He Knows Your NAME

LIFE Springs up from the LAND!

 I carved out several hours one morning to spend time with my Lord.  I was eager to hear from Him and to enjoy His presence.  I love to open my bible, linger in His Word and go on an adventure with Him.  I opened my journal to re-read some of my last few entries and I opened an online devotion from “Daughters of Promise” that I receive daily and the title jumped out at me!  “Land, And The Blood Shed On It.”  Not the most inviting title really, but I was very curious about the message, especially that day.  Just a few days prior to this a dear friend sent me a devotion from Joseph Prince from Exodus 12:13, referring to the Passover and the blood over the doorposts.  My intrigue for this subject caused me to pause and I took a deep breath, I knew I was in for a deep lesson.

 

Over the years of walking with God I have enjoyed a familiar movement of the Holy Spirit in my life. When I have a sense about something, I ask God to confirm it three times, so I am sure it is from Him.  This pattern has become so familiar that I often recognize that the confirmation is coming without me asking for it formally anymore.  It just comes because it is the cry of my heart to hear from God.   I knew that this message had already come twice, so the third was sure to follow.  And it quickly did.

 

Christine Wyrtzen wrote on Genesis 4:10-11 “And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.  And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”   In her teaching on this verse she said, “The land holds the memory of blood shed upon it.  The land, as well as people, can be cursed and found begging for forgiveness. The piece of ground upon which Abel was brutally murdered pulsated with the memory of the traumatic event.  God could perceive its cry.”

 

Our home has had several previous owners.  I believe in praying over homes and in homes for the Light of God to be made manifest in and through our lives.  In the past 6 years we have had spiritual battles in the lives of our children and we have continued to pray and recite scripture in our home, so that spiritual freedom will be ours and hope will be victorious.  When I read this devotion about the land I was convicted about my lack of attention to the land my home sits on.  Then this question rose in me, “who owned this land and built this house?”  I knew the answer right away and I felt a rush of horror run through me.  The man who built this house lived next door when we moved in, so we met him several times.  He moved away years ago and I suspected he had since died.  I looked up his obituary, and sure enough he died in 2006.  One of the options given for his name (as Google finds everything with a name on it) was in a testimony from Dr. Jarrett.  I immediately recognized Dr. Jarrett’s name because his large family has been apart of our school community, therefore I was familiar with his story.  He was a former abortion provider and after making the decision to follow Christ he devoted his life, professionally and personally to honor God in every way.  His early professional career was influenced by my (physician) neighbor and his testimony confirmed the information I had been told about him to be true.  

 

I got up from where I was sitting and from an upstairs window I looked over our land.  I was stunned.  The almost 10 acres surrounding my home was owned by a man who was considered a leading abortionist in Indianapolis from Roe vs. Wade till the end of his career.  “There is so much blood on his hands” was what rang through my mind.  As this sank into my mind, my heart was overwhelmed.  I got dressed and grabbed my prayer book to go outside to begin praying.  I felt the Spirit lean into me to first pray over the top of the house, so I went out to the roof and laid my hands on our rooftop and prayed deliverance over our home.  I then walked the roof pitch and prayed for a release of hope and forgiveness over our home.  This man told us that the reason he built this house was so that he could be separated from his wife (at the time) because he wanted to divorce her.  Knowing this led me to pray against relational brokenness and for a spirit of reconciliation. I then went outside and prayed over the entire property by walking around every inch of our property line. I felt a tremendous peace wash over me, so I sat down on a bench in front of the creek.  The brook was flowing and the sound of the water was so refreshing.  After I sat for a while, I asked the Lord if I was finished. My spirit was given a clear directive, “write my name in the land,” redemption was claimed and now I needed to plant it in stone.

