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Women Of The Word

The past 3 months have been a whirlwind, a blurry-glorious haze of travel, ministry, exploration, friendships birthed, miracles, and transformation. As I sit in the London-Heathrow airport all seems to come to a screeching halt. I look back over my time spent in England and know that it is only the beginning of a life-altering season.

You see, in March I began to systematically “shut down” and “tie up loose ends” here in America as our family prepared for a journey like no other. Honestly, I could write a book on all the adventures we have had, and the mighty things God has done… and knowing me, I probably will. So we packed up the two kids along with my preacher-man hubs and traversed through air and land to arrive at our final destination. While there, it was non-stop… “Go, Go, Go” as a dear woman said while praying over us before we left. “Your feet will hit the ground running and the glory of God will spread wherever you are”… and this was truly the case.

Yet, one day while cooking some home-made chili in the lovely kitchen, nestled cozily in the English countryside. A thought dropped into my spirit… splash!

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” Proverbs 31:25 (NLT)

Who is this woman?

This Proverbs 31 Woman, that everyone who has ever gone to Church, Bible College, Sunday School, Small Group, Cell Group, “Doing-Life” Group or any other kinda group has somewhat idolized, visualizing as a woman they should aspire to become and for the men- someone he should marry.

But who is she, really?

Put the measuring stick away, ladies. Pull down the lofty dreams that are just out of reach and if only you could do this or that, you’d be her. No. You ARE her! You are the one God has created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1). You have been uniquely, hand-crafted by the Father with specific gifts, abilities and a purpose. You are valuable, irreplaceable, and glorious. You are a Woman of the Word!

Join me over the next 12 weeks, as I will be sharing from my heart and have asked other mighty women to share on the topics of; marriage, life, vision, prophetic destiny, worship, testimony and so much more. This month celebrate with me the third year of Diary Of A Preacher’s Wife, as I choose to celebrate you! Look for a new article each Wednesday from various authors, and click the follow button to the right of the screen to get the latest post emailed directly to you.

Use #WomenOfTheWord or #WOW on your social media to share your own stories and testimonies!

With Love,

Singles, Sex & Soul Ties

I’m sitting here, nestled snugly in the coziest living room ever, with the backdrop of the glorious English countryside in view. Our family has been here since the beginning of April and we are now entering June… Day 62, to be exact. Last weekend I shared my heart on Marriage with a wonderful group here…

Days before this, I shared on all things “pre-wedding” or “pre-marriage”… Well, not all things exactly, but a few things I wish I had known in my single days, some nine-odd years ago. It goes like this;

Dear Singles,

Please PURSUE PURPOSE, you are an amazing individual with unique qualities that can only be attributed to you. So be you. Find out what you were created for. What is the destiny God has for you? Right now is such a distinct time to cultivate your relationship with Jesus. It is a time where you can search your own heart and find out who you truly are in God and what he has made you passionate about.

Psalm 37:4 in the Amplified Bible says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.”

Another way to look at that verse is that it’s God who put the desires in your heart to begin with. So when you are walking as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), those desires are sanctified and from Him and therefore He will grant them.

God wants you to know and understand the blueprint he has for your individual life. He wants you to walk in the strategic implementation of His specific design for your life. Think about it, as an un-married or single person, you have the most “alone time” you will ever have! There is no other time in your life when you will only be responsible for yourself, aside from right now. Eventually you will find Mr. Right or Miss Right and become married, then have children, maybe a dog or a goldfish… who knows what else. No longer will you have the quantity of alone time as you have now. So use it to your advantage and discover who you truly are!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand-” Psalm 139:13-18 (KJV)

This passage of scripture, especially verse 16, clearly shows that each person has a destiny, a divine purpose… and it is essential to discover this before entering a covenant relationship in marriage.

Psalm 37:23 in the New Living Translation says, “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” or the translation we may be more familiar with is … The steps of a RIGHTEOUS man are ordered of the Lord. The Amplified Bible reads… “The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].”

That scripture in an important reminder that God’s got your back! He’s into the details and so should you be. Especially, that tiny detail of~ who you date. Which leads me to my next point… BE INTENTIONAL.

Be intentional in the relationships you start and cultivate. You don’t want to start flippant relationships out of loneliness or your desire to be loved. You must come to a place in your life where you are complete in God, I didn’t say perfect, I said complete. This is often hard, as we have all been created with a desire to love, have fellowship and create a bond with someone. Remember, this isn’t a waiting game. You are not “less than” or “half of a person” who is just waiting around for Mr. Right or Mrs. Right to show up and until that moment you’ll just kind of make it by in life. No way!! Like we mentioned before, God states in his Word, the steps of the Righteous are ordered by the Lord… as you walk out the clear purposes and intentions He has mapped out for you, the spouse he has intended will come along side in a parallel path. It’s not like a fork in the road, but rather like an on-ramp to the highway. There’s no change of direction or slowing in speed, if anything, there is acceleration when the unity begins and you join in stride with one another.

