all the stuff that was attacking her. Bingo! Now I knew how to fight.

I had a grand time praying for her and others and singing spontaneous songs to the Lord. Ha! He wins!

Going to bed I kept getting prodded and poked so I bound up the wicked king of witchcraft, Agag and the wicked king of curses, Balak using Psalm 149.  I got a measure of victory but I was still getting bugged in bed.  So I woke up my husband and I got him to agree with me that our whole family was getting a good night's sleep.(Prophesy the good you want)  Then I started to pray out loud for whoever came to mind because I figured they were probably under attack.   (It takes practice to discern who the word of knowledge is for. I should have asked right away instead of assuming the attack was against me.)  That broke it all off and the Saints and Cdn. Government leaders were protected too. (te-he)

We woke up refreshed this morning, Praise the Lord!  The word and the blood of Jesus work!

What I have learned I am giving to you freely because our time is short.  God needs us to be on the offensive and stopping the enemy, period. The blood of Jesus and the name, "Jesus" are so powerful and they are our most important weapons.  The other things to be aware of are the the power of your covenant with your spouse-  it's very dynamic, and the power of singing a new song.  All through the Psalms we read "sing a new song".  I believe that there is a direct correlation  between singing a new song and the victories we will have.

There you have it. I have given you some hard won nuggets that work in the trenches. Now you climb on my shoulders and reach for the stars.   God is waiting for us to make all His enemies His footstool. (Heb. 10:13) Let's get the job done so that the whole world will know who the Great God is and then go home.

Bless you with His joy--which is your strength, tenacity, perseverance and His grace to ask questions and believe you receive answers. Amen!

Update

Hi there.  It has been over 21 days since I started this endeavor to seek His face and has it been interesting.  You never realize how many distractions there are until you decide to lay them all aside for the best thing.

On a good note, His presence around my life has been increasing.  There have been many new songs, many new revelations and an ease I have found to staying in His presence while I work or look after my children and other responsibilities.

The Lord asked me to fast idle words a few weeks ago.  That has been a little more difficult.  I didn't realize how careful I have to be to think before I speak.   This precludes mouthing off when upset of course.  I am not done learning how to master my reactions in any and all circumstances.

I want to say emphatically that pursuing Jesus in your quiet place is so worth it!  In fact an hour a day is not enough!  I was just told by somebody on Friday that I am now going in a new direction. He had no idea that I was on a secret mission.  How cool is that?  Breakthroughs are abounding on the family front, for my friends and for those I pray for while on the ministry team at church.  It has been a very good investment in time.

So that is why I am not posting much these days.  I will have lots to catch up on... someday.

Bless you!
Big hugs and blessings in Jesus' name!

Brenda Gale

Remember When...

Remember when I treated your children like my own, when they came over.
Remember when my family helped you move and no one else would.
Remember when my daughter babysat your kids so you could work in the store.
Remember when I prayed for you, when you were sick and Jesus healed you.
Remember when I shared my food with you and you shared your food with me and we both laughed about it.
Remember that I am a friend, not an 'infidel' or something you have been taught to exterminate.
And lastly -- remember that I love you... friend.

"...And the greatest of these is 'love'", love which never, ever fails. (1Cor. 13:13, 8)  I am claiming this family for the Kingdom of God.  The kids love Veggie Tales and appreciate getting out of their tiny, two bedroom apartment and coming out to our farm.  God is working in a great way.   People of other faiths love getting dreams and visions so  I have been praying for them to get some. LOL.

Hmmm, maybe I am wrong, but I have noticed that when they are in the minority they are great people.  It is only when they are the majority that they start to try to force their religious laws on others.

We have the greatest weapons though. No religious spirit can stand against Love, Hallelujah! (2 Cor. 10:4-5, Eph 6: 10-20)
Bless you... in Jesus' Name!

Idle Words

A few days ago as I was talking to the Lord in the car,  I got the song from the Lord, "I will fast and I will pray,  that You'd touch our hearts afresh Lord..."  so I asked the Lord if He wanted me to fast a bit.
"Yes, He replied, "from idle words."

