Construction

Walking down the hustling and bustling streets of Culver City, right outside of Beverly Hills, I saw a new building being constructed from the ground up. There were loud machines, busy men running around with hard hats, and high studs that would eventually become walls to rooms. I was compelled to stop, watch and listen, not so much “stop, drop, and roll”. Ha, sorry that just made me think of that old childhood adage! Seriously though, it was as if a spiritual sense was welling up within me as I viewed this construction site. I feel like a construction site sometimes. Walls erected, stuff everywhere, emotions loud and quiet,  the excitement of newness, evolving changes, harsh machines around me working purposefully on me, men running around me for who knows what reason, and dust covering a lot. Then in my heart, the Lord said, “  I am at work on your construction site. I am at work in You, beloved one. Your foundation is secure and laid. You may be from dust but you are of Me. I am on & in your scene, hard hats and all. I am crafting beauty out of ashes. You are not merely a project being managed but a building being built. A consecrated sacred temple, actually, being fashioned and beautified where I am dwelling with permanent residence. The Machinery I use may sting sometimes but it is necessary. I am skilled, do not fear. There are finished rooms in you but so many more studs going up for new ones. Exciting reconstruction!” 

I said to Him, “ Lord you are my dwelling place” and He said, “ you are Mine”. 

As I watched the workers floating on soon to be “floors” in between those bare wooden beams I knew that one day those would be filled with people, stuffed chairs, stories, and dinners at unique tables.The construction zone was not forever, it was a means to a good end. It was fascinating to envision what could be from what was or is. What can you make of and in me, Lord? God envisions so much of His Son when He views us, wreck or not. Endless beauty and enlarged rooms for all kind of love, experiences, tears, joys, and eternal fruit production are in store. 

The Lord said that with living stones, or studs in my analogy, we are being built up into His spiritual dwelling. A place where in all the emptiness He fills every square inch. A place that is constantly being refurbished, decorated, and saturated with His purposes, presence, and peace. A place where His spirit passionately hovers in every nook and cranny of the heart. A place where bareness becomes beauty and brokenness becomes wholeness. Oh I love how He speaks in His Word but even on streets in cities. 

“Thank You for building me up on God. You have laid the foundation on and in Christ, now as the walls go up for rooms to be filled by You, remind me of Who it is that will always dwell in me. I permit you to remove walls, move studs around for better security, and construct as You deem best. You have taken up residency within these walls and this skin known as “me”. Thank you Jesus that you are a trusted Craftsman at work accomplishing what You see as fitting. Fill me thoroughly anew O God!” 

Like living stones, we are being built into a spiritual house so we can offer acceptable sacrifices to God. 

(1 Peter 2:5)

Human not Homeless

This Mother's Day I was able to serve with RED EYE, a non- profit pioneered by my new friend Justin Mayo. What a humbling and eye opening experience it was to drive through the fashion district of LA only to arrive in a section of forsaken streets known as "skid row". Suitcases, grocery carts, abandoned buildings, and hundreds of "homeless" lined streets.


We came to offer them a day of pampering and beauty revival in many ways. We set up make-up stations, hair stylists, nail "salons", and of course a mall to shop for new outfits. What woman does not love all the above!?  A truth trickled down into my heart that was exposing and challenging as soon as the scene began. Without much thought it was ( and is) easy to categorize "them" as homeless, service projects, or charity causes. But on Mother's Day 2012, I saw mothers, women, daughters, and sisters. God reminded me of their humanness. They are not homeless but human. They have stories, heartaches, longings for manicures and babies crying in strollers but just don't live how and where I do.

As I scanned racks of donated designer clothes with these women, I was moved to see them for who, not what, they are. It was an honor to be their "stylist" for a day. Photographers snapped memories as the day concluded with a RED carpet strut for these beautiful women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzjlJ5MY9QQ&feature=youtu.be

M.A.R.T.A.

