Triumphant Victorious Reminders

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you..." ~ Luke 6:27-36 ~ "You are no good." "Are you that stupid?" "Can you do anything right?" As she laughed with her friends in the restaurant with great joy, she looked up to find a handful of people annoyed as they rolled their eyes. The manager looked over at him, not caring if the customers were in the store and belittled him by saying, "Do you have a brain?" In anger and embarassment he said, "Well, obviously not." A sweet young lady ringing up merchandise at a clothing store is rudely interrupted by a customer as she says, "Could you please hurry it up? I don't have all day." The employee's demeanor shrinks back revealing her embarassment, as thoug

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west." ~ Psalm 103:12 ~ "With My (Jesus) authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: `There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.'" ~ Luke 24:47 ~ "I close my eyes, breathing in with great intention as I lift my head up to You, O Lord! I am in awe of Your great love as You reveal Your unimaginable, infinite, majestic forgiveness. As far as the east is from the west that is how far you have removed my sins from me. Wow! Unbelievable, infinite description of your great, vast love revealed through Your forgiveness. You not only forgive ~ that is Who You Are. You are my Great Forgiver. Thank You for Your grace to get me through those natural consequences of the sin I have committed. Lord, I thank You that You heal those that I have caused great

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "...Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him..." ~ Luke 15:11-32 ~ "I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels." ~ Isaiah 61:10 ~ He cried with great regret, "What have I done?" "I have nothing, it is all gone." His head and hair filled with dirt. His sandals badly torn. His clothes consumed with dirt as rips, tears, and holes were all that were left of his robe. Sweat dripped off his forehead. As sweat dripped down his face it revealed the many layers of dirt upon his face as it left long marks of dark lines tracing his sun beat face. He didn't know where to go or what to do. Condemnation surrounded him. I can see this huge twister behind him

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." ~ Romans 8:1 ~ "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God." ~ Ephesians 3:19 ~ "For God has not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." ~ II Timothy 1:7 ~ Have you ever felt like you made a big fool of yourself? Are you the type of person that will re-hash the scene over and over again in your mind, and then your stomach turns as the feeling of embarassment comes over you all over again? This scenario has definitely taken place in my own life. When this has happened to me, I tend to arrive at this place of immobility. Then in that place of immobility my soul is able to condemn me, and then as my soul condemns me, the fear of loss comes over

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." ~ Revelation 1:8 ~ "...But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." ~ John 4 (Excerpt from John 4:23, 24) ~ The Lord asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding." ~ Job 38:4 ~ This is what I believe I received today from the Lord, "Be in awe of who I Am. For I am the beginning and the end." I cannot even comprehend such awesome truth, however as I think more and more upon this thought, I realize no wonder that God has called us to worship Him in spirit (not our minds), and in Truth (t

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell Stephen the man we know as one of the first martyrs for Christ Jesus said, ""Look I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!" Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And he fell to his knees, shouting, "Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" And with that, he died." ~ Acts 7 (Excerpt from Acts 7:56-60) ~ Wincing in torturous pain; I saw man being tormented and tortured; hanging onto the last thread of life. His tormentors torture him to see if he will deny his Savior, Jesus Christ. On Sunday, in my spi

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell and Pastor Kim Behrman "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." ~ Psalm 119:11 ~ I love learning more and more about the things God has equipped in us so that it can go through us, impacting others and situations for His glory! Yesterday at church after we came together in singing praises to the Lord (another beautiful more known form of worship), the kids were released to go to their classes. As Pastor Stephen Behrman encouraged and taught us from the Word, his wife, Pastor Kim Behrman encouraged and taught our children from the Word. I was greatly encouraged when we were released as I found out what she had taught but also challenged the children. The challenge is that every day they speak The Word of God over themselves and their situations like at breakfast time, before they go to school. It was so encouraging to me, so I had to share it with you all

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple." ~ Isaiah 6 ~ Trying to imagine such a vision as Isaiah the prophet experienced is absolutely beyond comprehension. My mind's ability to process logic is 'thrown out the window' as it cannot process my Awesome God. I shake my head with such indescribable explanation in awe of this amazing God Who has adopted me as His daughter through His Son Jesus Christ. I am still drawn to the vision of the "Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filling the temple". He describes the train of His robe; it is not even the robe He wears that Isaiah describes, but the train of His robe. I imagine that this moment as Isaiah sees such a sight, he must be overwhelmed by the great, awesome indescribable vastness and size

