About ten months ago when our family was going through a particularly difficult trial, I was at our homeschool co-op one day and a friend came up to me saying that God had me on her heart all week, and she didn't know what was going on with me, but felt led to intercede for me. This is not someone I hang out with on a regular basis, but someone I admire greatly and I was touched that God would place me on her heart, because I know what a prayer warrior she is. We were sitting in the hallway of the church where our co-op meets and she said God had given her a scripture to pray over me, so she did right there in the hallway, inserting my name into this scripture from Zephaniah 3:
14Shout for joy, O daughter Jill! Shout in triumph, O Jill! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jill!
15 The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more.
16 In that day it will be said to Jill: "Do not be afraid, O Jill; Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 "I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts - They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.
19"Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth.
20 "At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the LORD.
As you can well imagine, this was an extremely powerful moment and I felt His presence there in that hallway. Well, as powerful as it was in the moment, as time went on, I'm sad to say I forgot about this occurrence.
However, last week as I was seeking God's promises for this new year, He brought it back to mind. I re-read the scripture and felt hope renewed. The friend who'd prayed it over me is not participating in co-op this year and I haven't had any interaction with her for about eight months, other than an occasional comment on a facebook post or something. On Sunday I was driving to church and stopped at the red light, preparing to turn right onto the main road that leads to our church, when there, driving past was my friend and her family in their large, hard-to-miss van! I thought this was interesting, since she'd just been on my mind when God reminded me of that scripture and the timing of it was just too coincidental.
But wait, there's more! I arrived at church early like I always do for some soaking time with my spiritual sister, Amy before family worship begins. As we prayed together, she said she felt like God wanted her to share a scripture with me. Care to guess which one it was???
Yes!!! Zephaniah 3:14-20!!! I mean, really! Who reads ZEPHANIAH?!?!!!
I was too overwhelmed to speak for a moment, but when I finally found my voice, I managed to squeak out, "He is such a pursuer! I mean He just LOVES me SO MUCH!!"
And so, at the beginning of this new year I am digging deeper into this gold mine, in which He has obviously hidden precious treasure meant just for me, His beloved daughter. I'd say that's a pretty good reason to shout for joy!
Please read posts titled "Multiplication Anointing" and "All Means All" before proceeding with this post. Go ahead, I'll wait! See on the right side of the page where it says "2012"? Click on that, then you'll see those titles. Go ahead, I promise you'll be blessed!
OK, so now for the rest of the story...
As we spent time with family in Texas for the holidays, I was blessed to receive an email from our church's book keeper saying that she'd just sent a check to Pioneer61 for $500 from the change we've been collecting!! I was still rejoicing over this news when I got a call from our pastor saying that an additional $600 had come in!! $600 in CHANGE, no less!! Wow!!
I was reeling from this news when I added the two figures together and realized we had now collected $1100!! Remember how much I found in the parking lot the Sunday after Thanksgiving?? $11!! God had multiplied it a HUNDREDFOLD!!!!
His timing could not be better. It's been a rough few weeks for the Shekinah boys. See Brooke's blog for details www.livingwater17.blogspot.com
They NEED this home!! They need it for so much more than shelter. They need it to keep them safe and secure...they need it to keep them busy and out of trouble...they need it to provide a place for discipleship and worship...they need it as part of their lasting transformation...
Check out what God has to say about a hundredfold blessing...
Genesis 26:12 NAS
Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold . And the LORD blessed him...
Matthew 13:8 NAS
"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
Matthew 13:23 NAS
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Mark 4:8 NAS
"Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
Mark 4:20 NAS
"And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil ; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
Nick, Marlene, Brooke, and the P61 team are sowing into the lives of these precious boys, and each of us who have prayed and donated have also sown into their lives. When we sow seeds in a garden, there is a waiting process...growth doesn't happen overnight. Nurturing, patience, and faith are all required. Seeds lie hidden under the soil, while the miraculous occurs, unseen to the human eye. Every nutrient in the soil, every ray of sun, every drop of water working together until finally, at just the right moment, a fragile seedling sprouts up through the ground, and eventually grows into a strong fruit-bearing plant.
