Seeking Him

Today was
In honor of that, here’s a very eye opening excerpt from “What to Say When”

“Hundreds of students— half pro-life and half pro-choice poured into a packed college lecture hall to hear two women speak; both had been r***d. One had an abortion, and one placed her baby for adoption. Each shared the horrific experience of r**e. Each shared the experience of considering abor-tion. And each explained the reason for their decision.

Both used logic without much emotion in sharing why they decided to have or not to have an abortion. Most stu-dents, even the pro-life students, understood why the r**e victim who chose abortion did so. A spirit of compassion, not judgment, was in the room.

The forum seemed to be wrapping up until the woman who chose abortion said, "Now many people encouraged me and supported me in my decision. They understood, and most women told me they would do the same if they were in my position. This is, after all, why we have legal abortion. But no one, including myself, ever considered what would happen after my abortion. No one ever considered that I would be adding an anniversary to my life."

The students homed in on the term anniversary.
We have worked with many victims of r**e, and all of them remember the date of their r**e. They all have an annual anniversary, a reminder of that horrible event. Similarly, we have met thousands of post-abortive women, and almost all of them know the anniversary of their abortion.

The woman who was r***d and chose abortion explained that she did not want her baby to remind her of her tragic r**e. She wanted the r**e in her past. She then passionately explained how the opposite happened. The r**e and the abortion became two parallel traumas that feed off each other. She said that her r**e anniversary reminded her of her abortion.

And her abortion anniversary reminded her of the r**e. She was fighting a double battle because of a decision that was supposed to help her move on from this horrific event but instead magnified her pain.

Her testimony ended as she described encountering God and receiving the strength and grace to find hope and healing.

Then, the r**e victim who chose life and gave her baby up for adoption spoke. She shared the joy of getting updates on her son from his adoptive parents. She shared how close she came to choosing abortion before deciding she couldn't do it.

And she described how every event of her son's life is a testament that the r**e does not define her. She said her r**e anniversary reminds her that there is always hope after our worst experiences in life.

The students sat in silence and listened to these two women share the reality of the consequences of r**e and abortion.

There is no sugarcoating the tragedy of r**e or abortion. But a tragedy does not have the ultimate power to change our nature: that we are hardwired to protect our children. Their courage to share their real-life experiences is too often absent from the discussion on r**e and abortion. No one thinks about the two anniversaries feeding— positively or negatively- off each other.

These two women's experiences illuminate the victims in this story and demonstrate why abortion can never comfort, console, or solve a woman's problem.”

There’s a lot of videos and posts I’ve seen about deliverance, where people are supposedly being delivered through coughing and vomiting, and it never sits right with me, actually completely disagrees with the Holy Spirit in me, and the Lord dropped this into my spirit tonight:

Moves of God are not marked by sickness, nausea, and vomiting, or spectacular appearances of gold dust and feathers. No, moves of God are marked by healing miracles and supernatural joy in the Holy Ghost. Beware the false prophets and teachers! Just because they have a big platform and following, does not mean they are being led of the RIGHT spirit! Test everything they say and do with the plumb line of the Word of God!

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“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

““Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick gr**es from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

““So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭20‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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If the goal is to hear “well done, good and faithful servant,” reaching it is simple: Seek Him, and seek to serve Him, first in all things. Make this your number one priority every day, and everything else in life will fall into place around that.

📸 Photo credit: .leopardi on

If you call yourself a Christian, but nothing about your life tells the world around you that you belong to Christ, you belong to the world. Unless you want to hear “depart from me I never knew you,” it’s time to repent and get on fire for Jesus!

”On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!“
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You are NOT a “poor old sinner saved by grace.” You ARE the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If anyone tries to tell you any different, remind them what the Word says.

”Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭AMP‬‬

The Greatest Love ✨

This is the way God, the Creator & owner of all things indeed took pleasure in, longed for, preferred, had good-will towards, wished well for, regarded the welfare of, prized above all other things, was unwilling to abandon or do without, & welcomed with desire, all the inhabitants of the world: Therefore He offered His only descendant of its kind, Who came forth from His being & shares His nature, for the purpose that as many as believe & place confidence in Jesus; have faith to give them selves up to Him, rule out any implications that they should vanish away, be blotted out, & given over to eternal misery, but on the other hand will possess, cling to, be closely joined with the reality of the gift of life intimately shared by the Lord, which operates simultaneously outside of time, inside of time, & beyond time- Those who believe live in eternal life RIGHT NOW, experiencing the quality of God’s life right now, as a present possession, which is without beginning or end, always was & always will be, never ceasing, everlasting. 💙

