FEBRUARY

Do you want to play "let's pretend" with me?
We can pretend that we all live down South
and that Spring is really on it's way!
Thank you, Lord!

Spring!
Spring!
It's a wonderful thing!
It makes you laugh!
It makes you sing!

It's coming!
It really is!
Hang on folks!
Winter is almost over!

Sin Has No Power Over You!

Once I heard a young child pray, "Lord, you are so much more powerful than sin!" I've been thinking about that simple yet profound truth ever since.
How real it has become to me!
I don't have to be afraid of sin!
God can handle it.
It's not my job- it's His!

This morning while reading the scriptures, I came across the following:
" and in nothing be terrified by your adversaries."

I don't know about you but the only adversaries I'm facing right now are spiritual ones. They are invisible yet they threaten to steal all manner of spiritual blessings away from me. But in the same book of Philippians, God gives us this assurance:

" that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

He will finish the work He began in us! He died to save us from sin;
to save us for a life victorious and full of His power and glory!

Please don't grow weary .
If there is a sin that you think threatens to entangle you
or make you stumble, don't give up! Look to Him!

"Reckon yourselves dead indeed to sin.”

"Sin shall not have dominion over you.”

These are His promises and He is faithful.

Death And Resurrection

That we may know Him in His death and resurrection

And He said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:24-25)

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. (Gal. 6:14)

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Col. 2:20)

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)

Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. (Col. 2:12)

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not the things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Col. 3:1-3)

It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: (II Tim. 2:11)

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Rom. 6:1-14)

Being then made free from sin ye became the servants of righteousness. (Rom. 6:18)

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Rom.6:22)

Amen!

Victory In Jesus

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Pt. 5:8)

~ But ~

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song, He also is become my salvation. (Is. 12:2)

~ And ~

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say DESTROY THEM! (Duet. 33:27)

~ So ~

Be strong and of good courage... (Duet. 31:6)

Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Duet.20:3b-4)

~ Now ~

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb. 4:16)

~ And ~

Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies. (Ps. 60:12)

~ So ~

...be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph. 6:10-12)

And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power. (Col. 2:10)

And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it. (Col. 2:15)

~ Therefore ~

...we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. (Rom. 8:37)

~ And ~

...greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. (1 Jn. 4:4b)

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness: and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking up the Sheild of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Eph. 6:13-17)

~ So ~

...let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Heb. 12:1)

...endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (2 Tim. 2:3)

Fight the good fight of faith, (1 Tim. 6:12a)

...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7b)

And no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; (Is. 54:17a)

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, ... (2 Cor. 2:14)

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38)

~ Therefore ~

If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31b)

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Cor. 15: 57)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Cor. 15:58)

Waiting Patiently

Have you discovered the secret to waiting patiently?
It's not something that I can teach you.
It's not something that can be taught to you by flesh and blood.
Only the Lord can teach you to wait patiently.
But it is possible.
It's a patience that comes through Him-
a patience that is the fruit of His Spirit.
Do you have a desire to wait patiently?
Well, there's your clue.
He gives us the desires of our heart but it generally takes time.
It takes waiting. ~Smile~
It takes a realization that patience is the fruit of Him, not effort.
Just let go and let patience have her perfect work.

Does This Fit?

I'm so excited!
I've finally found the secret to fitting in!
Well ,I can't really say that I found it...
It was revealed to me.
It was experienced and then learned from.
The secret to fitting in- is love!
Everyone likes love and wants love to be around.
I know, you're thinking about her or him
but no matter what they say or do,
they really do want and need God's love.
They do!
Don't you?
God's love fits in everywhere and can take on so many forms.
It may be a word or deed or just a smile.
It may be just the presence of His Spirit.
Of course, you have to forget about yourself for this love to "work".
You have to give yourself over to the love of God.
You have to put all agendas aside.
But I promise, it will be okay.
You won't be left hurt or dissatisfied IF you're in God's love.
People might go through the motions of rejecting you
but you won't care-
because you love them!
It's great!
You won't worry about the outcome of loving
because love prefers others above Himself.
And guess what? You won't even care about fitting in anymore!