Maybe at this point in your life, you have your purpose figured out or some sort of direction on your destiny and feel ready for your soul-mate. You know it’s your time for marriage and pursuing a covenant relationship. Let me remind you, not everyone that comes along is the right one. They may look like it, may act like it, and their family may even like you… but if you have a check on the inside or sense some red-flags, as they say, then you need to follow the Holy Spirit. He is trying to send out a warning signal! Like blinking lights saying, please proceed with caution…

Don’t try to fulfill those godly desires for a marriage relationship pre-maturely, it will only end in heart break and soul-ties that will need to be dealt with. Which leads me to exactly that, because if you are anything like me… you have had one or two relationships before you met the one that really makes your heart skip a beat. So what do you do if you’ve been there and how do you walk in freedom now?

First, let’s talk about what a Soul Tie is! A soul tie is a linkage or link between two individuals with either positive or negative benefits. It is in both the soul realm which consists of our MIND, WILL and EMOTIONS and the spiritual realm. When in the context of a healthy marriage, a soul tie brings the benefits of unity and oneness; the art of agreement. However, soul ties that exist from “un-holy” or “un-sanctified” relationships will lead to demonic perversion or a twist to what a true relationship is.

A few ways these unhealthy soul ties can form are:

Abusive relationships (physically, sexually, emotionally, verbally)
Controlling dating relationships and even friendships
Adulterous affairs
Sex before marriage
Obsessive entanglements with a person (giving them more authority in your life than you give to God)

Often times, if a person has had many past dating relationships they will find it hard to connect in a trusting godly relationship until the soul ties are broken. The most common reference to soul ties is related to sex before marriage. Microchimerism, in the scientific world, is known as when a woman carries the DNA belonging to a man or the presence of a Y chromosome is detected in the woman. The DNA can exist inside a woman’s cells for decades! A woman will absorb and carry living DNA from every man that she has unprotected sex with. That is insane to think about! This is why it is so important to protect your purity, ladies, and remember that you are worth waiting for. There is honor in your virginity and purity. Not only spiritually, but physically as well. If you are having sex with someone outside of marriage, you are entering into a covenant with them whether you know it our not. Your Spirit, Soul and Body are all involved in this beautiful act of love and it should be reserved for the Marriage bed. Song of Solomon 8:4 declares, “Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right.”

Yet, soul ties are not limited to sexual relationships, but can also be between two close friends. For Example, do you know someone in your life that you constantly feel the need to tell everything to? Yet afterward you feel a strange guilt or unhealthy weight, instead of feeling lighter… you almost ask yourself, why did i just tell them this? Those are unhealthy soul ties used for control and manipulation.

Soul ties can also be formed by any agreement, vow, contract or covenant made between two individuals. The main example being marriage, as you are literally making a vow during the ceremony. (Ephesians 5:31) So if you have discovered that you have soul ties that need to be broken off of you, how do you break them?

First step is recognizing they are there. Once you recognize the soul ties in your own life, you now have the authority by Christ Jesus to break them. First, repent of any sins that may have caused the soul tie to be created in the first place. (Acts 3:19) Apply the blood of Jesus to that situation. Just like a paint brush, picture that person or situation and paint right over it with the blood of the Lamb! Next, throw away or rid yourselves of anything symbolic of that relationship that is now cut off. Severe it at it’s root! I personally burned up anything from my past relationships or anything linking me to an unhealthy friendship that had a soul tie. That may seem extreme, but when you take your covenant with God serious… there is no measure that is ‘too great’ to take to be free!

After repentance, verbally renounce and break the soul ties that were created. Do it out loud so your own ears can hear what you are saying. In Jesus name, severe all the ties by the authority Christ has given you. Then take that step to walk out forgiveness. Forgiveness is the key to your freedom! If you don’t learn to forgive yourself first you will not be able to forgive the other person and walk in complete Freedom.

Who the Son sets free, is free indeed! “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17 NLT)

Keys For Heavenly Marriage

Below is a post I was honored to share on Kelsey & Kendell’s blog (www.theradiantlifeblog.com) a few weeks ago about something so near and dear to my heart… Marriage! If you haven’t seen their site, I encourage you to follow them and I know you will find their posts encouraging. I simply wanted to re-share what I had to say, here. Enjoy!