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Your unbelief hinders the power and ability of God to do what you ask Him to do in your life

”And He could not do a miracle there at all [because of their unbelief] except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. He wondered at their unbelief. …
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭AMP‬‬

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Dear Single Momma at Christmas time...I know your burdens seem even heavier trying to provide the necessary extras this season. I know the songs that play bring back memories of what used to be. The lights and traditions are reminders of the family that you once had. There's an empty space at the table where everyone gathers. Your kids have hurts and pain that rise like ocean waves to the surface and they seem to act out more than normal. Tantrums, tears and even a little defiance because your the one who's here to dish out the anger on. Maybe you're feeling like you have had to be their punching bag. You receive the emotional blows and outbursts. You struggle to pay the regular bills and now are scrambling to try to find a way to put gifts under the tree. You bravely and strongly smile thru holiday gatherings and hold back tears at church as you see families sitting together during the services. And you want that too. I just want you to know you are not alone...I'm there too and so are countless others...Thousands are going thru the same thing too. I pray in the midst of this Christmas you find His peace and provision...His comfort and His joy who is ultimately your strength. It will all work out. Just let Him do it all for you. Trust Him. He won't forsake you and your kids. Every year (It's been 5 yrs for me) He's brought help along the way and even though its been exhausting and hard...I've always managed to get thru. I pray this for all of you tonight. ❤~ Jenny Williams, A Modern Day Ruth, Copyright 2014

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This morning I was listening to the Bible app while I was getting ready for the day and I heard something I’d never heard before.

Well, I’ve likely heard it before but I became aware of something new. That’s one of my favorite things about the Bible, no matter how many times I read the same passages I always seem to learn something new.

I was listening to the story of Elisha and the Shunamite woman.

The woman has no name in scripture only a few descriptors.

A wealthy woman.

A wife.

A woman with no son.

Elisha traveled through their town often so the Shunamite woman asked her husband to build him a room on their roof. He did as she asked and Elisha was so grateful that he asked the woman what he could do for her in return.

Noticing that the woman had no child (and that her husband was “old”) Elisha proclaims that she will soon have a son.

She responds in a way that sounds a lot like she really didn’t want to get her hopes up…perhaps her heart had longed for a child for many years.

The woman - just as Elisha promised- has that son and a few years later he becomes ill and dies in her arms.

Then something extraordinary happens.

That Shunamite woman lays her son in a bed and strikes out to find Elisha. She passes her husband in the field who questions her about where she’s headed…she tells him only this: “all is well.”

Elisha sees her coming toward him and he sends his servant to meet her to inquire about her visit.

His servant asks (I’m paraphrasing here) “why are you here is everyone okay?”
Her response to him? “All is well.”

But we know all is not well. Her son, her only son, is dead.

She pushes past the servant and gets to Elisha. She falls and grabs hold of his feet! And then she tells him that her son is dead and she demands that he comes with her to help him.

The Shunamite woman knew that it was hopeless to involve anyone other than God to help her. She reported to everyone that everything was fine- because she was convinced that it would be- if she could just get a hold of God’s man, Elisha the Prophet.

She had a problem with her child and she would not even take the time to discuss her situation with anyone except the one who could fix it.

Listen, I am so guilty of telling everyone on my path about all of my problems before I ever make it to the One who can help me.

This woman knew no one could help her but God. And Elisha was able to resurrect her son, the woman knew he could.

I want my faith to be like that Shunamite. I want to grab the feet of Jesus and pull him right into my problems. I want to bypass everyone else and go straight to the source, confident that he is the only one who can make a difference in my life.

If you read this whole thing, thank you. I needed to tell you how awesome God is.

***Can I tell you about my prayer devotional? It’s called “A Mama’s Prayer” and it’s 30 prayers to pray over your children. You can order yours now at https://www.sprinklesinmycloset.com/product-page/when-mama-prays***

If you are truly saved by Christ Jesus, your life will be radically changed!
~Pastor Rusty Martin

I am living proof of this! The moment I sincerely said “God, make me the mother You created me to be,” He changed me from the inside out! Anyone who’s known me since before 2014 can testify to this! I am not the same person I once was, I’ve been made new, and my life has radically changed! All Glory to God! 💙

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭AMP‬‬

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“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭AMP‬‬

A Quick Turnaround

One year & two days ago.

