Tag: revival

Wrapping up 2023

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Dowdle Folk Art Puzzles  NATIVITY

I got my puzzle board out for the first time since last winter. Around church service on Sunday morning and visiting with our son Alex’s family on Monday, we had a quiet couple of days. I got out the Christmas puzzles, choosing the nativity to keep my thoughts on what we’re celebrating. This puzzle was challenging, with lots of repeated colors and textures.

I actually gained control of the remote, and we watched some encouraging videos on Amazon Prime. I saw Agatha VonTrapp sharing the Sound of Music story from her own perspective with her grand niece. A real treat, since the Sound of Music was my Austrian Jewish grandmother’s favorite movie.

Archie the tomcat enjoying the box of wrapping paper and the lights on the tree at Alex & Joanna’s house yesterday.

Then we watched Noelle, the story of a priest who shuts down churches that aren’t thriving, sent to a small church led by a classmate from seminary. Turns out he’s haunted by a baby/young girl whom he’d encouraged his college girlfriend to abort. A real story of redemption and the true meaning of Christmas.

Going back to the Nativity puzzle, I point out that it gives the condensed version of the account that most of us grew up with. I didn’t realize until I started reading the Bible myself that the Christ child was about two years old, and the family was living in a house in Bethlehem of Judea, when the caravan of wisemen arrived.

Well, I finished the puzzle as I was heading to bed last evening.  I won’t continue recounting the rest of the half-dozen videos we watched, but I go on to this morning.  Following friend suggestions from Facebook, I spent an extended time cruising my feed, which I’ve not attended to lately. Lots of beautiful family Christmas photos as well as memorials to those who won’t be with the family this year. Children are growing quickly, those of a certain age are growing old gracefully,  and I’m thankful for all God is doing in our lives these days. Here, I share a photo from my browsing.  Since I got it from accessing a FB game, I had to have my husband John take a picture of it on my phone and send it to me. Trying to save the photo to my phone only took me back to the games!

This is definitely a choice verse for my life, and it must be what the Lord wants me to concentrate on for 2024. I’m happy that my friend Joyce from Kenya is part of this photo. I don’t recommend accessing Facebook games, but this was worth it for me today.

This New Year’s Eve, there will be a prayer vigil from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Wellspring Fellowship church in Brownville, New York. From the invitation, this stone church was built about 1823 and shared by all the churches in the area until 1826, when it was purchased by the Episcopal Church. It faithfully served the Brownville community until 2021.

Charles G. Finney came to Brownville in November 1823, following signs of revival that were beginning to manifest there. He was snow-bound for the entire winter and labored in this building in prayer and preaching until April 1824.

I am excited! Revival is beginning in our church, Airport Christian Fellowship, in Dexter, NY, which is just a few miles away from this church in Brownville. If you are in this area, join us for any or all of the time between 6p.m. and midnight, New Year’s Eve, 2023. The address is: 212 Washington Street, Brownville, NY 13615.

Wherever you are, you are right where God needs you. Or, He will prompt you to move soon into the position you need to occupy for this new erea in His plans. Oh, it’s official. My book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, Vignettes From The Road, is live on Amazon. You may purchase it in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, or as an audiobook read by myself.

Audiobook cover

Iran’s Great Awakening

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Have you heard? God is moving in Iran! Being faithful to His word, the oppressive life in Iran is pushing people into the arms of Jesus. Dr. Hormoz Shariat and his wife are founders of Iran Alive Ministries. In the March 2023 issue of Today’s Christian Living magazine, I read an interview with Dr. Shariat. I was moved to donate to the ministry, which is broadcasting the gospel 24/7 into Iran, and revival is happening! Faithful to this organization’s promise, that after I donated, they gifted me Dr. Shariat’s book, Iran’s Great Awakening How God is Using a Muslim Convert to Spark Revival. Joel Rosenberg, who wrote the foreword to the book, begins with: “I consider Hormoz Shariat to be the Billy Graham of Iran.” In this book, you will read about the Doctor’s salvation experience and he walks you through the promises the Lord has given Iran, also known as Elam.

Check out https://iranalive.org/

Did you know God gave a similar promise to Iran as He gave to Israel? He promised Abraham that both Isaac and Ishmael would be blessed and prosper. In Genesis chapter 17, at the point where God had changed Abram’s name to Abraham, and Sari to Sarah, he laughed that they would have a child at such an advanced age, so Abraham asked the Lord to bless Ishmael. This is what He replied:

Genesis 17:19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” 

Jeremiah 49:34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, (Iran)
The foremost of their might.
36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds
From the four quarters of heaven,
And scatter them toward all those winds;
There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.

39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days:
I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”

And what did God say about Israel, about the Jewish people?

