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Showing posts from 2009

December 31, 2009, "Praise??????"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "And when they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison charging the jailer to keep them safely. He, having receiving so strict a charge, put them into the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them, suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and everyone's shackles were unfastened."... ~ Acts 16 (Excerpt from Acts 16:23-26) ~ A fellow blogger wrote on his post, "...I sat, rather laid, much of today just in this coffin of depression, self-worthlessness, and soaking up the cloudy skies even though the sun was quite brilliant today." Descriptive feelings so real with confusion. Are you familiar with such overw

December 29, 2009, "Recalling God's Mercies On Purpose"

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Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation: It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His tender compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); there will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him." ~ Lamentations 3:21-24 ~ As my fingers dance upon the keyboard, I look up to find that just a few feet away, my large cat, Mr. Finster has his two front paws on the window seal, looking out the window. His little head tilting to the right. His head now moves back and forth quickly with great assertiveness. As Mr. Finster is in awe of whatever he sees, our dog Jack sits by his side, his head tilted, his ears perked up, looking at Mr. Finster, as to ask with glee, "What do you see? What do

December 28, 2009, "Syndrome"

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the physical and spiritual captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn." ~ Isaiah 61:1 & 2 Amplified Bible ~ Violently kidnapped. The victims have no memory from where they came. The choices they make seem to be filled with normality. The path of destruction is broad, wide and there seems to be a great 'celebration' when truly there is great violation, imprisonment, demise and great sorrow. After lightly researching the history of a sociological pattern; I found that when the

December 26, 2009, "In One Moment"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "As a father pities [his] children, [So] the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we [are] dust. [As for] man, his days [are] like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more." ~ Psalm 103:13-16 ~ My heart aches for Debbie. I can not imagine the horror, grief, and her sudden loss. The sudden loss of her husband, soul mate and the father of their children. Early morning, Christmas Eve, it was in a moment, and he was gone. In one moment. Praying for her, I relied on the Holy Spirit for the words to pray and declare over this family. I felt nauseous for her. I started to drift away in my thoughts concerning her horrific circumstances. I imagined that they had kissed each other 'good night' the night before, anticipating with great expectation th

December 22, 2009, "Unforgiveness to Forgiveness"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Stevens Criswell "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." ~ Mark 11:25 & 26 ~ Wrapping gifts I could hear the television change the channel. If you have 'Tivo' or any other digital recorder you know what I am talking about. It went from praise music to a familiar voice. As I scurried down the stairs to turn the channel, I saw that the familiar voice was none other than Richard Roberts, the son of the late Oral Roberts. Richard was speaking at his father's memorial service. As I stood there listening to the kind and fond words of his earthly father. I then heard Richard so eloquently speak of what his father had taught him. He said something to this effect, "My father reminded me

December 21, 2009, "Victories of Today"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." ~ I Corinthians 15:57 ~ I was reminded today of the victories on the 'inside' of us ready to explode upon the earth! Our faith in God because of Jesus Christ can activate great explosion of the things intended! We need to loose those gifts for the world to see a glimpse of the awesomeness of God! Our mindsets must change. Many times my mindset is 'set', based on fear, unbelief and what we see, which is real. God's Truth is the opposite. Truth is effectively seen when faith and belief rise up no matter what our 'reality' says! I pray you are encouraged by some sayings I have for myself. I want to do as David did; encouraging my soul (my mind, will and emotions) before my soul discourages me which will effect my actions, my mind and my lack of effecting others for God's

December 16, 2009, "Rise Again"

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "He has shown you, O man, what [is] good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy , And to walk humbly with your God?" ~ Micah 6:8 ~ What was left of their homes was beyond recognition. Debris, trees torn apart looked as though they had exploded through the house. Twisted metal, the remains of cars violently placed in the middle of homes. Some families went back to their homes to find that all that was left was the concrete slab in which the frame of the house once sat. The devastation of the tornado that hit Parkersburg, Iowa was beyond comprehension. Yet through one man's fiery passion to see the people of Parkersburg rise again from the rubble was nothing short of amazing. He lived to inspire. He lived to encourage. He lived as not only a coach of football, but a coach of life. My dad sent me this video this evening, and I was inspired

