Buckets

But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. (John 16:13, AMP)

A close friend recently told me, a key person in her life called her a wimp. I told her to create a word bucket for herself. She looked puzzled. I explained.

First, I asked her if she thought she was a wimp. She looked at me, as if she was in shock. She thought I was going to say, “Oh that’s not true. You’re not a wimp. They don't know what they are talking about.” 

It matters less what I think about her than it does about what she thinks about her.

Word Buckets:
People say a lot of things. Words are sometimes used to hurt so they fit in the hurt bucket, not the truth bucket. Words are sometimes used in order to attempt to control us. Those words go in the control bucket, not the truth bucket. Only true words belong in the truth bucket. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Listen, sometimes people just say stuff. And a lot of days, most people say too much stuff. They may say things out of anger, or frustration, their own hurt, or whatever. I always say…now remember this, this is so important…write this down, 

"Just because someone says something, doesn't make what they said, true."

Ok...the other side. Sometimes, people say some things that are true. And it hurts. It hurts because it is true. How can we productively handle these situations? Regardless of how it was sown (intended), we take it to our Father, He is the one who can make permanent change in us. Don't get caught up in how the words were "delivered". Use the words to work things out for good. Say, "Lord, please search my heart. I invite You by Your Holy Spirit to show me areas that must be dealt with. Give me a new heart, and renew a right spirit within me.” He’s always faithful! 

Father, I pray for every reader today. I pray wisdom in the name of Jesus. You word says if anyone lacks wisdom, all we have to do is ask and You give liberally. Thank You Father for the wisdom to know which bucket to put words into. But most of all thank You for Truth!

James 1:5

John 16:13

Listen!

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him." (Matthew 17:5, NLT)

I was going through my journals and found this entry from January, 2008. My girls were three and four years old at the time. They were such cute toddlers but thankfully, there are no more fights about soap!

Enjoy this flash from the past!

I was giving my girls a shower today. When I wash their hair, I give each of them a little cup of suds from their shampoo to play with. I washed Grace's hair first but forgot to give her suds. As I was washing Mikea's hair, Grace remembered her suds but all the soap had already been rinsed from her hair so I said, "I'll give you soap from Mikea's hair after I wash it." 

Mikea told Grace (under her breath) "This is MY soap." Grace cried out to me "I want some soap!" I said, "I'll give you some soap after I'm done washing Mikea's hair" Mikea was standing in between me and Grace, again Mikea said, (under her breath and in a mean, low tone of voice) "This IS MY soap" Again, Grace cried out and looked up to me, getting a little desperate. She started to cry because she knew I had promised her soap but she was upset that she hadn't received her soap. Gracie said, "I want some soap!!" At this point things accelerated and at the same time Mikea was yelling, "THIS IS MY SOAP!" Grace was looking up to me and screaming, "I WANT SOME SOAP!!"

In a calm voice, I kept repeating to Grace, "Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me." I was not concerned w/ discipling Mikea at the time. No, I was concerned that my child listened to what I had promised.

God spoke to my heart and said, "This is the same battle I watch some of my kids fight. Satan lies to them over and over and gets louder and louder. But all my children have to do is listen to me."

Listen to that voice of truth! Listen to His promises! All God's promises are right in His Word. He's already done everything He has to do in order for us to obtain all His promises, listen to Him and receive.  He is the maker of the universe and you!  Trust Him.

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."   (John 8:44, NIV)

God's Word plainly tells us the devil is a liar and there is no truth in him.  And he speaks from his own resources.  Consider God's resources!  (Philippians 4:19, Psalm 35:27, Psalm 50:10-12) Everything is His, and He is your Father!  The next time the devil tries to lie to you and tell you that you cannot have something God has already promised you, make the decision to listen to God, our Father!

Father, I pray for every reader today. In the name of Jesus, I declare they immediately recognize and ignore lies and hold fast to Your truth. As they submit their spirit to Your Holy Spirit, I pray they take every thought captive and mediate only on that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, whatever is admirable, and everything that is praiseworthy. I pray they meditate on all the good in their lives and none of the negatives they struggle with. I pray they praise and thank You for all the goodness in their lives. I thank You in advance that as they mediate on You and Your Word, the fruit in their lives shine their light so all man sees and glorifies You! Thank You for never lying to us! Thank You for loving us so deeply and for giving us Your promises through Your life changing Word! We love You Lord. We worship and adore You! Thank You for You and thank You for Your Son, King Jesus! 

John 3:16

Hebrews 6:18

John 14:14

2 Corinthians 1:20

2 Corinthians 10:5

Matthew 5:16

Philippians 4:8

The Beautiful Swan

During reading time with my girls, I chose The Ugly Duckling. This is very uncommon because I generally always choose something new to read that they haven't read before. I really sensed a leading from the Holy Spirit to choose this story.