 

“He Knows Your Name” ministry is at its core, about legacy.  Claiming purpose and victory is my mission.  I have designed and purchased many headstones for others, and I found it amazing that now I had a reason to put one on my land.  I knew exactly what to do.  I would claim the names, even though only God knows what they are, for every child aborted at the hands of my neighbor.  Through a prayer of deliverance, spoken with the authority of Jesus name, I released the curse of death by the power of Jesus blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sin.  “Oh, precious is the flow” from “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” was the song in my head now!

 

 My mission was now to have my family give dignity to all those babies.  I took a large stone to my engraver that very next day, and had the following inscription carved in it:

 

He Knows Your Name

“…an everlasting name”

Isaiah 56:5

 

 Scripture has been planted in the land because the stone has been placed.   The children have been honored and given dignity for their lives are sacred.  He knows their names.  We fully anticipate fruit to be born like never before in our lives and our ministries.  Our home is a Light on a hill for Jesus Christ now and forevermore. 

My Dad

This past weekend we celebrated my father's 80th birthday.  No one would have believed he would have ever made it to 80.  Especially not my mother.  Last year when he turned 79, I had a welling up in my heart that gave me the sense that he would live to see 80.  Everyday is a gift for him, and it is for us too.  He lives with so much gratitude and perspective.   

My dad has been kicked out of hospice twice and I have signed two DNR orders for him.  He has had 2 open heart surguries and numerious device implants.  Three of them were 3 months ago, right before Christmas.  He battled a sight infection for the 2 months that led upto his replacement surgury and he told his doctors he had a Christmas party planned that was his gift to his family, and he WAS NOT going to miss it.  AND, he didn't.  He walked weakly and slowly into the Country Club wearing his navy blazer, excited to be with his family, his most precious possession.  He delighted in every single person and he knew that celebrating was the best medicine for his recovery.  No pharmacy could compound that drug!

My dad has a grateful heart.  It is pretty simple really, he just loves his family.  His heart actually beats for us.  No pacemaker can give him the joy that fills him to the brim daily.  He has called me everyday this week to share his overwhelmed heart with me about his birthday.  He was given a stack of birthday cards from the people that attended his party and he has paced himself daily in opening them.  He calls to tell me what the notes say, and through tears, he expresses his unbelief for the love he has been shown.  

I looked at him on his 80th birthday through different eyes.  I saw his peace, joy, hope, and delight in sharing stories with us, and I wondered, what will I be like when I turn 80?  I am built just like my dad, so I laughed with him about his saggy pants, but I hope more than anything, that I will count everyday as a gift.   A gift to live. A gift to love and a gift to share.  He enjoys simple pleasures and thinks his dog is the smartest, most unique and silly companion.  They have bonded and are inseparable, and yes, Buddy was at the party! 

My dad never thought he'd live 4 years past lossing my mother, his high school sweetheart.  He misses her every hour of everyday, but he still wants to live.  He treasures the miracles he has been given.  His loss didn't diminish his desire to relish in his life.  He knows he is a blessed man.  He knows relationships are delicate, but hardy.  He believes Jesus has him on this earth for a reason and he loves to help his neighbor.  My dad is a loved and appreciated man, in his family and in his community.  He has developed connections in relationships all throughout his life.  He loves to tell stories because he realizes in them  life is enjoyed to the full.

When I grow up and turn 80, I want to be like my dad.  Not a grumpy old man who is just surviving, but a thriving, grateful, loving elder who loves life, family and community.  I have had such a great example from both my parents about living and dying.  Dignity and honor have marked their lives.

Gracious and generous of heart, that's my dad. 

What does Psalm 23 have to do with the Safe Haven Law?

The Safe Haven Law in Indiana is in place to protect newborn babies from being abandoned, and left to die, by their mothers.  It provides an option for a desperate mom who is afraid and in a crisis to leave her child in a safe place without being asked a question.  

Fear is not something this law can eliminate. Fear hovers over a scared woman in crisis and allows shame to make her decision for her when she is most vulnerable.  If a mother is alone during delivery she will panic and flee instead of seek safety and help.