My heart broke as I sat with my child who said he didn’t see a purpose to life. Shortly after, I received a Word from God through a praying friend, that we would see a “quick turnaround.” It seemed like a hopeless situation, I couldn’t see a quick turnaround happening, but I knew I trusted God to keep His promises. I kept praying, did all I could to help my boy, & let God work.

I watched as he found himself attracted to a beautiful young girl who comes from a godly family, & he began to spend a LOT of time with them. Some might say too much, but I say, pick your battles. My son who had denied the very existence of God, was choosing to spend his time in the home of a family who loves God. That was all that mattered to me. And I watched God work as my child began to have faith again.

Last Wednesday, on the way home from church, I was floored. I won’t share word for word details, but we had a conversation, & we prayed together. Y’all!! I listened to my baby who just one year ago was full of anger, insisted that God can’t be real, & saw no purpose for his life, talk to God about wanting to go to the world with the Gospel & see people healed!!

**Cue the ugly happy momma cry 😭 😭

A QUICK TURNAROUND 🙌🙌

Mommas, if your children have gone down the wrong path, if they have you worried for their souls, dig your heels in & stand strong, believe God for a quick turnaround!! You have trained them up in the way they should go, & they WILL come back around! God is GOOD & He is FAITHFUL to keep every promise of His Word!! 🙌

As a parent of a teen who rejects both God & me, shows a lack of respect for me, & disobeys me, it hurts, a lot. It hurts to see my son lost, hurting, not recognizing or appreciating who I am to him & all that I do for him. It hurts to be treated like the enemy, when I am the one who has been his greatest supporter & fought for him & done all I can to help him his whole life. It hurts to have watched the light in his eyes go out as he chose to turn away from the Word planted in his heart, to see him lose motivation & the sense of purpose in life, & fall into periods of depression.

We’ve had quite a long weekend, & I’m sitting here, looking at this sleeping boy, still seeing that big heart I've always seen in him, that precious boy that found joy in picking little flowers out of the weeds to give me & our neighbors, I see that huge beaming smile he'd have as he handed them to us. I know that the heart of that little boy who once declared to me that he is going to be a pastor, who loves to hear the Word & engage in children’s church, is in there screaming to be set free from this turmoil he’s been going through in his own mind, & going through it alone because of the lies he’s believed that he can’t talk to me or anyone else about it, & that God is not real.

And it dawned on me, the pain we feel as parents in times like this, is overwhelming, too heavy to bear alone. (Shout out to the circle of love, prayer, & support that has surrounded us through this 🤗) Oh, but how much MORE does it hurt the heart of our Heavenly Father, seeing the billions of people, His creation, lost, hurting, & rejecting Him- when He is the only One Who can & WANTS to truly help them, heal them, restore them, & make them whole.

Church, Believers, Christ followers, WE are the hands & feet of Christ in the earth! WE have to reach those hurting souls with the Good News! They need to know that God loves them & is not mad at them. They need to meet & experience the Answer for all of their problems. They need to know LOVE. And we need to get out there & love on them, NOW, because time is so, so short!

~Gerri 💙

***Update: I appreciate the prayers & support, just wanted to clarify that the point of the post was not about bringing attention to what we were going through, but about bringing attention to the fact that the pain we feel as parents, is only a smal fraction of the pain that God feels as our Heavenly Father, & WE are called to “go & tell” the Good News to those lost & hurting souls.

Also, he is home now & showing great progress. 💙

***de

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So often, the reason we lack peace in our lives...the kind that stays with us through the best of times and the very worst of times, is because we haven't built a firm foundation. And no matter how many times I hear people say, "please don't tell me I need to spend time in God's Word...I don't need another item on my to-do list..." the reality is that there's only one way to build a strong relationship with God...and that's through the reading of, study of, and praying through God's Word. It requires time to to understand and know God's Word. It requires even more time to know it to the point that when the storms hit, our reflex is to turn TOWARD it, not away from it.

Join me and Stacey Thacker on the Million Praying Moms podcast as we unpack reason #3 that believers experience a lack of peace...not building a firm foundation.

Tune in here --->> www.millionprayingmoms.com/root-of-our-lack-of-peace-3-not-building-a-firm-foundation

💚 Brooke McGlothlin

Better have been playing the for KING & COUNTRY version, all others are 🗑️

…True story: never even like that song til I heard For King & Country sing it 🥁🥁

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Most don't comprehend this.

When you meet someone and they show you their true colors, don't try to repaint them.

When you try to save a toxic relationship or an abusive person, that is called a trauma response.

Your relationship doesn't need to make sense to anyone except you and your partner. It's a relationship, not a community project.

