Praise the Lord for the freedom in Jesus! I had to laugh as I got several emails about how honest I am and what I am willing to say…yet some of the same sisters not only think what I say but relate with me in so many ways…awwww the freedom in being honest and open. It is now that the Lord is calling me to be even more open and honest that I have been before. I have moved closer to Him and He is calling me to empty it all and let everyone know how awesome He truly is to me.
It is something as I look over my life since starting to write these less than a year ago but the growth that has come in me from doing so. I have to say that it is freedom that I never thought I would have ever had. I am thankful to the Lord for opening the doors for me and keeping me in Him. There is so much more of me to release and so much more to do and go to do!
So the honesty of today is Jealousy…ohhhhh the jealousy that we can hold in our hearts over the dumbest things. There are sisters in the Lord that I USED to be jealous of because they wrote better than me, or they looked better than me, or they spoke better than I did, or their ministry work seemed so more together than mine. It was not a rage of jealousy, it was more like pang of jealous…more like why me not me Lord…why them and not me…LOL Yet the Lord still loved me in those thoughts – THANK YOU JESUS!
As I started to open my heart, ears and mind to the Lord, I have come to understand that my walk is not their walk, my thoughts are not their thoughts, my goals are not their goals, and truly the direction from the Lord is not what their direction is. The Lord has a purpose for me and my purpose is in Him. In my questioning of the direction in this life and what God wants me to do, the Lord has blessed me to seek Him more, to look to Him more and to be still and hear from Him. In doing all of that, I have learned what my purpose is, what my path is and what He wants me to do for now. I have learned that all things come as He wants them to come when I submit myself to Him and in this I am blessed in Him. I know that God is keeping me more in Him as each day passes by. I know that all things will work to my good no matter what I think or what it looks like.
So let me encourage you to not look at what others have or do not have, not at what you have or do not have but look to the Lord in all things. Sure we will fall short, but even in our falling short it will work to our good…let us keep striving to walk with the Lord in all things and know that the Lord is with you through it all.
Until tomorrow…let us continue to walk with the Lord and be free in Jesus!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up….. to love is to expose oneself and, consequently, to be vulnerable and open to the possibility of getting hurt.” -James Baldwin
Praise the Lord! I was looking at a web site and the blogger had placed the above quote in their blog, asking if you where afraid to love…it made me stop. I made me really stop. I look over the entire quote and thought some more…AM I AFRAID TO LOVE?!!
I had to answer that question and you know what…Yes I am afraid to love completely. I mean to really let it all go and love. Yet the more I think about it, the more I have to love because this is what Jesus is. Jesus is love, He does have a side of wrath, but Jesus is true love, for even in His wrath there is love!
So I started looking at that entire quote along with the thought of my life and love. I have been through so much in my life emotionally. I have been through such pain and hurt, yet I am striving to love again. I am striving to let those that I know I love in. Now do I love yes, but my issues is letting myself to be love, accepting the love and showing the love in the manner that others know that I love them.
I have been thinking about this a lot with the way that I am, I was thinking about my son and hubby. It is something as I will do anything in the world for them, I mean anything. I actually think that I would even go into a burning building and drag them out. I mean I love them with all my heart, but I am thinking that I do not show it in the manner that THEY need me to.
I am good at doing things to show love but not saying it with my mouth. I think for me it has always been hard to express myself verbally about my emotions, fear of rejection, even with the two that I know will never reject me. I started thinking about this even more and this came to mind…
I was young when I was hurt by two people who I trusted and have yet to get past the fact that they hurt me…what I mean is that it was easy to show the love I had for them, but to express it to them is to open myself up for them to hurt me again. I remember I did this with my ex husband (Jonathan’s dad) and he hurt me. I started to open up and be honest with him about things and he took that and threw it in my face. NOW, I know in my heart and mind that Merv is NOT IN ANY WAY OR SHAPE, my ex husband, but I think my problem is letting myself to try again.
So what do I do to show love to my hubby, I give him hugs and try to cuddle up. I look at things he does and tell him what I think about it. I look at him and smile for no reason; I will reach out and touch him while we are sleeping. I will smack him in the butt just because he says not to, or pretend to push him over, like I really can. I do things of this sort, but the words of I love you do not come out regularly and this is something I need to change.
As I read the quote above…I think he could have said that this is a battle, war within ourselves, it is growing up in who we are. It is truly a test of who we really were, are and shall be. It is so much exposing ourselves unto another and leaving ourselves open for criticism and pain, it opens us up for pain and disappointment, YET IT OPENS US UP to love, patience, understanding, joy, happiness and just more love. So as I am sitting here writing this, I know that I have to open up more and allow myself to show love AND to receive it.
Man this is harder than I thought, opening up and receiving love is not always easy and a lot of times I know that it is me that is the hindrance in this area of our marriage. I am not talking about the intimacy of sex, but the intimacy of the marriage. This is two different things…it is okay to say that you love someone AND show it. I think in my case, I need to do more forgiveness of myself. Not others, but of me and who I am. I need to not look at everything someone says as an attack on me.
I love my hubby! There are things he does I do not understand or even begin to get…yet he thinks it is normal. LOL There is so much that we have to learn when we are learning to love and letting ourselves love. It is not an easy thing to do. It will test us, it will try us, and sometimes we will feel like we are getting ready to lose our mind but it is in this growth we become to know more about us, more about others, and totally more of the Lord!
I was writing this Honesty Today when I came across to read two sisters blogs on WL4J social community – Sister Brandi and Sister Grace/Mercy…
Let me share first Sister Brandi’s blog….
