Triumphant Victorious Reminders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

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

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