Always believe people when they show you who they really are.

Many times what we call "Giving people benefit of doubt" is our way of disrespecting our own boundaries with a delusional belief that they will change.

We make excuses for people we like when they don't treat us very well because we are too scared to accept the fact that they could care less about us.

The earlier you come to terms with it, the better off you'll be. Stop wasting your time on temporary conversations.

Always pray to God for guidance in your relationship.

Always having effective communication in crucial.

Communication is more than talking for hours at night before you decide to fall asleep. Its the quality of the conversation that truly matters.

It's one thing to know how to talk, it's another to know the right questions to ask & the right conversations that will open your partner's mind.

Always pay attention to how you feel deep down in your heart when you're talking to someone.

If you feel like you're settling for less, then that's what is most likely happening. Your soul knows when everything isn't in place. Don't ever ignore this feeling.

A person's morals, standards and mindset will be the qualities that will be raising your children. Those are the things that will make them a good spouse and parent. Not their looks, so choose wisely.

Pursue a relationship with someone that knows the smallest details about you. Like the way you like your eggs in the mornings, your favorite childhood memory or what romantic movies make you cry.

Take my advice and remember ......

Know who you are, know what you want, know what you deserve and never ... under any circumstances settle for less.

~ Cody Bret

“O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; Make His deeds known among the peoples.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“Give thanks to the Lord Jehovah and call his name! Make known among the nations his works!” -Persh*tta Holy Bible (translated from Aramaic)

The Hebrew words defined say: Confess, give thanks, praise the God of Israel, call, proclaim His name; make known, make aware, among the men, nations, peoples His actions, deeds, works.

What God has done is meant to be shared! People all around us need to hear about the goodness of God and His love for them. Proclaim His name, give thanks and praise to Him, make His good works in your life known to all!

“He who offers a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him], I shall show the salvation of God.””
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭50‬:‭23‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“The life that pleases me is a life lived in the gratitude of grace, always choosing to walk with me in what is right. This is the sacrifice I desire from you. If you do this, more of my salvation will unfold for you.””
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭50‬:‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬

The Hebrew definitions read more like: Whoever offers a sacrifice of praise, a thank-offering, adoration, honors and glorifies Me, and to him who changes his conduct, direction, path- orders it aright, I will make to see and enjoy the deliverance, rescue, safety, salvation, welfare, prosperity, of mighty God.

God is glorified, and most pleased with, praise offered to him from a pure heart, with a spirit of true thankfulness, adoration, and love. This spirit resides in one who seeks to walk the right path, and changes their course of life aiming to live in accordance with the Word. This is the worship that is acceptable to God, and this person is the one who will enjoy all the benefits of His salvation.

“Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“So we no longer offer up a steady stream of blood sacrifices, but through Jesus, we will offer up to God a steady stream of praise sacrifices—these are “the lambs” we offer from our lips that celebrate his name!”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Writing this out by the definitions of the Greek reads like this: Through, because of Him (Christ) then, we should offer up an offering pleasing to Him, offered on His terms, a thank-offering through all things, to God, the supreme being who owns and sustains all things; that is, the work, act, or deed of our lips confessing, declaring, professing, acknowledging, praising the name, character, and reputation of Him (Christ).

Like those beautifully imperfect drawings and artworks we receive from our children and hang on the fridge or store up as keepsakes, valuable to us only because of the love they were offered to us with, in all of our own imperfection, the gift of ourselves praising and thanking the Lord is what is pleasing to Him.

In all things, not by the dead works of religious rituals, but through the gift of coming to the Father on our own behalf, because of the finished work of Christ, let us be continually giving a thank-offering to the Lord. May the fruit of our lips always be the declaration of the perfect character of Christ and His great love for us.

“Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭29‬:‭13‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Even now, O LORD our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. -1 Chronicles 29:13 Lamsa Bible (translated from Aramaic)

Any time we see the word “therefore,” it’s wise to look and see what it’s there for. When we study this verse in its context, we find that the people of Israel had just brought offerings to give to the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord, and King David is singing a song of praise and thanksgiving, having acknowledged that everything in the earth belongs to the Lord, and the people are giving the best they have to give back to Him, out of what He has provided for them.

This is a prime example of something I was saying just a week ago- our giving causes the receivers to give thanks and praise to the Lord! And David is right, nothing is really ours anyway, it all belongs to God, everything we have comes from Him. Since it all came from Him, let us show our gratitude to Him by obediently offering our very best gifts, with sincere praise as He has so generously provided for our needs and made us able to give!