Crutches

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:16, NLT)

I recently hurt my left ankle and have been on crutches all week. While the crutches have helped me move around, I’m not moving around like I should be. And most certainly, not how I prefer to be.

I’ve had to take extra time to tend to my ankle. Ice, elevate, wrap, soak it as well as orally take anti-inflamitories.

The first thing I noticed about using crutches is, the rest of my body has paid the price by compensating for what my left ankle is not currently performing. 

In other words, when my whole body is doing what it was created to do I can accomplish many things. But since my left ankle isn’t bearing its share of the weight, I haven’t accomplished much.

The Spirit of God has been speaking to my heart and has shown me a direct correlation between my ankle and the church. When the whole church body each does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy, growing, and full of love.

Of course there are times (seasons) where, the church has to tend to the needs of the hurting. (Ecclesiastes 3:1) But for the most part, the church is created to be healthy, growing, and full of love.

If you are hurt, by all means, tend to yourself and ask others to pray you through to wholeness. But don’t camp out in the city of "Hurtville". Even on crutches, I can help cook, do light housework, and teach homeschool. 

We can all do something on our way to full victory!

And as a sidenote; 

if you feel as if a church has failed you, 

don't camp out there either. 

Just determine to do what the LORD has said to do! (Hebrews 10:25) 

I don't know how many excuses I've heard about why people refuse to go to church but continue to be faithful to going to the bar. 

As if the bar has never failed them. 

Ok, I won't camp out there either.

At times, in the church I’ve seen the same 10% of people doing 90% of the work. That equation results in the churches inability to be healthy, grow, and love as it was created to.

When each part does its own special work, the church is everything God created her to be (Ephesians 4:11-12, Ephesians 4:16) 

Please allow me to lovingly encourage you, if you are looking at the church and wondering why it isn’t…well, let’s just say, healthy, growing, and full of love…please ask the Lord to bring to your attention precisely what your part is in the body. And as He is faithful to show you, please be faithful to do your own special work. (1 Corinthians 1:9, Colossians 3:23, Ephesians 4:16)

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for Your people, the church. Please bring to each and every one of our attention, ways to immediately rise up and do our own special work so that Your church is healthy, growing, and full of love! Lord, we ask You to show us the gifts and talents You have given to each of us, and how we can best use them to serve on another, and bring You all the glory. May everything we think, say, and do, honor You Lord God. And may we always, always remember who it is we are working for. 

1 Peter 4:10

1 Corinthians 10:31

Colossians 3:23

My Face is Hot

I don't know if I've ever been more passionate about a blog post as I am about this one. I understand, this may be lengthy for some, but I encourage you to grab some coffee or tea and take time for us to sit together and have a little cyber chat! God is calling you! If none of the following personally applies to you, you will be able to use it to free others!

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, NKJV)

What are "all these things"? Everything you will ever need, according to His riches in Heaven! (Philippians 4:19)

I consistently find it almost comical when someone makes the following comments to me:

• "I don't go to church because churches are full of hypocrites." 
• "I left that church because the pastor thought he was better than me and never invited me to his/her house."
• "I quit church altogether because usher So-n-So never let me hang out with her cool group." 
• "Oh I'm going to church, no one will ever stop me! But while I'm there, I am NOT talking to x, y, and z, because I saw on their Instagram where they went to the spa and did not invite me!" (Ok, okay, I totally made that last one up.)

Or when someone uses Facebook to gig another person by making posts such as:

• "No wonder people don't go to church given the way the church treats people.” 
• Or pastors/pastor's kids/worship team leaders/Sunday school teachers, etc, etc, etc, gouge people by posting all the troubles and woes of being a servant of the church and how no one "outside the ministry" understands except those inside the ministry.

In my above statement, I referred to these things as "almost comical”. Because it would be comical if it weren't so true.

I thank God for my "off beat" sense of humor. I use to try and hide it. I use to try to be like "Sister Mary Perfectness" and have a perfect soft voice, perfect facial expressions, and always perfectly say…in a singy songy voice, “God bless you", with a perfect fake smile plastered on my face. Yuk. Yuk. Yuk.

But one day, God delivered me from all that. It was spoken over me, “You are different. I made you different. I made you different by my own design.” And then, in my Bible, I found out, I am what I am by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:0) and laughter is good like a medicine (Proverbs 17:22). After all that, it was, “Katy! Bar the door!"

Talk about "let my people go”!  

Talk about “FREEDOM"! 

Thank you Mel Gibson and Braveheart! 

I want all ya’ll to stand up. 
Stand up…yes, that means you. 
Now…say, no….shout….I AM FREE! 

I AM FREE! 

I AM WHAT I AM 

BY THE GRACE OF GOD! 

I AM FREE TO BE EVERYTHING GOD HAS CALLED ME TO BE!

I AM FREE FROM MYSELF!

If we were in a conference, I’d make us all paint up our faces like Mel Gibson Braveheart style, run around the room (or maybe the whole town), and shout, “I AM FREE!!!” 

OH…trust me, 

YES, I most certainly would!

