SOMETHING NEW!!!

Isaiah 43:19 "See, I AM doing a NEW thing....NOW it springs up."!!!!

Northwest University?
Starbucks?

Who would have ever imagined!! I am overwhelmed with amazement and gratitude!

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him." PSALM 37:7

STILL waiting
"Still waiting"
Still WAITING!

STILL = motionless, unmoving, at a standstill silent

STILL = in spite of everything, nevertheless, yet

WAIT = pause, delay, interval

WAITING = coming up, in the making, ahead of you

Standing silent during the delay while the answer is in the making... knowing there is something up ahead!!

Finishing the race.

"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7
Who hindered you? Who held you back?

"That kind of persuasion does not come from the One who calls you." v 8
It isn't God.

"You were called to be FREE!" v 13

It is now time to finish the race! Unhindered!

The Year 2011 so far.....

"The year 2011 began with massive snowstorms and incredibly cold weather. Then as spring came, wild weather pushed disaster after disaster across the American heartland.
Epic fires burned more than 2.5 million acres in tinder-dry Texas. Near record-breaking floods drove the Mississippi and other rivers far out of their banks. All of that was followed by the legion of deadly tornadoes, killing more people than in any year since 1950."

So many lives affected by these devastations. We need the LORD'S mercy and grace.
"If my people, who are called by my Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

LORD, are we a people who please You? We are called by Your Name. May we continually humble ourselves before You!!

A Day in the Life of Me

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ME
BY: EMILY SCHILB AND ALI OLIVER

It was Friday, the weekend of my cousin's wedding

I was assigned a poem that I was dreading.

4 am waking up in the morning

Everybody else in Bellevue was still snoring.

Arriving at my cousin's house for the big day

All the people were jubilant and gay.

Roman and Katie exchanged "I do's"

And I have to tell you, I loved her shoes!

Everyone rode the motorcyle, but me

Next up was my auntie, as brave as can be!

Bow chased her as fast as he could go

But his old legs were just too slow.

A special day we all had together

A beautiful wedding in such beautiful weather.

As the sun went down, we all lay in our beds

Not knowing what was up ahead.

Celebrating the new joining and life of two

What happened next, no one possibly knew.

When we awoke, something was not right

Bow was paralyzed it was not a good sight.

They took him to the vet as fast as they could

The news they received was not so good.

They chose to put the old dog to rest

Our family decided it was for the best.

One chapter closes as a new one begins

And that's all in the grace of our God, my friends.

Re-Focus

Don’t focus on the land; keep your eyes on Jesus!!!
He is refining you through this season to see if you will trust Him!
Don’t look at the land, look at Jesus! Recall where He has brought you from, what He is doing in your family…..
You don’t need the land in order to fulfill His purposes for you!
He can place you anywhere to live…..where you live is irrelevant to His purposes!!

Are we withholding anything?

“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them." Joshua 7:13

Lord, are we withholding anything that could be keeping us from your provision and blessing.....or anything that needs to be removed? That is the question I am asking You?

The question then was asked of me is this: is everyone in the house tithing?

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3:10

Lord, show us if we have any "devoted" things that need to be removed! We are looking to You, we are following Your word, we want to be in Your will! Thank You, in advance for the victory!

Is God a man that He would lie?

"God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?" Numbers 23:19

Oh my....it is hard to wait to see when God is going to fulfill what He has promised, especially when there is "no fruit on the trees"!

Oh my...it is hard when you have grown accustomed to the encouragment and sympathy of man, when this has been removed. For no one else is walking thru exactly what I am walking thru.....just as Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and even Jesus walked the path God had placed them on and could not depend on the encouragement of man, but God alone.

God has promised me something amazing....truly the desire of my heart. He has asked me to lead as Joshua led....and believe as Joshua believed!

Oh Lord, I hunger for a word of encouragement....my soul is anxious and I know that is not from You! For You are the God of peace....Your word tells me to be still, not to worry, rest, trust. But my feelings, my body, my soul is responding in fear.

What am I afraid of?
1) that perhaps I have claimed and proclaimed something that is not mine to have
2) that I will make You look bad by doing all these "silly" activities like marching around the property for 7 days!
3) that others will judge me for believing the impossible
4) that His provision will come in a way that will be hard for me to accept...(an unlikely
resource!)

As I write, Father, download Your love over me, Your words of truth, Your peace.
"Cast all your cares on Me, Anne, for I care for you." "Do not worry..." "I will do this....I will make your righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."
"Behold, Anne, I am doing something NEW....Brand New....unlike ANYTHING you have seen before." "You have not gone this way before." "I will never leave you nor forsake you. My promises are YES and AMEN." Trust in Me with all your heart, Anne, don't lean on your own understanding. I am faithful...I have called you...I will do this!

Oh Father, forgive me for my lack of faith.....I have not gone this way before; it is not familiar to me! "When you are afraid, Anne, put your trust and hope in Me. I will not let you down!"

"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Joshua 3:5

HE is making the way!!

"Do not worry" is what the Lord spoke over me as I was waking up yesterday morning. I am most certain that He is aware of my inner MO (mode of operating).... to worry...or at least feel the need to give Him a hand! Does He need my help? Yet, He has given me so many promises about what He plans to do in regards to this situation! Why am I doubting? "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6 I have asked for something pretty big! To stay in my house! Not only for me, but for my kids! But I can not SEE! And I do not TRUST! What if I do NOTHING but wait and see? And what if.....nothing happens? What if I am wrong? What if God says NO on this one? Oh Lord, I humbly admit my faith is faltering here..... "...because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:3 Ok....whatever happens, YOU are still GOD!

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

Each One Reach One

If we each reached one, what would be the impact?

What if God says NO?

