Write the Vision!

Last weekend I attended an event in Long Beach, CA, and listened to a talk given by Jack Canfield, the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul that was encouraging and inspiring.  When I sat down to write this snowy morning, I did not intend to share his words, but a few things he said will be encouraging to you.  

After Jack finished the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, he was rejected by 144 publishers.  144!!  The world would be a different place if he had given up after a few rejections?

He made a statement which I have used in prayer in the past, so this was a good reminder:  

“REJECT REJECTION!”  

And lastly Jack Canfield said that we need a vision of the goal - to write the vision, see it, feel it, and speak it, which leads me to my post for this week.  (Computer issues is my excuse for the delay)

“And then God answered: ‘Write this.    Write what you see.Write it out in big block letters    so that it can be read on the run.This vision-message is a witness    pointing to what's coming.It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!    And it doesn't lie.If it seems slow in coming, wait.    It's on its way. It will come right on time.’”  (Habakkuk 2:2-3 The Message)

Several years ago I lived in New York City, and worked for an evangelistic ministry. While there, a pastor from South Korea, specifically Yongi Cho’s church, stopped by our office to learn more about the ministry, I was the only one available to accept his dinner invitation, and we had a delightful visit.  The pastor seemed intrigued that I had not been married, and at that time I was in my mid 30s, so he told me a story about a woman in his church who longed to be married.  He counseled her to write in great detail a list describing the man she would like God to send to her - including occupation, looks, etc.  Do you know what happened?   A man fitting the smallest details of her description came into her life and they were married!   Of course that would happen at Yongi Cho’s church in S Korea, but could that happen to me?  Or to you?  

Shake off the dust!   Dare to dream!   

The Pastor from South Korea strongly encouraged me to write my list, “write the vision”....   So I did.  and I waited..... and the list ended up in a box.   With each passing year and continued “hope deferred”, my detailed list dwindled, and my sick heart was afraid to dream and hope.  

BUT GOD is the God of hope!  

I am revising the vision of my future marriage, and I am continually adding to my new list some things that I had decided would be impossible at this point in my life.  NOTHING is impossible with God.  I am dreaming with Him to imagine and see my future husband, and my life with the dreams and desires God has set in my heart and spirit.   

When a group of my friends gathered to pray for marriages at the beginning of this project, I asked them what they thought about writing out the characteristics of the men we would like to marry.  It is risky!  Scary!  We might be disappointed!  Isn’t it easier to pray, “God, Your will be done, and I trust You to send the right man to me - You know what is best for me.”   And while that is true, we agreed that there is a reason we are to “write the vision” of our desires.  

Writing the vision will prevent you from settling for less than God’s best, and those red flags will be easier to discern when someone comes along who is not meant for us.  

Abraham... “believed - God who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.  [Abraham] who contrary to hope, IN HOPE believed....”  (Romans 4:17)

Charles Capps in his book, Faith and Confession writes:   

“Hope is a goal setter.  You must have a goal...  a goal gives direction... Faith is the substance of things hoped for.”
“Hope works in the head.  What you continue to speak becomes your goal.  Your head is the goal-setter.  Where there is no hope, there is no goal set for the better - although 'no hope' sets a negative goal.”  

Did you catch that?  "No hope sets a negative goal!" 

One of my mother’s books caught my attention recently, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peal.  In his chapter, “Try Prayer Power”, he describes how his friend became more successful in business, and this was his key: 

"1) PRAYERIZE, 2) PICTURIZE, 3) ACTUALIZE.... 

By prayerize my friend meant a daily system of creative prayer.... 

The second point in his formula of creative prayer is to 'picturize.'  The basic factor in physics is force.  The basic factor in psychology is the realizable wish.  When either failure or success is picturized it strongly tends to actualize in terms equivalent to the mental image pictured.  To assure something worthwhile happening, first pray about it and test it according to God’s will, then print a picture firmly in consciousness.  Continue to surrender the picture to God’s will.”  

Let’s begin and take the first steps:  

1.  Shake off the dust!  Let go of the past disappointments, and the thoughts that are causing you to doubt God's goodness.  

“AWAKE, AWAKE, put on your strength; put on your beautiful garments!  Shake yourself from the dust; arise, sit [erect in a dignified place], ...loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.”   Isaiah 52: 1-2 (Amplified)

2.  Write the vision of how God sees you - Take some time to write the vision that God has of YOU!   He adores you, and you need to remind your spirit, mind and heart of how incredible you are.  

What does God say?  You are beautiful, powerful, a wife of valor, you are clothed in His Righteousness, His heir, His beloved daughter....

Write the vision.  Write it all out, this is an important step.   

3.  Ask God to give you His vision for your marriage.  Write the vision of the person you will marry, the relationship, your marriage, and pray again.  SEE it!

God may change it up a little, but only to surprise you “exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ask or think!”  (Ephesians 3:20)

We need to "reject the rejection", and the anticipation of rejection, and begin again.  Jack Canfield and his 144 rejections changed the world, and so can you.  