During the waiting process, it doesn't appear that anything is happening, but the greater reality is that lots is happening just under the surface. That's how it is with us, I suspect, and I believe it's happening with Shekinah. To the human eye, it may seem that nothing much is happening and that all the trouble just isn't worth it, but we don't see what God is doing inside their hearts. Their default setting is survival, so that's what they resort to when temptation comes. They don't have the basic foundation of knowing right from wrong. They must be nurtured and discipled. They must continue to be sown into until they grow into fruit-bearing young men of God. Each prayer prayed, each penny donated, each grain of rice fed them, each Word of God spoken over them, IS making a difference in the greater reality, whether we can see it yet or not. We must believe by faith that what we are doing IS making a difference. We MUST NOT GIVE UP...Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary (Galatians 6:9 NAS).
I declare by faith that Shekinah will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified (Isaiah 61:3 NAS). Until that day, we continue to sow into their destinies, and wait expectantly for their hundredfold blessing...loving The ONE and loving the one...
Brooke was finally able to post a blog update. Please visit the following link to see the amazing vision God gave a friend for her:
www.livingwater17.blogspot.com
My daughter who has lived in suburbia her whole life...who has a soft bed with pretty pillows...who never has to wonder where her next meal will come from...my daughter just spent the night in a garbage dump.
She is interning with Pioneer61, a ministry dedicated to rescuing homeless boys in Tete, Mozambique, giving them a new identity as dearly loved sons of Abba Father, co-heirs with Christ, and dwelling places of the Holy Spirit. These boys have been tossed aside by society and run off from place to place to place, until they ended up at their current living quarters - the city dump.
We are raising funds for their Shekinah Healing Home to be built and the boys themselves are helping to build it, but until it is built, this is their home. Brooke and the team from Harvest School 17 felt led to experience life as the boys do by sleeping at the dump. They took nothing with them. Pioneer61 founders, Nick and Marlene dropped them off last night, choosing not to stay with them, so they got a true feel for what it's like to live among them with no interpreter.
Brooke texted to let me know what was happening and to ask me to pray...um...helloooo...my baby is about to sleep in a DUMP!! Of course, I'm going to pray!!! She said not to worry, because they had three big Alabama boys on the team plus a guy who looks like Jesus. I told her I wasn't worried, but I was going to call on some angels...not the pretty ones who sing in the choir...the big, muscle-bound bodyguard ones!!
Nick posted a picture to Facebook of the team standing in a circle holding hands with the boys, surrounded by garbage. Several people had commented on the picture and I felt led to write the following:
Praying the radiance of His glory is seen for miles around...and no one will be able to fathom that it's coming from, of all places, a dump! Kinda like the first Christmas, huh?
I had sent an email to our church family asking them to pray for Brooke and team as they slept at the dump. We have services Friday evenings for adults and Sunday mornings for families, but Eddy and I didn't attend last night, because of a birthday party for our son. This morning I got the following email from a friend who was there (who had NOT seen my facebook comment, since she doesn't have a facebook!):
We all prayed last night at The Nest for Brooke. I had a picture and was praying through it in my own heart as others were praying out loud…..and then [someone else] prayed exactly what I was seeing! Not feeling especially nostalgic or Christmas focused, I saw Brooke and the team and the boys out there in that smelly ole dump just like the shepherds to whom the angels came and announced the birth of Jesus. So I prayed the glory of God would fill that place where they were last night. And I thought of how that is just what Jesus came to do…..reach everyone with His love and good news…..from those living in the dump, to those of us living in Williamson County, TN! And I also thought of Brooke being much like Jesus himself in her going. She has left her own comforts and privileged life to love on the lowly and destitute and those without hope, unless she is willing to come to them and bring them the good news. Anyway, it was a beautiful and powerful thing I was experiencing and I pray she had a taste of it.