Letting Go...Goodbye to the Past “The past is gone, except in our minds. When we dwell on past hurts, mistakes, or even joys we can't focus on the present. No amount of thinking or worrying can change the past or recapture it and bring it into the present. We can now say a loving good-bye to the past; thanking all of our experiences for the lessons they brought us. Then we can concentrate on what is here and now. We can fully experience each new moment as it comes. We can also give our full attention to each new lesson as it is presented to us. As we turn our minds to each present moment, we find ourselves recognizing the continuum of life. Who we are now is a result of past lessons learned. We don't need to remember the experiences that taught us the lessons, only the lessons themselves. DECIDE TODAY THAT TODAY IS THE ONLY PLACE IN TIME THAT EXISTS. I RELEASE MY PAST AND EVERYONE IN IT.”
This is truly a blessing to me…as I was reading this; I though to myself that I have yet to maybe forgiven Calvin – Jonathan’s dad for the extra pain that he have caused me. Sure I have said it with my mouth, I have said it to him, and I believed in my heart that I had – but the next step is to show it to my hubby. To act, express in words, express in speech that I have forgiven the past and left it in the past…the final step for me is to manifest it in my every day living ….WOW…work yet again… LOL
Hey Lord, I was trying to take a break!! Man oh man…then there was Sister Grace/Mercy blog that even hit it more….
“Breaking up Fallow Ground I have been led by the Holy Spirit to study the book of Jeremiah... as I was speaking with a Sister in Christ this morning concerning how God is reconciling my family relationships... these words came to my spirit... God is breaking up the Fallow Ground of my Heart... the Change begins with me. For I have recently declared and decreed that I am in my season of "New Beginnings with Change"
Jeremiah 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
What does it mean to break up fallow ground?
When the bible speaks of the ground it refers the ground to man... And the seed planted in the ground is the Word of God. Think about it, in order for a farmer to plant a seed in the ground he must first till the ground. To throw the seed on the surface, without breaking it up, will be to plant among thorns, it will produce nothing. He must first break-up and soften the hard surfaces of the ground so that the seed being planted and rooted in the ground can mature, grow and produce good fruit.
The same is for our heart that is the mind, our heart can become so hardened by life's dilemmas, challenges, hardships, obstacles trials and tribulations that nothing and no one can get through it. We must allow the Holy Spirit to help us rid ourselves of those things that hardened our heart towards the word of God, by the Word of God, to allow the Word of God to penetrate our hearts to be rooted in us so that we may bring forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit by the seed of righteousness... so we may mature, grow and produce good fruit.
John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water... living rivers of water flowing out of our heart to be a flowing rivers of living water in the hearts of others. Amen and Amen!”
God is so good…this old heart of mine needs more breaking up! Yet as much as I thought it was broken up enough, it does not appear to be so….WOW, I have to go home and hug the hubby, give him tons of TLC, and tell him how important he is to me. This will be a new day and a new start that I will need to stay on my toes and pay attention that I do not slip into my old ways!
Wow – what a lesson today – what a lesson today!
I pray that those that are in the same shoes as I am are able to hear what the Lord is saying here and it is so important that we continue to look to the Lord for our answers for He will send them! Praise the Lord for His wonderful blessings that He gives to us each day!
Have a blessed day and I am really going to try to take a break these upcoming days BUT I had to post/send this one out as it was just burning in my spirit to write…it is like a revelation for me! AMEN!!! I have to go home and say sorry if I have not shown love enough AND not be afraid to say and to show it for I am blessed with a man who loves me despite my little issues and my big issues. God is so good…I am learning so much about myself, JUST FROM WRITING and not caring who reads or who says what…there is growth in the word of God and there is growth in expressing yourself and trusting in the Lord…Thank you Jesus for the growth!!!
Praise the Lord! I took a little break from self examination because sometimes you need to take a break from that or you will start to feel like you do nothing right. I had to do that and really just needed to just ramble a little bit the last few days of writings. It can take a lot out of you mentally as you think about the changes that need to be done and the flaws that you have. We are all hot messes as some of my dear sisters’ say, but sometimes I just like not to think about being a hot mess. LOL Yet here I am right back here talking away!
I am putting together the workshop on our purpose in life and it is something as it is really just organizing all the information that I have and weeding out what is good and what is not so good. I was of course then relaying all that I was going over in my own mind about my own purpose and man did a lot of stuff come out. It will be useful in doing the presentation and interacting with others so that if anyone goes through what I have been through they will know that they are not alone. I think for me that is the biggest thing, feeling like I am the only one that experiences it.
I have been going through some things about my walk in the Lord and feeling like I am not fulfilling all that I need to at this point in my life. I know that sometimes it is just me and has nothing to do with the Lord, remember yesterday I admitted to being a perfectionist. So as I was working on the presentation, the thoughts of doubt come into my mind. I doubted a lot of things. Yet, I could not really shake it, I needed a clearer understanding. Well, when I picked up my hubby, I started asking him questions. How does he know that the visions that he has is from God, how does he know without doubting, does he believe that doubting stops the blessing and what did he do to know that God is? I mean I was really zinging the questions. Yet I am still learning my husband and he is learning me. I am learning to be more patience as he gives this long story about standing on waiting on the Lord – as I rolled my eyes. (He busted me) When I want an answer, I want the answer not a story! LOL I listened to the story and then told him how that did not help me, yet he understood and started telling me his own experiences from a different matter that did help me. I love communication and just being honest with him because I am learning more and more! It is in Jesus that we are able to do that. Yet anyhow, we were talking about waiting on the Lord, standing in His word, and doubting it while we are doing that. He was listening to me go on about how I know what the word says, and I really do, but sometimes it is so hard to really just sit there and WAIT! You see people with other things, you see things going on in their life and yet and still you are waiting. So then my sweetie proceeds to tell me how he waited for me. (Have to give him kudos on that one…if you want to get your wife to smile – remind her how much you love her and how you had to wait on the Lord to make it possible to be with her.) Yet as I was listening to Him, I remember that too on my part. He reminded me how I did not even really think about or concern myself for the finances for the filing of the 501(C) and the Lord sent it to us, how I was not thinking on the web site redesign constantly and then Jesus sent a sister to do it for us – free of charge! Come on now…that is nothing and no one but Jesus. As he reminded me of these things…I got a reality check.