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." ~ Deuteronomy 30:19-20 ~ NKJV Today as we were getting some great deals for school clothes and supplies we had also purchased a school bag from my daughter's favorite store. She was so excited to find the 'perfect' bag with peace signs. My fun daughter is so into 'peace' signs and psychedelic colors. She really loves that the '80's are somewhat back in it's own way. After we purchased her school accessories we wa

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." ~ II Timothy 2:21 ~ NKJV "Mom, I think I want to be a pastor when I grow up." I said, "Really?" She said, "Mom, I have a strong voice and I'm not afraid to use it. And I love people; like you do. I 'just' want to be a pastor." I thought to myself, "Wow! Out of all things to want to be, she wants to be a pastor?" I told her, "Tristin, you would be a wonderful pastor. You love people." I also got to tell her that if it weren't for God allowing her to be in our life, I don't know if I would truly desire to live for Him like I do right now. I was able to tell her how God had utilized her as an inspiration in my life to live for Him in ways I could never imagine. I told her

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The LORD your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you." ~ Deuteronomy 31:6 ~ "To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory." ~ Isaiah 61:3 ~ We were enjoying our contintental breakfast this morning. We have been staying at a hotel for a few days since we came back from our mini-vacation to find out that our air conditioner had broken during this one hundred degree weather, with no relief of rain in sight. As we were eating, the continental breakfast was about to be cleaned up when I saw the breakfast hostess organizing and turning off the machines. We said our 'hello's' to one another and she walked away. Later she came back and I had told her

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "Jesus said to her, 'I Am the Resurrection and the Life ...'" ~ John 11:25 ~ Last night for the first time I was watching Stuvall Weems who was on The Church Channel and I listened to him teach out of II Kings 4:8-37. It was regarding the wealthy woman from Shunem and the prophet of God named, Elisha. As I re-read this amazing story this morning of Elisha the prophet and the wealthy woman from Shunem who had one dream, and her dream was to have a son. One of her circumstances that hindered her from having a son, was that it states in chapter four her husband was of old age. This woman of great wealth had invited this man of God, Elisha into her home and would feed him. She saw the power of God in his life and one day took it a step further as she told her husband she wanted to build Elisha a room on the roof of their home. She not only built him a room, but she also furnished

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. Fear of the Lord teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor. From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive. Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." ~ Proverbs 15:31-33 & 16:23, 24 ~ This is the word I received this morning as I was on the balcony overlooking the beauty of God's beautiful 'Hand Prints'. His beauty and love constructively brought me to conviction on a situation that had taken place yesterday. The following are the words I received with such loving conviction: "Constructive criticism and an encouraging word MUST go together, OR the criticism that was meant to be constructive will be received as on

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "O Lord my Lord how majestic is Your name in all the earth..." ~ Psalm 8 ~ This is an excerpt from my journal yesterday, being that we did not have access to the internet yesterday. This morning I prayed that I would have access to the internet in our hotel, and praise God we were able to connect! Praise You Lord!!!!! "O Lord, thank You for another day! Lord, You Reign! To see the Gulf of Mexico before me as I sit on the balcony of our hotel; I am amazed. You are awesome! Breathtaking! The water glistens as the water reflects the light of the sun. The clouds in the back drop dress the waters and cover it like a veil, in awe of Your majesty! The palm tress staggered in height, standing with their palms lifted high towards the heavens as they praise You. This reminds me of the verse in Psalm 8. "O Lord, my Lord how majestic is Your Name in all the earth." Hallelujah, Lord

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "...So the Lord God banished Adam and his wife from the Garden of Eden..." ~ Genesis 3:1-24 ~ Screams of desperation, "NO! NO! O God No! Please NO!" Being dragged out of their home. Their sobs and despair so full that they could truly vomit such sadness to be without God. They were banished, never to return to the Garden. They were banished from the freedom of walking with God at every moment as they had done before. If there was a possibility, their consequence of death was better than being absent from God's presence. They would have much rather suffered death than to be removed from their Creator's presence. Regret, shame, guilt not only for their disobedience but for all mankind. Even the animals of every kind, all suffered because of the great sadness and despair of deception and sin. As I imagine the scene of being completely able to see in ways we could ne