I can already tell, some of you are snickering and some are scoffing, saying….”Well, I don’t DO stuff like that…I……am, more like...the quiet type.” Well, I know people well enough to know, if I were in a room with all of you and said, “I will give the top ten loudest people in here a thousand dollars each…suffice it to say, you’d all the sudden, get loud! C’on, free yourself. If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!

Shortly after learning about who God created me to be, I soon learned, God’s grace mixes with His gift in me (that whole off beat sense of humor thing I was talking about) and "allows me” the ear of people from many different walks of life. God protects me by using that sense of humor to make people laugh so I can tell them what is on His heart and so they can hear, instead of getting mad and beating me up. 

Alright, all that said... 

People have told me, “Church people shouldn’t act that way, they KNOW better.” My response is, "Hey, we’ve all known better and done things we shouldn’t have done. Who are you trying to fool?"

When people tell me, "I don't go to church because churches are full of hypocrites." My response is, "Oh, ok, but you go to the bar every weekend because there are no hypocrites there and because people at the bars treat people any better than people in the church?” 

I’ve been told, "I quit church altogether because Greeter So-n-So never let me hang out with her cool group." Hey, we all get left out of fun stuff. First, thank God for deliverance, because the spa day (or whatever day) may not be as much fun as it appears. Secondly, maybe the spa wasn’t your assignment for the day. Today, Joel Osteen posted on his Facebook…"God puts people in our path on purpose so we can be a blessing to them. Every morning we should say, “God, show me my assignment today.” Were you hot and bothered about not being at the spa and missed your assignment? Boom. Maybe your assignment was to minister to God, maybe He misses you and wants to commune with you and the only way for Him to do that is to lock down your social calendar. Just a thought.

Moving right along. When people “in the ministry” want to discuss all their troubles and woes of being a servant of the church and how no one "outside the ministry" understands except those inside the ministry…my response is…”Oh come on! Do you people really sit around and tell each other this stuff? And Hebrews 4:15”

Others have told me, “I don’t go to church because there are just no miracles like there were when I was a kid.” To that I say, then you are missing it because “we” do see miracles today! Blind eyes see, deaf ears hear, finances supernaturally multiply! I personally (while being under the invitation of a pastor to photograph his miracle service) was on stage and witnessed a little 10 year old girl (literally two feet away from me) who was deaf from birth who didn't have a hole in her ear, supernaturally, get a hole in her ear and hear for the first time in her life! And tears ran down her beautiful little face…and tears ran down my face too. She could hear the pastor whisper from standing behind her!  I've personally witnessed a man, who could hardly walk with a cane, throw away said cane, and run back and forth across the platform. Some of us are "getting it”. What are we “getting”? The powerful force of walking in love! Do not get left behind! Are we perfect in it? Nope. But we are getting it!

Honestly, it doesn’t matter what people say/do. I mean, it does and feelings get hurt. What I am trying to say is, regardless of the situation du jour, Jesus already told us, “offense will come”. So, please bear with me, (and pray for me, because my face is hot right now) as I say, "Let us all just grow up and be about the Father's business.” (Luke 2:49, Ephesians 5:1, 10:30) If we love him, we will keep his commands! (John 14:23), we will not forsake the assembly (Hebrews 10:25), and we will love one another (John 15:12)!

We are commanded to "seek FIRST HIS kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) and there's really good reason for that! We are always seeking something. If we are not seeking His kingdom first, we are seeking our kingdom first and our kingdom changes with the waves of the wind and will get us tossed all over the place! (Ephesians 4:14) Who wants that??

We really have to grow up and stop all the poor excuses. We have to force the issue with ourselves and put the rubber to the road. So…tomorrow, let’s just get up, go to church, and love one another. Let’s ask not what God and the church can do for us but what we can do for God and the church! Thank you Mr. Kennedy. 

Mr. Rodney King once said, “Can't we all just get along?" I couple that with, “Can't we all just get real, grow up, and do what God has called us to do?” At minimum, we are called to love!

A lot of us stand in church buildings across the globe and we "call forth" full church houses from the north, south, east and west. We call forth revival in our land. We call for our country to repent and turn from wicked ways. We all want the glory. We all call forth the glory. Please pay close attention when I say, Dude. The glory abides in our love for one another.” You want the glory? Then love. When we love, glory (and everything else good, healing/wholeness/prosperity/miracles) are present!

There comes a time to grow up. I love babies. I am all about the babies. But what justice would I do, what honor and glory would I give to my Father, if I created spiritual cripples who couldn't "wipe their own noses" after 20 years of pew warming? My role as a parent, biological and otherwise, is to "work myself out of a job”. To "train up a child” (biological and otherwise) in such a way, they crawl, walk, and then run-run-run their own race! I never stop mentoring but I most definitely stop diapering.    