Ok.  That's harder than a food fast, but with Holy Spirit's help I can do this.  No more idle, inactive, doubt filled words.
To help I've been building myself up in the Word. Here are some of the thankful confessions that I have used over the years: 

Thank You Lord that I am quick to hear, slow to speak and very slow to get angry or offended. (James 1:19)
Thank You Lord that there is a huge guard on my mouth and tongue. (ref. Ps. 141:3)
Thank You Lord for setting a watch over the words of my mouth. (ref. Ps. 141:3)
Thank You that words of healing pour out of me.
Thank You Lord that the law of kindness is in my mouth. (Prov. 31:26)
Thank You Lord that only words of love, grace,  mercy and power flow out of me.
Thank You Lord that I build myself up in my most Holy faith by praying in tongues more.(Jude 23)
Thank You Lord that I edify myself by singing psalms and hymms and by making melody in my heart to the Lord. (ref. Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19)
Thank You Lord that I think and speak about whatever is good, noble, praiseworthy, pure, lovely, encouraging and excellent. (ref. Phil 4:8)
Thank You Lord that I, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."(Eph. 4:29)

I am going to go over my scripture confessions every day to help build better habits.  I have come a long way in the last few years and Holy Spirit is happy. Hallelujah!  I believe we are going to see the Word of God become so powerful out of our mouths that miracles will happen before our eyes.  To that end I  press on, for the High calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Bless you as you pursue Him for more in Your life.  May we always be hungry for more of You, Lord! Amen.

Work Ministry

(pic from www.avadirect.com)

Lots of times I don't know what to do to help bring in His glory at work.  I'm working away, singing to the Lord or listening to my ipod and I'll get a revelation so I scribble it down to meditate on it later.

If I don't get any words of knowledge before lunch, I'll ask the Lord if I should go to the store to give out tracts or talk to someone in the lunch room.  There's always something we can do.   Then in the afternoon, I'll pray for the people that got tracts or that I talked to.

There's this prevailing attitude that work is work and ministry is ministry,  however, I have noticed that the people around me are very quick to express their preference for music and say "Jesus" in a derogatory way. So, when I hear someone gasp because of pain I can't help but pray and rebuke the condition.  Love compels me to do something.

You know, we must let love lead us and not be afraid of what people will say or do.  Fear can paralyze us to the point where we are not effective at all.

The bottom line is that we must die daily.  That is what it means to be a living sacrifice. We are His hands and feet and His blessing wherever we are. (Rom 12:1-2,  Eph 2:10, Gal 3:13-14)

I can vouch for the fact that the Lord specializes in delivering power.  You see, I once worked at a place where they loved it when I got words of knowledge about bad product on skids.  It saved the company thousands of dollars in rework costs. I had the freedom to follow the Lord's leading and I can't tell you how many times I would show up at a production line just as something wrong was happening or had just happened.

The only thing is, they didn't want people getting saved. I was even told to leave my God at home by one supervisor. This guy had no idea what he was asking me to do.

Anyhow, the Lord fixed it all up, because this guy's mother got very sick with pancreatitis and  I waited till the Lord said to go talk to him.  Many weeks later, he was despairing because the doctors were going to put her into palliative care.  I happened to ask him about his mother and he told me his tale of woe.

I asked him, "Do you mind if I pray for her now?" (They had no hope at all at this point.)

"No, not at all." was his response.

Can you guess what happened? She was home, healed within a week or two. She got her miracle and that supervisor now knows who the King of Kings is.  It's Jesus!

God has always raised up supporters for me whenever persecution has come and if you ask Him, He'll do the same for you. So go be a witness for him.  Don't let His precious blood be wasted another day. He died so that you could be endued with His miracle working power and be a light wherever you go. Go make Your Heavenly Daddy proud.

Let me bless you now. "Lord, show us how we can make a difference every day.  We decree, that Your love is shed abroad in our hearts today and that we walk worthy of the calling to which You have called us.  Thank You Lord that we walk in the anointing we have attained and we don't slip back.  We expect divine appointments today and we are looking for Heavenly treasure everywhere we go.  We walk in love, faith and boldness.  Thank You that we always have supporters and Your wisdom to know how to answer people. Amen!" (Rom. 5:5, Eph. 4:1, Phil. 3:16, Eph 2:10, 2Cor. 5:18-20, Prov 28:1, 1Pet. 3:15, Acts, 4:21-33, Luke 21:11-19)

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale

Puppy Turn Around

The puppies are cute at 4 weeks old. They were not very good at licking up the pablum at first. They started licking it off my fingers initially and then I would draw them to the plate edge. Once they realized the food was there they got excited and tried to climb into the plate. Well that was hilarious as all legs skidded out on them.