A full-term baby was dumped into a creek 1 week ago today, and found by a man who was out for a casual morning walk with his dog.  The man was traumatized and the community is outraged.  The mother is being demonized in the media and in the comments section of the online articles.  Would she be so hated if she had aborted just a month prior?  Isn't this really a post-birth abortion?  How is one called murder and the other called a choice?  Either way the mother didn't want her child so she exercised her rights for the outcome she wanted.

In all of the comments from the online articles, not one person asked the question, "What happens to the baby now?"  They blame the schools, the church and the political systems for not being...whatever.  The mother may never be found, but the baby was.  Just like Joseph after his brothers left him for dead in a pit, he was discovered. However, this child didn't live, but this child is known by God, not lost, and not forgotten.    

The Safe Haven cannot provide safety unless it is sought out to do so. Psalm 23 speaks of a different kind of safe haven.  The green pastures located near quiet waters.  David penned the beautiful picture of a place that can be found when we seek the presence of God.  He created a list of what we get in God when we rest in Him, and what we don’t get when we rest in Him.

 

Here it is:

 

He is my shepherd.

He makes me lie down.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul.

He guides.

His Name.

He is with me.

His rod and staff comfort me.

He prepares a table for me.

He anoints my head with oil.

He follows me with goodness.

He opens His eternal house to me.

 

I shall not be in want.

I shall not chase.

I shall not have noise.

I shall not be weary.

I shall not walk alone.

I shall not fear evil when I die.

I shall not be alone.

I shall not be anxious.

I shall not be hungry like my enemies.

I shall not live with a ½ empty cup.

I shall not be left unguarded.

I shall not ever live without God’s presence.

 

There is a safe haven in a valley full of goodness and love, all we have to do is cry out for it.  God is only a cry away.  He delivers when we give birth to something that terrifies us, seems like a mistake or is even a violation to us.  He is big enough to provide the answer, the path and the escape we need when the labor pains of life push uncontrollably through us.  

 

 

 

 

There am I with them...

"For where 2 or 3 come together in my NAME,  there am I with them."   Matthew 18:20

 

I have known this bible verse for more than 2 decades.  I have prayed in power in groups of friends for mighty movements of God claiming this promise often, but today as I stood with a grieving commmunity I felt it come alive like never before.  God's Word is alive, I mean really alive!  Hearts bind together when pain is shared and embraces from a friend are comforting.  

I am humbled by women who put their own suffering aside, so that they can weep with a sister in pain.   That deep sacrifice can only come from a place of love.  Two women who met because of the loss of a child have bonded and they bring hope to one another that is eternal.    Today I witnessed Jesus among people who laid their sorrows bare and prayed with passion for peace in the Name of their Savior.  It is an honor to stand in the gap with mom's who have brokenness from shattered dreams, and yet they are overcomers in Christ.  I have tasted and seen that God is in deed good because He breaths life back into  uncontrolable tears that heave with sadness.

I drove home with heart full of joy.  I experienced the presence of God in a sacred time of sharing and I am so grateful.  What a great day!

Am I held Captive by my Name?