M.A.R.T.A. is quite the cross section of humanity. Educational, Physiological, but Spiritual even more. Riding the rails to the airport as another morning awoke was enlightening and exposing this week. As like a child, I was over stimulated spiritually as I looked into these people's hallow holes. My eye scanned faces while my heart seemed to ignite with "story hunger". What were their stories? Where we they all going? Why would no one look at me? Do they "look to the Hills from whence comes Help"? Do they know God knows them?

Most eyes never met mine on the train, but shifted from seats, to windows, to iphones and back again. It is amazing how much an averted glance can tell you. There was so little significant visible Joy. I was alarmed at what welled up within me as I sat in so much stimulus. Multiple sounds, smells, and sights from the silver edged buildings racing by, heads hung low with earphones tightly fixed, awkward verbal outbursts from a man who probably had not seen indoors or food for days, babies crying, all races side by side though with an invisible partition so as not to encroach, and conversations on cells that still echo in my ears. Stimulus at first, but then, quickly stories. Each of them had a story, a place they came from and one they were going to. With dark colored glasses on, the tears rolled as Love from the Author of stories saturated me. He is in their story too. He is God whether they believe Him, know Him, or see Him. Did they see Him in my face? I so wanted to be a Samaritan not a Levite to them. So prayers of a Samaritan heart began internally.

Being still in the stimulus of them I knew again that He was God. My God. Their God. They just didnt know Him yet. I was still in the midst of these strangers shuffling through life, unaware of available Love. Unaware of a God that I'm aware of constantly. I prayed for them with intent and mercy. Praying stillness would enter their visibly fast breaking worlds and introduce them to God. He longs for them to know Him and briefly allowed me the painful privilege of feeling the need in their stead. I prayed for continual heart engagement to what His heart sees, first step towards being a Samaritan in the stimulus of their stories, I guess. Ride M.A.R.T.A. and permit your heart to become a Samaritan.