Write the vision!  Then declare the vision!  

(Married people - please post or send your feedback and your experience on this topic.  Those of us who are not yet married would like to know if you had a vision of your marriage, and/or your spouse.  Did you write a list describing that person or your marriage?  Was it just in your mind because we all have that wedding day in our life vision?)

AMEN!  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2013

He Brought Her to the Man

“And the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man should be alone; I will make him a helper who is just right for him.’” (Genesis 2:18 NLT)

I have mentioned it before, but the Hebrew word for alone is... BAD!  I am not kidding!  

Strongs #90: bad: Separation; by implication a part of the body, branch of a tree...

The root is Stongs #909, badad: to divide or to be solitary.  

“And the rib or part of his side which the LORD God had taken from man He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.” (Genesis 2:22)

The NAS version says, “The LORD fashioned into a woman.”  

Marriage was God’s idea.  He formed man, He fashioned or “built” woman, and then God brought the woman to the man; He presented the man with the woman who was to be his wife.  When Adam saw her, he recognized her, and might have exclaimed,  “WHOA - MAN!  Good job God!”  Then I think Adam started singing, “She’s a brick, houuuse...!”    

One of my prayers for the man God has chosen for me is that he will recognize me as his wife.  I pray that his spirit, and mine, will leap with recognition, and that the knowing will surpass or override our minds and reason.  

It is not good for man and woman to be alone, BUT GOD - ALL things work together for good, for those who love Him, and are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28) I do not feel incomplete as a person, but my heart and spirit long for the completeness of God’s design for us as men and women, and the power of that unity.  

Selah.

One of my male friends, longing for his wife, wrote this in an email to me, 

“I have always conceded that we were built for marriage, and anything less falls short of the reflection of God, that we are called to be.  God is masculine (demanding, fierce, warrior,) and God is feminine ( tender, loving, forgiving,) and only when male and female are united can we mirror the fullness of God.  Further, marriage tends to temper the "wild side" of the man, as well as offering a host of human refinements toward the full reflection of God, that are improbable, if not impossible outside of a marriage.  For instance, a human being simply cannot express a core characteristic that we were designed for (monogamous sexuality) outside of a marriage.  Other things, intimacy, self sacrifice, etc, are hard to develop in singleness.”

God's design for marriage is much bigger than we can comprehend, which is the reason there is so much warfare around marriages, for all of us - married, formerly married, and soon to be married.  Satan hates the power of men and women in unity because it is the mysterious, glorious image of God. 

The Declaration for today is that the men and women called to Kingdom marriages will recognize, and have eyes to see the spouse God has chosen for them.  

“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” (Esther 2:17 NIV)

  “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure,      and he receives favor from the Lord.”  (Proverbs 18:22 NIV) 

“Also TODAY the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people [special treasure], just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments,”   (Deuteronomy 26:18 NKJV)

Declarations for this week of November 10, 2013: 

(These declarations for Kingdom Marriages include a few men as well as women - so men, you will need to adjust your declarations on days like today.)

Father God, we agree with Your Word, and we submit our lives to You, the Lord of our lives.  WIth the sword of the Spirit, sever and cut any ties that bind or entangle us, the men and women called to Kingdom marriage; cut us free from the past. Cover and cleanse us with the Blood of Jesus.  

1)  We declare that we are FREE, and available -

As women - to be presented to the men of God whom You have chosen to be our husbands.  Present us to Your BEST men!

As men - to be open to receive the woman God is bringing to us.  Present us with Your BEST woman!

2)  Just as Adam saw and recognized his wife Eve, we declare that Your men will see and recognize the women you have divinely chose as their wives.  

3)  We command our spirits to AWAKE!   And we declare that our spirits will leap with recognition when that BEST person is brought in our lives.  

4) We receive the favor of Esther, and we declare that our kings will be attracted to us (the women you have ordained as their wives) more than any other women.  Give them overwhelming, unwavering attraction for Your best for them.  And give us overwhelming, unwavering attraction for Your best men.  

5)  He who finds a wife finds a treasure, and obtains favor from the Lord.  We declare that the the eyes of the men’s hearts are open to see and find their wives, their treasure, and the men will obtain the favor of God.  

6) As the women you have fashioned us to be, we are Your Special Treasure, and we declare that we are a good thing! 

7)  We declare a blessing of favor over the marriages we know and love.  Lord, impart to them a fresh recognition of each other, and restore that LEAP in their hearts and spirits for each other.  What God has brought together, protect and strengthen by Your refreshing Spirit - and let nothing separate.  

We declare that NO weapon formed against our marriages - current of future - will prosper!  

Lovely ladies, know how special you are today.  You are beautiful, inside and out, and you have favor with God and with men. 

AMEN!  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2013 will prosper!  

Lovely ladies, know how special you are today.  You are beautiful, inside and out, and you have favor with God and with men. 

