The Season of Favor

For several weeks the phrase, “A Season of Favor” has been ringing in my mind, and I have been keenly aware of the bursting forth of new LIFE in nature as winter gives way to spring (even though the Northeast is getting another dose of winter this week!)  In perfect orchestration, blossoms and flowers explode on cue, inviting us to come out of the confines of a long winter, shed our dowdy grays, and join the celebration!   

Look around you: Winter is over;    the winter rains are over, gone!  Spring flowers are in blossom all over.    The whole world's a choir—and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest    with sweet arpeggios.  Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,    and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.

(Song of Solomon 2:11-12 The Message)

The earth is giving us a visual of God’s Favor in our lives, but the dead needs to be shed!  

What do you need to shed from the past winters of your life?  What are your winter patterns?  

Lately, and thankfully, I have been taking my old thought patterns captive.  Just this morning I was reminded of how things have turned out in the past, and there was a temptation to return to the familiar, cozy, winter blah pattern.  The voices of winter telling me to believe that things will turn out as they always have - so just give in now.  

The truth of today, and our futures will only be found by BREAKING OUT of the patterns of the past, and choosing to leave the false comforts of winter behind.  It is a NEW season!  REJOICE!    

One of my favorite verses about Favor is Psalm 5:12 (NKJV)

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

I often pray that God will surround me with a shield of favor!  But there is more!  Just recently I focused on the  preceding verse, Psalm 5:11:

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend [cover] them;
Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

I have a choice every day and in every situation.  If I.......

• REJOICE
• TRUST GOD
• BE JOYFUL

THEN I am surrounded by a shield of God’s Favor!  And I am a magnet for good things - and a good man!  

Take a few minutes, ask God to show you what the winter patterns are in your mind, and shed them.  Open your hearts and minds - give Jesus your doubts, discouragements, rejections, and unbelief.  BREAK OUT your new Springtime garments of celebration!  When the winter-blahs try to return, say, “NO!  I am not going there again.  Today is a NEW day!  I rejoice and put my trust in God!  I am surrounded by FAVOR as a shield!”  

"You have turned my mourning into JOYFUL DANCING!  You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with JOY, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent!!"  

AMEN!  [so be it!]”  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2012

He's Got This!

New York!  New York!  

A few weeks ago, on my way to a family event in Washington DC, I stopped in New York City for a potentially life changing meeting.  Giving one of your creations to a celebrity can go either way - either life stays the same, or it is changed dramatically.  Suddenly.  

As you can imagine, leaving my makeup case in my car, in Denver, and then my new coat in the taxi (because it was 75 and sunny in NYC), on top of meeting a friend who would give one of my creations to the assistant of a celebrity, there was plenty of opportunities to WORRY!  

BUT GOD!  Two of my top 10 favorite words in the bible.  

I don’t often listen to hear God whispering to me, but on this trip I heard Him speaking to my heart, spirit and mind, 

“I’ve Got This!”  

• Wondering if I might miss my plane, “I’ve Got This!” 
• Realizing my make-up case was in Denver, “I’ve Got This!” 
• Sad that I had lost my beautiful new coat, “I’ve Got This!” 
• And wondering about my future, and would the celebrity like my creation and then be seen with it, “I’ve Got This!” 

Every time worry beckoned me to hop on that train, 

“I’ve Got This!” 

The verse given to me before my trip by a praying friend, and then again this morning, was Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly ABOVE all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us....”

And He did just that - exceedingly, abundantly above - and He is not finished yet!  

I went to a department store to purchase a makeup thing-or-two, and the lady at the counter gave me the BEST samples!  Surprise abundance! Everything I could possibly need, and more.  It was Exceedingly, Abundantly Above!  

The taxi driver brought my coat to my hotel, in his personal car, with his family along for the ride!  Exceedingly, Abundantly Above!

And the celebrity, no word yet, but the one thing I do know, Almighty God is able, and He is working ALL things together for good!  

This Easter week, rather than allowing the Springtime, full of romance, remind you of what is lacking in your life, return to a place of expectancy in the Love and Power of Almighty God!  

He’s got it!  He’s got YOU! and suddenly, your life will change forever.  

I pray for you, and together lets pray for all the people God is calling into a Kingdom Marriage, including our future marriage partners:  

“My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in.  

And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. 

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”  Ephesians 3:14-21, The Message

AMEN!  [so be it!]”  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2012

What’s She Got?