A Call to Joy

Want Him to wash over you like a shower with these thoughts. Cleanse and Refresh with these ideas. Let Him hug you.. stop trying to hug yourself… Let Him embrace you with Himself and in His Word. 1. Present your Request but Release the Outcome Phil 4:6-7 - Produces true Peace II Thess 3:16 - "I AM interested in your response now as much as or more than the situation later", says the Lord. 2. What God requires, He provides. -Heb 13:20-21- equipping for every good work -II Cor 9:8- ALL is supplied -I Thess 5:24 He will DO IT -Heb 12:1-2- Faith is authored not mustered. 3. Are you a woman of lavish or lack? Which do you focus on? Always two sides to the day… Cup is half full or empty… Is your cup viewed BY YOU as full or empty? What do others say of your cup? - I Tim 6:17-we have been given richly all things to enjoy - II Peter 1:3 all things pertaining to Life have been granted- there is nothing missing. - Ps 34:9 lack nothing - James 1:4-lack nothing 4. Consider Him and all that He has done for you! Heb 12:3; I Sam 12:24 -Ps 40:5- MANY are your works toward us -Ps. 8 You consider me- are mindful of me! Am I mind FULL of You? -Brag on God… tell of His praises// His wonders works Be women talking of what HE HAS DONE not what HE HAS NOT DONE… What is on your lips? 5. Attitude of Gratitude- Rejoice Always and again I say rejoice! -I Thess 5: 16-end This is His Will- rejoicing! -Phil 4:4 6." At your wits’ end I AM just beginning"… Ps 107:27 ( read the whole chapter... He created the storm in order to still it!) - what space you cultivate He will fill…. give God space to still you, don't fill yourself!!! - Only to the degree we vacate will He fill and overflow the capacity 7. Live with Eagerness not Effort. -Is 26:8 eagerly waiting for Him… -Is 64:4 He moves and acts on behalf of those who wait for Him! -Ps 5:3- lay out your needs and expect a Great God…. Hezekiah in OT laid out the scroll ( details of the kingdom) and pled with God... lay out the details of your day and heart... He listens! 8. " I lift you never weight you" says the Lord. Do you feel heavy weighted or light and lifted? - Ps. 3:3 He is the Lifter of our head! -Matt. 11:30 His Yoke is easy and His burden is light! 9. “I enter into you so you enter into them” says the Lord. - Rom 12:15- rejoice with those who rejoice… singles celebrate marriages! Relinquish any and all selfish gain or pity- BE IN and ABOUT others! So rewarding.... - Mourn too…. - Paul said Be all things to all people… I Cor 9:22.. use discernment with others…. Be out of yourself enough to be into them! 10. CHOOSE JOY! "For the Joy set before Him, He ENDURED!".... Heb 12:2 Joy is a Choice regardless of your cross! Neh 8:10 The joy of the Lord is your strength! Ps 16- Be in His presence constantly… fullness of joy is there! Gal 5:22- We have the Spirit and walking in Him the fruit He produces in and through us..JOY! James 1:1-4- CONSIDER IT PURE JOY.....Endure.... you will lack nothing but gain everything! J.O.Y. acronym (thank you Rachel, I love you... thank you for modeling this and giving this acronym to me!) JESUS IS THE TARGET NOT YOU Jesus is the Target -ONLY JESUS not us or anything else…. Is He your AIM? Not only the highest but only Aim??!! - Look to the Hills from whence comes my Help-Ps 121:1- songs of ascent... 15 Psalms for each step into the temple- ascend into His presence! HOW TO MAKE HIM TARGET? 1) Women: Surround yourself with people who do!! Do life with Joyful Women who JESUS is everything to! I love the women in my life I am shoulder to shoulder with... I choose them and they me because we are ones of Joy. Rachel, Katherine, Anna, Aimee, so many others... Love my life for many reasons but the women in it is one of the main ones! ---mention His name more than yours or anyone elses Ps 71:23 Ps 145:21 Ps 34:1 Ps 40:9 Phil 2:9 highest name Deut. 11:19….says…Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home doing laundry, dishes, cleaning or watching cartoons with them, when you drive your mini van down the road, working at a computer, waiting for your mate, excersizing, eating your sandwich, talking with your friends, when you lie down or collapse into their bed at night, and when you get up with your coffee in hand. 2) Word - Living is written word. "The Word became Flesh". John 1. ---PROVERBS 23:7….WHAT WE THINK IN OUR HEARTS, SO WE ARE. 2 COR 10:5- destroy speculations against God and His truth And bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ COL. 3:2 Set your mind on things above --Horizon Thinking not earthly "horizontal" thinking!! Ps 61:2- when I am overcome and overwhelmed lead me to the Rock higher than I.... ---GARY SMALLEY----20,000-60,000 thoughts a day....more than half are negative... That is NOT our STAT as a believer! Have optimism Reign in you. Exchange lies for Truth. 3) WORSHIP Start the day with worship music... Flood your mind! BE LOVED- Christy Nockels ( I have saturated myself in this one lately) The Tree- Christy Nockels establish her song OPERATE IN OVERFLOW not OVERDRIVE Luke 6:45 abundance produces action…. John 15 Abiding produces fruit… intimacy vs activity Rom 15:13 OVERFLOW with hope! Ps 119:71 OVERFLOW with Praise! I John 4:19 We do because He did! We obey out of overflow not obligation! The more you rest in belief of Him the more you oveflow! HUMAN BEING not HUMAN DOING YOU BRING ALL THE GLORY TO GOD - II Thess 2:4 – we are His glory - IS 43:7 created for His glory - Rom 8:18 His glory trumps our pain - I Cor 10:31 Do all for the Glory of God When Jesus is our Target and we are operating in and out of overflow God is getting and giving glory! Joy is experienced and expressed… It is contagious! Draws people to you and to Him!!! We have been radically called beyond our circumstances to JOY! Though sorrow may last through the night, joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Psalm 126:5 NIV James 1:2-4 PURE JOY THROW A PARTY! Be constant CELEBRATORS... I love being a celebrator in Life.... Just like a shower can cure almost anything, so can a party! -- Sarah Ott I Peter 5:10