It took them a while to realize that walking across the plate was not a good idea. I had to keep pulling them back.
The mother is from a little town way past Kitchener and the Daddy is from Missouri.   I was really happy with their markings and their health, so you can imagine my shock when the vet told me that one of them had a heart murmur.  I had done everything possible to make sure the parents were not related.

"What is that?," I asked in my ignorance.

She replied, "It's when the heart valves don't work properly." 

"Is it serious?," I probed, looking for more information.

"No, 95% of the time they go away on their own by the time the dog is full grown," she explained.

Hmm.  I couldn't get her to try the stethoscope again and she wrote the damning information on the vet report. This was horrible news. Sick puppies don't sell and I was counting on the money to pay off the summer bills because I didn't have a job. Never mind that fact that I was going back to work and didn't have time to look after an additional puppy.

By the time I got into the car to head home I was upset to say the least.  I told the Lord, "This is not blessed. You told me I was blessed, so show me what to say or do to change this into a blessing."

Immediately the words of the vet came back to me.... it goes away on it's own 95% of the time.   So what I needed was for God to speed up the healing process.  She was an otherwise healthy pup and played as hard or harder than the other pups, so I had peace to pray that.

As soon as I got home I got  my son and daughter to agree with me that Ruby was supernaturally healed and that she would never have a heart problem again and neither would her future puppies.
Nothing happened that we could see, no physical witness, tears, heat, tingles.  Therefore we stood by faith. I wouldn't let anyone confess anything but health and blessing over Ruby.

It was the longest 4 days ever.  I had a hard time sleeping at night because so much was hinged on this puppy selling.  I disliked not telling the lady about the situation, but the Lord kept telling me to wait whenever I asked him if I could let her know.  Ruby was scheduled to fly out on Tuesday so we went to the vet on Monday.

The senior vet examined her and when she had the stethoscope on her, she kept moving it.  Laughter and tears hit me as I realized that she couldn't find the murmur.  I had brought two business cards from church and was sharing about all the miracles that had happened recently in the meetings.

She didn't want to acknowledge the miracle and said, "Well, hang on a minute." Bringing out a pediatric stethoscope, she again listened to Ruby's heart from many different angles.

Well it's not there," she stated.  "It could be that it was intermittent," she offered by way of explanation.

We know better.   Ruby got her miracle and I got my testimony and the opportunity to witness to the receptionist and the vet. To God be all the glory!

Incidentally, this is what the vet put on the travel document:
"Innocent Heart Murmur noted on first exam Aug 19/10. 
Unable to detect today - maybe intermittent but unlikely pathological."

I emailed Ruby's new owner with the news and a pdf of the Certificate of Health and gave her the option of taking her or I would refund her money.  She decided to take her and Ruby flew out via West Jet on Tuesday.

I rejoice in how it worked out.  God is on our side and there is a devil/bully on the loose trying to kill, steal and destroy any area of our lives he can, especially our finances.  That is his last stronghold because he knows that money makes the world go around.

So the challenge is to renew our minds and then ask the Lord what we can say or do that will change things.  He says that all things will work together for our good, to those that love Him and that we should have no fear of bad news, so now we have to dig in to the word and put it to work for us. (Rom. 8:28, Ps. 112:7-10)

Rejoice!  Again I say rejoice!  The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.(Psalm 35:27) That's good news in these economic times.

I decree you are blessed with God's wisdom  today. May you have His joy in your journey and may you know His love more and more, in Jesus' name I ask. Amen.

This Year

Normally there are no Church services on January 1st unless it is a Sunday. I was thinking it would be nice to worship with others, so when I heard about a healing service half an hour away, I made plans to go.

It was a cold, blustery night and it took me quite a while to get there because the roads were greasy from all the drifting snow. I arrived and there were a few cars waiting outside. The doors were still locked and we were impatiently waiting for someone to come with keys. We got into the church in a few minutes and there was nothing spectacular about the church-- just a small country church.

One piano player took her seat (no worship team) and started to play and I listened a bit and then started to sing with her, occasionally singing a harmony line as Holy Spirit led. I was blessed and felt the joy of His presence over and over again. (Ps.16)

Then something different happened. I felt Holy Spirit nudge me to lie down on the carpet. This was not something I was accustomed to doing, so I had to hear Him say it a few times. I finally thought, "I don't want to miss anything" so I laid down.