God's word says that we can ask Him for anything according to His will and it will be done. (John 14:14) He says that the prayer of a righteous man is effective. (James 5:16) He says to "pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17) Again, Jesus says if two of us agree on anything we ask for, it will be given. (Matt. 18:19) I have spent hours, days, and years praying for something I truly believed was God's will. Others have joined me in praying and agreeing for something that we thought certainly was God's will. And yet, God said NO! We have to take all of scripture into account when we "claim" certain promises. For instance, the things that I was asking God for "looked like" His will. But there was a very important element missing.....MY heart and willingness to surrender the outcome of my prayers, and trust that if the praying did nothing else then give me the strength and courage to "press on", then His answer was YES. His will was done in that He carried me through. IF God had said YES to what I was asking for, then I would most definitely be missing out on the TIME of my LIFE...the most important season of my life to date! The season of KNOWING HIM! He said NO because He had something BETTER planned for me......He had HIMSELF.....a much better answer than the one I was looking for. Are you praying for something.....have you been asking (Matt. 7:7) ....yet the answer is not what you thought it would be? Could it be that the answer is HIM rather than the THING you are praying for? And perhaps the answer you want is still on the way? But in the meantime, God is giving you HIMSELF to sustain you, bless you, provide for you, love you......until the fulfillment of that request, which could be YES, NO or LATER. God tells us to "Cease striving and....Be still" (Psalm 46:10) ….. rest in Him. So still pour out your requests to Him; He hears! Continue to draw near to Him; He is there. (James 4:8) The great reward of our prayers is HIM....and He will give us exceedingly, abundantly above ALL we could think or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)

My heart is still in Ethiopia!!

Released and set FREE

News Flash to Anne!!!

It was actually "ME" that was living the lie! ME! And here I was blaming the other for living a lie!

It was ME trying desperately to make something be ...a LIFE I wanted.....but it did not or could not be.

I wanted to be loved, cherished, valued, treasured......I wanted a partner, team player, united front, equal yoking. I tried and tried and tried to create the perfect atmosphere, the right setting, an environment that was surely set up for success. I organized, directed, planned, scheduled.....I manipulated, controled, orchestrated events to LOOK like everything was working! I prayed, fasted, meditated, believed....all with hopes of "making this work". But it wasn't going to work because my heart was being unfaithful all along.....unfaithful to my "First Love".

You see.....Jesus was my First Love. I had committed to following Him, trusting Him, serving Him as a young woman. I had plans and dreams of one day being a missionary or a pastors wife....serving the Lord! But something.....someone.... got in the way. And I felt obligated to this "other one"...... like an idol calling out to be worshiped and adored. And because I did not yet know how to trust myself, my own voice or the voice of the Spirit speaking to me, my heart turned away from my First Love to follow this "love".

In hindsight, I did hear a still small voice.....deep down in the depth of my soul....and the voice was saying NO. But my mouth said YES.....and I resigned to what I thought must "be". So for 25 some years, I acted out the part I believed I was to play. But now.....27 years later, I am listening! And I am saying YES to my first love and NO to anything that would defile me...or lead me away from Him.....or hurt or betray Him....or hurt me.

It is God's grace, unearned and unmerited, that is allowing me to be free....truly free for the first time in my life! Free from a burden that I have carried for years. Free from the shame I felt for not saying NO. Free from the guilt of not being able to "fix it". And finally free to truly LOVE and free to receive LOVE! His love!

I am so very humbled that God would give me this gift of FREEDOM.... and still very contemplative about why? But am I to question the ways of God? Can He not take this piece of clay and do what He wills with it? Can He not fashion it into something better than I could have ever "created" on my own? I believe HE can, and I am seeing that He is!!

By removing the "old yoke", the heavy burden I was carrying; by releasing me from the "rules and regulations and laws" I even designed for myself; by setting me free from my lies I was telling myself....I can now fly and soar and breath and live in complete abandon to my King!

My eyes were always looking at the other's short falls, because I could not look at myself. I had to hide behind the failures of the other because I lacked confidence in myself. My worth was all wrapped up in this relationship! And how "well" this relationship was going determined my well being, worth and value.

But God has seen fit to remove me from this relationship. God has seen fit to finally release me and set me free. "But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace." 1 Corinthians 7:15

THE FOLLOWING PROMISES ARE FROM MY LOVING FATHER!! HE HAS STAMPED THESE ON MY HEART; TO HOLD ONTO, TO CLING TO, TO REMIND ME OF HIS LOVE FOR ME!!!

* "The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from her; they are a burden and a reproach to her. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed her...... I will give her praise and honor in every land where she was put to shame. At that time I will gather her; at that time I will bring her home. I will give her honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore her fortunes before her very eyes. " Zephaniah 3:18-20

* "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day, declares the Lord, she will call Me "her husband"; she will no longer call Me "my master". I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.....I will betroth her to Me forever; I will betroth her in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth her in faithfulness and she will acknowledge the Lord." Hosea 2:14-17

* "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is His name - the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit - a wife who married young only to be rejected," says your God. "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the Lord your Redeemer." Isaiah 54:4-8

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"..you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of spendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah (meaning "my delight is in her") and your land Beulah ("bride"); for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." Isaiah 62:2-5

THANK You Father! I love you!! THANK YOU JESUS!! Thank you for loving me!! ♥♥♥ I am going to live for YOU!

Our growing lil' pumkin!

We rejoice in ALL the Lord brings to us! Trusting Him completely..."for no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor mind can conceive what God has in store.."
We praise You, Father, for Your mercies are new every morning! You have turned our mourning into dancing, our sorrows into joy.....you have put a new song in our hearts!
We ♥ you, Lord!!

Where I've been....Where I'm going...

I would love to help place seniors in a home-like community where they will be most happy, enriched and valued in the later season of their lives!