All you need is Love

In Montgomery Alabama there was a myriad of high school girls and leaders waiting on me as I drove in with tissue box clutched, a raw rudolph nose, and a thermos of hot tea in tow. I was praying and believing for the miracle of II Cor. 12- for in my weakness He was going to be strong. He had to be... there was nothing left in me. "Faithful is He who called and He will do it"... well I was banking on that! With the worst cold I have ever had on a speaking engagement of this size, I walked up the stairs to stand with two trembling feet on a stage facing the eyes of hundreds, praying His word to move in power. There was more pleading than preparation and nerves than notes... but "for such a time as that was I appointed". I sensed that He was deliberately setting the stage to show up and show off. So sickness and all, He set me aside that He might be glorified indeed! The theme of Mark 12:29-31 rang out loud and clear that weekend! I John 4 expounded the greatest commandment in even further depth. Part 1: The story of love- we all have a story of love, or should I say lack there of, that beckons us deeper into Love's story. I shared my broken but beautiful ( I am learning) bow-less story on the eve of night one. Oh I am grateful to Christ for allowing me to wait on earthly love that I might taste of His in the rich way, only pain could have fostered for me. Part 2: To LOVE the Lord with ALL faculties is to live IN Love....In love with Love and the way you are loved. I John 4:19 sums it up: We love only because He first loved. FREEDOM! True love even for the Father is not and cannot be manufactured. So one has to look at Love and fully enter into it before an extension of love is given. To be consumed and awed by His love for us, this unexplainable agape fervor, is to then have agape authored in us back to Him. Wow! Part 3: To love others you must first love yourself. Here in lies the great challenge! Do we really love ourself? Self centered, at times. Self protective, often. Self aware, constantly. But self love- true love of who, why, and how He made us with gratitude in the DNA of that love? Umm, I dont think so. This is what He longs for us to learn... "love you the way I do. Get over yourself, stop thinking of your largeness or smallness. Just permit yourself to forgive and love you with the ardor I have for you period. To reject this is the height of arrogance." To say that you are unlovable to the King who died in proof that you are is a height you dont want to climb. So like Paul said, "I am what I am by the grace of God" and like David reminds us " The King is enthralled with your beauty"... We know that He adorned us with His image in mind- that is enough to say, " I love you, cause He does". This out of body, beyond explanation, so good that it is truth kind of love invigorates us then to love others with abandon. Loving others is a byproduct of the seamless devotional flow from the Father to us and up through us back to the Father. These high school girls and all of us in the sanctuary that day encountered Love, never to be the same. True Love is not a transaction as much as it is a transformation. I was an eye witness this weekend. The eternal fruit of love is still blooming in hearts all over... mine included. Despite a deep need for rest and recovery, my spirit had communed with Love in one of the sweetest ways lately due to my utter need of Him. You see, to love God deeply is to need Him greatly. I taught on Love, but He wanted me to ultimately be a student of it. So I learned of Love this weekend I say instead. Humbled and in love with Love, I crawled into my crisp white hotel bed when all was silent, still with tissues near by, and let the tears fall with exhaustion and exhilaration in each drop. He fills up and pours out so uniquely through us if we merely step aside...The sickness removed me to the degree that He was the only one able to do all that He had envisioned. His Word never returns void but always accomplishes what it was sent out to do. Truly all we need is Love.

The Lot is Good

The plane has been a “sanctuary in the sky” to me for years as I jet set coast to coast. On this jaunt to LA I was moved to praise God for the “lot” He has granted me. Numbers 33 is a chronicled journey from Egypt to Cannan. As I thumbed the pages, it quickly mimicked that of my own from bondage to freedom and prison doldrums to promise dwelling. Just as the people of God stopped along the way so have I. There have been and are still camps of celebration, frustration, emptiness, and fullness but all the while the Cloud and Fire leads onward to the envisioned lot of His choosing. He has a promised land ahead indeed! The first 49 verses documented 43 places of campground before they entered the land of promise. Whew, that is a lot of stop and go! However after they would cross the Jordan and before they could enjoy the Land given them, God gave clear inheritance instructions. Paraphrased, DRIVE OUT all the previous inhabitants, DESTROY every rival, and DEMOLISH any elevation besides My Name. Then TAKE POSSESION of all I have for you and live in it animated! Receive your chosen lot with contentment not comparison. Look not to other’s plots of land with wishful eye because I am the One who drew the lines. Green pastures are where you are period. But if you do not do the 3 D’s then anything or anyone left behind will become an irritant, distraction, and competitor in your eye, keeping you from noticing and embracing the Promise I have in store for you. Num 33:54 Psalm 37:3 is encouragement to dwell in the land divinely granted, fully satisfied and faithful. Ps 16:5-6 says that our inheritance is lovely for He in fact is the portion. The lines of our lot have fallen in pleasant places. Do I, you, really believe that? On the plane with tears of gratitude and the glare of sunshine, I thanked Him for my entire lot; The broad blessings, ended relationships, deep pain, lavish experiences, lone moments, and unfinished prayers. With all that in view, I thanked Him for driving out what preceded and asked Him for enablement to relish the present and promised lot. Obey. Enter. Enjoy. Celebrate. Anticipate. “you will bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.” Deut 8:10

Open Doors

I am blown away at the powerful of prayer in asking God to open doors in order that I may steward the content He has birthed in my heart by communicating it to an audience. I am here in LA and have been given the sweet opportunity to share on John 15: Intimacy over Activity to the Young Marrieds at Belair Pres. Church this Sunday. Thank you Katherine and Jay for such a sweet God granted door to share His heart with those women.

Then the Lord has opened the door in Montgomery this March (9-11 weekend) through an event called "All we need is Love". It will be a large group of high school girls listening to the identity truths of Scripture, God's story in mine, and a charge to Love Him with all their heart, soul, and mind. What a humbling answer to prayer both of these open doors are!

May God increase and I decrease...

"praying at the same time for us as well that God may open up to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ..." Col 4:3

Word Picture!

"In Him the fullness of the Deity dwell in bodily form". Colossians 2:9

In light of the fullness of Christ everything that seems "in part" makes sense. His fullness, His purpose, His image reflects on every piece of my life. That is such hope especially when the pieces don't make sense.

Growing up my dad and I would build puzzles as a habit. We were serious to the point of "shalacking" and hanging them on the wall as a trophy upon completion. I am not talking about little 100 piece boxes of a gerber daisy, but more like a 3000 piece picture of New York's skyline at night. I mean were we crazy or what? Seriously, NYC night skyline made up of 3000 pieces all of which looked dark and oddly shaped. To begin our project and give me a little hope of actually being able to do this, my dad would remind me to look at the box picture, don't just stare at the pieces. "In light of the FULL picture all the pieces make sense." Wow! So NYC was hung after weeks and weeks of sweat, blood (thanks to cardboard paper cuts), and a few tears. Mission accomplished: the picture was perfectly portrayed through all of our pieces without missing one. That was the second thing daddy would remind me: " we cannot finish much less hang our puzzle if even one piece goes missing. All pieces have purpose."

My Abba Father reminded me of His grand picture on the box right when I am tempted to get overwhelmed and lost in my pieces. You see all the pieces, the dark and colorful ones, are purposeful to create the Picture of Christ in and on me throughout life. That is all sanctification means- the picture of Christ portrayed through and on me more and more. Each piece is vital, intentional, crafted just to fit perfectly in order to successfully reflect the goal Image. That will preach!

So with a puzzle piece on my keyboard next to me, I remember that in the fullness of Christ all my parts fit into the picture He has in mind. All the pieces are perfect when viewed in light of the box. May we never view puzzles and pieces the same!

Go grab yourself a puzzle piece and place it on your computer, in your car or by the kitchen as a reminder of Col 2:9.

This Morning's Wardrobe

II Kings 22: 14-20


The Bible just pops off the page sometimes. It did this morning as I sat overlooking the lake with coffee near and music on. It is like the veil between this life and that one is breached for a moment as the sounds ring, the trees sway, and the Word moves in power. It is a sweet powerful living book that stuns me with phrases, people, and predictions. It takes me out of this life and into the One that I was born to know fully. This morning I read of a woman I did not know previously. The scripture teems inside with new nuggets and characters just like this lake teems with so much underneath. As this earthly wind blows over me it is a picture of His breath through the Word blowing into me.

Huldah was her name. She was a prophetess and a wife. Powerful combination! Even more is that she was the wife of, believe it or not, the “wardrobe keeper for the king”. Seriously!? She was married to a man who had the eye for fashion over the royalty of the kingdom. Oh for that title in the line up of “king’s men”. Not only was she probably dressed to the nines with a keen eye but also that of a keen heart. She was a prophetess of God. Separated and sold out to the King of Israel! Men sought her out to hear her impression not her opinions. An impression is so different than an opinion. Often we all give opinions but rarely do we offer impressions. One who kneels before the Lord is given a keen sense of His opinion into the situation. As we lean into Christ, an impression can be His opinion into the situation. His opinion is all I want to hear and follow.

God had given a harsh dictation to the people of Judah in this passage and some had hardened their hearts because of it. Has God ever spoken a harsh word, direction, or truth to you? Oh He has to me, many a time. What posture does our heart turn to when the King speaks this way? Do we forsake and fret or do we believe and lean in still?

Some of the men as listed in the passage turned their hearts away from the Lord and provoked Him even more. Others were in the habit of bowing low with tender hearts to the God of “harsh words”. Though the word spoken was hard to palate they had nowhere else to turn but into the One who spoke. The one who fell into the Lord after this word was the king of Judah by sending these men out to listen to Huldah, the woman of God. Oh to be such a leader when a harsh direction or prediction of God is made that I look up and into Him regardless!

She told them that because they had turned towards the Lord with a tender humbled heart that He would truly hear them. What a thought? God truly hears and moves when we are broken and contrite with tenderness before Him. Lord, when You say something harsh, let me still, in humility, turn my heart towards you with tenderness just like they did. You ride in on the desperate cries of your people Lord! Awesome promise and posture. That is the best wardrobe to wear, a desperate bent heart towards the Living Lord Jesus.

Colossians

We just started a journey through the pages of Colossians. The richness of this book and its majestic sweep leave the reader with a full on focus of Jesus. His centrality is the theme of it all. Summed up in Colossians 1:27 is the mystery revealed throughout all of time and the entire New Testament proclamation, which is, Christ in you, the hope of glory. That is hope not only for heaven and seeing Him there but for HERE! We are admonished through Paul, as was Colossae, to live in Christ not merely "for Him". He lived for us that we might live in Him and through Him! What hope, joy, and freedom that brings to the believer! Only Christ is the one who can live the CHRISTian life!

http://snd.sc/rrVXeT
http://soundcloud.com/establish-her/colossians-beginning (Audio)
Listen to a recap of our study briefly. Chapter 2 will be in two weeks...

Let Freedom Ring

On the heels of fireworks, the fourth, and friends I am refreshed at the thought of deeper freedom. Freedom means the state of liberty rather than confinement; exemption from external control, interference and regulation; the power to determine action without restraint. True freedom is granted to us by the Living Lord Jesus for II Cor.3:17 states, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!” Do we believe and live in this freedom afforded for us? As daughters in Christ we can enjoy liberty not confinement to emotions, circumstances or people. As His lovely brides we are exempt from controlling anything, regulating everything, and interfering something. As His very own we have His power to determine our actions, desires, and beliefs. Praise is God’s for this reality! The Spirit lives in us and is ever-present therefore let freedom ring in and through us to all watching! It is for freedom that Christ died and set us free as mentioned in Galatians. National freedom is a gift worth our recognition, gratitude and tears along with many sacrificed lives, however spiritual freedom is a gift worth believing and exhausting for it took the life of one Man, God Himself! He died that we might truly live, fully and freely alive. Sink into the deeper freedom that resides in you now through the Precious Crucified Lord that arose from the grave in the ultimate ring of Freedom! Glory to Jesus…

Vision Cast

Prov 29: 18 says that where is there is no Vision, people perish.
So it stands to reason then that where there is Vision, people flourish.

Tonight is a night I have prayed about and seen with my spiritual eyes for over a decade. I want to cast what I believe God has raised up in my heart and in this ministry for women in living rooms all over and many others we all have yet to meet. To capture vision best is to communicate it through a story. Jesus taught His people through story and it is one of the beautiful elements of this ministry…

Est.Her was birthed in my heart many years past though her name was not given to me until about 4 years ago. God called me at a young age to be a part of deepening women’s personal journeys with God through an experience of His word… living and written. I prayed to know the Lord like Mary sitting at His feet more than like many sitting in a pew. He answered that prayer! I was unaware though that the answer was packaged with things I never would have chosen.

I grew to love Him and His Word because He caused me to need it more then anything when He introduced incredible suffering into my life. Suffering can come packaged in many forms whether relational, spiritual, physical, emotional, or whatever… but suffering is suffering. During a dark season of my life in 2005 The Lord led me to I Peter 5:10 the same week I was asked to speak on Esther at a women's conference. I Peter 5:10 says, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God who called you according to His grace, will Himself, perfect, confirm, strengthen, establish you.” The words dried my tears as I realized a few things about suffering. Suffering is inevitable. Suffering is not only an inevitable part of life, but it is also a divine gift in life. Pain is the gift that nobody wants… but when we open it… we are introduced to the Gift giver. Suffering also is seasonal, it has an alpha and omega to it. Praise the Lord! Not all of life is meant to be lived wearing the garment of mourning, but it is the abundant life meant to be embraced with joy and peace! Suffering actually ushers in true Joy and peace in ways you would never believe. It is never a wasted cistern that sits stagnate but a meaningful catalyst that pours out life for others. Suffering is a catalyst for perfecting our identity through Christ, confirming our call from Him, strengthening us for that calling, and ultimately establishing us in Jesus.

He is life not merely an addition. There are many women who think and live like He is an extra add-on, an accessory if you will… I did. I was living my dream with the mansion, the ring, the fiancé… I was still so empty as a Believer. I bought into the lie that I taught never to believe. "Jesus plus anything will satisfy". It is Jesus plus nothing! He is a jealous God that wants nothing to rival HIM as our affection. He grabbed my attention and affection forever when He crucified many dreams for me. But the beautiful fact is that resurrection follows crucifixion! He wanted to become my Life even though He had been my Lord and Savior since I was seven. So 4 years ago in preparing for my Esther talk at this conference where I was asked to give my brokenness story, I flipped the pages from the I Peter passage back to Esther and my eyes enlarged. "Establish Her" was written in Est.Her. He stamped a promise period on me that day saying " Sarah through suffering I will bring you to the end of yourself and the beginning of me. I want to establish your identity in me and use you to lead other women to a deeper awareness of me as their Life". He wants to establish women, whether married or single, young or old, through the artistry of suffering and learning the purpose behind it and value in it.

Establish means to make firm and stable that which was already there, to cause to grow and multiply, to found something or someone as if bringing into existence and to put into a favorable position. We are who He says we are and He is who He has said He is!

We have all known need and pain… There is no escaping it. It is in this place of humility that intimacy with Christ is ushered in which starts the journey of perfecting our identity in Christ, confirming our callings from Him, strengthening us for our responsibilities, and then, of course, firming us up deep as women in God, not just women of God. Big difference! I Thess 5 says that Faithful is He who has called us and HE WILL DO IT! What joy and comfort!

This journey of intimacy out of need is what happened to me and I knew I was called to create environments of vulernability and community while communicating the written and living word. Beautiful atmospheres for women to enjoy and encounter Christ. He has called me to share His love affair with me through stories ( His and Mine) to women all over. I want to see them in turn do the same with others. Where more than our story is spoken of but Christ is lifted up and left in the hearts of the hearer!

Far more women are active for God and not very intimate with Him. Activity can be one of the greatest enemies to intimacy with Jesus. Establish Her was born for and through women who are hungry for intimacy in Christ, not merely activity for Him. It is open to women who are learning their deep need and dependence on Christ as everything. Women who live life from their knees not their feet, as I had to learn and am still learning!

The John 15 abiding that we all crave is not developed on the pinnacle, as much as it is in the pits or "prisons" of life. Even Paul wrote from prison, “I have learned to be content with whatever the circumstance."

Establish Her celebrates Christ not our circumstances, but Christ in our circumstances. It gives women’s stories a voice and an audience. We believe in the validity and application of the whole council of Scripture, while also enjoying and profiting from the individual voices and ‘establishment stories’ of broken women made whole. Truly, He inhabits the praises of His people and inhabits us, indeed. misery births ministry. It is humbling to think that God brought me to the end of myself and the beginning of Him with this day in mind and ministry in heart… for each of your benefit not just my own. Years ago and still to this day," Death worked in me that Life may work in you." II Cor. 4

He is raising up women in Atlanta to stand along side me in furthering this vision to more than just this room. What if we could fill living rooms all over with women who are growing in their need of Jesus and each other. What if we could fill banquet falls with incredible feasts and encounters centered around hearing the establishing that Jesus is doing in the life of a women’s story. James 1 says to THROW A PARTY WHEN YOU ENCOURNTER various trials… I think we should do that for women all over the place. For in loss there is great gain, especially when we embrace and celebrate it as from the Lord.

Rev 12:11 says there is power and overcoming in sharing our story…. Rev 3:20 says that Christ is sitting at a table not a desk. I am called to be a table setter and invite women to an intimate conversation with the Living God through Jesus Christ. I see Establish Her gatherings of women in different cities studying the scripture, sharing their stories and celebrating together on a large scale a few times a year over who Jesus is becoming in us!

I have an incredible team that believes in this and is along for the journey… many of you are in this room. Thank you! We have the glory of God ahead us and behind us. This is His idea not mine… He is simply using us as vessels to communicate it!!! To be rooted deeply in and planted firmly by Jesus Christ as our Life is the I Pet 5:10 destination and the desire of my heart in this ministry.


Anticipate miracles when Jesus is in the equation, as my Pastor Louie, says…. Growth, duplication, unity, lasting kingdom fruit in all of our lives is ahead because we are caught up into what He is doing not asking Him to bless what we are doing.

I will leave you with II KINGS 19:30 Says "The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward."

A mid-summer's night

Last night there were many women gathered at a beautiful house in Buckhead for an outdoor feast stylistically reminiscent of Mamma Mia meeting Anthropologie at Church! Candles were lit, lights were strung, table settings were perfect, and the food was fragrant. These women from all different walks of life came to encounter the Lord Jesus through the ministry of Establish Her. A night were God had laid vision on my heart to communicate as well as an invitation to impart. My team and I wanted to create an atmosphere of beauty, celebration, comfort, and warmth in order that each woman would experience the Presence of the Lord in the hearth of a home. There was live worship, poignant words, scripture and stories shared. It was breathtaking for me, especially, because last night went from being a vision in my heart for the last decade to a reality in life.

Vision:

I believe there are hungry women all over that crave a feast of more than just religion, activity for God, and service to others. A feast of and over the person of Jesus in light of who He is, what He has done, and what He can do in our lives; this is what we need. We dont need merely more events and productions but an encounter with a person. Environments are important and excellence is executed but all as means to the End- the end being tasting and seeing that He is good, alive, involved, and lovely!

Invitation:

Come to the table and feast on the Bread of Life. Join this gathering of godly women seeking to go deeper into His heart, His ways, and His agendas. We are excited for tribulation parties, as James 1 mentions, ahead; for community; for biblical truth to resound, and for lives to be established in the person of Jesus Christ.

"After you have suffered a little while, the God who has called you according to His grace, will Himself, perfect, confirm, strengthen, and ESTABLISH you." I pet 5:10

Upcoming...

Her writings have begun.
Her schedule is posted.
Her story is being recorded.
Her speaking is happening.
Her gatherings continue.
Her website is coming.


We are moving forward with filing a 501C3. We also have appointed officers for the carrying out of certain functions. We are excited about the future and your involvement.

WEBSITE

www.establishher.org

IT IS COMING SOON!