December 15, 2009, "God's Greatness"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding , will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 4:7 ~ Today I was approached by a concerned husband for his wife. His wife, a wonderful woman of God has grieved the loss of her baby due to a miscarriage; a few days later she found out about the death of her father. I thank you all in advance for praying for her and her beautiful family. She is with her family in Florida, as they are having to tie up loose ends due to the death of her father. Her husband asks that we pray for her as she returns home as things slow down and as she has a moment to ponder what has taken place, that God would overwhelm her with His Great Peace that surpasses her understanding. "Father God, You are her Refuge. You are her Peace in the midst of this storm. Father God we thank You that on the inside of them resides Your G

December 11-13, 2009, "Faith and Works and Works and Faith..."

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But someone will say, "You have faith , and I have works ." Show me your faith without your works , and I will show you my faith by my works . But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." ~ James 2:18, 20 & 26 ~ "I believe in God." "I know He exists." "It is difficult to look at creation and try to deny that there is a 'Higher Power'." These comments lead me to the statement that James, the brother of Jesus made which is recorded in James 2: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and they tremble !" Wow! James spoke with great boldness regarding this humbling truth. As I thought about this statement; I was led to the good people of this world. They do great th

December 9, 2009, "Don't give up!"

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." ~ Isaiah 26:3 ~ I am in awe and wonder...yet again! Have you ever noticed that when you don't seem to have time to do anything; opportunities arise in which you are invited to go here and go over there? It's the same with money too, isn't it? Haahaa! I was reminded in a conversation I had with a friend of mine how God is eternal. He isn't moved by time frames. He isn't moved by stop watches or alarm clocks. He isn't moved by the expectations of what 'man' calls successful or significant. As The Eternal God, He defies time. He is not moved by the time which passes right through us, nor is He moved by what we call 'success' or significance. Pondering this provoking thought, I realize yet again, how dare I contain Him? How dare I 'judge' Him wh

December 7, 2009, "Jesus"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." ~ John 3:16 ~ Distractions. "Look over here." "Look over there." "He/she offended me." "I have to buy a gift for her, for him...ahhhhhhh!!!!" When all the while as we're busy being 'petty' someone else is dealing with the 'hefty'. I'm not saying what we are going through is insignificant, but stepping back and truly looking at the other issues of life in which lives are being changed in ways I cannot imagine. Lives are ripped apart, effected by murder, rape, abuse, kidnapping, the list goes on. There are others effected by sickness, disease and even death of a loved one and a friend. As I think about the many issues of life. I am also led to think about the one's who have not
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December 3 & 4, 2009, "Overwhelmed By Who God Is"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "You will keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." ~ Isaiah 26:3 ~ I am in awe of God's amazing, majestic 'gloriousness'. I don't know what else to say. I am overwhelmed with great fascination by His Awesome Greatness...words cannot articulate the incredible awesomeness in which I am truly overwhelmed. The hustle and bustle of everyday life, especially during the Christmas season. Gaining material possessions. Losing material possessions. The great things of life are either slipping through our grip; or they are just coming upon us in many different ways. In the process of either losing or winning; I ask myself, "Am I able to praise God for Who He is?" "No matter what?" The gloriousness of His awesome power getting us through from striving to thriving no matter our circumstances. I pray great enc

December 1 & 2, 2009, "Transformation"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "I beseech (plead with) you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God ." ~ Romans 12:1-2 NKJV added words italicized ~ "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man (every temptation is common to man) ; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." ~ I Corinthians 10:13 NKJV added words italicized ~ As I staged a house today, the creativity was flowing. I came home and made more 'Triumphant Victorious Decor' inspirational boards and canvases for a few o

