Triumphant Victorious Reminders

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell, May 25, 2009 "The Lord bless you and watch, guard and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; the Lord lift His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace." ~ Number 6:24-26~ Amplified Version Grasped hands holding on hoping this moment will not end. Yet reality interrupts as their hands slowly slide apart. The hands of a wife and husband. I imagine a wife holding back the overwhelming emotions that she feels at this very moment. She tries with all her mind to capture this very moment praying it will forever be seared in her heart and mind. Her husband dressed in uniform as he represents his country but also his family. He slowly walks away as his body faces forward, yet his head still turned back looking at his wife; watching the tears softly roll down her rosy cheeks. Suddenly, the door flings o

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace...be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." ~ Ephesians 4:1-3 & 32 ~ This glorious morning I went on a walk, communing with God as He reminded me to pray over my block, echoing back His Word over the sidewalks, backed up by homes filled with lives in all sorts of situations, from brokenness, to ruin, and the familiar smells of hopelessness and despair. I was reminded to pray forth our Awesome God into the lives of those to bind up the brokenhearted, set the captives free and that the Libera

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "Do you hear what these children are saying? 'Yes', Jesus replied. "Haven't you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, 'You have taught children and infants to give you praise'." ~ Matthew 21:16 ~ My daughter has been utilized as a mighty vessel of praise from the Lord and to the Lord. I had a major 'wake up call' this morning in my life. I caught myself scoffing and making fun of Harold Camping who sincerely believes that May 21st is Judgement Day with the Rapture of God's people taking place today. The compassion for him and his followers were absent until this morning. My daughter came down the stairs and said, "Mom, let's praise God right now together." I looked at her with awe and said, "OK"! I had no idea what she intended to talk to the Lord about. She started talking to God and said these words, "God, I lov

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them and He healed their sick." ~ Matthew 14:14 ~ I must remember... It is not about the power of prayer, It is about the Powerful God to Whom I pray to. It is not about the power of healing, It is about the Compassionate God who is Healer. It is not about our faith in healing that makes us whole, It is about our faith in God that makes us whole. It is not about the story that moves us to tears, provoking our emotions and then getting over it. It is about the tears provoking our emotions leading us to action, revealing true compassion. It is not about the promises, It is about the One Who is the Promiser who provides the promises. It is not about me. It is about our Awesome God. This life and the life to come is about The Creator of the heavens and the earth. The First and The Last, The Beginning and The

"...Perfect love casts out fear..." ~ I John 4:18 ~ Have you ever sat in the movie theater and wanted to cheer for the character that captivates your heart? I have. I experienced this last night as my son and I watched Soul Surfer . There was a scene in the movie in which the main character, Bethany, is in the midst of many teenagers and their youth group meeting, sitting and listening to their youth pastor show a couple of close up photography shots that take up the whole television screen. She asked the young people to guess what the pictures were. The answers from the teenagers were interjected throughout the scene as they gave their assumptions. When the still photographs were zoomed out, one frame ended up being a fly and the other frame ended up being a walnut in a shell; their assumptions were not even close to what was revealed. The youth pastor explained that what their assumptions were was likened to life. In life we sometimes see things so up close that it t

"And now abide faith, hope, love; these three, but the greatest of these is love." ~ I Corinthians 13:13 NKJV ~ "It's all about love, love, love, love..." I hummed to myself. It is, isn't it? It's ALL about LOVE. God IS LOVE and for those of us who have received His LOVE FREELY; we MUST GIVE FREELY. I have told a few, that my dream job is to deliver flowers. I tell you this, so that you can appreciate what happened yesterday. I was able to give an encouraging over a woman from Columbia. As she received the words of encouragement, she replied with a gorgeous smile, "Thank you for the flowers." I laughed out loud and said, "What did you say?" She said, "In Columbia when someone gives a compliment or a word of encouragement we say, "Thank you for the 'flowers'." In that moment, not only was my day made, but I realized as though I received a, "God Wink", I'm living out my dream 'job'..