Peace came, then someone put a cover on me and it felt like a really heavy down or fur blanket. I kept hearing the Lord say, "Rest... rest."

Well, I was certainly doing that! I vaguely heard the pastor praying for someone so I thought I'll get up and go back to my seat--only to find I couldn't! I was weighed down and only my head was able to lift off the floor. It was Too funny! I had a giggling spell on the floor. God was making sure I rested! He knows me too well.

I was able to sit up about half an hour later just as the pastor was finishing the service. A man came over to pray for me and told me to stand up. I told him I couldn't at that point, so he said a few words over me as I sat down.

Before I left the other leader spoke similar words over me and told me to take a holiday with the Lord and not to take any baggage with me. He said I needed to rest more in the Lord.

So three times I heard that night, "Rest."

I guess that means that I should let the Lord lead in my life... what a concept. I don't actually know where I got bogged down in all the things I should do because so many people are expecting me to be or do something. It probably does not really matter. What is important is that the Lord helped me to realize that it's much easier to be His child.

All the prophesies are His problem. I can worship and pray as He leads, but I am not willing to let go of Holy Spirit's hand to go help someone. I am nothing without Holy Spirit. (John 15:5)

One man explained it to me this way. He and Jesus were having this cool adventure and then they heard cries for help. They both ran to the edge of a cliff and there was a man down the cliff in a horrible pit. The man grabbed hold of Jesus' hand and went over the cliff to help the man but he couldn't quite reach the man. The man was slowly sinking and he stretched and stretched to reach the hurting man to no avail. The man realized that if he let go of Jesus' hand he could reach the man and pull him to safety. As he started to let go of Jesus' hand something on the inside of him screamed, "No!" and he clutched Jesus' hand even tighter.

That is how we need to be with respect to Holy Spirit. We might not know how the story is going to end. The person might even suffer or die, or an angel might appear to help the man, but one thing is for sure, we must keep our relationship with Holy Spirit as our top priority. If we don't we will burn ourselves out.

Therefore, I am going to make more time to rest in the Lord. I know how to be a child and He promised that the Kingdom of Heaven was for such as these.

So my mandate this year is to ask the Lord how I can bless His heart right here and right now, in the situation I am in. Yes I am calling forth the prophesies He has given me and yes, I am standing in faith for greater and greater victories, but that is taking a second seat to worship and adoration.

I prophesy that 2010 is going to be a great year with far greater fruitfulness! Amen!

Whose Report Will You Believe?

I fractured my right wrist June 26th in a freak accident that shouldn't have happened. I spent a few hours in emergency and was x-rayed and my right arm was put in a cast.

My arm swelled up as soon as the ice was gone and by the next day I had to have it recast because it was cutting off the circulation in my hand.

I had a couch ministry for a week. I was in so much pain all I could do was keep going over my scripture confession sheets and rest. I cut way back on my food intake because I didn't want to gain weight.

By the third week of having a cast on it was really loose and I was learning how to eat and write with my left hand. It was quite the learning curve and I found it very humbling. I was keeping my chin up and trying to make lemonade out of my lemons but it was tough. I even started watching movies again, something I haven't done in years.

I did help with the hay by driving a tractor and baler and I did help put square bales in the barn when the kids were getting frustrated at having to work. I figured if I was working with one hand, they could do it with two hands. It worked! We got it done before it rained and I wasn't sore for very long afterwords.

I was able to slip off my cast to get the hay out and then I put it back on. Mean while I was working my faith over time. I got all my friends to agree with me that by His stripes I was healed. (Isa. 53:3-5)

A girlfriend gave me some dvd's by great preacher Dave Hockaday and I watched them and built up my faith.

Well, I guess I took off my cast one too many times to air my sweaty, smelly arm because my daughter Tricia started playing with my cast and she got the bandages on the inside all twisted up. I couldn't get my hand back in that cast no matter how hard I tried! I felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar!

I got a wrist brace to fix my predicament and to keep my family pacified. It worked well.

A few days later a friend told me that I should get x-rays on it so that I could get confirmation it was healed and then go start physio therapy.

So I went to emergency at the local hospital and waited 5 hours only to hear that my wrist had not healed at all. I asked to see the x-rays and she showed me the break. I said, "That can't be right. Look how I can move my hand around," I exclaimed and demonstrated.

She wouldn't listen to me and put on another tight cast. I couldn't hold my arm across my chest to keep it elevated so while it was setting I broke the arm edge so it wouldn't pinch so bad.

