Monday, September 26, 2011


I mailed in my contract to the Just Between Us editor today. I am not sure when my article, Slivers, will be published, but they will let me know. It is a Christian women's magazine that is published quarterly, so it could be a while. Even so, I am excited to have my first piece actually published in a magazine!

Day 3-Very Strange

OK, last night I had a really unusual dream-where I was talking an extended family member, and I was totally naked and didn't realize it until much later (in dream time). Then, he relayed a word from God from some book of the Bible, chapter 4, verse 17. I know, very weird. But then I got to thinking about nakedness in the Bible. Who was naked? Adam and Eve before they sinned. "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other's presence." Genesis 2:25. So I think the nakedness was more of a spiritual state rather than a physical one. (Let's hope, anyway! LOL) It was the way God had made then and intended for them to be, completely covered by his protection and provision, rather than anything of physical means. So I looked up all the 4:17 passages in the Bible this morning, and it was very interesting. There are many books of the Bible that don't even have a 4:17, so that narrowed it down a lot. Here are some of the verses:

Genesis 4:17 And Cain's wife [one of Adam's offspring] became pregnant and bore Enoch; and Cain built a [a]city and named it after his son Enoch.

Out of something bad (Cain was the one who killed his brother Abel), a promise arose (Enoch was a descendant of Noah, part of the lineage of Christ.)

Exodus 4:17 "And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall work the signs [that prove I sent you]." The calling of Moses, with signs and wonders.

Leviticus 4:17 "And shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, before the veil [which screens the ark of the covenant]."

Making atonement for sins in the place closest to the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God in the Old Testament.

Joshua 4:17 "So Joshua commanded the priests, Come up out of the Jordan."

The last part of the second parting of the Red Sea, when the priests came up on dry land, carrying the ark of the covenant (where the presence of God dwelt in Joshua's time), before the waters came back together.

Ruth 4:17, "And her neighbor women gave him a name, saying, A son is born to Naomi. They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David [the ancestor of Jesus Christ]."

2 Kings 4:17, "But the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the following year, as Elisha had said to her."

Promised child born to a barren woman, just as God had said.

2 Chronicles 4:17, "In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah."

Earthen vessels made for the temple of God.

Nehemiah 4:17, "Those who built the wall and those who bore burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other hand,"

Rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem, which is symbolic of the community of God's people.

Esther 4:17, "So Mordecai went away and did all that Esther had commanded him."

Obedience. This is what Esther told him to do in verse 16. "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me; and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I also and my maids will fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."

Daniel 4:17, "This sentence is by the decree of the [heavenly] watchers and the decision is by the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High [God] rules the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whomever He will and sets over it the humblest and lowliest of men."

Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, [a]crying out, Repent ([b]change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

After Jesus was victorious over the temptations by the devil, preaching the gospel to everyone.

Luke 4:17, "And there was handed to Him [the roll of] the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened (unrolled) the book and found the place where it was written,
18The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],19To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day [l]when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound."

Romans 4:17, "As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed."

1 Corinthians 4:17, "For this very cause I sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and trustworthy child in the Lord, who will recall to your minds my methods of proceeding and course of conduct and way of life in Christ, such as I teach everywhere in each of the churches."

2 Corinthians 4:17, "For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]"

Philippians 4:17,"Not that I seek or am eager for [your] gift, but I do seek and am eager for the fruit which increases to your credit [the harvest of blessing that is accumulating to your account]."

Colossians 4:17, "And say to Archippus, See that you discharge carefully [the duties of] the ministry and fulfill the stewardship which you have received in the Lord."

2 Timothy 4:17, "But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the [Gospel] message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was delivered out of the jaws of the lion."

1 John 4:17, "In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world."


Wow, that's quite a list. The overwhelming feeling I got from all these verses was the promise of God fulfilled, the presence of God with His people, and divine protection, provision, and miracles. Pretty awesome. I started off searching for the one passage that the Lord might have wanted to show me. Instead I found a message repeated over and over again. No wonder the Lord says that His Word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. Simply amazing! Day 3 has officially begun...and it's only 10:00am. Can't wait to see what this day holds!

On a lighter note, Joshua had a dream last night that I had another baby, a girl, named Tricia, and she ran all the way home from the hospital after she was born. Too funny!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Day 2-Stay Focused

In the last month, I have begun to dream again. I dream almost every night. I went for a long period of time without dreams, and not sleeping very well. Since I have begun walking and praying regularly and in the Word, it's as though something has awoken on the inside of me. I received a prophecy years ago that God was going to purify the area of my imagination and I would begin to see things in parables and dreams and even see into the realm of darkness know what to do to fight against it. For those of you who have read my blog since the beginning (2008), it seems as though the Lord has already started to teach me things in ways that resemble parables. I am believing that the Lord is going to continue to purify my mind so that I can see Him and hear Him more clearly through this fast and continued time in His presence and His Word.


My challenge is to stay focused. Not on what I can and can't eat, but on the Lord and what he desires from me. Many times, during a fast, I get preoccupied with the logistics of the fast itself, rather than taking that time to meditate on the Lord. My prayer today is that I keep my eye on the prize; a closer, deeper relationship with the Lord through His Holy Spirit.

Day 1-Discerning God's Voice

This is the first of many entries on a new journey that I am taking. I have such great expectation for what the Lord is going to do that I don't want to forget any of it. For the past month, I have been consistantly walking and praying every morning. Then I come home and get into the Word. It is definitely the most consistant I have ever been in these areas of my entire ever. I told Luis that I am becoming addicted to spending time with God. I actually crave it like a food. I have felt that something amazing was on the verge of happening...I have been experiencing an excitement in my spirit equal to the excitement I felt as a child at Christmastime.

Then, this morning when I woke up, the Lord spoke to me and said "40 day Daniel fast, and I will heal you." Sometimes I struggle with deciphering whether I am hearing God's voice or just my own, but today, I have no doubt. For one thing, I would never tell myself to fast! Secondly, the devil is never going to tell me to do something that draws me closer to the Lord. So, I am taking this instruction and running with it, full force ahead! I believe God is really going to do something wonderful, and I have no idea what it is. What He said is vague enough that I'm not sure if it is a physical healing, emotional, spiritual...maybe all of them! I don't know, but I do know that whenever God heals us, it's an awesome thing! So I researched the Daniel fast online and in my Bible, and stocked up on some food items that will help me stay the course. I do not want to cheat one iota...because I don't want to miss anything God has for me. I bought strange food like hummus, and stocked up on fresh and frozen veggies and fresh fruit. I will be drinking only water, and am cutting out all meat, bread, sweets. Basically I'm able to have fruit, vegetables, nuts and water. Sounds strict and challenging, but I have great motivation, so I know I can do it with the strength of the Holy Spirit. I will try to journal each day of the 40 days, and share what I learn along the way. Hope you read along with me and maybe something I share ministers to your heart as well. If you are interested in reading where this fast came from, you can read about it here, in Daniel 1 and also here in Daniel 10.

Friday, September 23, 2011

After three days of rain and gray clouds, I found my silver lining...