The Heathen Hippy Child - Part 3

This is the third installment of my own little biography.

For parts one and two, please see my Jan. and Dec. blog entries.


The Teen Age Years

My childhood years quickly and violently crashed into my teen age years. Even though I had determined that I would not enter into the same drug world as my siblings had, anger toward life helped usher me into it anyway. We've all heard those type of stories so I need not elaborate. Instead I'll try to focus on the spiritual impressions I had through my teen years.

When I was 12, my brother began seeing a girl who had been raised by Christian parents. My brother eventually married the girl and she planted many seeds of light in my life. I think she was the only person who had ever really showed me any love and that made a huge impression on me! Dear readers, never underestimate the power of love! I remember one time I ended up on her door step crying in the middle of the night and and she held me and told me that Jesus loved me and that I needed Him. She also was the person who eventually introduced me to my future husband, who also made a big spiritual impression upon my life.

Fast forward to age 16: My mom and I had watched the movie, Jesus Of Nazareth, on TV. When it was over, I looked at my mom and said, “I don’t get it.” “What do you mean?” she asked. “Well,” said I, “did He die or didn’t He?!” “Good grief, Holly!” My mother exclaimed. “Don’t you know that’s what Christianity is all about? Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead!” "Oh" (Shrug) How was I supposed to know? I had heard "Jesus loves you." I think I had even heard that Jesus died for my sins. But I didn’t have a clue what that meant. Well, now I had heard that Christians believed that Jesus was really alive and not dead on a cross. Oh... Okay. It didn't mean much to me at the time but I think the knowledge of the resurection really set my spiritual longing in gear.

From about age 16 to 18, I really felt the Lord calling me. I didn't really know what that meant but I thought it might mean that I would “have” to be a Christian. In my mind, being a Christian meant quitting my party life style that I had already unsuccessfully tried to quit, so as you can imagine, I felt pretty hopeless! I was already living in hopelessness, fear, hatred, darkness, anger, lust- Yuk! What misery! I was a thief, a liar, a drunkard, a drug dealer and a very promiscuous young woman. I often was homeless, in bad relationships and barely eating enough to stay alive. I would walk the streets at all hours of the night- drunk, stoned and crying. I knew that there had to be a better way to live and more than anything, I longed for someone to really love me!

Decisions

The closer I came to adulthood, the more I looked seriously at the meaning of life. I found the topic of UfOs and world religions interesting but I remember telling a friend, “I believe in Adam and eve and Jesus and all that stuff." This tiny shimmer of belief kept me from going down the path of witch craft and other religions which were offered to me on every hand. For my 16th birthday, my brother had given me some kind of Eastern Religious book because he was so concerned with the way I was living. I clearly remember that I knew that book wasn’t the answer I was looking for. Somehow, I knew that Jesus was the Truth. How that all pertained to me or what that could mean for me, was not clear.

Many of my friends were trying to figure out what they were going to “do with their lives”. The pressure was on to decide, so I was trying to decide too. I was faced with few choices but here they are.

#1. Join the Peace Corps

#2. Join the Armed forces

#3 Move to California and work on a marijuana plantation.


(Don't laugh)


(Well, okay, you can laugh.)

None of these choices were too appealing to me but I was barely scraping by on the wages of a ski resort maid so I felt like I had to DO something. Little did I know what huge changes were ahead of me!

To be continued...

Hope!

Hope!


There just has to be hope!
If we look around us with the eyes of the Spirit, we will see it!
When we enter into the presence of the Lord, we will feel it!
It might be small, like my little friend above,
but it is there, waiting under the surface!
Patiently it is waiting to burst forth into a strong hope to impart a clear joy.
Don't give up on hope!