I was upset to say the least. 4.5 weeks in a loose cast that I told the specialist was loose and he said it was okay! Now the emergency room doctor is saying it hasn't healed at all?!

I went home and called my mom. I told her that I wanted to cry. I've got on my third cast. It's itchy already and I know that "By His stripes I was healed!" All I could do was keep standing on the Word of God.
I told everybody that this was a test and I was going to pass it. Holy Spirit kept saying to me, "Whose report will you believe?" All I could do was sing back to Him, "We will believe the report of the Lord."

As an act of faith I started to pray for other people that had broken arms or bone problems whenever I would feel and ache or pain myself. I didn't know exactly who else I was praying for, but it sure felt good to knock the devil back a loop or two.

That third cast started falling apart around my hand pretty fast and it was only a day or two and I pulled it off. The splint wrist brace was much more comfortable and I could wash it when my arm got all sweaty.

Two days before I was to go to the orthopedic specialist I was worshiping and spending time alone with the Lord. This had been a tough thing for me to do as disappointment stole my desire for fellowship with Holy Spirit. Also, it sure didn't help that my house was so busy. In desperation I cut off a girlfriend on the phone saying, "I've only got half an hour before the house gets busy again. I need to go worship and hear from the Lord."

Thank God for understanding girlfriends. She said she would pray for me and let me go.
Holy Spirit was right there, as soon as I started to sing. (You can't tell me it doesn't help to have friends who know how to get a hold of God!) Holy Spirit downloaded some things to me and when I just thought about my wrist I felt Holy Spirit say, "None issue."

I wanted to laugh. It might have seemed like a non issue for Him, but this wrist was messing up all my summer activities and job hunting to boot!

Never the less, I held onto that word and kept it close to my heart. I didn't even tell anybody. I couldn't risk another disappointment at that time.

I did get two girlfriends to agree with me that the x-ray would give a correct result and that there would be no mistakes. I also prayed for favor with the doctor regarding my lack of a cast.

I went to the specialist in the city by myself. I didn't want to hear another, "I told you so," if the x-ray results were bad.

The specialist didn't say anything about me not having a cast on -- he just sent me for an x-ray to see how I was progressing.

I got back and he told me, "Okay you are good to start physio therapy and make sure that splint is off for good in a week... 10 days tops."

I replied, "Everything's okay?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Do you know that they told me last week in Arnprior that my wrist hadn't started healing at all?", I asked.

Dead silence. He just looked at me.

"Okay, I'm good to go then?" I asked.

Yes, go start physio," he said.

I walked out of his office and it hit me as I was going out of the hospital. Just like Holy Spirit said-- it was a 'non issue.'

I don't know what happened in that week between the emergency room doctor's report and the specialist's report but I know who who gets the Glory! Jesus! You are awesome and I magnify Your Holy Name! Great things You have done for your little girl!

Let me pray for you now:   "Lord what You have done for me I freely give away.  Let the person reading this be ignited with fresh faith to believe You and Your report over any other.  I loose the Joy of the Lord for their journey and I declare and decree that they are fully satisfied in this lifetime.  Every God given dream come back to life now!  Every place where hope deferred has stolen from them, be healed now, in Jesus' name!  Amen!  You are blessed and a blessing wherever you go and you make a difference for God today. Amen!"

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale

Sin Doesn't Keep You Out Of Heaven

Did you know that sin doesn't keep you out of heaven? Nope. Jesus has already dealt with the sin "issue" on the Cross. The only thing that can keep you out of heaven is rejecting Jesus. The bible says that He who believes in the Son, (Jesus) has life. He who does not believe in Jesus is condemned already. (John 3:16-18)

Tough stuff eh? Jesus said, "Tell John that the blind see, the cripple walk, the lepers are cleansed and the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Luke 7:22) This was how He proved that He was the Savior of the world. Even today our message is to be with "power" and not just words (1Cor.4:20) That's how you can know that He really is the Savior. No other person, of another faith, healed the sick, or raised the dead or cast out demons. So either Jesus was a big liar or He was telling the truth. Since God backed Him up with all the miracles He did and God backs Christians (with faith) up as we pray for people in His name, you can rest assured that Jesus is who He said He was. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6)

