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Finding Peace with God and Fighting Off Religious Strongholds

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The message below may seem strange to some of you, but it is one that will become more and more relevant as we see the world constantly changing around us.   We are in a season where I hear more and more about highly regarded christians deconstructing their faith, falling into sin themselves, or no longer holding on to the biblical standards of sin.   Don’t be surprised if you are praying for God to return “prodigals” home for them to be met with a dark force pushing them and holding them back.   Also, while faithful pastors are preaching “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” those pastors may be wondering if it is falling on deaf ears, but there could very well be both individual belief systems and demonic influences keeping these people from repenting.   They may even want to return to God and be made right with Him, and yet they don’t know how.   Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the co
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Fighting Anxiety with Worship

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Darkness you won't find me now I've got a new way to fight Darkness let me show you how His love will drown out the night  Once when I was a little kid, maybe around 5 years old, a semi-famous worship group came to do a concert at my church.  For whatever reason, I went on ahead of my mom to the concert with another adult.  When my mom arrived, she said she freaked out because there I was, ON THE STAGE with the band, dancing my heart out!!!  I can't explain it, but there's something more spiritual about children.  I know that we are all born sinners, but Jesus said that we are to have faith like a child if we are to ever see the Kingdom of Heaven.  Without even thinking about it or understanding the inappropriateness of dancing on a stage uninvited, I was in that moment, doing what I was created to do.... I was worshiping my Savior.  I wish that it wouldn't have taken me 20 something years to really get back there. I was a funny child before the anxiety
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Following the One Who Leads

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"No one writes your story if you don't."- Steffany Gretzinger  I'm called to write my story, to give an honest account, and to share with others what God has done in my life and continues to do, so here it goes.  A little over three months ago, I packed up everything I owned in my 2007 Honda Element and moved from Mississippi to Los Angeles, California to help with a church plant.  Most strangers and even some friends ask why in the world I would want to move somewhere like LA.  While Los Angeles is beautiful... "It is a ridiculously expensive.  The traffic is terrible.  The people are self consumed... blah blah blah"  These things are true, and I can affirm that from a first hand experience now, but I've never felt more sure about anything than moving here.  The Stirring in my Heart "It's always been you,  LA.... " I have had a longterm relationship with Los Angeles. I honestly knew I was called here before I was e
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Step 12- Keep God First in Your Heart- Always

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Granny Wendy, “So…your adventures are over.” Peter, “Oh no. To live…to live would be an awfully big adventure.”- Hook      I don't know if I can say that Hook was my favorite childhood movie.  It's hard to top Return of the Jed i (obviously a children's movie because of the ewoks), but it's definitely one that I watched often and opened up my imagination to things like magic, mermaids, pirates, flying, a place where children stayed young forever, colorful food fights etc.  Neverland in the movie, Hook , is a place that makes people forget.  It even makes children forget their mothers.  In this movie, Spoiler Alert , Peter Pan, now a grumpy business man and a bad father, is forced to return to Neverland to save his children, though he had forgotten who he was.  Once he stays in Neverland a while, he almost forgets his children and his life back home.  Once he remembers, he quickly saves his children, heads back home, and decides to live his life to the fullest wi
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Step 11- Warning Signs in Dating and What to Do with Them

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“Now you’re looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because of course, you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to work it out. You want to be fooled. –Cutter, The Prestige The following signs don’t necessarily mean it won’t work out, but they are red flags that need to be addressed quickly if you see them. Hopefully, if they are addressed quickly, your relationship will be saved in the long run.   The warning signs to follow are what you may find in a Christian relationship.  (These don't include dating a non-beliver , dating someone who pressures you sexually, dating someone is on a totally different page than you in terms of denomination and theology, or dating someone who physically abuses you.  I think it goes without saying that these are obvious signs not to date someone... but I thought I'd mention them nonetheless).  Don’t put your hope in a person Take notice if someone is looking to you for fulfillment and purpose and/or if you are looking t
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Step 10- Waiting

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“I’m not standing still. I am lying in wait.”- Aaron Burr, Hamilton Learn by Example One person who knew much about waiting for God’s plan to be established was Queen Esther.  To recap the story as quickly as possible: Esther lived with her cousin Mordecai, who was a gatekeeper for the palace and took Esther in as his own daughter after her parents died. The king was looking for a wife and Esther was brought into the palace along with others for the King to choose from. (As a side note, Mordecai had discovered a plot to kill the king and reported it thus saving the king’s life, and he had an enemy named Haman who wanted to kill Mordecai and all the Jewish people). Ultimately, Esther was chosen to be the queen and saves her cousin along with ALL the Jewish people, while defeating their enemies. There are a few things I think we can note of from Esther’s success in waiting: She had other people looking out for her and partnering with her. Esther 2:11: (ESV): “And every d
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Step 9- Iron Sharpens Iron

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“Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”- Wicked  Proverbs 15:22 (ESV) Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. I can't explain all the ways that people's prayers, words, and presence has meant to me in both the bad and the good times.  I'm probably about to say a bunch of cliché quotes that could go on someone's bathroom wall.  However, u nlike a lot of other girls, I'm not one to have a "best friend," but I haven't been with a lack of friends.  God has been so generous to bring all the people I need just at the time I needed it most.   I can remember as a child, my mom would talk to her friends on the phone, and I assumed I would grow up and do the same.  Well I'm a full grown adult, and I rarely ever call anyone, but I've made it a goal this year to be a better friend and appreciate those around me.  I've even joined a DNA group (small group of 3-4 people that meets from church) that meets at
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