Out-of-the-blue yesterday, I received a text message from a man who had captured my interest in the spring/summer of 2011.  We went on a few dates, and I thought we were progressing nicely, although very slowly, until he called to cancel a date and to say, “I just don’t feel a deep connection.”

Wham! Wallop!  

I thought we just needed to spend more time together, so I suggested that we remain friends, and we did.....until Cindy (not her real name.)  Have you ever done that?   

A few months later I was invited to go skiing with that man “friend”, and his best female friend, AND his new Match.com date!   I was surprised to note that his date, Cindy had a very similar stature to me, and I quickly decided that they would not last long.  That was 2 months ago, and she took him to my parent’s church yesterday, prompting his text.  

Hearing from him, and knowing he was with her put a little song in my head, and if you are a fan of the 80s you might remember this song by the Producers, “What’s [s]he got, that I aint got...”   (the video is quite entertaining!)  

Yes, I started replaying the few dates I had with Tall Dark and Handsome, trying to figure out where I blew it, and what’s she got that I aint got?  My wise-self finally screamed, “STOP IT!  and be thankful that God closed that door!”

“The enemy of Faith is Memory.”  Ed Silvoso  

Do I trust God?  Or not?  One of my favorite prayers when I meet a new man of dating [marriage] potential is Isaiah 22:22, “LORD, thank you for Your purposes for ____ in my life.  If this relationship is from you, then open the door that no one can shut it, and if this man is not good for me, close the door that no one can open it!”  

Sometimes the door closes quickly, and after the initial blow, I remember my prayer and I thank God for protecting me from the things I cannot see.  

Save yourself from the time wasting agony of rehashing the past, comparing yourself to others, or trying to figure it all out.  Of course we need to be open to learn the valuable lessons from our experiences, but you know what I am talking about.  

Trust God!  He is worthy of our faith and trust.  He is good, and He will honor His promises.  Trust Him enough to release your past disappointments, accept the way things worked out, and look with faith to the great things He has for your future!   Do not get entangled in your memories, “Give thanks with a grateful heart” for all the doors that close, and prepare yourself for the doors God is about to open to His BEST for you!  

Get Ready!  He is going to knock your socks off!  

“Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. 

    Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. 

    Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.”Psalm 37:3-5 Amplified

AMEN!  [so be it!]”  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2012

Day 40 of 40 Days of Prayer and Blessing

This is the 40th day!   Women have fasted and prayed in London, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, and California - prayers of blessing for hundreds of men all over the world!  As we have prayed in agreement, speaking the powerful, transforming Word of God, incredible and miraculous things have been set in motion.  Be expectant!   

Expect to be amazed!  

I call it a God-incidence that today the email I received from Nicky Gumbel, the pastor of Holy Trinity Brompton London, the church attended by the women who initiated these 40 Days of Prayer and Blessing, is about marriage!   You can see the post in its entirety here:  The Bible in One Year

but I share a few snippets with you, following the prayer points for today.  

My prayer for you is that you are encouraged!  Take Courage! Let Hope arise in your heart, mind, soul and spirit.  

Day 40 (21^st of February)

Prayer for your 10+ men (Psalm 91) 

• Command Your angels concerning them
• Guard them in all their ways
• Answer them in times of trouble
• Satisfy them with long life and be show them salvation

Prayer for yourself:    

To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:  Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance

Two Are Better Than One  (Nicky Gumbel)

I have never been very good at using visual aids.  I am not a very practical person.  On the other hand, my great friend, Nicky Lee (who, together with his wife Sila, has pioneered The Marriage Course and other Family Life courses) is extremely practical and often uses visual aids. 

 When he is speaking at weddings he sometimes uses a visual aid to illustrate the passage in Ecclesiastes 4.  The writer says, ‘Two are better than one … A cord of three strands is not quickly broken’ (vv.9,12).

As a picture or marriage, Nicky Lee takes two strands of different coloured wool and weaves them together.  Together they are stronger and yet they can quite easily be broken.  Then he takes a third strand of nearly invisible gut.  With this third strand it is almost impossible to break the two pieces of wool.  (I did try to use this illustration once, but for reasons I cannot remember it went horribly wrong!

 The point that he makes so well, and that comes out of the passage in Ecclesiastes, is that whilst friendships and marriages are wonderful gifts, having Jesus at the centre of a friendship or marriage provides an invisible thread of enormous strength. 

