One and a Possible? Don't Just Go Board...Keep Dreaming!

Psalms 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

U have heard the saying "favor ain't fair". Well I say it's fair for those who Love the Lord our God. Favor is better than money.  Favor opens the doors we didn't even know was closed! You may do the work, but FAVOR establishes the work of our hands!  

It's like playing spades with Jesus as your partner!  Lets picture this hand. U have no spades!  U have a couple of possibles at best. U know u can't do anything but go Board and u still may get set with this hand!  But then Jesus speaks up (interceding on ur behalf) and says we r going 10for2!  U r like what???? Jesus what u mean??? Do u know what I have in my hand!?!?  Jesus is like "just play ur hand. We got this." 

So u r making moves. U r trusting him and when the opponents start to play that Ace of heart that just beat out that queen u had, ur one possible dream in ur hand BAM Jesus is cutting that mess up with a spade. Now that's ur book. Ur dream again!  Finally here is the good news. U r down to ur last cards and u don't know how u r going to make it. U trust Jesus and he shows u he also has BOTH JOKERS in his hand. They can't do anything to u without him being the one who is playing it!  Whew!  I could shout right here!  U thought u were set...u thought u would renig but u just played ur hand and THE MASTER OF THE SEAS established the work of ur hands by playing his in concert with urs. Beating the odds all the while. MY GOD THAT'S GOOD NEWS!!!

That's what I heard!  Hope u r encouraged by it!  

Be blessed today. Smooches!! Mrs Barton. 

Can U Hear Me Now? Ring, Ring

1 Samuel 3:7-10 says.....Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Many of us when using a cell phone have learned the skill of “selective answering.”  Our cell phones ring; we look at who is calling, and in an instant decide whether or not we are going to answer. Send an auto text back or just DECLINE. It is “selective answering.”

Unfortunately, too often we do something similar when it comes to the Lord’s communication with us. We use “selective listening.” When we read what God has to say in the Bible we think, “Go ahead and speak, Lord. I will think about what you have to said to me.   We read the word, we hear the word, and because it's just like God he will even send a confirmation! That's his way of saying CAN U HEAR ME NOW?

If it is a hard word, we may act like we didn't hear the phone...it was on silent.  If it's a word of correction we act like it's just voicemail we left unanswered. When however it's a promise or a blessing, we r at full attention and even have a special ringtone for it so we don't miss that call. Lol.

Samuel did not yet know the Lord.  So listening is not a skill for a seasoned saint. We just have to quit our stalling tactics and clean outur voicemail and start returning calls!  Get to know all his ringtones so when that blessing call comes...u will be there to take the call!

That's what I heard! Be encouraged today!  I hear your phone ringing! 😉😉😉

Don't be Pro @ Procrastination

Don't be Pro @ Procrastination

John 15:2. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Last night the word from Bishop Woodson let me know God has lead us to some dry places in the past to cause us to GET IT and move. Get it and produce fruit anyway. It's time. I have been prophesied to about it. I have had several confirmations. Now it's on me to produce fruit.

U ever notice how the 80-20 rule keeps going alive and well?  20% of the people doing 80% of the work and visa versa?  That's because those who are always churning out fruit at home, at work, at church etc r being pruned to be even more fruitful. Procrastination sets in around that dry bones area sometimes because we r BUSY in areas we r not actually being fruitful in. Some may think they need to be perfect to be fruitful. U just need to be available to be fruitful. If u avail yourself u can be fruitful in your relationships, in your job, in the marketplace, or in ministry....wherever THAT area is.

Let us stop waiting for the conditions to be just right. Let's stop giving excuses why we woulda shoulda coulda and just DO IT. When we move God will move. I'm moving out this year in several areas that have some unknowns. I believe God is going to back me up!  He is the reason afterall...all of it is for his glory!

Oh and if you're already just doing a lot of things right now, this is not encouraging you to do more necessarily. It is encouraging you to cut those things off that are not producing fruit and do the things that will even if u don't see anything but bones. Time is of the essence.

That's what I heard!  Be blessed and be fruitful!  Just do it!

Anxious for What?

Don't u love the Message Bible?  When I really want the word to knock me out, I love this translation. It is always said in a manner just like I would say it. When u buy something and it is not working like it should u consult the manufacturer. The Lord didn't make us to be defeated by anxious thoughts and circumstances. He created conqueror's so let's consult the manufacturer and see how we should handle this.

Philippians 4:6-9The Message (MSG)

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Dear Lord, sometimes ur word just sums it all up. I pray for my sisters and brothers who have anxiety about this that or the other. U will trade our worry for your peace. U will trade our sorrow for joy. U have turned my sadness to gladness before. U made a way in the past and u r more than able to do it again. We trust you to perform ur word in our lives. In Jesus Name.  Amen!!!!

That's what I heard!  Be blessed this morning.