Brooke (not knowing about ANY of this correspondence) sent the following update:
My life is changed!...[She then directed me to read her facebook status, which said, "We had the honor of spending the night with our boys in the dump where they are living right now in the city. They made beds for us out of giant rocks, gave us their only sheets and served us dinner. God has done a huge work in them and begun to transform them. They kept saying we are their family. It was such an amazing experience getting to see how they live every single night. Now I know how to pray for and relate to them and raise awareness to get their home built soon! We are so wrecked today. Jesus blessed us so much through our boys"]...these boys have begun to be transformed and it's incredible. They were moving giant rocks and stuff, making us beds and serving us their dinner. They said we were family and they would protect us from the bad guys. We all slept in a pile together in the same area....The oldest, who's their leader had a sheet keeping him warm an he looked over to me and asked if I was cold, 'cause I didn't have one. I told him I was fine, but he asked like three times, then he said, "No. You are cold", then he put his sheet on me. So sweet taking care of his sister. I almost started crying right there. None of them speak English, but somehow I was like the translator. I don't know how I did it, but I did! We literally felt the Presence while we were out there last night. It was so peaceful where we were and just across the street was partying and fighting.
Oh Emmanuel, was this what it was like for you? You left the comforts of Your Home - Heaven to be born in a stinky stable. You did it because of Your love for Your people. You did it for the least of these. You did it for the poor and the poor in spirit. You came to show us what The Father is like. You came to make a way for us to be like You. Brooke was like You last night. She reflected The Father's glory in a very dark place. She went to love the least of these. But the amazing thing is that she was the one who was loved.
Honestly, I can't imagine a more beautiful expression of loving The One and loving the one...
Refer to post titled "Multiplication Anointing" for the back story to this post.
Jehovah Jireh is at it again! Brooke called last night to share another story of God's miraculous provision. Yesterday God took me to two scriptures I felt led to send to Brooke. It was more in light of knowing she was upset about having to say goodbye to her brothers and sisters in Pemba. The first was Colossians 2:2, which says, "I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan which is Christ Himself." The other was Philippians 4:19, which says, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." This second one is one I usually read in light of God providing for my material needs, but I sent it to Brooke with the revelation that "all" means ALL! He will supply ALL our needs! Brooke was sad and needed comfort. He supplies comfort!
She had spent more money while in Pemba than she'd originally budgeted, because God told her to buy certain things for certain people and she obeyed. As she packed up to go to Tete, she grew concerned that she might nor have enough money for the trip and her stay there. She doesn't want Nick and Marlene to be out any money on her account, and wants to contribute to their living expenses. She asked God to provide what she needed. She was going through the pouch where she keeps her passport and important documents, making sure all was in order, and discovered 4 metical bills (Mozambican currency) worth 1,000 mets each, which translates to about $200 US dollars! She KNOWS she didn't put it there, because she didn't even know there was such a thing as a thousand met bill!!
She checked in at the Pemba airport, and ended up having to pay a bag fee. The amount? 1,000 mets! All means ALL!!!
He supplies ALL our needs!! How? His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. His supply of whatever we need never runs out. Need love? He lavishes it. Need joy? He gives it for our strength. Need peace? He's the Prince of it. Need healing? His stripes paid for it. Need provision? He's Jehovah Jireh, God our Provider! Not only does He SUPPLY all we need, He IS all we need! He is our Abba Father, Who generously blesses His kids with good gifts. He is our All in All.
Our kids and teens at church are collecting money to help Pioneer61 build the Shekinah Healing Home in Tete, Mozambique. My son, Blake was cleaning his room one day last week, and every time he found money on the floor, he'd put it in his bottle, then he'd turn around and there would be more money on the floor. He'd pick it up and put it in the bottle, then he'd look again, and again there'd be more money on the floor!
Blake shared his story at church last Sunday, then after church as I was walking to my car, I saw $11 cash in the middle of the parking lot, so I picked it up and asked around to see if it belonged to anyone, but no one claimed it, so I thanked God for it and put it in the Shekinah bottle. Later God reminded me of the scripture He gave Nick and Marlene for Shekinah...Jeremiah 29...guess which verse...11!
This week we had some missionaries staying with us from We Will Go in Jackson, MS (See previous post). Laura has a multiplication anointing. The whole time they were here, she shared story after story after story of God's miraculous provision in her life.