AM I HELD CAPTIVE BY MY NAME? by Christine Daughters of Promise

And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. Genesis 4:2

When Eve gave birth to her second child, he was named Abel. The meaning of his name fit his destiny. 'Abel' means 'breath or vapor'. As the story of his life unfolds, his life is short, just a vapor. He is to be the first martyr for the Christian faith and will be remembered in the great hall of faith chapter in Hebrews. Names are interesting things. Oftentimes, the meaning of someone's name holds great spiritual meaning. It's something we can grow into. I believe God often handpicks names though parents think they made the decision. Names so often seem to fit the child. In a loving and stable home, a girl named 'Joy' will be a bubbly child, full of sunshine. A boy whose name means 'man of faith' will grow up to have spiritual grit. He will go on to surmount daunting challenges. But, let the home be a wasteland, full of pain and destruction, and Satan will make sure that the child grows up to believe the exact opposite of his name. The girl named 'Joy' will be visited by depression. The boy whose name means 'full of faith' will experience affliction that causes him to live fearful. Can God change our story, our nature and our name? Consider Naomi. Her name meant 'pleasant and agreeable' and for a while she probably was. Then her husband took her, and their two sons, to Moab. She watched all three of them die. Her story took on bitter elements so that she renamed herself Mara, 'bitter'. God redeemed her name as well as her story. He used a Moabite woman, from a godless race, to rehabilitate her mother in law. Ruth made one righteous decision after another and ended up marrying a holy man, saving Naomi, and filling her senior years with joyful laughter. God is a God of new names. He wisely, and perhaps playfully, bestows a new identity on one who is willing to follow Him to the land of blessing. It's not an easy journey, as it will involve the complete shift of a former mindset. It will require grit and faith. But deep joy and profound significance will follow any who is willing to believe God for. He did it for me. I thought I was stupid. For 40 years I was afflicted with deep insecurity about my intellectual capacity. God healed me. And interestingly enough, He used the meaning of my middle name to confirm the truth. 'Eloise', the name I disliked and hid, is a French name that means 'smart'. I think I heard God chuckle. I am praying for a girl right now whose name means 'place of stones'. I am inserting her name into Ezekiel 26:36. Her God can give her a heart of flesh to replace her heart of stone. I think her story is a sad one but there is a Father who sees her and offers her abundant life. Her 'place of stones' will become an altar of worship. You are a redemptive Father. You can redeem anything and everything. Anything unholy and tragic associated with my name can be transformed into something holy, prosperous, and full of joyful singing. Amen

Brooke means: brook/stream

Good Morning Brooke,

Your name literally means brook.  A stream of water.  Think about what water does...refreshes, restores and nourishes.  Those who are parched come for hydration. Those who seek rest come to catch their breath.   Jesus said, He is the Living water.  When you take those in need to The Water, you are living out your call to fulfill the great commission.  

And for your own life...because you have planted yourself near the fountain of Life, this verse says, even in the heat your leaves WILL remain green, so do not be anxious when a season of dryness comes.  As you model peace to your children, they will learn from you to trust and be at peace too.  The promise here says, that even when the heat seems scorching, you will not cease to bear fruit if you remain planted by water.  You are doing that and His promises are faithful and true.

This principle has a strong reflection to John 15 where John describes the concept of abiding. I have watched you choose over and over to abide richly in His Word, His presence and in worship, know that He is with you always!  Seek His presence and He will satisfy you with all of Himself.  Let the roots of scripture sink deeply into your soul....

Jeremiah 17:7-8, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Praising God that you are planted in His living water.

                                                                 ~taken from an email I wrote my dear friend

TASTE what & SEE what?

"Taste & see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8

"Taste" what?    

Taste the drink from the fountain of life and never be thirsty again.  Jesus is our Living Water. Pull up a chair to the banquet table and accept the invitaion to dine at the table God has prepared for you. Ps 23: 5  Be nurished by the endless supply of God's love and be satisfied in His presence.  Oh, I want that! So what do I eat?  I eat His Word.  To be filled with His precence and taste all He has for me by living in His promises, I need to devour His Word.  So, what am I reading? Looking at?  Who am I following and being influenced by? When I sip on other drinks and believe their slogans that I will be quenced, and forget my history with God, I will be parched.  When I eat from tables of junk food, I will ache deep in my gut from the emptiness I feel because it will not satisfy my hunger pains for long. His presence is what I taste, so that I can see.  He is alive in His Word and He is alive when I worship Him. 

"See" what?

See that God is good.  This verse doesn't say feel that God is good.  That verse runs oppostie of the world's message to be led by feelings.  The truth is, God doesn't feel good when my circumstances weigh me down. So how do I live with this verse when it brings conflict between my heart and mind?  I need to honor my feelings, but not be ruled by them.  I need to follow Paul's example and "renew my mind," Romans 12:2.  I choose to focus my mind on God's character and remember that He is good all the time.  I have history with Him that has proven that and the testimony in the lives of my community reveal that He is faithful, loving and tender. My feelings aleign themselves to truth quickly when I am led by my mind that it is rooted in truth.