A Cure for the Blahs

January 23, 2017

In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psa 118:5-6 NIV)

Ever have a blah feeling day?  Did u ever just have a lot on ur mind? Ever know oh ok, I am in my feelings. U have had that kind of day right?  When u need to only be around ur real friends because u about to just act salty for no reason???  Ur first day backs o work after inauguration and u want to just vent at work?  If this is u, i get it!  I feel u!  I have a word to encourage you because I HEARD the Lord say I got u and u r not the only one going through. So the word is Psalms 118 where David is literally running for his life. Saul was literally trying to kill him. He has reason to feel anguish. But in his anguish he cried out to the Lord whom he knew and loved and was comforted.

Well no one is literally stalking u and trying to snuff u out. But there is an adversary in the spirit that wants us to be downcast and anxious. But I serve a God who when I cry out in this state sends a comforting word and settles me to know I am free indeed. He is Emmanuel. The Lord with us. No man. No situation. No fake political news. No Patriots getting the Super Bowl again (tee hee hee). No anguish he cannot heal. he is the Lord and he never fails!

That's what I heard. It helped me. Hope it encouraged u.

Who R U Mentoring 2017

January 21, 2017

Who RU Mentoring?

Paul spelled out mentoring as his leadership model very simply. “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” (I Cor. 11:1) “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice.” (Phil. 4:9) In other words, “let me mentor you. Let me be your role model.”  Don’t worry this is not an appeal for Project Gradation to be a mentor…it is an appeal for you to recognize that as a Christian, you are already a mentor.  You are modeling behavior.  In our last couple of posts I have been talking about one anothering and its importance.  One aspect of that are the relationships that we have where we are the mentor and where we are the mentee. I will talk about being the mentee tomorrow, but in being the mentor, we have to know that we are sometimes the only light in a dark situation.  We are mentoring all day when we have newer Christians around or those who do not yet believe.  What are we showing and telling with our lives?

Now that we have a new president I WILL NOT do like some of them did our president with blatant disrespect. Disagree with his decisions and basic thinking but don't attack him publicly and in the same breath expect someone to respect ur authority in whatever role u have. We got four years to do our part to make and take a stand for what is right. Again don't run him down, run ur plan to do better UP. Let us Vote. Let us Volunteer. Let us Do. Less talk more DOING. And in the doing, model that.

In the bible, not only Jesus and the apostles, but elders as well do their work by mentoring. Peter charged, “be examples to the flock.” (I Pet. 5:4) And Paul explains to the elders at Ephesus, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you”(Acts 20:17).  So that charge comes back to us today to make sure we are not being weak modeling for the weak.  If we are the one in the position to give direction, we can’t be all out on Tim-buck-two Highway trying to pull up MapQuest without a signal.  We should know enough to guide our way to the right road.

We are not perfect.  Mentees (the official and unofficial ones you don’t even know about that are watching you) just want to see how to grow when you don’t get it right.  What is your response when things don’t work out?  In your mentor moment, make sure your model home is a great likeness to the other houses in the neighborhood you talk about.

That’s what I heard!  Be encouraged today!

His Ways...Not my Way

“For I command you this day to love the LORD your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬
    So when I look at this scripture and the many similar scriptures in The Old Testament God was clear if u do what I have told u, then I will do what I have told u.  My great grandmother would call that "minding". If u would just mind what I say...  Another scripture says "Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”  Proverbs‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬
     The 21-day fast time period is this for me. I have my devotional life regularly in the mornings, but during the fast this is what happens for me.  Because I have stopped some things that cause distractions and focused my attention on the Lord....giving more time to him....that amounts to being intentional about seeking the Lord in all I do.  When I do that, living the standard becomes easier.  Focusing on his plan and not my plan becomes a little easier. Isaiah‬ ‭55:9‬ ‭NLT says "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”   Clearly a perfect blameless life is not the requirement because the only perfect man was Jesus but in these times of clarity of thought and narrowing of scope of my day I will say I am drawing closer.  I am so grateful for this time of me talking to him and him talking back to me.  That's when we look more and more like him.

Remember on Sesame Street back in the day when they would have the sketch of ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER....  There would be 4 things and one would clearly be different from the other three. Fasting for me is when God highlights those areas in my life that r least like him. Those areas I need to lean more toward his ways than my ways.  Those times when I was hearing from Dagne and not from God. It also causes me to be more fruitful in those areas that r bringing him glory.  Yes Dagne you do have time to work on this today...it's gonna bring me glory. Yes Dagne that idea was on point I gave u to call that person, it's gonna bring me glory.  Yes Dagne since u trusted me with ur tithes, I am gonna make this budget stretch like it needs to.  So God I thank u for YOUR WAYS and how u r calling us closer and closer to u day after day!  Be encouraged today and be an encouragement to someone else! That's what I heard!
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