AMEN!  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2013

I need your help!  Beginning today, and each week through the end of the year, I will be posting chapters from a devotional book God is directing me to finish.  The chapters will include a writing (most of you have seen before) and 7 declarations, which could be declared one each day, or all 7 for 7 days of the week.  You decide.  
If you would like to participate, please let me know what you think of the format, and if you see any glaring errors.  

And let me know if there are any budding romances out there - Karissa?!!!  

Ready?  

Week 1 - God said, “It is not good that man should be alone."

On April 29, 2011, I was glued to the incredible Royal Wedding of Kate and William.  I was not a Royal Wedding junkie, and I did not get out of bed at 3am, with tea, scones, and a gorgeous hat, but I was drawn into the pomp and circumstance, and remained in front of my TV much longer than I planned.  What I saw was a royal celebration that offered a symbol of hope, and a sign that God is restoring marriages today.  It was the beginning of a new era for the Royal Family, and I felt that something needed to be done to cause a shift and a new beginning for marriage in God’s royal family.  While watching the wonderful Royal Wedding, I kept hearing in my mind, “The LORD said ‘It is not good for man to be alone!”  

I love researching the definition of biblical words, and for the first time I looked up the word “alone.”  Do you know what the Hebrew word is?   The Hebrew word is BAD!!!  Really!  And the root of the Hebrew word BAD is “separation”.  

God says that man (humankind) alone is bad.  BAD!  

Cindy Jacobs wrote in her book Women of Destiny...   “The only time God said anything was not good, was man alone.”  Because it’s BAD!  

Kingdom Marriage began with Adam and Eve!  God put them in the Garden to work, together.

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”  

Note in my bible - SFLB:  “God created man to be His kingdom agent, to rule and subdue the rest of creation, including the aggressive satanic forces which would soon infringe upon it.”

Therefore, since we were created to be in relationship and partnership as husband and wife, I believe that marriage is God’s ultimate, good will for all of us.  I also believe it is the arena for, perhaps, the greatest spiritual battle, both for the married and unmarried.  

How do we engage in the battle?  With words of God’s Truth spoken into the atmosphere to enforce the victory.  Jesus took the curse when He died on the cross, but I believe we need to enforce His victory.  

God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.”  The word “man” in Genesis 2:18 is Adam, and one of the 4 Hebrew words for man.  That word “man” is translated “humankind, male and female.”  Therefore, God said it is not good for man OR woman to be alone.     

Making declarations for Kingdom Marriages, is to follow the model of the Father of Faith, Abraham, “...in the sight of God, in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead, and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.   [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised.”  (Romans 4:17-18 Amplified)

Speaking of the nonexistent things as if they already exist, will give us all hope, and we will have the faith and expectation to see the promises of God fulfilled. 

“You are able to see beyond your circumstances and the things that make for our destruction. You may see fear – don't enter it; you may comprehend depression – don't apprehend it. See the invisible and make it visible by speaking it and living it.  

God is speaking life, prosperity, deliverance and abundance for this great land.  America, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I encourage all of you to speak life over our nation.”     Kim Clement, The Elijah List July 11, 2011 - the day 40 Days of Declaration commenced

And we are to speak LIFE into the destiny of marriages, because good healthy marriages give hope and life to an entire nation!

Fear circulates around people in the dating world, and covers them with disappointment.  I happen to know from experience!   But I am choosing not to enter in to the disappointment.   I recently heard a speaker say that we must "discipline your disappointments!"  Are you with me?  

When together we speak the promises of God, we will create change, and we will see things shift.  We are made in the image of God, and our words have the power to create.  The Word of God is POWERFUL, and speaking His Word out-loud will build your faith.  "Faith comes by hearing!" (Romans 10:17)  And in order to hear, you need to speak.  

     “ Do not remember the former things, 

      Nor consider the things of old. 

      Behold, I will do a new thing, 

      Now it shall spring forth; 

      Shall you not know it? 

      I will even make a road in the wilderness 

      And rivers in the desert.”   (Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJ)

Declarations  

Thank you Father God that you have brought us together for this journey of faith and hope, to see Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!   On behalf of the men and women You have appointed to come together for your purposes in marriage...  

1)  We declare that we are created for marriage, and we believe it is the will of God for our lives.  

2)  We agree with Abraham... “ in the sight of God, in Whom we believe - the God who gives life to the dead, and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has promised] as if they [already] exist.  

3)  We declare that even though with human reason hope might be gone (against all hope), we choose to have hope with faith, and BELIEVE in the promises of God for marriage on this earth, and in our lives.   

4)  We agree with God and speak LIFE, and resuscitation over marriages, both existing, and yet to be, for the Kingdom of God.  

5)  We declare prosperity, freedom and abundance for the lives of those called to Kingdom Marriage, and for our future spouses.   

6)  We declare that God is doing a new thing!  and NOW it shall spring forth.  (Isaiah 43:18)

7)  God said it is GOOD for men and women to marry, so we agree with His Word, and declare that God is good, marriage is good, and God, the Father of Lights gives good gifts to His children, [therefore He is giving the gift of marriage to us!]  

AMEN!  

Expect to be amazed!