I am always telling sisters that if you are wanting a husband – stop looking and change your focus. DUH!!!! So I am trying to get things in line and some times I remember to change my focus and forget about things and they come right in line with what the Lord has said…same thing about the future plans for us…same thing about who I am and what I am going to do…stop thinking so much sister and forget about it and watch the Lord manifest it! Thank you Lord for sending my own words back to me to keep me trusting more in you – remember my dear sisters and brothers in Christ, it is a learning process…we are being molded and some days it is easier than others to be molded…do not fret though for when you continue to seek Him and His direction – His word says He will be there.
Matthew 7:7-8 7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
As I woke up on Monday morning with the beginning signs of the flu, I asked my hubby to keep me in prayer and he gave me a scripture for the day…
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
My sister in Christ gave me one also when I asked her to keep me in prayer too…
Psalms 103:1-51Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
I am at the point of not being able to get sick and missing time from work, if I miss time from work, I shall lose my job. I had FMLA and it has expired as all the time was used. I missed a lot of work due to not feeling well with the Lupus, yet and still the Lord is keeping me. Once the FMLA is gone, you are at the mercy of the guidelines for time off. So I have been watching it, yet and still, we know how things go. I am feeling better and able to come to work and on the days that I have a few issues with my legs and whatnot, I have trudged it through by speaking to the Lord about it. I am making it, yet after talking with my boss, if I miss any time before the end of the year outside of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve – I will not have a job.
Now you talk about calling on Jesus, not in a bad way, asking for His will to be done. I have been working hard at making sure I am getting my rest and not over doing it so that I can come to work, and really praying for the health of my body. God has been working it out for me, so when I woke up Monday morning before it was time to get up with a scratchy throat, I started speaking to the Lord and trusting in Him for this situation too. It is something how every thing will bring us to prayer in the Lord IF we allow it to be. As I was laying there not wanting to get out of bed because the chills have now hit me and my throat is scratchy, my hubby gave me that scripture and I started thinking about my walk in the Lord.
He did not bring me this far for me to lose my job in this manner; He did not bring me through years of ups and downs with my health for Him to leave me now. I do know that if something happens and I can not make it into work due to illness, then it must have been meant for me to not be at this job any longer. As nothing was due to my own doing so to speak, but just the way life is.
It was something as I was talking to my boss on Friday about it and she was feeling really bad as she was telling me that if I call off for whatever reason one more time before the end of the year I will have no job. I smiled at her and I think she might have thought I was nuts, BUT I told her that all things work together for the good of them that are the called according to His purpose. Since I know that I did not purposely cause this to happen, as my company is stricter on what they call misuse of time than they are about actually calling off, that the Lord will work it out for me. I know that I am not in trouble for calling off but for not having any unused time to cover the time I am off. Of course the way I am, I sent a letter to Human Resources explaining how the rule of not being able to hold a week of vacation when you have FMLA has lead me to this position of not having any more FMLA time and no vacation time and since I am still human with the possibility of getting sick again along with being a parent and my son getting sick, what am I to do? I requested a review of that policy that they have. This is one thing about me…I have no need to complain at work, I will state what I see and try to offer a solution to the issue while I state that I do not agree about something. Ugghhhhh Corporate America! LOL There will be a day one day where I will be able to leave it all behind, but not in my time – but in His time! AMEN!!! Please keep me in prayer for my body and mind to be strengthened in the Lord each day!
Minister Merv and I were talking about the children in our neighborhood and taking them places with us. Our church with a few other churches in our area is having a youth all night bowling event, where we are going to take a few of the kids with us. Since I have do not have a van but a midsize SUV, I can not take more than two of the neighborhood children with us. So of course now we are praying about the funds for a van along with the financial resources to take these children with us, as most of them do not have the money to go so we need to pay for them also. We are also looking to come out of this house with the fellowship and the kids but since they tend to just stop by whenever, we thought of getting a spot near us that allows just that. Of course this would be a combination for that and WL4J as we are moving forward in that blessing. We have a few financial things to get out of the way but we know that God is working that out too. It is truly a blessing to know that no matter what – the Lord is moving on our behalf and when I get out the way and stop focusing on all of is so much, the Lord really moves on it. How awesome is that!!
So many times we are the ones that block our blessings – I am learning that I need to continue to take my focus off of things that I can not control…you know kind of like the serenity prayer….
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
On that note, until tomorrow – God bless and truly let go and let God!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord! I am sitting here and wonder what I am going to write about today. LOL I have so much on my mind but yet and still I am a loss for words. I am just sitting here getting ready to work on the My Purpose In Life for the WL4J Workshops in January. My son is watching some Christmas shows that we recorded.
Hummmmm….here let me do this…let me give a little bit about myself that maybe you do not know…I know I am open about things…but I am going to pick 3 things that I think you do not know about me and this will be my writings today!
Unknown Fact #1: Cartoons are my favorite thing to watch. I love cartoon movies and cartoons. It is not because I am a mom, I have always loved cartoons and Disney is my favorite of all times, next is Pixtar! I love Disney movies that are animated, I will watch the live/real people Disney movies BUT I love the cartoons the most. I love Disney so much that when we bought Scene It – I got the Disney version. I know of another sister who loves Disney movies that I am going to have to ask over to play Scene It with me…hummmm if she and I were on a team – we would beat everyone!! LOL
Unknown Fact #2: I am competitive…LOL Yes I love to play games and I love to win BUT I am not a sore loser! I love to play the games and if I lose – I lose! I think I am not a sore loser because I lose so much. I love it though; it challenges me to get better. I am competitive because I am a perfectionist and this is a bad trait in some areas of my life and in other areas of my life it is an asset! LOL I am still learning what areas that is!