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Stevens Criswell "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." ~ Psalm 118:24 ~ Do you ever feel overwhelmed? What causes that feeling of 'feeling overwhelmed'? I am sure there are as many answers to that question as there are people on this earth. Yet God is the Overwhelming Love, the Overwhelming Peace, the Overwhelming Joy in and over our lives. Notice the word 'is'. His Overwhelming love, peace and joy is readily available to us. It isn't because we had to work on the outward things, outward situations, or outward circumstances first. It IS alreadly provided for within each of us when we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I love how our pastor says it. Salvation through Jesus Christ is the tool that leads us THROUGH the threshold of all the amazing, awesome blessings of Who God is and what He wants to do in and through our

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help [comes] from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." ~ Psalm 121:1-2 ~ My heartbeat and mind are racing as the clock seems to be in competition of the things that I must get accomplished for the day. It seems I have more things on my list of 'to do's' than I have hours in the day. I need to breathe in and allow the peace of God that is already within me to manifest right now. I could just scream at this moment, because I don't know what to do first. Do you know what I mean? I am reminded to fix my eyes on Him, right now at this very moment. I am actually breathing now. It seems as though when I am in a mad rush to get things done, I don't breathe. From where does my help come from? It comes from You Lord! I am going to trust that You are going to redeem my time today. You have allowed many of us to

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly towards those who detest you and pursue you with hatred. Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you]." ~ Luke 6:27-28 ~ Amplified Bible "Beep! Beep! Beep!" My phone alerted me this morning with the following text: "Hey guess what? I kept asking God to bless this lady (a client who has kept throwing me under the bus during meetings - including yesterday, I never felt my cheeks burn so hot)! Well, this morning she called to apologize. Jeez! You were right! It's so strange though, I would never have guessed!" As I read this text message, my eyes welled up with tears of jo

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," ~ II Corinthians 10:5 ~ I received an email the other day from a reader of 'Triumphant Victorious Reminders'. This particular reader truly has the gift of encouragement. She has the ability to encourage me in which I know is from the Holy Spirit utilizing her as a vessel. I have not met her, our only source of communication has been via email. From the short yet 'pithy' encouraging emails, her writing exudes profound wisdom. Upon receiving her email, I was quite 'dumbfounded' to truly see that she was being deceived by not seeing the great gifts that are within her. Here is a small excerpt from the email, "...I don't sew or cook (very well) I am a helper when it comes to mending fences and I am an e

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery!" ~ Psalm 145:3 ~ I am not a singer, but I can definitely make a joyful sound! The following words were flowing out of me like a song this morning. It was as though my spirit were praising and singing praises to Almighty God. Let us declare His greatness to Him today. Praise is a great weapon against despair, depression, adversity and difficult circumstances. The things that seem unclear, suddenly clarity from the Lord will come. "You Are Glorious" Written by: Teresa Criswell "God, You are glorious! God Your power is so awesome. Hallelujah for You are Lord. You are Mighty, You are God, You are King over all! The mountains tremble because of Who You are. The waves of the sea roll in the tide as they bow down to You. The sky declares Your glorious glory. Hallelujah! To You O Holy One, Hallelujah

TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive a reward that lasts forever. They will survive through hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough." ~ Psalm 37:18-19 ~ My friend Holly and I were talking the other day as she came to visit me from Iowa for a few days. The conversations we had, which I loved, were so deep and vast regarding the greatness and awesomeness of God. At a certain point our mind that processes logic, that logical process vanished. It became overwhelming that we actually GET to serve This Awesome, Amazing God through the One and Only Jesus Christ. As I think on Eternal God and then think of the terrible things going on in just our nation alone; unemployment, foreclosures, debt, suicides, hopelessness, anxiety, stress, the list goes on and on. Yet, when we trust in the Lord with ALL our hearts and as we do this we will not lea