Fallen In Battle

~ Stand up, stand up for Jesus

You soldiers of the cross! ~

Hello Comrades!
Have you taken a hit and fallen in battle? Many hits you say?
Beloved, think it not strange.... Have you fallen in battle and can't get up?
Are you lying helplessly on the ground of failure and defeat?
Please don't stay down. You can get up!
Look not to your own strength but the strength of the Master.
Don't listen to lies that tell you that you are an exception;

lies that say that you can't walk or stand,

or that you will always be the fallen one.

God is not against you. He is on your side! He is the reason we live!

Just as Jesus raised the cripple, He can raise you also.

I pray that you will be raised with belief.
It is God's will that you stand.
He can heal your battle wounds and you can be

all the wiser to the schemes of our enemies.
Don't give up the fight.

*His mercies are new every morning!

He Still Loves You

Has someone told you that you're not good enough?
Has someone told you that God is disapointed in you?
If so, please read the words to this song and take them to your heart!


He Still Loves You
By Don Fransisco



When the world outside has been closing in around you
And the way from there is more than you can see
When the day’s been more than you’ve had strength to handle
When a man is more than you know how to be

He still loves you
He’s just waiting
For your struggles and your strategies to end
He’s been beside you Every long and weary mile
If you’ll just let Him lead the way He’ll be your friend

When the ones you love are trapped in lies and sorrows
And you just can’t lift the weight that holds them there
When your friends are gone and left you empty handed
And loneliness is just too much to bear

He still loves you
He’s just waiting
For your struggles and your strategies to end
He’s been beside you
Every long and weary mile
If you’ll just let Him lead the way He’ll be your friend

When at last you’re tired of trying to be a Christian
And you’ve seen the end of all that you can do
When you realize how little you are worth without Him
He’ll still be reaching out with love to you.

He still loves you
He’s just waiting
For your struggles and your strategies to end
He’s been beside you
Every long and weary mile
If you’ll just let Him lead the way He’ll be your friend
Cause God never ends

JANUARY

Hello, January!

Rejoice!
The LIGHT of Christ
Has come into the world!

We will rejoice in Him and be glad!
We will extol His love more than wine!

Hello, readers!

Are you ready to walk in the light of His presence? Do you want to dwell in the light of his love? Are you longing to be filled with His Spirit and His power so you can rise above the muddy places instead of wallow in them?

Rejoice in the Lord, oh my soul!

Rejoice in the Lord, oh my soul!

In the presence of the Lord There is joy forever more!

Rejoice! Rejoice! In the Lord, oh my soul!

Just Relax

Just relax.
Sit down,
rest your mind and body
and just relax.
It's okay!
The world will not stop turning if you do.
God is in control.
Worrying will not change a single thing except your peace of mind.
Just relax.

Faith To Move Mountains

Faith.

Mountains.

Faith to move mountains.

I've learned a lot about faith in the last couple years.

I've learned that I can't manufacture it.

I've also learned that I don't have to be afraid of doubt.

I don't have to pretend to have faith.

I don't have pretend to believe.

Instead, I get to hide under the shelter of His wing and tell Him all about those big ole mountains; those that look like they are going to fall on me and smash me to smithereens!

His faith can take care of it.

His faith can move mountains!

I can just rest in His love and trust him to move in with His faith!

You can do that, too.

It's easier than we think.

We've made it too hard!

Rest in His faith.

He has plenty of it!

Refreshed!

I feel like some refreshment.
How about you?

A brother of ours once said the following:


Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

Do you have His presence? There's nothing more refreshing than the breath of His presence! Have you ever danced in the rain after a draught? That's what comes to my mind when I read that portion of scripture...

Our Lord! Our risen and ascended Lord desires to return unto you this day with His presence! He desires for you to return unto Him!

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

LOVE

Love...

Everywhere I go,
Everywhere I turn
I see it and I hear it.
It pops up like toast in between the lines of scripture.
Love? There?
Yes, my child, even there.
It peeks around the corner where its been hidding,
smiling and laughing at me!
Love! Ha! I see you!!!
And off I go... chasing it, catching it,
and tumbling to the earth where He can make it real.
Why didn't I see it before?
Love.
What else could possibly matter?