Unknown Fact #3: I used to be a size 6 about 15 years ago before I had my thyroid removed…I hate my weight! I really hate being this size and every time I start to lose some weight some other stupid thing happens with my body because here comes more weight! I am praying for a change so that I can get down – maybe not a size 6 but a size 16 would be nice! LOL
It is really something…I truly believe that the little things is can make things so much better. I was up on Saturday night until 1:30 AM – I was so tired but yet I could not go to bed yet because my hubby and I do not get to talk a lot and I miss talking to him so I was up late! I love talking with my hubby and I love talking about the Lord. We were just talking about the things that the Lord has laid on us to do. It is something though as I look around my house and see the smallness of it, yet I feel the blessings of the Lord. We know that God is going to move us out of here eventually yet as I look around, I am starting to appreciate this place for what it is doing for us as Christians. We are receiving growth in the Lord and preparing us for the next step in Him…so I am learning to stop complaining about some things and accept them as He has blessed us in each situation.
I have been trying my best to not complain and Saturday night I lost that one. As Merv and I were talking, I just started going on and on – he said I sounded and looked like a little kids who was not getting their way. I felt that way too! I just felt like I was not getting my way in anything at all. I was really just feeling like – WHEN IS IT MY TURN??!!! LOL I had the thoughts of missing out on things, I felt like everyone was getting their way and not me. I thank God for my hubby as he listened to me and let me go on and on…even though when I get started it is hard to shut me up. LOL Yet after I got it all out, I felt better and then I was sitting there thinking of how I wanted to stop complaining. I am praying against this complaining spirit that hits me from time to time…I need to realize who is in charge of my life and let Him show me how to do that. I am going to get there eventually – I know it and I will! LOL
It is all a process this I am sure…I know that I have become better in some areas so I just have to wait and see what I do for the rest of the areas too. I can do it, this I am sure for all things are possible in Jesus!
Well that is all for today!
Thanks for reading today…let us keep moving forward in Jesus and keeping all things in line with the word of God for our own protection!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne Griffith
Praise the Lord! I am learning more and more. I did the radio show last night on “coming out of your comfort zone” and as I am doing the show and speaking the Lord was blessing me with strengthening me and showing me how I need to step out more in Him and trust more in the Lord than I used to do.
As I was doing the show the Lord was using my own words to correct me in Him. It is really awesome how He does that. I have a habit of wanting to stay in my comfort zone and living there, but the Lord calls all of out of that area of our lives, but most of us do not answer that call. He deals with all of us in the manner that is needed but one thing is consistent, He does deal with us all.
I am thankful that I am seeing more of myself in the Lord and dealing with so much junk inside of me so that I can be more like Him. It is something when the Lord starts moving in my life and showing me things in Him.
He has me at a place in Him where I feel a little alienated by those that I am usually surrounded by, but yet He sent new people my way who are so encouraging to me and blessing my life with the words. I know that the Lord is moving in all things and I am sure that one day I will come to understand what I am going through at this time, yet I am enjoying the newfound walk in the Lord. I am thankful to the Lord for blessing me in the manner that He is. I trust the Lord for all that He is doing in my life for as much as I can right now…I am learning to trust Him more as I walk in this life and truly blessed by the Lord and His direction.
So today – I am standing and coming out of my comfort zone as I trust the Lord to bless me in the manner that He feels like it and walking in the way that He wants me to do regardless of what others say to me about who I am in Jesus! AMEN!
Have an awesome weekend and know that the Lord is moving in you too – all you need to do is come out of your comfort zone!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord for the mighty Lord Himself. For His guidance and direction in my life, I thank the Lord for living in my right mind, and I mean knowing that I am in my right mind. There are so many who are NOT in their right mind but think that they are. It is truly not a good thing as a person to not be in our right minds for it is with our mind and heart that we serve the Lord. We are what we think:
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Let us pray for those that are still lost in their minds and that they will hear the Lord speaking to them and to be on one accord with the Lord. We do not want anyone to perish and it is important that they too hear the calling of the Lord on their life for Jesus came to save us all, not just some of us, but all of us. We are to keep in His path and direction for our lives.
Okay, my truth for today is really personal…so just get ready…I have to release this as I have released it to the Lord, so it is time to get it off my mind completely and allow the Lord to deal with it. It is awesome how He does this for me and allows me to do this so that I release more unto Him. God is just that good. (Yes, I am stalling – LOL)
The truth of today is my intimate life with Merv…due to my illness there are days that we cannot be together in that sense and it is driving me nuts! I know it probably is bothering him but being the man that he is, he is not saying anything. Whenever I mention it, he just says that he understands and God will heal my body. Bless his heart. I know that if it bothers me, it has to bother him too.