November 30, 2009, "The Comfort of Love"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But now I am going to Him Who sent Me, yet none of you asks Me, Where are You going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts [taken complete possession of them]. However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]." ~ John 16 (Excerpt from John 16:5-7 ~ Cold day. Blanket. Hot Chocolate. Praise Music. What do these words describe? Comfort in the midst of uncomfortable situations. As I thought about this, I also thought of my Amazing Father God. Jesus Christ when He ascended to heaven to be with the Father God, He promised The Great Comforter. The

November 28, 2009, "Loyalty"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart." ~ Proverbs 3:3 ~ He laid down near the door waiting patiently for Tim. I went around the house picking up, making beds, and bringing down dirty laundry when I noticed he was still waiting near the door. With compassion, I called out his name, followed by a light whistle. Our dog "Jack", a smooth fox terrier, came over to me, sat real pretty and then went back to where he was lying down before. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I could hear the garage door opening and saw that Jack was whining excitedly at the door. Soon I could hear the key turning the lock and at the same moment the crescendo of excitement as Jack let out a constant bark as if he was saying, "Dad's home, dad's home, dad's home." As the door opened, Jack barreled through th

Celestial Odyssey, By Freddy Hayler

This is one of my favorite songs...if you have a moment where you can just focus on the presence of God...give way to 10 minutes...I promise you won't regret it! This is amazingly awesome...Our God is so awesome...all the time! Happy Thanksgiving and "Behold the Son of God, Worship Him"...woooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

November 24-27, 2009, "Words from a Child"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell Guest Writer: Tristin Criswell (my daughter, age 9) :) "But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, 'I [am] a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I [am] with you to deliver you," says the LORD. " ~ Jeremiah 1:7 , 8 ~ "Mom, every day I am going to write a devotional. I am going to talk about the miracles from the day. I am starting in Genesis." With great joy I said, "Really?!" "She said, "Yes". I found that she wrote her first devotional last night. I was so blessed by the one sentence she wrote. The sentence exuding with great power. Wow! I realized through this how we can never limit God. Just as God told Jeremiah; so I am reminded that no matter our age; young or old. No matter our education; 'drop out' or possessing a PhD.

November 23, 2009, "I Am An Honored Carrier"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." ~ Romans 5:3-5 ~ Random thoughts of the awesomeness of God were circulating through my mind. My mind kept hitting these 'vanishing points' where I had to reel myself back into my reality, even though I didn't want to; however, I had to before I 'fell off the edge' of craziness; pondering the awesomeness of God. I became so enveloped in the thought of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of me. The Holy Spirit! The Spirit of God! The Revealer of Jesus Christ living on the inside of me! Wow! I couldn't help but literally be humbled by such a powerful truth! When I accepted the gift of Salvat

November 21 & 22, 2009, "Passion To Win..."

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. " ~ I Corinthians 10:13 ( New Living Translation )~ School. Peers. Quizzes. Tests. Sports. What do these words describe? A student/athlete. Today is Cody's first wrestling tournament. To watch the discipline of our son, a junior in high school, and a wrestler (rated number four in the state of Texas, weight bracket 152) is utterly amazing and convicting. Especially one that is still growing into his body; the aches of hunger and the workouts before school, during and after. Conditioning and preparing his body for the season. The preparation before his first meet is grueling and

November 20, 2009, "Not to Harm You"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~ Jeremiah 29:11 ~ I don't know who this devotional is for, however, as I was trying to sleep this great 'unction' on the inside of me from the Holy Spirit led me with great fervency to write the following words. I pray that it ministers to you and you feel the hope of God rising up on the inside. It was June 15, 1944. Bodies lay scattered on the ground. The bodies of 30,000 Japanese, Korean slave laborers and original inhabitants of Saipan; their bodies strewn throughout the island. They jumped to their death as they would rather die than surrender; especially due to speculated fears that they were told by their own people that our American soldiers would torture and kill them and their children. One particular father in his desperat

November 19, 2009, "Fretting and Stressing"