The Heathen Hippy Child- Part 2

This is part 2 of my story about the Heathen Hippy Child. To read part one, please see my entry on the December blog.

Real People?

The people at my public school and my mother were the only people I knew who were not hippies. My older brothers and my sister were smack dab in the middle of the hippy revolution and our home was the hang out and crash pad for all the hippies in our area. We lived in an abandoned ghost town and my siblings would host huge parties that lasted for days where drugs, sex and rock and roll abounded. It was not the healthiest environment for a child to grow up in but they were my people and I loved them all. The hippies were looking for something beyond the American dream. Many of them were just looking for a good time but others were looking for something real.

One of my childhood aspirations was to be the coolest little hippy child alive! I dressed like a little hippy and even wore a head band while at home although my mother would not let me wear one to school. So to me, "real" people were hippies. There was no putting on of airs, no pretending to be something they were not.
A Sunday school bus once carried me off to Sunday school at around age 8. In the class, we were supposed to glue the heads of different Bible "characters" on the right bodies. One of them was John the baptist who was beheaded... (Holly is puzzled) I Didn't know any Bible characters and I didn't like school and I never went back! ~ Sigh~

I don't remember any sermons or seeing the pages of a Bible or hearing scripture quoted at that church. That's not to say that it wasn't, I just don't recall. One event I clearly remember about that place is looking at a new family that had been asked to stand, turn and greet the congregation and I thought, “Eeew! Plastic people!” The family was all dressed up and clean and had smiles on their faces and to me- they were not real people. It makes me aware to this day how I now look to others.

The Jesus People

As the hippy movement continued to grow a revival burst forth. The hippies discovered Jesus! Around age 10 or 11, I had a friend who attended gatherings called Jesus People Meetings. She was very excited and started carrying her Bible to school and she wanted me to go to one of the meetings with her, but my mom said, “No way.” I heard that these people were praying for one of my brothers and that they were reaching out to him... As far as I can recall this is my first memory of a little black book called a Bible, but I have no memories of what it may have contained. Maybe my friend read it to me, but I don't remember.

With this same friend, I did go to a Christian crusade put on by a famous American evangelist. Young people were going forward and putting their drugs on a heap and I wondered what power that man had to make them do that and I really wondered what they were gonna do with all that stuff! Then I remember crying and many other people were crying, too. I wonder if that man urged me to made a “decision” that night but I just don’t remember it? Again, I don't recall any scriptures being read but surely they must have been.

I also had a class mate who was obviously influenced by the Jesus movement- a boy who was called "Bible Boy" because he brought his Bible to school. He evidently wanted to help me and gave me a paper that was supposed to be a letter from Jesus. It talked about how much Jesus loved me and how He sent the breeze my way, made the flowers for me, etc. That letter must have made some type of impression on me but I forgot all about that paper until I read that same writing on the Internet just a few years ago.

All these child hood occurrences left a mark with me and to this day it makes me mindful of what impressions I might be leaving in the lives of others that I come in contact with. It was these impressions and witnesses that helped prepare the ground for the rocky years ahead- the teen age years...

To be continued...

The Body

The body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.



And if the ear should say, "If I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.



If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?



But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.



And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. (1 Cor. 12: 14-20)



What part of the body are you?

Do you know?

If you don't know, It doesn't matter-

you are still a part of the body.

As you yeild to the Spirit of God-

He will flow through you and use you and make it clear in His time.



There is one part of the body that has been glorified by man.

That member is the mouth.

The mouth has been elevated by man above the other members.

An honest preacher will admit that- usually on a Monday morning.

A body with only a mouth- and nothing else is a body that is not fully functioning. We are all members. Even when we are weak, struggling and yes even failing, we are still useful members of the body.

We all have gifts! Let's use them!