I have prayed for a healing and I pray for a change to my body that will allow me to do the things that I would love to do with my hubby. I think that is the hardest part, the fact that I cannot always do as I want to do. I get some serious muscle spasms as my legs are moved in different directions and all that jazz. Okay not trying to give you a mental picture, just trying to keep it real. Just because we are two big people does not mean we are not adventurous, actually I believe because we are big people we have to be adventurous with what we are doing. LOL
I was struggling with only being able to hang for awhile and then the legs start cramping…the good thing is prayer will get me through and the Lord will hold it off until we are completed, so to speak, yet the minute it is over, my legs and body are in spasms. Of course this was mentioned to the doctor and pretty much…oh well, that is what is going to happen. I am told take your time; get rest, and all that other stuff they tell you. LOL I do all that but yet and still, we are blessed to be intimate three times a week. If it were up to us, it would be at least 5 days a week, LOL. Okay some of you are going to say that is a lot, but remember we are newlyweds and we are still in our honeymoon period. Yet and still, I am a strong believer that if my hubby wants to be with me in that manner, it is my pleasure to pleasure him. I prefer that his dreams are filled with images of us and what we have done and not images of what he wishes we can do. He is a man and though he is a man of God, he is still made of flesh. I do not want to allow the enemy to put any thoughts in his head that may stick. The word of God says…
(KJV) 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
(Contemporary English version) 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 3Husbands and wives should be fair with each other about having sex. 4A wife belongs to her husband instead of to herself, and a husband belongs to his wife instead of to himself. 5So don't refuse sex to each other, unless you agree not to have sex for a little while, in order to spend time in prayer. Then Satan won't be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
I believe that a lot of marital issues come from denying our husbands, what I mean is that we have a tendency to be too tired or too this, not wanting to please our hubby’s in this manner. We will do everything but that. I know that part of my problem in my second marriage was this very thing so I am very cautious in this marriage about that. I do not want to deny my hubby at all, ever. I think that opens the door to the enemy like there is no tomorrow. I know that the Lord is in my marriage because He brings these things to my mind and allows me to pray on them.
So the truth of today is that my marriage is going to be okay, I trust God to release the pain in my body and allow us to continue to walk in Him in ALL manners of our marriage. I trust the Lord and I know that I may have some bad days, yet the Lord is going to bring me through that too. Let us keep moving forward in Jesus and trusting Him for all things, even in the intimacy aspect of our marriages too. He will do all that He needs to do for us in all aspects of our lives!
Have an awesome and blessed day in the Lord!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Proverbs 3:3-7 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Let me just get straight to the Real Truth of Alissa today…I know that the time must be coming that the Lord is going to move me in some manner. I know this because my prayer life has changed and the things that are coming at me in the negative are stronger. I know that the enemy is trying to deter me, yet the Lord keeps reminding me who I belong to. It is really something how the Lord is there for us. He will keep us in His way and will IF we allow Him to do so.
I was sitting around last week trying to decide if I was going to continue to do the WL4J radio show, pursue the non-profit status for the organization and even thought of not writing much any more. I was very tired last Thursday and just did not want to really do the Encouragement Hour, but yet I pressed on. It was one of the best shows I have done along with guess what….live listeners! God sent listeners. You have to understand that most times when I do the Encouragement Hour, there are no callers or listeners besides Minister Merv and myself. Sometimes my dear sister in Christ listens in, but most times it is just Minister Merv and I. Minister Merv is starting a new job, so it will be just me.
I was having yet another pity party for me. It was not that I did not want to do what I was doing; I just felt like maybe I was not doing what He wanted me to do. So I prayed and asked the Lord to bless what was going on in the word that He wanted me to do. Well the prayers of a righteous man availth much. As the Lord started showing me things and sending a word to me via others and the Holy Spirit.
He had me stop and start looking at some numbers…
27 children have attended our Saturday Christian Activities hour
102 Hits on the Real Truth of Alissa Lynne
293 Hits on Good Morning Blog Site
257 Hits thus far for the month of Sept for Living Victorious site
585 times someone has read my articles – posted on different article sites
860 Hits for the month of August for Women Living 4 Jesus Web site
45 Readers of Good Morning Email
207 Wl4J Newsletter Subscribers
115 Radio Show downloads in August – 5 shows done in August
Women Living 4 Jesus Social Community – Month of August
479 visits
126 unique visitors
2944 Page views
After getting all that information…I cried out to the Lord in repentance. He reminded me that all those visits are just from sending out an email to my friends that I know! The only thing that was “advertised” was the WL4J Social Community on Ning. The rest of everything else is just by word of mouth.
The Lord reminded me of the countless hours spent talking with sisters, praying with sisters, sending out the books and just ministering to all those that I meet. The Lord reminded me of the visions that I had, the visions Minister Merv has. He reminded me how we had no money for some stuff for the children as a snack for their get together and the Lord provided it for us. He has shown me how time and time again, He is blessing and yet here I am acting in doubt. Yet and still He loves me.
The Lord sent a word from several people encouraging us to continue to do what we are doing with the children and with the adult bible study for the Lord is going to bless and we shall be moved to a new facility to do what is needed to be done. He sent my unsaved loved one with encouragement to keep doing what we are doing. I was thinking of moving closer to my grandfather but it would make the drive to church longer and pretty much cut off the fellowship in our current neighborhood, and my own brother said to me…Lee – you would have to start all over again and those kids would feel abandoned, they do not need that strike again. I knew what he was saying but out of my fleshy need to have better and to what I wanted to do, I wanted to move.
So I said all that to say…I am not doubting this day…I do not need to “pump” myself up today or even encourage myself today for the Lord showed me what He is doing in our lives. Minister Merv and I have been praying on the things for WL4J and Living Victorious Ministries – God is blessing as He is giving us what to do and we are preparing the information and the programs as we know that He will provide the finances. It is really something to feel that coming in and to know that He is blessing. He sent several people to tell us that the money is on the way; He has given comfort when I started to wonder why do all of this. He has shown that I may not understand but He does.
I shall be putting together Part II of doubting for tomorrow as I want to share with you the vision that the Lord has given us so that you may join us in prayer that His will be done and that Minister Merv and myself are good stewards over the tasks that He has given unto us.
Until tomorrow…remember you may find yourself doubting but look to the Lord for your understanding not yourself.
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord! Yet blessed with another day and as I am truly learning more and more opportunities to serve the Lord.