The book explains how the ducks were very mean to the duckling. They pecked the duckling (physical abuse) and said mean things (verbal abuse). They bombarded the duckling from all sides. Then came the geese and herons which were also very mean, saying ugly things and subjecting the duckling to more pecking (abuse/neglect).

Then the duckling got away from the mean ducks, geese and the heron. The book says, "The duckling went off to himself and the duckling grew." Once the duckling relocated itself, it grew. To further elaborate, once the duckling removed itself from exterior pressure, it grew. The book means physically, but I believe we grow spiritually when we get away from exterior pressure. When we remove ourselves from all the "noise" and commune with Him, we lay aside everything that hinders us and we run with perseverance because there is no excess baggage to meditate on. Mediating on the wonderful goodness of God brings light to any situation. 

Then one day, a fellow swan swam over and spoke to the "ugly duckling"...that...had...grown. Even though the duckling had changed, even though it grew, it still saw itself as it was prior to the growth. But the fellow swan saw the "ugly duckling" for what it actually was! A beautiful swan!

Sometimes, we feel like we have been pecked and chipped away at from all sides; parents, spouse, children, work, car problems, bills, medical issues, loneliness, societal "norms" attempting to tell us we don't stack up. All those things are not absolute truth. 

Brother Terry Mize taught me, "I know God is good and I know His Word is Truth. Truth always trumps true. What may be true today, may not be true tomorrow." 


Please allow me to elaborate. Your mother/father/siblings/spouse/children (In other words, anyone who isn't speaking God's Truth which is His Word.) may have said mean things to you to make you believe you are an ugly duckling. But you are not an ugly duckling. You are a child of God. (John 1:12)  He calls you His friend. (John 15:15) You belong to Him. (1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20) 

Ask Him for a verse that reconciles with your spirit. Make that verse yours. You don't need a hundred verses. I believe it was Kenneth Copeland who said, "One word from God can change your life forever". Be faithful in replacing all other "noise" with your scripture. You can trump true with Absolute Truth! (Hebrews 4:12)

You can make the decision to take the Word of God and literally rewire your brain and rewrite your future to align with absolute Truth. Truth trumps true. Choose to take everything that has been said to you and trump it with, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is mine through Christ, who loves me."

Overwhelming victory is ours!

Take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your thoughts are in your head so you control them. Joy must come. (Psalm 30:5)

Therefore if anyone is in Christ...who is in Christ? YOU are in Christ! You are a new creature! All this newness is from God! It doesn't matter what anyone has said to you as a child, or what people say about you now if they gang up on you! Because, if what they say doesn't line up with the Word of God, it is a lie, how exciting! And since that is truth, you don't have to think on it! (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Consider this, perhaps others have said things to you not based on what how they see you but through filters they view themselves through. Perhaps they have more issues with themselves than they do with you but they have used you for their fall guy. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 

What are you going to think of yourself? What are you going to say about yourself? 

Are you going to base your thoughts and words in light of what others have thought and said? Or according to His marvelous light and dependent on what He thinks and according to what He has said? 

This choice is not only about you. It is also about your descendants.
This is truly your choice, so always, always, choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)

The Race

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1, 2)

My girls are on swim team this year and my whole family is very excited! There is just something about competitive sports! Even as I write this, I am filled with excited expectation of watching my girls compete! Today, Kohala...tomorrow Olympic Gold!

We are learning so much about competitive swimming. Swimming and breathing techniques are mastered. There is a specific swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles that each swimmer dons during races that deter drag. All jewelry is removed. There is much chatter regarding focus. 

During a recent practice race, I observed one of my girls lose her race because she was completely focused on the distractions around her instead of the finish line. Initially, she was ahead in the race but as she became more and more distracted by her surroundings, she grew further and further behind in the race. First she looked at her competitor, then as her team mates started to encourage her to swim faster, she looked at them. I walked to the front of the crowd to video her and she as soon as she saw me, she raised her head out of the water. All distractions that deterred her from winning her race.

During her race she only looked at the finish line at the beginning of the race. Once the race started she kept her eyes on all the distractions. She was a little disappointed but as soon as I showed her the video, she agreed, in order to win future races she has to focus on the finish line. 

After our discussion, God gently spoke to my spirit. Many times, I had shifted focus in my race of faith. I had forgotten I am surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses. I failed to strip off every weight so I had been pulled down. God lovingly reminds me to run with endurance the race He has set before me. He reminds me to keep my eyes on Jesus who is my champion! The author and the finisher of my faith! 

Are you focused on distractions?  Refocus today!


Look to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith  and its Finisher!

True Worship

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (John 4:23)

There was a time when I first started church that during worship service I could not enter in.  I was so broken and hurt, every time I tried, my heart was pierced with His love and I knew if I continued worshipping Him the ushers would have to scrape me off the floor.