I spent the better half of my teenage years reading things like, I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris and Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot along with several other Christian “marriage-prep” books (try to find that section in Barnes & Nobles). Which helped a ton, and I am a firm believer of reading these types of books as they will bring you insight, however they don’t totally prepare you for the major changes about to happen!

I married Charlie, my amazing preacher-man hubs, shortly after graduating from the Bible College we met at. This year I will be celebrating ten years of marriage and thirteen years of glorious friendship. I always like to point out the friendship key, especially for all the single ladies that are waiting for their Prince Charming to sweep them off their feet, he IS out there… and he is probably your best friend.

A few of the keys to unlocking true intimacy and creating a union so strong that no fiery tempest can abate it’s bond, are quite simple that you may have even overlooked them.

1. Friendship: As I mentioned before, my main-man was my friend first and from there it blossomed into an ever-growing love. Cultivate this! You should still be best friends, even after you’re married.

2. Communication: I would hi-lite the computer screen on this point, that’s how important it is. Ladies, if you don’t tell him, he is not going to know. Also, let go of the manipulation you may have inherited from your Mama (or your Auntie… we aren’t pointing any fingers here). I learned the hard way, early on in my marriage that if you want something, need something, whatever something, you go straight to your husband… don’t try to butter him up or coerce the situation. It may seem little, but in the long run you will lose respect for your husband because you have been slowly undermining his authority as the head of your home. Like in the bedrock of a stream, over time corrosion will take place in your marriage. Remember to deliberately choose honor which will then create and environment for him to love you as Christ loves the church.

Ephesians 5: 22-28 (MSG) says it so beautifully, “Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.”

3. Teamwork: You are now a united force, no longer two single units operating on parallel planes. You have become one and it’s your job to act like it. Protect your unity!

Last, I will leave you with my definition of what marriage is…

Marriage in its truest union is when you can look beyond yourself, past the fog of selfish desires, peering deep into another’s soul. Find the spark that ignites their destiny dreams and be the one who holds the match that creates the flame.

A New Chapter

Tomorrow I start a new chapter in life. A journey to an unfamiliar place… packing up my world for a few months and heading to the UK & Europe. Some of the countries we will be visiting are England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and France. What was only a dream is now reality and I’m gonna write all about it!!

I can’t wait to start this adventure with my hubs and 2 lovely kiddos. It hasn’t been easy, but there has been an ease to the planning and preparing for this special time. This is something I have learned over the past several years serving God, if HE is in it, there is an ease to it and there’s no striving involved. So I rest in Him, knowing that we can plan as much as we want, but when His hand is on it- there’s no need for mine.

Last April, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with Charlie to England for what was my first trip. Although he had been there several times before, this was the first time I felt it was imperative that I join him. I was there April 17- 22, 2014. On a Saturday afternoon, as we ministered in a place called Jacob’s Well I saw a vision during worship. What I saw was a great shaking in England and the blood of the martyrs (the revivalists and believers that have gone before us and laid down their lives for the Gospel) rising from the ground. As it rose, the rains from Heaven began to pour with the weight of God’s presence. Mid-air the droplets of blood and water collided, instantly transforming into golden drops. These liquid drops of golden glory fell back to the Earth, covering the ground- saturating the land. It was a declaration and confirmation that God’s glory was about to cover the Earth, but first a shaking was going to take place.

Later that evening when I returned to the hotel room, I had the image below with a news link on my Facebook page, asking if we were alright. Unbeknownst to me there had been a double earthquake in England during the time we were there! God was truly speaking about what would surely take place.

So as we embark on this journey over the next few months, we tuck deep into the folds of our heart the promises of God. Intercessors in both England and America have been praying and paving a way in the spirit for our family and team members who are going with us. Not only that, but there has been years of intercession over this land for another great awakening and revival of God’s presence. We are believing for just that and are honored to be a part of what God is already doing there.

On both March 21 & 22, 2015 well-known Prophet Kim Clement released a word from London, England. (click image for full word posted to www.kimclement.com) Here is a hi-light:

“Can Britain be great again is the question that has come before Me, says the Lord. Can I flame Europe once again with a flame of delight for My son? Yes is the answer…. Something is happening NOW and so as a prophet I pray and Lord I tear down the powers of hell and darkness that have come against this nation, against your people. So Father I pray present this to your people tomorrow and let Iran not stand and Lord let your people stand and let the blood of those that have been martyred cry out, Victory, to cry out of better things than that of Abel.“

It truly is an incredible time to walk out God’s perfectly ordained steps for our family…

Yet above all, let it be known that everything we do in life, we do it for Love. For God is Love.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

John 3:16-21