Psalm 37:3-7 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
It is truly a blessing when we wait and trust in the Lord. I am getting started with my truth today…oh it is a true confession…
Waiting on the Lord can be so testing of us yet it is molding us as it should, but it is still hard to wait on the Lord. I can do it for things but sometimes I get envious of what I see God doing with others and because He has blessed me to see some of what I am to do in this walk called life, I have to tell myself to shut up and sit down.
Last night was one of those times. I was holding a very short pity party. I thought it in my head but did not voice it, yet the Holy Spirit said to me to ask Merv to pray for me. I had to tell him what I was thinking so that he could pray. I told him, I know what God has for us and where He wants us to go but I want to know when is it coming, why is it taking so long? Why does it appear that everyone else is getting what they want and we are not?
As he begins to pray, he says to me…trust in the Lord, do as He has instructed and He hears your cries. It started to soothe and calm me. (God knows that He sent me the right husband.) It was a soothing prayer for me and it calmed me to be able to think straight and do the Encouragement Hour last night. I was only being envious and having a pity party for about 5 minutes which is a great step for me so I know that I am moving closer to the Lord but I am looking for better things such as NOT feeling anything but the love of the Lord while I wait on the Lord to deliver His promises to me.
I am like a child waiting for the brownies to cool off or on the drive to the park…are they done yet, are we there yet…Lord are you ready for us to move, are we there yet? It is really something how He takes the time to make sure we are aware of our own thoughts. Only the walk in Him do I even attempt to live my life. It is a blessing to serve Him.
After receiving my prayer and uplifting my spirits, it was time for the Encouragement Hour, where we talked about No Limits and No Boundaries…it was truly an encouragement to me and a blessing to me to do. I really needed to remind myself what God has been teaching me all along. It is all on Him, it is all through Him and it is all about Him! AMEN!
So may we all continue to stand in the Lord and know that no matter what comes our way, the Lord understands, take it to Him in prayer and watch what He does with it. He will bless your very spirit and bring you to a place of peace with the entire situation! AMEN!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Matthew 22:37-3837Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment.
The truth of me today is this…we as Christians need to stop dwelling on what God has not blessed us with and concentrate on what He has blessed us with…Jesus. Now as being a keep it real sister…I have to say that the more I talk to sisters in Christ, the more I get to hear what they do not have. I am not saying that means that we cannot vent about being tired of waiting for this or tired of waiting for that. It can vary from topic, some sisters are tired of waiting for the man of God for a husband, whether they have a husband who is not saved or waiting on a husband period. Some sisters are tired of working and waiting on the Lord to move them to a place where their work is full time in the ministry or in their home. Some sisters are just tired of life bogging them down and wanting a break from the mess. Some sisters are tired of being broke and just always seeming to just be making it through.
Yet the Lord is still keeping us, providing for us, and blessing us. We have to remember that we are to love the Lord first and foremost, all the rest will come. We are too concerned with the things of this world that we do not have. I even fall into that trap. I see people with things that I want and I wonder why I do not have it. Yet the Lord in His awesome way reminds me that He blesses me as He blesses them, He shows favor to which He chooses to show favor to.
I was not one to get involved with a man again after my ex-husband and I broke up. I was content in being single, just wanted some friends to talk to, then I met Minister Merv and WOW what a wake up call that was for me. Yet, there are those that look at me and want a husband or think why she has a husband yet again and I am still waiting. All I can say to that is seek the Lord and He will answer, but yet here I am about to confess something so trivial that actually bothered me for a minute the other day.
I was sitting in my house, not feeling too well, but chilling out with Minister Merv. There are two sets of neighbors that we deal with on a regular basis, ministering to them and really just being there for them as the word says. One of them was talking about needing food, the other talking about needing clothes and things for her children. Minister Merv and I have been praying on both situations and asking the Lord to show us how to help them. Well, God did show us and we did as we were instructed.
All things well, until I was sitting here and in the same day, both neighbors came into my house with new cell phones! I did not say a word to either women, but immediately felt dejected by God. Imagine that! LOL After both of them had left the house; I looked to Minister Merv and said…what is wrong with this picture? I miss my cell phone; I want it back so that I can have it to do what I used to do. (I used it for the WL4J support line among talking to my siblings by text and to my sisters in Christ on my way home.) Well, I kept talking to Minister Merv saying how come they got a cell phone and crying about what they do not have for their kids. Why are they getting that stuff and we do not have our cell phones? I was totally dejected from reality at that moment.
I thank God for a God fearing husband…who reminded me ever so gently…dear why are you caring about a cell phone, I know you miss that, but what do you have? Dear you have a car, a big flat screen TV, food in the refrigerator, nice furniture, and dear you have a loving husband and son…do they have that? If they did have that, who cares, look at what God has blessed you with! I wanted to crawl under the couch right that minute. I had to say that I was sorry to the Lord for ignoring the blessing of the Lord right in front of my face.
One of those women walks around looking so lost most of the time, looking like she is ready to fall down, the other looks stressed and overwhelmed all the time. What do I have all the time…the love, joy, and peace of the Lord in my heart all the time! How blessed am I really! Hallelujah Jesus for loving me enough to forgive me about not having a cell phone! Now I am not going to lie, I still want a cell phone and when we can afford to turn them back on, we will. I am going to appreciate the love of the Lord that I have that so many people choose to ignore. I am blessed because He loves me and I am blessed because I know that He loves me and accept that love from Him…oh how blessed are we really??!!! We are blessed to know the Lord and that should be enough for us!
Well that is the truth of Alissa Lynne today…I learned a valuable lesson…it is not what I do not have but what I have that matters…I have Jesus! AMEN!!