Wednesday evening, I attended a conference here in town put on by Larry Randolph with guest speaker Bill Johnson. I rarely carry cash, but when the offering bucket was passed, God told me to check my jacket pocket, so I did. I was surprised to feel some bills in there! He said not to look at the amount, just to give it all, so I did.
Thursday evening I went back to the conference. This time when the bucket was passed, I started to check my pocket again, then remembered the jacket I'd worn that night didn't have any pockets. God said to check my billfold, so I did, and again there was cash in it! Again, He said not to check the amount, just to put it all in, so I did. My missionary friends had gone to the conference with me and we'd stayed late to receive prayer from Bill Johnson's team. Afterward, as we made our way toward the exit, Laura looked down and saw a $20 bill on the floor! She picked it up and asked God what to do with it. He said to put it in the offering bucket, so she did.
Friday morning my friends left, but first they blessed our family and home, including a prayer for the multiplication anointing to be upon us. That evening Eddy went with me to the conference and checked his wallet to see if there was any cash in it to put in the offering bucket, but there was NO CASH in it, so he wrote a check instead.
Saturday morning, I went to the conference and sat by two friends. One asked if either of us had $1, so she could buy some bottled water. I checked, but this time found no cash. My other friend said she'd just spent 10 minutes searching every nook and cranny in her purse trying to find some money to buy herself a Diet Coke. After scrounging around, she finally found enough, but only left about 8 pennies in her purse, but she said she'd look one more time. She pulled out a pile of change, which added up to just enough to buy the bottled water!
Saturday morning, Eddy wrote our tithe check to the church and put it in his wallet. When he opened his wallet, there was NO CASH in it. At church this morning, he opened his wallet to take out the tithe check and there, in his wallet, where he'd checked both Friday night and Saturday morning, there was a $5 bill!! He shared what had just happened with our church family, holding up the bill for all to see. He felt like it was to go to Shekinah, so he folded it up and set it on the corner of the sound table, where he sits every Sunday. The table is near the front of the room, so there is no way anyone could have sneaked any money into that folded up $5 without being seen.
We continued with the service, including a lesson on Isaiah 61, so we spent some time talking about and praying for Pioneer61 and the Shekinah boys. After worship, my son Brent came over to put Eddy's $5 into the Shekinah bottle. When he picked it up and unfolded it, a $20 bill was tucked inside the fold!!!
WOW!!! Talk about MULTIPLICATION!!!
Jesus multiplied bread and fish in the Bible, so why wouldn't He multiply $5 bills???
How have you experienced the multiplication anointing? I'd love to hear your story!
Who doesn't love a good story? I have spent a good portion of my day sitting around swapping stories with a couple of amazing missionaries who I have the honor of hosting in my home for a few days. To the casual observer it might seem as if we are attempting to one-up each other with what sounds like "my daddy's bigger than your daddy" stories, but the thing about the stories we're sharing is that we're all bragging about the same Daddy! Our Papa God is worth bragging about! The purpose of our stories about Him isn't to try to out-do one another with a better story, but to give Him glory for what He's done and to say, "Do it again, Lord!". When I hear a story of how God has miraculously provided for someone's needs, it reminds me of times He's miraculously provided for me, which builds my faith, and in turn builds the other person's faith when I share my story with them. It's part of that iron-sharpening-iron, building-one-another-up thing God instructs us to do.
Both of these beautiful missionaries currently serve in the inner city of Jackson, MS at We Will Go, which is dear to my heart (See previous posts). Both have also been to Harvest School in Mozambique, which is where Brooke is right now, so I love hearing their stories from that experience. It helps to fill a void from not having her here with me, and somehow makes me feel closer to her.
At this moment, they are out on a Holy Spirit adventure in Franklin, listening to His voice saying, "Turn to the left, turn to the right, this is the way, walk in it."
Can't wait to hear the stories that come from this little journey!
See, the thing about stories is that they need to be told. The Israelites made the mistake of not telling their God stories to the next generation and got themselves in a lot of hot water because of it. Psalm 145:4 says, "Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts." I'm so thankful my boys were here today to hear these stories as they did their school work, occasionally chiming in with a story of their own.
Do you have a story of His mighty acts? I'd love to hear it! Swapping His stories is a powerful way to love The One and love the one...