Listen, people are led to leave churches, I get that. People get saved in a church, grow up and step out into their own ministries. I understand that. The church experiences divorce. People get divorced and one party is "granted sole custody" of the current church in the decree. I get that. There is a church for everybody and everybody for a church. That is not what I'm referring to. What I am referring to is, if you leave a church, you best be making sure God is the one moving you and insure it is not your flesh that is moving you. Otherwise it could be catastrophic, for you. As well as those who may be caused to stumble. (Luke 17:1) 

God has a perfect plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11); however, the devil has an evil plan for our lives. The devil wants to kill us (John 10:10). If he can’t kill us “in the natural”, he's just as happy to kill God’s perfect plan for our lives. Bro Terry Mize recently said, “It matters where you go to church.” And that is hardcore factual statement.  It matters to be in the church God has called us to. 

So, if you've left a church because your flesh told you to, I encourage you today, go back and clean up the mess. *Whiny voice alert* "But everyone there is mad at me." Big woo. This isn't about everyone. This is about you and doing what you Father has called you to do where He called you to do it. This is about obedience.

"Coming in for a landing.” If someone comes to you with a situation, if you can't turn them to the Word of God, please...don’t turn them anywhere. Immediately stop the conversation and refer them to their pastor or someone who you know will give them godly counsel. Because the moment, we cannot turn someone and counsel them with the Word of God, we just became unqualified to counsel them.

My middle child just told me, “If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hotdogs.” As much as I dislike hot dogs, that statement will preach.

Thank God we (church folk and otherwise) are not called to be perfect; otherwise, I would never "make it".  If we were all perfect in our love walk, no one would have a need for our perfect God. All would turn to those who are perfect, living by sight and not by faith positioning ourselves to be unpleasing to God. (Hebrews 11:6) 

Sometimes, there is a very fine line between those "in the church" and those "out". True "we" are in this world but not of it; however, "we" ALL are progressing through it, from glory to glory. Becoming more and more like Him, PRAISE GOD! (2 Corinthians 3:18) Let us be known as a people who push and pull each other and not a people who trample one another. 

Start right now. Make a plan to go to church tomorrow with a clean slate, completely independent of what everyone else says and does, including those in your household. Living afflicted with the speck and the plank syndrome will only keep you sick. (Matthew 7:3-5) We must continue to be transformed, continue renewing our minds, and keep no record of wrongs. (Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 13:5) And most importantly, love. (John 13:34) 

God please forgive me for all the times I've played a part in the above goofy, irresponsible, petty, whiny junk. Thank You for leading me to Light. Thank You for teaching me, love is truly always, always the answer. Thank You for changing me, glory to glory, and making me more like Jesus every day! I pray a supernatural revelation for each and every reader right now, I thank You in advance for repentance, change, forgiveness, and for making us more and more like Jesus as we further and further submit our spirits to Your Holy Spirit, all for Your glory!

In the Wake of Tragedy...

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT)

I just read a blog that stated "this nation cannot be saved unless the church wakes up." But who is the Church?

We are the church. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

But what do we need to do to wake up?

Here's a thought:
Instead of watching and rewatching horrific events provided by the media in order to spike ratings,
Then posting and reposting on social media, the pure evil we've been subjected to,
Asking and re-asking, where God was during this and other tragedies,

How about we read and reread God's promises through His life giving Word. Then use media to glorify Him, teach about His goodness, bringing about a heart change and thus changing our country instead of confusing God's lack of protection with evil works. (Isaiah 5:20, NLT)

By the way, God's Word plainly tells us where He is during tragedy. (Psalms 34:18)

Here's another thought.

Turn off the television and social media and keep it off instead of reliving and meditating on the terrible report. (Philippians 4:8)

And then:

Go visit a Long Term Care Facility or a nursing home and glorify God in the way you smile and visit with a patient while they tell you all about their childhood.
Visit a children's hospital and read books to the children.
Bake cookies and deliver them to your local fire department, police department, or emergency room.
Ask a young mother if you can fold her laundry or rock her little ones while she takes a walk.

The things we can do to glorify God are endless!

Please understand, I do not in any manner, downplay this tragedy.

I spent most of yesterday morning and throughout the day, praying for these families. They need our prayers. Not just until the media finds the "next big horrific event making the current event pale in comparison". But every time God brings them to our remembrance over the next coming months and years.

I understand the sadness.

It was through tears roaring down my face as I prayed for these babies, teachers, families and community and even the shooter. (Romans 12:15, Matthew 5:44)

I understand the anger.

Trust me, if I allowed my mind and heart to "go there", I could deliver up 101 ways in less than sixty seconds on how to deal with people who hurt babies.

But where is the line? Why is it unthinkable for a school or theater shooter to kill innocent babies but our government forces taxpayers to fund the mass murdering of literally millions of unborn babies in the most horrific act imaginable to mankind?

Some scream, "gun control"! Can those "screamers" honestly be serious? I suggest, education on the matter. If you are in favor of gun control, please discuss that law with the Mexican Mafia or any of the gangs that currently reside in the U.S. Or basically anyone who currently dodges the gun control laws.

Gun control is not the issue. Heart control is. Which leads us back full circle to the Church.

Let's recalibrate and do what God has called us to do. Insure the meditation of our hearts, the words of our mouths and the posts on our Facebook and Twitter are pleasing in His sight. (Psalm 19:14) Keep our eye on the prize and finish this race in all we do, glorifying Him! (Hebrews 12:1, 2)