Have a blessed day in the Lord…
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord – what a beautiful day it is today! I am going to start with the honesty part of my blogging as I am posting this in several places and feel led to open this part of me so that someone knows that they are not alone. Since I post this in 3 different places, please do not be offended by my honesty. Praise the Lord! This blog today is long and has a sensitive subject for those that are not comfortable talking about sex, I do not go into any graphic detail but I do talk for a moment about my past and current sex life, and I tried to do it with taste and décor as my mom would say. I want to be open and honest with not only myself but with all for I walked most of my life with secrets all inside of me and now I am free in Jesus and there is no such thing as secrets anymore.
Today is Day Ten in the CO programs and today hit some things I am truly very outspoken about. Prayer and The Word of God…or as step 10 states Feeding the Sheep. Oh how wonderful it is to be able to have both – prayer and the word of God.
But first, today, a truth of me…since I was a child of abuse, the fact of being intimate was never an easy thing. I hated sex, but used it to get what I wanted out of guys. Whether it was money, clothes, attention, affection, movies, dinner, food, shelter, a ride, or whatever it was that I needed at that moment, I gave away my body for it. My body meant nothing to me and I mean it meant nothing. So I gave it away freely. It is not something that I am “proud” of but nothing that I am ashamed of either because my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has blessed me to be who I am in Him. He has forgiven me and giving me peace of mind to forgive myself. I went through all my relationships with that same thought…that I hated sex. I did not really care for the actual act of it. I hated it! Yes, I was married twice before and the extent of my intimacy with them was a big fat faking it. They never knew as I was good at the game, I played it my entire life. I knew what to say and how to move – so what did they know? Nothing at all, as I am sure if you ask them today if I enjoyed it, they would say yes.
Well when Minister Merv and I started courting, in one of my pleas to run him off, I told him how I hated sex and really got nothing from it. He was very silent as he listened and then he started questioning me. As I think back now, I know it was the Lord directing His questions as he grilled me about why I did not like it. I told him all that I stated above, and his statement was you have not been loved yet. So we kind of let that go. As we got closer in our relationship, I was glad that we were remaining celibate because I knew I loved him and did not want to be disappointed in the act of making love yet again. So I prayed. I talked to the Father about my issues. I told Him it all of how I felt. He started talking back to me, giving me scriptures to calm me and to show me that it will be all right.
I have to laugh now as I felt a change in my body, just a desire for Minister Merv that I thought never possible. It was hard in the last few weeks of our courting before our wedding to keep my hands where they needed to be and that was to myself. I started getting nervous yet again about our wedding night, yet in prayer the Lord calmed me. I knew he was nervous too because it had been a long time for him too. Well here comes our wedding night and I all but shouted praises to the Lord. I am thankful to God for working it out and for the first time in my entire intimate life, I can say that I am enjoying myself. God is good and truly worthy of all praises. There is nothing too hard for God and we need to trust in Him, believe His word, and take all things to Him. He will work it out for you. Sure I have moments even now when some of the past creeps up in the bedroom as there are “touches” that send me to the old world, but God blesses even that for my husband “pays attention” and is not ashamed to ask questions and I am no longer ashamed to answer! Praise the Lord for the growth!
I was reading the Many Called Few Chosen part with the feeding the sheep and it was stating how some religious leaders back in Jesus days was always quoting the law to Him and what not, yet we have the same thing still this day. When you are giving the word of God to some, they try to come at it with the politically correct attitude. It is the same thing. Amazing how the game never changes, just some of the players do, but in it all Jesus is real and there! AMEN!
I truly am one that loves to talk about the word of God and truly spreading His love wherever I go and always praying for the Lord to give me the guidance that is needed along with the discernment too. I learned real quickly that when you are planting the seeds in people, sometimes you are not the one that actually places the seed, sometimes you are the one digging the hole for the seed to be planted. What I mean is this…as I talk to women (mostly); most times they come to us (whether WL4J or my hubby and me), because they have a need. They are in need of money, food, clothing, shelter, or any other kind of need. I have learned to meet that need or help them understand how to meet that need before I even really get into witnessing to them. Some times all I say is praise the Lord for God is good or something like that when I am meeting their need. Well I met the need which is making the hole; I even pulled out the seed and let it drop in the hole, which was my praising of God in front of them. Then someone else will come along and cover up that seed with some dirt by giving them yet another word, along with the next person fertilizing with another word, then here comes Jesus watering it so that it will grow and they come to a better understanding in Him.
It is awesome to be able to sit in the presence of people and you know that you are planting a seed, whether it is the first or the final planting of the seed, it is all the same joy because you know that they are going to hear the word, and you pray that they accept it for the truth and in turn accept Jesus, you may never see them do that but the joy of know that they could just moves me.
We had a two men come to bible study this past Tuesday at our home. (My hubby and I conduct a neighborhood bible study in our home) One of the men, we know took the electronic bible that I gave as a gift to my hubby before we were married for Christmas last year. The Lord let me know it was him and I listen to him talk (the neighbor). It was truly awesome to see this man “in action” as I know I am watching a testimony being built to the glory of God. This man comes in the house one day and my hubby shows him his electronic bible and then that night we can not find it. Now, it is believed that this man took it because he has this habit of things. Never once thinking he would take the bible, we did not say a thing to him. Actually my husband and I have not even really talked about it except for the fact that I stated to him, you know D took your bible right…he said yes. End of conversation – no need for more on that subject. We know that God will bless with yet another one, no need to fret over that.
Well D comes to bible study this past Tuesday, which is the first time he has ever done so, usually it is just his wife. Well, he is a talker, most times, you give him the floor, out of his mouth words fly and he just goes on and on about nonsense and lies. The Lord has blessed us to know this, but during the bible study as Minister Merv is going over the lesson, he is quiet. This is the first I have ever seen him do so, it is the first time he has ever been quiet. Of course the minute bible study is over, his mouth starts going, but I had to smile because he heard the word. He heard the word of God go forth and I am thanking God for that!