God delights in giving his children good gifts.(James 1:17) What does a good gift look like to you? Our ideas are so small. Eternal life is a great gift. How about peace? That's a great gift. How about comfort, companionship and wisdom? Those are all great gifts. How about witty inventions and ideas? Those are all found in God too. He's the Creator, after all. The Bible says that God, "wishes above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." (3John 2)

Do you realize that God loves you? He loves you so much that he sent His son to the earth to die a horrible death so you wouldn't have to pay the penalty for your sins. Dare to believe the Father's love. Dare to ask Him to reveal Himself to you. You can say something like,"God I need to know if you are real. Please show me. Amen, which means,"So be it." Then start reading your bible and asking questions.(leave me a comment)

How To Lead Someone To Jesus

I wrote this because for so long I did not know how to introduce someone to Jesus. For some reason I could never ask them, if they wanted to know Jesus. Fear of rejection really did a number on me. As you read... be encouraged. It's a lot easier than I thought. All it takes is His love and an awareness that you are His disciple and He wants to use you! (Rom 12:1)

On average, nine times out of ten we will be witnessing to someone and it's going really well. We say something like, "Have a great day!" and we will walk away without asking them if we can introduce them to the Lord. This should not be so! If they are breathing they need Jesus, right? Okay, I'm glad you agree.

There are many ways to introduce someone to Jesus and basically we are there to facilitate an introduction to the Lord. The Lord will accept any way we can spit out the invitation! He knows about fear and intimidation. Holy Spirit is there to help you. If you are not sure if it's the right time to ask the person if they want to get saved, ask the Lord under your breath, "Lord, should I ask them if they want to get saved?" Holy Spirit will help you. He's your adviser and confidant and He want's them saved more than you do!

Let's say someone asks you a couple of questions about the Lord and you answer them and you have a positive feeling about the situation. Ask them if you can introduce them to Jesus. It's that simple. Just pray with them something like, "Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and show me You are real. I give you my life and I thank you for saving me and forgiving all my mistakes."

You can just ask them something like...

"Do you want to be sure you'll go to heaven? ( I recently led two people to the Lord with this question.)
"Are you tired of being bitter, frustrated and not happy with your life?"
"Are you looking for peace that stays with you? Let me introduce you to Jesus"
"Are you looking for a reason to live? Can I introduce you to my friend Jesus?"
"Do you want a "High" that is better than any drug or alcohol combination? Let me introduce you to Jesus.

Your words do not have to be in christian jargon. Actually, it's better if they are not. You do want the person to understand you, right? Your words will differ depending on who you are talking to and how nervous you are. Do not worry about that. If possible get them to repeat your words after you. That is a very good way to teach someone how to pray. They don't know how approachable Jesus and Holy Spirit are. It will be a revelation to some of the people you talk to.

You want them to speak out loud because our lives are determined by what we say. You will notice that sometimes the person you are leading to the Lord has a real struggle with saying the words out loud. That's because there is a Spiritual battle going on in their hearts at that moment. The bible is very clear that we must speak out loud. In Romans 10:10 we read, "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it's with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

If someone tries to tell you "they didn't mean it when they asked Jesus into their lives." I encourage you to leave that question with the Lord. You would be surprised at how many re-commitments happen later on because the person remembers you leading them in prayer. Many people hear their conscience when all the noise stops, usually at night before they go to sleep. Holy Spirit will use your words. Do not negate your faith stand with negative words. Keep your faith strong on their behalf and God will bring them through.

Repentance

Repentance is something that God will work in their hearts through Holy Spirit. You don't need the person to confess every sin they have ever committed in order to get saved. The bible says that "The goodness of God leads you (men and women) to repentance." (Rom 2:4) We do not want to beat them up with how bad they are because that is not our job. Holy Spirit's job is to convict the world of guilt because they haven't accepted Jesus. (John 16:8) It is our job to tell people the good news (gospel) of God's love. As we introduce people to Jesus and they get a glimpse of His goodness, they will repent as a natural consequence. We look so dirty compared to Him. His love is so overwhelming we could never tell the half of it, right?

For example, I didn't know about repentance when I was committing suicide. I just whispered with all my might, '"If there's a God, I need to know!" I was brought back to life twice before I realized that I was being kept alive and I couldn't talk or move at that time. There was no way I could ask Jesus into my heart because I didn't know who He was! Are you getting this? God is not looking for excuses to keep us out of Heaven. He's looking for any opportunity to get us into Heaven!

