alone with God

Presents for the King

/ heatherhaley07 / Leave a comment

birthday bookLast night as I was reading to Georgia before bed, the Lord spoke.  We were reading an awesome book about birthdays, not because I am some great mom theologian teaching about Jesus on Christmas Eve… but she picked it out because it is one of her favorite books.  Throughout the book it speaks of hanging the decorations, sending the invitations, opening the birthday presents & the birthday cards and then at the very end it speaks of how thankful the little girl was for spending time with her at her birthday party.  And that is when it hit.

Has Jesus ever told me “thank you” for spending time with Him on His Birthday?

This year, Christmas has been completely different for me.   This year, I forced myself to be less busy and to truly focus… and it has changed my Christmas.

When I was a kid, and even many years into my adulthood (honestly, until last year), Christmas was really only about the presents.  I would get so excited about what I would open and what I would get to take home with me.  But this year, after spending more time with Him in His Word than ever before, this Christmas is truly about so much more.  Even when you look at your grandparents and how they celebrate Christmas.  They literally only want to be around you and family.  They want your presence, not your presents.  Maturity equals a switch in focus.  Time with Him changes your viewpoint on life and then on Christmas.  Jesus wants our time.  Jesus wants our presence.

This December has been the best December in my entire life.

If I were to give Jesus a birthday present, something that He has never had before… what would it be?  Today, in this early morning moment on Christmas morning, while my house is still and quiet and the only thing on is my Christmas tree lights and my coffee pot.  Today, I want to give Jesus the one thing that he really wants… my time.  The first hour of every day, may it always be devoted to Him.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!  Happy Birthday.

P.S.  Thanks Georgia for choosing the absolutely perfect book to read on Christmas Eve!

In order to defeat the enemy, we must first identify him. 

/ heatherhaley07 / 1 Comment

In order to defeat the enemy, we must first identify him. 

We all have one enemy. 

He is referenced as the father of lies. 

Our Lord told us that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. That same enemy accomplishes his work through unbelievers who give themselves over to him. While it is easy to sit and say that the Muslim religion is our enemy, let’s remember that they can be brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Does that mean that we roll over and look the other way so that we don’t offend someone? No. It means we take this battle, the fight, this war, to the only place where it can actually we won…. On our knees. 

Our enemy must be defeated in the spiritual realm. Our enemy is Satan himself and the evil he brings into the world. When a nation stops praying, stops believing in the One True God, YHWH, then evil has the upper hand. And we are seeing that very thing unfold before us… Evil taking over our country, one city at a time. 

REVIEW: Prayers that Avail Much by Germaine Copeland

/ heatherhaley07 / Leave a comment

About three months ago, I was told about a book that could radically change my prayer life.  I had always heard about how important it is to pray God’s Word back to Him, but I had never truly grasped or understood exactly what that meant. I’ve desired a strong prayer life for as long as I can remember, but then again I never really wanted to do anything to get there.  You know, the desire to look like a swimsuit model but keep eating donuts mentality… that was me.  And the word was needs to be used loosely because I definitely still fall into that mentality from time to time.

So, I went and picked up the book.  Now, my first thought in picking up a book like this is to remind myself that it is not God’s Word…. but with this one, I had to slow down on that, because it literally is God’s Word put together to direct our prayers.

The goal is to “allow the Holy Spirit to make the Word a reality in your heart.”  When you are in God’s Word, you can never get enough.  When you pray God’s Word, He aligns your heart to His, your prayers to His, your will to His.

When desiring to grow your prayer life, I would add this book to your toolkit!

prayers that avail much

Hidden behind the cross….

/ heatherhaley07 / Leave a comment

So, on June 4, 2015, I decided to obey and create my prayer closet.  I did.  It was a beautiful display of actually doing what Matthew 6:6 says in going to your secret place.  I just always thought that was a figurative thing, until I made my secret place. That is my safe place.  It is my altar.  It is my hiding place.  When I cannot handle life and this world any longer, I go there.  There is no one there… well, One is there.  And that One is waiting for me every day.  Do I go in there on my knees every day?  No, I am afraid not.  Should I go in there on my knees every day?  Absolutely.

The past few weeks I have been struggling with life.  I know what I ought to be doing, but I just don’t…. ever been there?  Finally, when I was tired of trying to do things on my own, I went to the secret place.  My safe place.  My altar, to hide.

When I arrived, the Lord had already gone before me through the hands of my sweet baby girl.  Recently, we had purchased a little figurine that has a little girl praying.  We told her the figurine is hers, but we want to keep it in the secret place so that it stays safe.  As I crawled into my secret place, this is the first thing I saw.  She had strategically placed it between the cross and the nativity.  The back side of the girl figurine was propped up by the nativity and looked as though it was bowing to the cross.  This image brought me to my knees.

prayer room_behind the cross

No longer was this a picture of my precious daughter.  Now, it was a picture of me.  Nestled beautifully between my Saviour in His birth and my Saviour in His death.

Then it hit me.  That is where we all should be.  Hidden behind the cross.  We should all find ourselves placed strategically behind the cross.  The cross covers us.  The cross restores us.  The cross repairs us.  The cross represents us.  The cross protects us.  The cross forgives us and the cross helps us forgive others.  It is all based upon the cross.  All of our weakness, all of our strength is defined by the cross.  Our identity is in the cross.  Our fulfillment and life’s purpose is in the cross.  The cross is our everything.  Our very life line.  His blood that was shed on that cross covers a multitude of sins- ours and everyone else’s.  

Today, let the cross be enough.  In fact, today, let the cross be all there is.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, GOD DID: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and acting as an offering for sin….  Romans 8:1-3