Today's Inspiration

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

~Thomas Edison

I can remember the days as a baby Christian, when I believed wholeheartedly that when I got to a certain point in my walk or when my relationship with God was at a magical point, life would be so easy.  All the tough times would be gone and it would be smooth sailing.  I am not sure why I thought that, for the bible never said that, maybe it was my ignorance to all the bible said, or just what I wanted to believe, but I have definitely moved out of my infancy in my Christian walk and relationship with God and my life is not any easier, in fact in some ways it's more difficult.

A few years ago I also reached a new level in my life as a mother.  My oldest child became a teenager.  Slowly this beautiful child that I once understood better than myself was becoming a stranger, until the point this past December, when I realized she was a stranger.  It wasn't just the normal changes that were taking place, it was far beyond those.  One day there was nothing about her that was the same.  Her walk, her talk, her dress, her attitude, her beliefs, her focus, her desires literally everything changed.  I realized that I had just entered a ferocious battle of spiritual warfare for my daughter.  Something every Christian can expect to enter into at some point in their life.

While my Christian walk had progressed nicely, there were still areas I was new to or green at and Spiritual Warfare is one of them.  For those that don't understand Spiritual Warfare (as I didn't), it's basically good vs. evil, God vs. Devil.  The devil uses those we love (people, possessions, desires) to keep us from moving forward in Christ and it's up to us to fight him using the weapons God provides in his word and prayer.

In my case, the devil finally found his hole in our hedge and my daughter was his number one target.  He has confused and manipulated my child into becoming someone she never was and believing and desiring things which goes against how she was raised and her own personal beliefs.  In short he has made my life and my relationship with my daughter a nightmare. He has used my daughter to inflict on me; pain, doubt, fear, despair, anger, resentment and hate and many more negative Satan controlled emotions.  While I am a Christian, I also am human and in moments of weakness, those feelings consume me, but only for a moment before I wake up and realize what is happening to me.

During the last 4 months of total despair with my teenager, I have learned one very important lesson; it's NEVER too EARLY to PRAY for your children.  I am not talking about the simple, keep my child safe prayers, I am talking about the deep prayers, prayers about friendships, decisions, direction, the good stuff.  It's hard to conceive if your a new mom holding a sweet and innocent infant that there would EVER be a time that your child would stray from you or worse, herself and God.  

My teenage daughter had always been a good girl, full of life and love.  She is now angry and full of hate and darkness.  She swears, she misses ALOT of school, she argues, she disobey's, she is mean and hateful.  It is terrifying.

I refuse to give up and let the Devil have her or anyone else in my family.  I fight every day, armed with the Word of God.  

Ephesians 6:10-17

 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

(When I pray this prayer for my teenager, or any of my children or family members, I put their name into it.  "Finally, (Name) be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  (Name) put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes........".)

The hardest part about fighting the fight with Satan for my daughter right now, is that she doesn't realize that she is even being used as his tool to destroy my relationship with God and hers.  Trying to get her to listen, that's next to impossible, so all I can do and all I have is God's word and Prayer.  But lucky for me, and anyone else in this situation, that's enough.  

Psalms 9:9

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

God's word can comfort me and prayer can change it all.  No matter how hard it is (and at times it's HARD) or scared I am, I AM confidant the Lord is by my side and that the battle has been won. When the fear, frustration and terror of this situation consume me, or I am weary from the fight, I turn to the Lord and rest in His love, releasing to Him the problems I am facing and trusting Him to handle those problems.  In complete honesty, there are days I have to release my daughter and the situation more times than I can count, as something else happens throughout the day or I get the old urge to pull it back and handle it myself.  Each time though, it gets easier to do and I move one more teeny-tiny baby step forward.

Psalms 55:22

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

As a Christian, you and I can expect to be involved in spiritual warfare for the rest of our lives at some point or another.  Satan, isn't going to give up easy and life is going to go through some dark valleys, but rest assured that GOD wins and so will we.