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear , but of power and of love and of a sound mind." ~ II Timothy 1:7 NKJV ~ Frantically looking for the folded envelope. The fearful thoughts, "Did I throw it away?" "Did it fall out of my purse?" Looking all through the house; in cupboards, drawers, dressers, trash cans. It even went as far as my friend, Breckin digging through the outside trash can with me. Bless her heart. I would pray real quick, yet was frantic, fretting, stressing, my head was filling up with a cold, coughing and tired. I thought, "My husband is going to get so upset with me." I walked back into the house after digging into the trash. I must have had the look of despair as my husband was in the kitchen preparing dinner. He called out to me and said in a calming voice, "Teresa, just walk away from it for a while." I was upset. I said, "Tim, you know me; I can't just stop thinking about this; I'm feeli

Noovember 18, 2009, "His Voice"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way (elsewhere, from some other quarter) is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The watchman opens the door for this man, and the sheep listen to his voice and heed it; and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out. When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of stranger or recognize their call..." ~ John 10 (Excerpt from John 10:1-5) ~ "...And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice." ~ II Kings 19 (Excerpt fro

November 17, 2009, "TV?"

"Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed." ~ Proverbs 16:3 ~ Where or how do I start? Hmmmmmm...I'll just write it...Ok...For about four years I have had a dream hidden in my heart. The dream? To start a television show. You may be saying, "What? Are you kidding?" I know I say, "Just Kidding" a lot, but no, I'm not kidding...haahaahaa! First, let me 'rewind' you to about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Ok...I was eating lunch at home in the afternoon. I was walking over to the refrigerator when at that moment I was reminded of the dream. As the dream was in the forefront of my mind; my heart revealed the agenda...to want 'notarity' more than the fervent desire to reach people for the glory of God . It drew me to a place of repentance. I remember saying something like this to the Lord, "L

November 16, 2009, "Trust"

"Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 ~ Today I am reminded of the life verse of my mom and dad. Growing up, everywhere we lived, it was etched in the cement of our driveway, the cement where the basketball goal hoop was placed, on the walls in our home, any card that was ever signed; that scripture verse was etched as a reminder of how to trust...with ALL our heart. I am led to this heart provoking question that I was asked today by the Spirit of God. Do I really trust God, revealed by Jesus Christ? Do I trust Him when He says, "Go!"? Do I trust Him when He says, "Be Still, and in the being still; KNOW that I AM GOD!"? Do I trust Him when He leads me to open my home? Do I trust Him when He says to receive His healing; as I question if it is truly His will? Many times what we see in the natural realm; we determine it as 'God

November 14 & 15, 2009, "Random 'Thoughts and Jots' of a Nine Year Old"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell Also an insert from Tristin's school project (public school) :) "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger." ~ Psalm 8:2 ~ As we walked into our home after our daughter's day of school; we went about our normal after school routine. She emptied her school bag with homework that had been graded and some other assignments that she had written and laminated. One of the interesting things I came across was a laminated eight and a half by eleven inch piece of paper. As I started to read the words on the page, I could have melted in the sweet surrender of her innocence towards Almighty God and the dreams within her heart. The random 'thoughts and jots' of a nine year old... "I Am" By: Tristin Criswell "I am smart and a peace lover. I wonder if

November 12, 2009, "God Used A Coffee Craving"

"He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to Him." ~ Proverbs 19:17 Amplified Bible ~ "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days." ~ Ecclesiastes 11:1 Amplified Bible ~ "For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name's sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do." ~ Hebrews 6:10 Amplified Bible ~ About two weeks ago, I received a phone call from my youngest sister. She told me of one of her best friends named Breckin who was moving with her family from Colorado to Texas. She didn't know their whereabouts, however she wanted to know if she could give her friend my number. I said, "Sure, go right ahead." Now Mary Kay had been friends with Breckin since 1994 their eighth grade year. However, I had never met Breckin before; I had only heard about her. Well