So, RSVP today to the invitation to open God's Word and recline at the table of truth. Taste and see that God is good when you open yourselves up to the endless supply of His favor through lingering in His presence.  Don't hurry through the drive thru window, that is not a sustainable meal.  His table is set and prepared JUST for you.  He waits for you.  Listen and wait for Him. Oh, how you will be satisfied!

 

I went to Haiti at 4 am today!

For years I have been up at 4 am for one reason or another.  Generally, anxiety wakes me up and I battle it with prayer, scripture and praise music.  The peace of Jesus is the best drug for this plague.  I work through many diciplines and find the darkness turns to light and I don't mean sunrise, I mean the Spirit meets me in my surrender.

When I was in Haiti in November I went to a prayer meeting at 4 am.  A community of followers of Jesus have been gathering for 25 years!!  Matild, who is the grndmother of the group has only missed one meeting in all those years.  Faithfulness marks her life in every way.  

Attending that sacred time of prayer with those sweet people changesdme.  Only one pastor spoke English, so he translated for us.  It didn't matter that I didn't understand the words of the songs or most of the prayers lifted up, I heard their hearts clearly through the beauty of their voices.  Their raised hands, bowed heads, and smiling faces wet with tears spoke the language of heaven.  All I can say is, I want more of that.  I long for more of that.

The hut had a dirt floor, no electricity or plumbling, but it became a sancuary for the body of Christ and it transformed me.  The closest I have come to experiencing that kind of worship in America was at Times Square Church in NYC.  I worshipped among the nations there and it felt like heaven to me.  I long for 4 am prayer and worship, and I don't fight back when I see the clock.   I think God loves to wake me and invite me to walk the rugged road, like I did in Haiti, to meet Him at 4 am.  I allow my spirit to be transpoted to Haiti where I can celebrate the Lord with beautiful people who thank God for everything and have more gratiude in their pinkie finger than I do most days. My only grief that morning was not for them, but for us.  I told them I didn't know anyone at home who was up at that hour singing and praying with their communities.  It is our loss.  It is their gain.  They are richer than we are in so many ways.   I am humbled by my brothers and sisters in Haiti.

To God be the glory!  

Irena means PEACE

Do you know Irena Sendler?  If you don't I encourage you to read this article about her.  She is a hero.  She is a couragious fighter for life.   She rescued, protected and survived under massive persecution.  The holocost was a slaughter and mass graves were filled with millions of children.  How she was overlooked for the Noble Peace prize I'll never understand.  How Al Gove got it instead, I'll never understand.  I honor her legacy by achknowleging her here today.  When I grow up I want to have her conviction deep in my soul for life.

http://www.auschwitz.dk/Sendler.htm

Related articles

do you know Irena Sendler? you should......

No Nobel Prize, BUT Remember THIS WOMAN

Legacy

 

 

Our Names give meaning and purpose to our lives.   God reveals all through His Word how important names are to Him because He places worth on us as His image-bearers. At the end of the book of Job we see how when Job’s life is restored to him after so much suffering, hope is birthed.  Job had 3 daughters and their names give understanding to his long-suffering and the redemption God provided through a new generation.

 

Jemimih means: dove, a clear day

Keziah means: purification, bringing correction to things that need change

Keren Happuch means: to restore above the first

 

We all write our legacy everyday.  Our journey is an unfolding story and I believe we need to embrace the choices we make that set in motion our future eulogy.  Someone will tell our story, but we are the authors of it.  Job’s story is one of faith.  He penned it everyday he chose to believe God was Sovereign over His good days and his bad days.  In the end, Job was a blessed man, verse 12 of chapter 42 says, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.” After experiencing so much personal loss, Job, had so much to live for because He trusted God for his future.   His legacy was FAITH and TRUST!