The Choice Is Ours

Do you ever have to learn the same lesson all over again?
I do. Did you wake up feeling happy today? I didn't.
I often wake up feeling joyful.
But then there are some mornings that... well... I just don't!
I wake up grumpy, tired and blue!
I don't want to get up and I cringe from the day ahead.
THAT"S when it's time to make a decision...
Okay, do I WANT to be grumpy?
Do I WANT to greet my family with a frown?
Do I WANT my gloominess to drip all over them?

And now I will ask you the same question-
Do you WANT to be down today?
Do you want to be cheerful and full of life?
Well, if you want to be- you can be.
We have no control over some things.
But how we respond to life, *is* in our control.
We have a choice.

But how do you get up out of the pit of gloominess if you find yourself there?
Begin with thanksgiving.
Did you get only 4 hours sleep last night?
Thank God for it.
It could have been worse!
You could have had only 2 hours sleep,
or worse yet, no sleep at all!
You could have been tortured all night in a prison camp.

Do you have lots of people waiting to be served by you today? Thank God for it.
You could be truly alone right now.
You could be laboring away in a prison camp.
Or you could be homeless on the streets of India.

Victory and joy- It so often begins with thanksgiving.
Thank God for a while this morning.
Thank him for everything you can think of and then start humming.
Soon, a song should come to your lips and a smile to that old grumpy face
and you'll feel yourself lifted up on the wings of praise.
Then you can truly minister to the Lord and any others you come across today.
We have a choice in how we respond to the difficulties of life AND the mundane things of life.
We don't have to have a bad day.
The choice is ours.

Let's Fellowship

Let’s fellowship!
We hear of joining fellowships or being a part of a fellowship. We hear of fellowship times and getting together for fellowship. But just what is fellowship anyway?

My definition of fellowship is a sharing of Christ with one another.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1Jo 1:3)

When I talk to another believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, I want there to be an exchange that takes place; a sharing of the Lord and an exchange of our spiritual gifts that come from Him. I want to know- what is the Lord doing in you? How are you being conformed unto His image? What are you learning? Has the Spirit shown you things to come? May I comfort you through the things I have suffered?

I long deeply for your fellowship! The reason I am writing this is because I feel compelled to share with you what the Lord has given me. And this, to me is fellowship. Ever since my beginning in Christ, I have longed deeply to share Him with others but also to have others share Him with me! I need what you have! I want what you have! We need each other. This is the body of Christ.


I believe true fellowship is missing in many of our lives. We’ve heard “good sermons” or done good works but so many are shy when it comes to fellowship.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ~ (1Jo 1:7)

What if we openly shared our hearts and lives with every disciple we met and they did the same with us? What if it didn’t matter where we were or if we were a part of their group or not? What if you fellowshipped with me and I with you and together we fellowshipped with my neighbor? Oh! My heart beats within me to see this happen for God’s people. Indeed, to see it happen for God! To see it happen for the world! No walls! No guards up! No suspicions! An openness of heart and a sharing of spiritual gifts. I don’t want to see us hide Christ in us or keep Him “personal” anymore.

If you feel yourself holding back from sharing Christ freely with other believers, ask the Lord why that is. We need you!

DECEMBER

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by!
Because of my namesake, I'm a bit partial to Holly bushes- even if some of them are prickly!
The walk that I try to take every day leads me to a Holly Tree farm! We discovered it last December.
It was a precious gift from my Lord and I thought it was pretty sweet of Him!
He loves me!
I've really been FEELING Him love me lately.
I feel very cherished and precious to Him.
~ Heart~
Ya know what? He loves you, too!
He does! Whether you FEEL it or not-
whether I FEEL it or not-
IT IS TRUE!
~~~~~~~~~~


Well, I wanted to remind everybody that I am updating the blog more frequently now so be sure and pop in over the holidays!
I welcome correspondence and will write back to anyone who leaves a comment -if you so desire. So, if you want to talk or just want to say, "hi" please feel free to leave a comment that only I will see.

This month will begin a series of installments about my journey in this life. In reading it I hope you will see the wonder of the love -who God is.

love,
Holly