I will win this battle against Satan and I will get my daughter back and I am sure Satan will try to then attack another loved one, but I will win that war too.  I will win every war that Satan wages against me, for no matter what he does or tries or who he ensnares, I will arm myself with God's word, go down on my knees and fight the fight with the Holy armor of God I have been given.

Today's Prayer:

OH Abba , 

Thank you for blessing me with this beautiful teenager.  I am not unaware of what a true blessing she is and a miraculous gift from you.  We are going through such a tough time right now, personally and in our relationship with each other, but I trust that You are in perfect control of this dire situation and that both my daughter and I will rise from the ashes of this attack, stronger, more confidant and closer to You.  I trust that you will heal any hurts we have between us or within us individually from the spiritual war being waged against us and that we will end up complete and whole in You, victorious over the scheming ways of Satan.  Until this war is over, I release to you this precious child for protection and peace and I release my own need to control and handle all that is happening.  Give me instead, peace in your works, gratitude that you work miracles and strength to continue to fight and confidance that You are in control.

~In Jesus Name

Seasonal Marriage

God did not give me an easy man to love, understand, support or commune in marriage with.  God did not give me an easy marriage, what God has given me is the courage to continue, the strength to press forward and the desire to please not only Him, but myself and spouse also.

I have been married to my spouse for 10 years.  The first 2.5 were hard, the next 5 joyous and the last 2.5 trying and incredibly painful.  What I have learned through this journey of peaks and valley's is that I am much stronger than I had ever believed and far more determined to see my marriage succeed and reach the flat plains of consistency than Satan is to destroy it and that as unbelievable as it seems, God does have a perfect plan for me and my spouse.

My marriage has faced many difficult problems:  devastating and life altering injuries, financial ruin, legal problems, debilitating mental illness, divorce and adultery to name a few.  But yet I feel pressed by God to press on.  I am not going to lie and pretend there weren't times, numerous times, when I was ready to throw in the towel and move on, but each time, God brought me back to a place of forgiveness, determination and desire to not let the enemy win.   I won't be defeated by Satan and I won't let him steal my marriage, my children's family or God's desire.

I spend a lot of time in prayer currently for my husband, he is struggling with something and is slowly and deeply becoming withdrawn.  It's a very difficult season for me in this marriage, his desire to withdraw and push me away is very painful and hard for me to deal with, but I press on in prayer.  It's very difficult for me to sit back, my spouses withdrawal creates in me severe anxiety.  Because he has cheated in the past, my first inclination is to assume that is the cause for this new behavior.  It's hard for me to let go of those old fears and refrain from questioning him or being suspicious about why he is suddenly withdrawn.  God is working something in me through this scary season in my marriage and working in my husband something, as well,  I am confidant.

I do know from our past experiences that trails make me grow spiritually.  I am not sure that what is happening in my marriage could be classified as a trail, at least not compared to what we have experienced in the past, but it is certainly a dark period and difficult one, at least for me.

So for now, as hard as it is, I will submit to my God, my Father, all the fears, worries, anxiety, loneliness, desperation and hope that is within me Him, my husband, my mate, my love, and all of his fears, anxieties, stresses, strongholds and Satan's manipulations.  God is the only one who can renew the marriage and lead us by the hand out of this deep valley of darkness and back into the plains of sunshine and joy.

Today's Prayer:

Thank you Father, that your love for us is so pure.  Today, I lift up my marriage, my spouse and myself to your abundant care.  While I do not know what my husband is internally struggling with, you do.  While I don't know how to help him or talk to him, you do know how to guide me and use me to help my husband.  While I do not know the plans you have for each of us or our marriage, you do and I am confidant that through your love, mercy and guidance, we will come through this valley successfully and triumphant with a stronger relationship with You and each other.  Thank you Lord for taking our hands and leading us forward.
In Jesus Name.....

Mark 10:6-9

"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,  and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."