“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,
Streaming to the goodness of the Lord—

So, the children of Isaac and the children of Ishmael are both part of God’s plan. He has scattered them among all the nations, as they have gravely sinned and turned their backs on the Lord. He has a plan to bring them back into the Land God provided for them, after they’ve been used to bless all nations that they’ve taken up residence in. Both clans are coming to the Lord in numbers these days!

I hope you are experiencing the new era of revival and renewal, the current move of the Lord that is drawing people into the fold. In our area, churches, including ours, are dealing with buildings bursting at the seams. Some of the influxes of people are moving from other churches, but we also have many coming to salvation and prodigals returning to the fold. I am tithing on the books I’m selling, donating it to Airport Christian Fellowship Church’s Building Fund. Thank you to all who are buying my new book, Musings Along Life’s Journey. So far, I have sold 34, and given/gifted 32 books. Two of them were given to faithful waitresses at Cracker Barrel this morning during our breakfast!

I am donating two gift baskets with a crocheted lap robe, a clip-on book reading light… and whatever else the Lord prompts me to put in with a signed copy of my book, to the Beaver Camp Auction. The hybrid auction begins on-line June 1-8, with the on-site auction June 10th (viewing on Friday evening) at the Lewis County Fairgrounds, Lowville, NY. You can find full info at:

https://beavercamp.org/get-involved/annual-benefit-auction

Save the dates: Friday June 9th, and Saturday June 10th.

I will be at the auction, and you may buy a book from me if you see me!

Also, Saturday, August 12th, Henderson Heritage Day, I will be at a table on the Heritage Society lawn. https://hendersonnyhistoricalsociety.com/

I am at ACF Church in Dexter before/after church service, 6 PM Saturdays and 10 AM Sundays. https://www.airportchristianfellowship.org/

I celebrated my 60th birthday in Ottawa with 11 women from Henderson Garden Club. We enjoyed the beautiful tulips, the Byway Market, and toured the Senate that’s temporarily housed in the old train station on the Rideau River. The capital buildings and the statues are lovely. Mamma Teresa’s Italian restaurant and Roast & Curries Indian restaurant were two of our delicious dinner destinations in the Capital area. If you get the chance, I hope you get to experience the Ottawa Capital area yourself soon!

Defining Moments

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This week I’ve been reading Defining Moments God Encounters with Ordinary People Who Changed the World by Bill Johnson, with Jennifer A. Miskov, PHD. Pastor Bill says Jennifer is a historian and did most of the research. He fleshed out the life of the person in each chapter, then related it to what we need to be accessing today from what they encountered in past decades and generations. Those included are: John Wesley, Charles G. Finney, Dwight L. Moody, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Carrie Judd Montgomery, Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, Evan Roberts, Reese Howells, Aimee Semple McPherson, Kathryn Kuhlman, Randy Clark, and Heidi Baker.

As Pastor Bill says, these people were not perfect, but each had a major encounter with God and pressed in to make a big difference in the world for His glory. The last chapter is titled Just the Beginning. What would happen in your life and realm of influence if you surrendered to the Spirit of God and did great exploits for the Kingdom? I have been reading Smith Wigglesworth’s chapter for several days and these things have stuck out for me, which are found on pages 121, 130, and 132.

“Fear looks, faith jumps.”

Arriving at a home similar to the account of Jesus coming to Lazarus after four days, the family told him he was too late. What did he respond? “God has never sent me anywhere too late.”

“If you do not venture, you remain ordinary. If you do the impossible…”

Bill Johnson acknowledges many other people have done biographies of these heroes of the faith, so his aim is not to repeat those, but to use these life stories to outline a course for us to follow for seeing a sustained move of God. Are you ready to dig in and spend concentrated time with the Lord until the Spirit falls like fire and launch out into the depths of what He has for you? I am in the last week of the Exploring the Prophetic, and the book Defining Moments is igniting what I am learning over these ninety days of study. The prophets report that God is doing a new thing; we must prepare for deployment against the spiritual enemies, principalities and rulers in high places in the heavenlies that Apostle Paul told us about in Ephesians chapter six. Everything the heroes of faith accessed before us is what we need as a base to inspire us for this next move of God.

Where ever you’re at, whatever challenges you are facing, I encourage you to hold on, help is on the way! As I read about these glorious moments of God in the past, I have no knowledge that my ancestors alive in those times ever got involved in what God’s Spirit was doing. I know I do not want to miss what’s coming in this generation, as the glory of God is preparing to fall like never before! Each follower of Jesus, as well as those who haven’t encountered Him yet, needs to be ignited to accomplish what’s ahead.

I pray you will follow hard after God and experience wholeness in Christ Jesus. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does in the next week, so I’ll see you then!

Shalom my dear readers!