I woke up in the morning with no side effects and my brain and body still functioned properly. It was a real miracle. I didn't know who this God was that kept me alive, but I knew that without him I was dead, dead, dead. Repentance? It didn't cross my mind. I was in hot pursuit of this wonderful peace and love that had kept me alive the night before. Repentance came later as I got a revelation of who Jesus was, what He had done for me and what it had cost Him.


Points To Think About

So many people are dying around you. Ask the Lord to increase your awareness of where they are at spiritually and then ask Him to give you a supernatural love for them so you'll be motivated to pray and to move out of your comfort zone. It is not the evangelist's job to save everyone. God has told all of us to go and make disciples. Be one of the Harvest Workers for the Lord. The Payback is out of this world. LOL!

Remember.... The only thing you can take to heaven with you is the souls/people you've led to the Lord.

Did you know that most adults get saved by their friends who love them and pray for them over a couple of years and then get them planted in the Body of Christ?


Remember: ASK! Ask them if they want to know the Savior. Ask them if they want to get to know God. Ask them if they want your phone number so they can call you later. Ask them if they want to go to church. Like a salesman we have to ask or we won't get the sale. So ask. So many times people have thanked me for taking the time to pray for them and share with them.

The very worst case is they'll say "No." A "no" answer can mean a number of things.

-I don't have enough information
-I don't have time to discuss this now.
-I don't think it's important now.
-I'm embarrassed because my friends are here and I don't want to lose face.
-I'll get saved later.

Ask Holy Spirit how to respond to them. I have left many, many people with a tract to read with more information on salvation for them. Sometimes it's okay to leave them with your phone number depending on what the Lord says. Most times, I just bless them and tell them to have a good day. It's always appropriate to ask the Lord to keep working on them and to release the Angels to help with the salvation of this precious person.

I bless you as you go out today and be a witness for the Lord.

Tough Times

When Times are tough that's the time to run to God. I've learned the hard way. It took me many tough times to learn to make the effort to run to God, when the devil and all your circumstances are saying God's let you down. I exhort you to make every opportunity to get into the presence of God, at church and at home, through the word and praise and worship, because God is not mad at you.

Seriously, God will never be angry with anyone ever again. All his anger was poured out on Jesus at the Cross of Calvary. He sees you through the blood of His son Jesus. You never did anything to earn His love and you can't mess up enough to stop him from loving you. You see, He is love. Love that never quits, that never stops hoping, that always sees the best in you and me. (1Cor.13:4-8)

You can mess up twenty times a day and He'll say, "Okay, here's the plan for the 21st try." His love conquers through us and somehow, as we choose to stay tight with Him, we give off the most beautiful fragrance. A beautiful flower gives off the most delectable perfume when it is crushed. (ref. 2Cor 2:14)

Let me say it again. He's your best and fastest way out of the mess you are in. Wallowing in self pity only prolongs the mess, because you are focused on yourself and not God.

So let's quit blaming God because it didn't turn out the way WE wanted. Ouch, I know that hurts - but it's the truth isn't it?

Turn to him and He'll guide you step by step through the valley to the other side.
Easier said than done right? I know all about it.

Some of the questions I asked were, "Why did you allow this to happen Lord? Why didn't you stop it? Don't you love me?"

These are all questions that we ask when the bottom falls out in our lives, and they are very real, hard questions. God doesn't mind hard questions, as long as we are willing to hear His answers, so I've learned to be listen for His answers.

I love something that Graham Cooke said, "God allows in his wisdom what He could easily prevent by His power." That saying has helped me to regain a better attitude.

Some better questions to ask are,"Lord, how do you want to reveal yourself to me in this circumstance? Lord, what do you want to teach me through this? Lord, what are you trying to impart to me so that I'll grow in my trust and confidence in You?"

I know from experience that He'll guide you step by step through the valley to the other side.
It's helpful to think of it as a course correction in your life, so that you can be more of the person God has dreamed you to be.

Remember... change is not always bad, it can lead to some great opportunities. You don't know what dream God had for you, that will make you so fulfilled as a person, that He's working on right now.

You can trust His heart. He's working through your circumstances. Again, I've got to say, you can trust His heart. He loves you so much that He gave up his 'darling' for you... yes for you. The darling of Heaven crucified for you. He gave his greatest treasure up for you.

Now go! Run into His arms, where you belong. He's been waiting for you, looking down the road, hoping you would come back, just like the prodigal son's father. Go, and be blessed in His love.

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson