iShineInMinistry

Psalm 5:2 (NKJV)

Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

I have been on bed rest for almost one full week...and reading a book about radical prayer between my moments of rest. I know that as ladies who serve in full-time ministry we understand how important it is to pray. However, while we may know it in our mind, are we practicing what we know to be true in our daily lives? I know that God allowed me to really see this again in a new way recently, so I want to challenge us all to come to the Lord in prayer as we encounter day-to-day ministry events.

In the midst of planning for a huge ministry outreach I found myself face to face with an obstinate and difficult personality. I was on the offensive already, knowing that the enemy was trying to distract me from the ministry at hand; but I also knew that I needed to extend grace, put on the full armor of God and get praying! I was not going to use my skill and talent to win this person over. I needed to seek God's face, ask Him to soften their heart and allow them to see my heart for ministry so they could kindly and graciously work with me as we planned.

Now, obviously, in the middle of planning, running around and serving, having a little "extra" obstacle is not ideal. But, we must remember to wait continually on the Lord and let Him be our peace, hope, grace and guide. When we do that, we will be blessed with the final outcome and He will produce a more godly character in you (and me) in the process!

Let's always choose to give God the opportunity to show His great faithfulness. Pray and watch Him move, then praise Him for who He is! Enjoy the chances to get to pray and see God move mountains...it's one of the many fabulous blessings of living #TheCharmedLife in ministry!

Mark 10:45 (HCSB)

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many.

Hey you! Charmed Life girl in full-time ministry…how is your heart as you do the work of the ministry? Are you ready and willing to be a help to any and everyone that God places in your path? Are you ready to pray and step in to intercede when someone approaches you with a prayer request? Are you ready in-season and out of season when God calls you to do something that was not on your schedule? I hope that the answer to these questions is yes; but just in case, let’s dig a little deeper.

Who are the ladies that you spend time with the most? Do you find yourself only making a priority to serve if they are involved? When someone that doesn’t have the same appearance of what you are used to with your friends comes to the Bible study, do you welcome them with open arms or hope that they don’t sit at your table and take one of your friend’s seats? What drives you to serve? If the Lord calls you to do a particular outreach that He didn’t tell any of your other trusted friends to attend, would you still go…all alone? Are you truly living the charmed life as you serve?

Many times, even in full-time ministry, we ladies have the tendency to swing towards what is familiar serving to us. We pick opportunities that our friends also like or do things where we are sure there will be no sign of what could look like failure on our end.

Can I encourage each of us to take a bigger step of faith as we live the Charmed Life in full-time ministry this year? Pray for more faith and more chances to do things where God will show up…even if your closest friends don’t. Allow Him to truly rule and reign so that we can see amazing things happen as we serve in 2016. I pray that you will take this to heart and purpose in your heart to do the will of God, even if it means going it alone (God will be with you!)…trust me, you will be glad you did!

Luke 4:8 (NET)

Jesus answered him, “it is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Isaiah 43:19 (HCSB)

Look, I am about to do something new;

even now it is coming.

Do you not see it?

I am so overly excited about 2016 that I cannot even take it! I am ready for the New Year, for new wonderful things and for new opportunities to see the Lord move in my life.

I LOVE that God is always up to something and using each and every part of our lives for His sovereign plan. There are so many ways that we can look for the blessings in the big, the small, the fun, the fabulous and the not so glamorous parts of our lives.

This year, I am checking for each chance I get to look for God in every situation. I hope that you will take this chance too. We will praise the Lord at all times together, count it all joy when we fall into various trials, let the joy of the Lord be our strength and allow Him to be where our help comes from. 2016 is the year of the Charmed Life for you and me because we belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Celebrate that truth every single day starting now!

I want each of us to use the hashtag “TheCharmedLife” throughout the course of the year to remind us that God has everything in control and we need not worry. You can even use the image that I have saved to the iShine in Ministry Facebook page to share stories. Have fun, pray without ceasing and enjoy this year…Happy 2016!!

Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

…whatsoever things are lovely…think on these things.

Let's thank the Lord for the blessing we have as we serve Him today!!

Ephesians 1:16 (NET)

I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers.

Lord, I praise and thank You for the blessing of serving in full-time ministry. I thank you that You called me and allowed me to be in this place to serve You at all times. I thank You for each and every person You place me in contact with and thank You that You count me faithful to be able to minister to each person.

Lord, I ask that You will keep me in a place where I am grateful and thankful for this calling every single day. Continue to fill my heart with love and compassion for Your people and remember that it is a privilege to serve them and be Your handmaiden.

I thank You for Your faithfulness in my life, my Savior and my God. I love You, Lord and praise Your holy name. In Jesus' name, amen!

Luke 1:48 (KJV)

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

I Samuel 3:9-10 (NKJV)

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”

“Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.””

Lately, I have been noticing that I have trouble sleeping. Usually when I tell people this, their first thought is that I am stressed. However, in these last few weeks, it has mostly been in part to the fact that God has been flooding my mind with countless ideas for ministry! I lay in bed and then a thought pops up...I quickly pull out my journal and pen, use the flashlight app on my phone and begin to write, then write even more! He keeps showing me tons of things between the hours of 11pm and 1am...the sometimes again even later. When those moments happen, I decide to quickly type whatever thought comes to mind in my notepad app on my phone.

Since I frequently have sleeping issues, this seemed to be a little random at first. I thought to myself, "Lord, why can't you tell me these things during the day...then I could sleep at night!" Now, I welcome the ideas because He has given so many. I'm beyond excited for all the ministry plans God has and I want to see how everything comes together when it's all done!

How about you? What has God been showing you lately with regard to ministry? Have you been listening intently? Are you ready for all the new things He is ready to do? Are you really listening?

Can I encourage each of us to make sure our hearts, minds, ears (paper and pen) are ready to hear everything the Lord wants to tell us? We are living in the last days and really want to make sure we are ready in season and out of season. So, when the Lord speaks, let's be ready to listen and do what is pleasing to Him for His purpose and His plan.

Lord...speak, Your servants hear!!

Read I Samuel 3 and jot down the things you notice most. Then ask the Lord to speak to you...and really listen to what He has to say!!

Psalm 45:1 (NKJV)

“...My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” ‭