Las Vegas - Day 16

A few of you have suggested I keep a blog so we can keep connected and up to date in what is happening in our lives so here it goes....

Cant believe that I have already been out of California and my beloved Santa Clarita for 16 days. I miss my daughter, my church and my friends like mad. We have been to several churches looking for a place to call home (as long as the Lord has us here) but have not yet decided where that should be. Nevada is different but I trust that God will give me a heart for this place and this people in time.

God has definitely blessed us with a great home so we are off to a good start! The pool is wonderful and I am looking forward to spending a lot of time in it as soon as the insane winds stop blowing. HOWEVER... the Lord did use the winds to speak to me as I was checking out a women's Bible Study last Wednesday at ICLV (International Church of Las Vegas). We stopped to have a few moments of just seeking and listening to the Lord (I really liked that as so few people do that these days and it is something that I really enjoy doing) and the winds were just howling... I was listening to the Lord, seeking any word of knowledge or any word really from his lips, and I heard... the winds of Pentecost are going to blow. I felt like he impressed upon me that he is about to pour out anointing and fire as on the day of Pentecost very soon on his sons and daughters. There is about to be a new wind to blow through the body of Christ, there will be testimony, salvation, healing and a new boldness! I was filled with joy and just began to smile to myself and giggle a little. I think the sweet, friendly and unfamiliar ladies at the table with me probably that I was a little wacky. Anyway... I continued to listen and the lord gave me a few other things... I wasn't sure how relevant they were but jotted a few notes down just the same. Then the meeting moved on and we were to share what we heard.. I didn't share this. I just held onto it and shared something else that seemed irrelevant. Anywho... I went to prayer the next morning and it just so happened that the pastors wife was there and she came up to exhort and lead a part of the prayer. She began to share about a special service they would be having on the 23rd (figures I thought, I will be in California at the Retreat so I will miss it) and how they believed it was the beginning of a season of miracles and healing and that it was actually the day of Pentecost. So COOL! Our retreat is on Pentecost weekend! I didn't even realize that when we scheduled it and how well that married the word I had just received from the Lord. So my Spirit jumped within me and we agreed with a resounding AMEN... let it be as you have said LORD! So I am excited to see what God will do at the Retreat and here in Las Vegas. I just know I want to be a part of whatever He is doing! AMEN?!

On a more personal note, there seems to be a few things that the Lord continues to speak to me. One is that if you want to be different, you must DO DIFFERENT! I know... it's like the old "Definition of insanity" saying, but it spoke to me. So I am on a quest to DO DIFFERENT. I am just allowing Him to lead me in that quest and relying on Him and His direction more than ever before. I know that God wants more of me so He can do more in me and through me. I am also learning to get back to just being his daughter and letting that dictate my value and purpose rather than how well I am performing or succeeding at whatever task or ministry service may be at hand. My identity is not based in what or how I do, but simply whose I am. I know that, but needed a good refresher course as that performance based value system runs deep and is easy to slip back into especially when you are busy "doing" for the "Lord". Ya know?!

So to summarize... it has been difficult, but I do see God in it. I am not yet at a place where I can say I am enjoying it, as the sting of leaving my church home is still ever-present, but I trust that the season of joy is coming.

I am looking forward to seeing my daughter and all of my Divine by Design ladies in 9 days! Yes I am counting the days until we are able to fellowship and worship together! So I leave you with this thought...

Jn 17:20 - 26 "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ²⁴"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.²⁵"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."