If you are in a worship service and you see someone looking around instead of singing and “entering in”, pray for that person.  Understand it may not necessarily mean that individual is refusing to participate or viewing worship service as a spectator sport.  It may just be that person is being healed right where they stand even if their outer appearance doesn’t reflect it.

If you are one who cannot yet fully participate in worship as your hear desires, that’s ok. God meets us where we’re at.  Just know, He loves us too much to leave us there. Refuse to grow weary and give up, and you will reap. (Galatians 6:9)

During those early days, I prayed for freedom to worship Him. He has answered those prayers and now I freely worship Him and chains continue to be broken and I continue to be set free. And so can you. (Matthew 7:7)

Several weeks ago I was in a worship service and the worship team was amazing.  Every instrument was being played with excellence.  Every voice was singing in perfect harmony.  Every sound was phenomenal.

As odd as this may sound, it was a little distracting.  I had to fight against the distraction.  Everything was so beautiful I just wanted to stare at the musicians playing their instruments.  I wanted to take it all in and be blessed by it.

I fought against the distraction and pressed in to worship Him.  I was there to worship Him, not to be entertained.  God spoke to my heart, “Every part of every worship service is critical.  Worship service is worship, not entertainment.  Enter further in.  Minister to Me.  You are not in worship service in order for the worship team to minister to you.”  I pressed into worship further and He said, “Every word is critical.  Every note is critical.  Listen to every note.  Be carried on each note.”  I listened intently to every note I could distinguish.  I don’t mean every chord as I couldn’t tell you a c from a d sharp (if a d sharp even exists).  I’m talking about every sound bringing me to a place of Heaven on earth and changing my life!

I didn’t want to leave that place, but God said, “Open your eyes.”  I opened my eyes and looked at the keyboard player’s fingers.  I meditated on, “Every note is critical.”  God showed me if the keyboard player had missing fingers he wouldn’t be able to play every note.  Missing fingers would result in missing notes.  Missing notes would result in missing ministry.  Missing ministry would result in missing healings, revelation and people being set free.

About two weeks later, I was in a healing service. People were being healed where they stood while worshipping God.  Not one person was being prayed for and over 100 people left that service healed. Growths dissolved.  People were able to physically do what they weren’t able to do when they arrived.  One woman even removed her oxygen and testified she was healed!

This made me further understand how every word and every note is critical.  As these people entered in and were carried upward to a place of Heaven on earth, their physical bodies were being healed!  Every note and every word was obviously playing a critical part in each person’s life and the experience was life changing!

A quick search of the effects of music on the brain will result in findings so enormous one cannot read it all.  It is obvious now and has been for centuries that music profoundly affects people emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I’ve observed my children and the effects of music on them since they were small infants.  Children move to the flow of the music.  Music moves people, no pun intended. Numerous articles of research I found during this study suggested, “Music is the pathway to the soul.”  Wow, it behooves us to be watchful of what we listen to.

God knew exactly what He was doing when He created music.  He created the Hebrew Aleph Bet and attached over 70 layers to each letter.  One of those layers is a musical note attached to each letter.  The Word of God can literally be played on a musical instrument.  This is why David could play his harp for King Saul and the evil spirit that was tormenting him would flee.  More teachings on the Hebrew language can be found at www.faithman.org.   I’ve learned every minute I spend researching the Hebrew language is valuable time spent.

Over the past several weeks I’ve thought about sentences and how taking one word out changes the whole message.  For example, the sentence, “I love you.”  Remove “you” and we are left with, “I love.”   I love what?  Pizza?  My car?  My dog?  One word missing out of that sentence makes the sentence incomplete.  Every word is critical.  Every word we speak, meditate on or sing is critical.

We carry the power of life and death in our mouth.  One of my pastors, Dr. Larry Ollison, says it like this, “Your life and your death are in the power of your tongue.”  Since every word is critical, I believe we are to make every word count towards life, healing and wholeness for ourselves and everyone who comes into contact with us.  Blessings and curses are set before us, we must choose life!

On another note, (grin) clapping for the worship team during worship service after every song may be a nice gesture toward the worship team; however, worship service is not a show.  Worship is worship.

If you are on a worship team, please consider this.  Leading worship takes practice and preparation not only experience and/or education.  Since every note and every word is critical, is it critical for you to fully practice and prepare yourself to bring forth everything God has called you to bring forth in every worship service.  Not one note is insignificant.  Every note you play and every word you say in each and every service has the ability to set people free and change lives forever, through Christ Jesus!

Worship is a powerful tool!  Live a life of worship in everything you think, say and do!  Always have His praise on your lips!  “Worship the LORD your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. (Exodus 23:25)  This is a powerful promise!  Believe it and walk in it!  Be a true worshiper worshiping Him in spirit and in truth!  He is seeking you!