I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
I've shared with you before about how the Lord speaks to me when I am mowing and today proved to be yet another day in which HE spoke. I've also shared here before that years ago we began working with a Life Coach and the Lord has done a HUGE work in me and in my husband but also in our marriage. When the LORD works in you as individuals, HE also wants to help you as parents, so of course it will cycle down the ladder to your children. WE learned soo very much about who we are. Who we are in HIM. We learned about how our past truly affected our relationships today and we looked deeply into that and together with the Lord we have broken so many generational curses. They do not have any power over our future but more importantly over our childrens future. Our children have seen us work diligently to make our family, our marriage and our walk as believers as strong as possible. They see the LORD working in us to be a team for HIM no matter what the circumstance!
I remember at one point of us doing our work we had some friends going through a class at Sunday School that dealt with marriages and making them stronger. The teacher of the class told them that by the end only 1/4 of the people would be there to see the completion. He explained further that people have a hard time looking within and really allowing the pain, truth, and/or confrontation to come out into the light to be healed. And true to what he said...the class windled down couple by couple.
I have to say....this has been true in the case over the years as we have referred friends, couples who we met and were having troubles in their marraige, or people we would meet in ministry who were having family issues. Our Life Coach would meet with them and at times they would meet for awhile but honestly the majority would stop. WHY??
If we could only grasp just HOW VERY MUCH the Lord wants to heal those inner wounds, those deep needs that only HE can fill. For some, the hurt and pain that began when we were just young children but that still affect the way we handle our relationships today can be healed! Is it hard. YES! Is it one of the most difficult times you will walk through. YES.
You know the verse "May I decrease as HE increases!" What I learned as I took this journey through the fire was that alot of what the LORD took from me or rather allowed me to release were the things that were things straight from the enemy.....
Shame, Sinful thoughts or ways, pain, lies ~ you get the picture. But to me, they were reality and yet... I was a Believer. I knew the Word, I had a relationship with the LORD and still I wasn't walking in the victory the Lord had for me.
It took almost losing my marriage to seek help and honestly the enemy almost won. By that I mean, the enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy. That could mean any number of things. For myself, it was keeping the generational curse of divorce going. Keeping sinful spirits alive and attempting to pass them down to my children and most likely my grandchildren. BUT!!! GOD MOVED! HE HEALED! HE FANNED THE FLAMES AND THEY BURNED HOT! HE walked my husband and I through the FIRE with ONE who would keep the flames from burning us but would burn away the things that were not of HIM.
Today while out mowing I felt the Lord saying to remember....to encourage those who come in my path that ~ IF they will CHOOSE to walk through the Fire ~ HE will be with them. They will face their fears, wounds will be healed, futures will forever be changed, relationships restored ~ but even with all of this .... add to that ~ the walk you once had with the Lord will also be RENEWED & STRONGER than you ever knew possible! For some it may even be finding a relationship with the LORD and walking with HIM day by day, learning about all that HE has for you!
Always remember
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength! Phillipians 4:13....With HIM ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!
Last Night's Christmas Service
1 day ago
15 comments:
Excellent post my friend. Excellent! My husband has counseled with men who's marriages are not doing very well, and only a few actually took his biblical advice and did something with it. The others wanted a quick fix and never thought the blame was their own for any of it.
Like you I just wish people would see that the Lord wants their marriage to succeed but it does take 3 for it to work!
LOVE YOU!
Kim
Enjoyed your words today. Victory in HIm.......
I think maybe you wrote this for me:)
That's what I want, freedom from generational curses. While my husband and I have been blessed with a strong loving marriage, I see other traits, especially in myself, that I am passing on to my children. And that is SCARY to me!
You actually quoted my favorite verse from John. Love that! May be stay connected to the Vine so we can bear much fruit for His glory. Have a blesse day.
I love how we share that "mowing" the lawn thing...sister...funny how I thought I was the only one in the world God talked to at such an "unexpected" time! LOL! Thank you for sharing this...I needed this today. God has been speaking a lot lately...I have a lot of listening to do! Blessings to you sister! I always LOVE seeing your "cheery" blog!!!!
With joy,
Cherie
mowed the lawn yesterday also...love that time with the Lord. Good time just to think and sit watching his beauty he has created. He always speaks to me too. Thanks for walking thru the fire in your marriage and setting an example to all of us. Matt & I have been restored this year also...it's been so refreshing and just joyful to be where want us in our marriage.
Loveya,
AMEN, Girlfriend! I was just thinking on my way over here..I needed to ask you to pray for a friend who is going through a fire on two different fronts...now I know I am to send you to her blog. She is a wonderful woman of GOD and her husband is an awesome man of GOD, but they are facing some super difficult situations right now. Please visit and pray for her: Mary @ http://divinelydesigned.blogspot.com
Big hugs, love, and prayers, andrea
Such a great blog post!
Thanks for the encouraging words you left me on my blog.
Much love to you today!
Loren,
What a great post and I am truly inspired by it. I never thought of the generational curse and how much I want it to stop with me. I want to defeat the enemy but not with my will but through God's will and God's power. If we let feelings dictate our actions, we will surely lose, but if we utilize that Spirit dwelling within us we can't fail. We can chose to do what we don't feel like doing and prevail.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
I love this post!! Dan and I have walked through the fires and been restored, we have broken generational curses, healed old hurts, and the Lord has walked every step of the way with us. It is amazing what He has for us on the other side if we will just let Him walk us through.
I praise the Lord that He had his hand on the two of us as we grew up and even though, as adults, we haven't walked it all together like we did as kids, He has walked us both through and brought us back together on the other side!!
Love you
Wow, such an inspiring post sis. Bless you for sharing the truth so beautifully. I love you.
My Dad's sermon was on this very thing last Sunday. Powerful stuff. Yes...He is with us through the fire. Love that.
Hugs,
Mimi
This is such a powerful post, Loren! I know it is for me too. I can't tell you how many times I have had that scripture~ the enemy seeks to kill, steal and destroy~ quoted to me over the last few months...by many different people in regard to what I've been dealing with. I know it's the truth and that I have to be armed and ready to fight. Thank you for sharing your testimony and for your prayers.
Love you, girl. You're a powerful little thing and I'm so thankful to know you.
I have always loved that verse. A few weeks ago my hubby was giving his sermon and he quoted that verse, only he said "Scripture doesn't say I can do MOST things through Christ who strengthens me."
Sometimes we have a "most" mentality when we really need to have an "all" mentality and stop limiting God!
I am so glad that God has healed your marriage, what a testimony you have to His grace! Thank you for sharing it where people need to hear it.
~ Nan (in my Five Mom's persona instead of my Mom's The Word persona, lol!)
I think maybe I'd better start mowing my law! Such a great post. My husband and I have walked through some things together, but it's taking a lot longer for me to get my stuff healed up. Maybe if I started mowing the lawn I would receive greater revelation! Thank you my friend!
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