Triumphant Victorious Reminders

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell As the Holy Spirit flowed, I was learning even more as a mouthpiece of His message of faith through last night's  Girlfriends 2016 Women Conference in Belton.  One of the many reminders while speaking and sharing my testimony of waywardness to redemption, was in regards to how my incredible parents prayed prayers of faith for over a decade over me, even in the times when they didn't know if I was dead or alive. The reminder that came forth was when we pray by faith, it doesn't mean we don't recognize the "facts". Think about it, my parents knew the painful, hard hitting facts. They wept and were distraught especially when they heard what people were saying about my lifestyle - but PRAISE GOD, my parents even in those moments did not allow those "facts" to replace God's TRUTH in changing how they prayed. They continued God's declarations of fait

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "Without faith it is impossible to please God." ~ Hebrews 11:6 ~ Have you ever been in awe of a child's imagination?  The world of colors and wild adventure - no boxes, just open skies, open atmosphere...creativity revealed in pictures, words, movements, songs and so much more. (Photo, courtesy of my sister, Mary Kay McCall) Imagination geared to The God of PURE imaginations is one of the tools to walk by faith in HIM! Here's an example of what I mean by this.  I have to believe my parents did this over me as they believed in God, no matter what I did - they believed God more so than what they saw me doing. I truly believe this is how they prayed for me...may this bring encouragement and may your soul be refreshed as it aligned with the spirit of who God intended you to be - for your spouse to be - your children - your friends - your acquaintances - those you pray

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell Persistence. Perseverance. Tenacity. Never give up. It was in 1976, on a Tuesday evening yet another knock on the door. It was like clock work. Every Tuesday night for a couple weeks, Ray and his counterpart were on their Tuesday evening "visitation" route as a particular couple's home was part of their route every week for the last few weeks. Of course, on the other end, the couple knew who it was as they had a routine drill of their own. Whenever the couple heard the knock on the door, they would slowly get on the ground, crawl on all fours to make the outsiders think no one was home.  The only problem? Ray knew they were home because one, their car was in the driveway and two, he could hear the floors creaking as they tried to quietly move away from the front room.  If I remember the story correctly, Ray would knock on the door, hear the creaking sounds and then say some

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell Based on the goodness of God and His wisdom - God has reminded me in my mess ups the reason we are called to "confess our sins one to another" - it is to remain in unity with the Holy Spirit of God - and when we do this, we know it comes with a call to pray for one another and even have the ability to pray for one another's healing (James 5:16). Notice, it does NOT say, "confess OTHER people's sins to one another" because that is called, Gossip and it brings division amongst one another. What does division actually do? It dismembers; cuts off limbs; mutilates...this is what happens in the spirit when we get caught up in division of any sort  - we end up taking the "ax of the enemy" and dismembering and mutilating others. This picture in and of itself is alarming and will help us to not fall prey to the schemes of the enemy - his scheme is to get us

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Stevens Criswell When you walk into a situation...do you add negative insight to an already difficult situation? Or do you provide an atmosphere of hope? A safe place for others to thrive? As we ponder those personal questions - here's how to activate God's faith, hope and love...be aware of God's character - how He is immovable and unchanging - no matter pop culture or circumstances or even other people's annoyances or shortcomings - just because we recognize those things does not mean we were ever meant to focus on them.   This is a Triumphant Victorious Reminder that God is not moved by our ever changing moments of despair or joy - nor is He moved by our current status - He is not even "fickled out" by our upbringing or lack thereof - nor is He moved by whether you worked hard all your life or if you are just plain lazy...He is compelled by Himself because He is f