1.  Honour marriage: two become one
Proverbs 5:15-23
This is a beautiful description of marriage in which two people ‘become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24).  Part of its beauty lies in its exclusiveness.  Each person has their own ‘cistern’, their own ‘well’, their own ‘springs’ (Proverbs 5:15–16).  They are ‘yours alone, never to be shared with strangers’ (v.17). 

It is such a wonderful picture of marriage as a source of blessing (‘blessed’, v.18a), rejoicing (‘rejoice’, v.18b), love (‘a loving doe’, v.19a), grace (‘a graceful deer’, v.19a), satisfaction (‘satisfy you always’, v.19b) and romance (‘may you ever be captivated by her love’, v.19c, NIV). 

The greatness of real love (‘enduring intimacies’, v.19, MSG) – the emotional and physical love between a husband and wife – is compared to the ‘cheap thrills’ of ‘dalliance with a promiscuous stranger’ (v.20, MSG).

That is why the writer warns so strongly against adultery.  Be aware, he says, that God is watching (v.21).  And the path that leads to adultery is ‘evil’, ‘wicked’, sinful, foolish and it leads to death (vv.22–23).  We see an example of this in the New Testament passage where it was Herod’s adultery that led to him murdering John the Baptist (Mark 6:14–29). 

Whilst the fact that our ‘ways are in full view of the Lord’ (v.21) is a warning against adultery, it is also a reminder of the strength that comes from having ‘the Lord’ involved in a marriage, as the third strand of the cord.

Indeed, in response to God’s love for us, it is discovering and living out our love for God which is the central guiding principle in how we are to love our spouse in marriage.  God’s love for us is the best example of how we should love our spouse.

Thank you Lord for the huge blessing of marriage.  Thank you for the difference that the third strand, of the presence of Jesus, makes to a marriage.  Thank you that two is better than one and that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 

Lord, thank you so much for our own marriages and those we see happening around us in the community of the church.  Lord, I pray for Nicky and Sila Lee and The Marriage Preparation Course and The Marriage Course.  I pray too for all those who are working to strengthen marriage in this country and elsewhere.

AMEN!  [so be it!]”  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2012

Protect & Strengthen - 40 Days of Prayer and Blessing

Day 39 – (20^th of February)

Prayer for your 10+ men (Psalm 86) 

• Teach them Your way, O Lord, that they may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite their hearts [solely, reverently] to fear and honor Your name.
• Protect them from those who come against them
• Show them that you are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness
• O turn to them and have mercy and be gracious to them; grant strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) to Your servants and save your sons! 

Prayer for yourself:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

Restored JOY! 40 Days of Prayer and Blessing

May your Joy be restored today.....  

Day 38 – (19^th of February)

Prayer for your 10+ men (Psalm 51:12-17) 

• Restore to them the JOY of Your salvation, and grant them a willing spirit to sustain them  
• Open their lips, that their mouth may declare Your praise
• Help them have a broken spirit and a contrite heart
• In Your good pleasure make them prosper!

Prayer for yourself:

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. 

The Rock - 40 Days of Prayer and Blessing

The ROCK!

Yesterday I heard from a male friend who shared with me that he had feelings of shame because of a financial issue.  Shame is more common than we realize for the men going through career and relationship transitions.   It is a heaviness that pulls us into a pit of discouragement, BUT GOD hears and answers our prayers!  The Psalms we are praying for the men, today and yesterday, are prayers that God will pull them out of those dark places of shame, and set their feet upon the Rock, which is solid, firm, and unmovable.  (I added to the prayer points today.)   

Day 37 – (18^th of February)

Prayer for your 10+ men (Psalm 71 - Amplified) 

• In You, O Lord, the men put their trust and confidently take refuge
• Let them never be put to shame or confusion
• Deliver them in Your righteousness and cause them to escape
• Bow down Your ear to them and hear them and save them!
• Be to them a ROCK of refuge in which to dwell, and a sheltering stronghold to which they may continually resort which You have appointed to save them
• For You are their ROCK and their Fortress
• For You [God] be their HOPE; O Lord God, be their trust... and be the source of their confidence.  
• Teach them, that they may declare your marvellous deeds
• Even when they are old and grey, do not forsake them, that they may declare your power to the next generation

Prayer for yourself:

For everyone born of God overcomes the world!  (1 John 5:4)

AMEN!  [so be it!]”  

Expecting to be amazed ~

Barbara

© Barbara Nelson – 2012