The other young man, we shall state as H. He is also listening and not saying a word. When it was time to come in the house, he was really amazing me because he stood at the door as if he did not want to come in, but my hubby invited him in and kind of just took him under his wing at that moment. H sits the entire time not saying a word, I think I heard him say yes twice during the bible study. After it is all over and done, I watch this young man’s face as he said that he used to go to church and he used to live for the Lord. His face was full of pain and it was full of questions. We let him know that we are here for him and if he needs to talk to us to come on by. You can see the Lord just working on him and it was so awesome to see. I saw the pain in his face, but I saw the light in his eyes. He heard what my hubby was saying in bible study, he heard every single word of it!
We do what we do because we were there once, we were liars and thieves and just no dag on good for we did not accept the Lord as our life. I am thankful to the Lord for His word so that I may live my life according to His will and ways which is truly the only way that my life has any meaning.
The other part for today is from the Confidential Christian Counseling and its message is yet another one of my favorite topics…prayer! Oh how I love to pray! I love my time with the Lord and just talking to Him…I love talking to Him throughout my day and truly do my best to pray without ceasing! AMEN!
I was blessed with an aunt who told me once about prayer when I was new in Christ…praying is talking to the Lord, talk to Him like you talk to anyone else. Have a conversation with Jesus…well that is all I needed to know. I am a talker, writer and a listener – I can do that! AMEN! Well, that is exactly what I do. One of the best prayers to me is John Chapter 17 – take the time to read it if you have not done so recently.
How awesome it is to have our prayers answered, to be able to just talk about what is on your mind to the Lord. He already knows anyhow. I mean I am frank about my conversations with my friends and in my writings, why not with Jesus? Of course I respect Him and who He is but I do not hide who I am from Him, so to speak. If I am angry, I talk to Him, and tell Him so. If I am hurting, I tell Him so. For example…lol man do I have many of those but let me use my favorite one…
I used to smoke 2 ½ packs of cigarettes a day, I had a desire to stop smoking but not much determination because it was a habit that I was so used to doing. On April 29, 2006, Minister Merv, who I was courting at the time, prayed with me to stop smoking. Well, I woke up the next morning and lit a cigarette – guess what – it was the worst thing I ever tasted. I was light headed and so ready to pass out. I was also very angry at Minister Merv for taking it from me. I did not blame God; I blamed Merv for praying a powerful prayer. I was not happy and could have kept smoking but God nudged me and I stopped that day. I had a really bad day that day…it was a Monday. It was a rainy day, it was a stressed day at work as I could not stand my job, I had stopped smoking on a Monday, I was just at my wits end on my drive home. A 10 minute ride turned into a 25 minute drive as I was driving home sitting in traffic that is not normally there, I started talking to the Lord. I was actually yelling at Him…I was telling Him that He said I could do this because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I yelled at Him how He said I was more than a conquers in Him and if He did not do something about this I was going to the store to buy a pack of cigarettes. I stopped yelling and said to Him as serious as I could, mind you I am talking aloud, Lord, I am trying to do this…I have been in this car for over 15 minutes now, I have to pee, I am going to be late picking up my son…you said you would never leave me nor forsake me and if my body is to be your temple and I need to quit smoking – you have to do something. I told Him what my plan was too. I told Him how if nothing changed, after going home to go to the bathroom BEFORE I pick up my son, I was going to the gas station and getting a pack of cigarettes and smoking until I can smoke no more. I started singing after that…just to calm my nerves.
I went home, went to the bathroom and as I was coming out of the bathroom – I received several text messages from Minister Merv telling me how proud he was of me, how proud God was of me, and how greater is He that is in me than he that was in the world, for I am more than a conquer in Jesus, the next text said – Jesus said you can do this! Well I have never put another cigarette to my mouth since then and I have had the thought cross my mind but man, it is gone within a matter of seconds!
We need to be honest in our prayers, He knows what is on our minds already and we need to just give it all to Him. I was talking to a neighbor the other day and she is going through some things and I said to her…go to your room, close your door and pray unto the Lord, just let all that is in you out…do not answer your phone, your door or anything – just pray until you feel better. She said she poured it all out, and I did not say anything as I know that she did not understand what I was saying. I prayed for her before she left and will continue to pray for her to come to that understanding.
I have heard from others that they can not pray, their minds start to wander. I have that same problem sometimes, and instead of praying silently, I pray aloud to the Lord as it keeps my mind where it needs to be which is on the Lord. I have learned that when I am going through something, I have to pray until I feel better. I do not get up from being on my face before the Lord until I feel better. If that means I am there for a long time, I am there for a long time. It does not matter, as just as this step states, that we are to listen too. I will lay there pour all that I have out and then wait on His answer or His side so that I am filled up yet again. For when I do not wait for Him to fill me up again, then I never truly let it all go for it will come back to me as I am empty.
Just because we have a prayer life does not mean things will not happen, it just means that we can deal with the situation better because we are talking to the Lord and hearing from Him too for our direction. I love talking to Jesus and looking forward to physically be sitting at His feet hearing Him talk when I see His face one day. I look at my praying as just that. I am sitting at His feet telling Him all things in me and soaking in all that He has to tell me so that I can be refreshed and loved in Him. How awesome is that! I am so ready to praise the Lord right now! He is so good to me! I pray that everyone comes to have a fulfilling communication life with the Lord in prayer as it is truly awesome to be able to talk and listen to Him!
Yes, yet another long one...praise the Lord if you read it all and I pray you got something out of it to help you too! I know I did – it is a blessing to release! AMEN!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
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