Footsteps I Walk In

I'm trying to follow the example of Abraham & believe I will receive my promise even after I blew it. 

I'm trying to follow the example of Joseph & do my best job in lower than anticipated places.

I'm trying to follow the example of Miriam & b a loud enuf praiser for people to follow. 

I'm trying to follow the examples of Joshua & Caleb & claim a victory no one else can see. 

I'm trying to follow the example of Ruth & work hard in an unfamiliar place.

I'm trying to follow the example of Esther & present myself as a queen of courage tho inside I may feel like an orphan.

I'm trying to follow the example of David & b creative for God's pleasure when no one can see.

I'm trying to follow the example of Samuel & hear God's voice above the demands of ministerial duties.

More coming as I face an obstacle in life, & use these Heroes of Faith's trail as stepping stones, confidently putting my foot in their footsteps.

God LOVES an encore. If he did it once he WANTS to do it again!! I'm applauding with all my fanatical soul to get him back out on my life's stage! He amazes me over & over! I luv him!

(It'll work for YOU to! Do it.)

When In Battle

Exodus 17:12

But Moses' hands [were] heavy; and they took a stone, and put [it] under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands...and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

1. The battle is inevitable. We can't waste our energy on desertion plans. Neither can we lose focus, or fight the wrong enemy. God allowed us to be in this battle because he has already guaranteed our victory. We must fight the battle, not the commander or his battle plan.

2. Moses' hands were "steady" till the battle was over, but only bc he took the people & props God provided. Accept help so u can still lead when the dust settles.

God is on your side!

Do not be afraid!

Places To Purchase Denee's Music

You can purchase Denee's origianl music from iTunes by clicking here: iTunes
Denee has been writing and recording music from the age of twelve. The earliest available recording is her Changes album, followed by her Plain Path for Kids albums, and her choir project, Go Away With You.

You can purchase Denee's Bible memory songs by clicking here: Bible Memory Songs
If the link has a problem, go to www.BibleQuizPowers.com, or call 214-674-1312.
The United Pentecost Church International has a Bible memory program called Bible Quizzing. Denee puts each individual verse to song to help that memorization process. Over two hundred verses a year. An excellent and easy method of "hiding God's Word" in your heart!

You may enjoy this tribute to Bible memory: Lizzie and Melody's Bible Memory Songs Experience

Party-Pooper Insomniac

I don't remember inviting Geisel 2play.

I kno I didn't ask Shel!

But play they do

With cats & hats,

& sidewalks & trees

& ink wells!

And they're turning wats meant to be Grey 

(This Matter-of-facts in my head)

Into red fish & blue fish

(Tho Shel sticks with elfish

Characters drawn in black lead.)

While I luv their earlier work

The books, the art, the rhymes

Anything this late at night

Makes me think they're pranking my mind!

I think they should clean up their paints

Draw this party to an end

And let me get some sleep

Or I'll show em the door 

& where the sidewalk BEGINS!!!

Nuff said.

PS: If u have not read the works of Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) or Shel Silverstein for ur own enjoyment, or that of a child... Sigh. WHAT HAVE U BEEN DOING WITH UR LIFE?!?! Read, smile, hopefully giggle, & enjoy the works of these masterful smile-inducers ASAP!!

Asia..? Anyone...?

This insomniac's brain

Keeps speaking in rhyme

Melatonin has failed

Magnesium defies

Perhaps u in Asia

Could engage me in speak

Since the rest of North America

Has left me for sleep.

Cracked Up

Life is not all its cracked up to be,

Then we take it out for a swing.

Around twelve we decide we know where we're going,

We crash around age sixteen.

Then we whip out some duct tape and try to repair,

We gimp through high school with a fake veneer.

We delve into higher learning

Pretending we know what we're doing

Tottering along pretty good 

Never reading signs as we should

So while smiling in mirrors we run into walls,

And when making left turns we stumble and fall.

And if we're smart we'll kneel there a while

Force our thoughts to question the smiles 

Of the other cracked lives around us

The ones who've been faking it for the same many miles.

I've seen the smart stop the insanity,

The behavior that wrecks so much.

And they've given their mess to the Master

He can fix the broken with His touch.

& He shows a new way to live

That incites peace & contentment

And when He sets us back on our path

We have Godspeed to attain fulfillment.

And like magic, life isn't cracked up!

He gives us life brand new!

And if we fall we ask The King to put us together again.

'Cause his men are amateurs with duct tape and glue.

(Ask poor Humpty!)

I'M DOING GREAT!!

Because so many people love me & are concerned by my "If I can, u can" themed posts:

I'M DOING GREAT! Lol

I'm in the will of God, therefore, I'm happy! :-)

I feel blessed beyond what I deserve!

I'm well-provided for!

I'm healthy! 

I'm surrounded by the most amazing, loving people on the planet!

I'm simply aware of how many people are hurting, feel alone in their battle, and can't see thru the haze of tear-gas the enemy has released on them. They need somebody's voice lifted up saying, "Life isn't perfect for ANYBODY! So, quit feeling like a loser, & KEEP FIGHTING!!"

But I found myself with an "Optimists' Rainbow Problem..."

People tend to imagine those who spend most of their lives on a stage, in the public eye, dressed in their best, presenting their best, as having a life without problems. And when someone "who's perfect" tries to say, "Get up! Move! Change!" It's not taken well!

I used to weigh 230 pounds. When I decided to lose the weight, gyms who were full of amazing, fit, strong, slim bodies were NOT the gyms I wanted to be a member of. I couldn't see where they'd come from, I could only see their perfect, current selves. I also didn't want to hear what anyone wearing a size 6 had to say. If, however, they showed me a pic of themselves wearing a size 16, and NOW they were a size 6... Oh yeah! I wanted to sit at their feet and hear EVERY DETAIL of how they fought their "Battle of the Bulge!"

While I DO feel like I'm living "the best life," it's not because I don't battle confusion, emotional drops, family concerns, overwhelming duties... because, WE ALL DO! 

My dad taught me, "The mark of a professional is to make what's hard look easy." I take great strides and comfort in being skilled enough to do that. Besides it putting me in the fellowship of strong, higher thinking people, it's a behavior of faith!

However, it shocked me to discover how many people think my behavior means I have nothing to worry about, that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and therefore do not have "the credentials" to encourage them.

My posts about trials, pain, darkness, etc, is simply my way to both live my lifestyle of faith-behavior while using written blurbs  to let people know that even we who are good at positive-image hafta "cowboy up," Because it rains on the just and the unjust. Perhaps if people SEE me being all boss in life, while knowing inside I'm sweating bullets; they'll trust that if I can, they can do it too! Perhaps my candidness will be like a cheerleaders megaphone and help me bring light to more people. That's my hope and intention.

So pray for me. I'm praying for u. But don't WORRY about me! Lol I'm no better-off than u, and no worse-off than u. I just wanna make sure that the people having to fight thru a haze hear a voice even when they can't see; a voice they are confident to trust;

"I'm fighting too!"

"You're not alone!"

"Follow my voice!"

"Come in THIS direction!"

Glory2Glory2gether!!!

After

Now I'm in a fiery trial

 Or a storm 

 Or a valley

Now I'm wrestling and all is dark

Now my vision is cloudy

But AFTER this I'll b amazed!

AFTER, so will u be too!

AFTER all this insanity is done...

AFTER the confusion is through...

Cuz He's actually right w/me

   Even tho I can't see Him

And He's fighting the enemy for me

   Even tho I can't find him

He's making sure that AFTER this fire I'll come out without the smell of smoke.

And AFTER this trial I'll b shown righteous by his grace alone.

And AFTER this wrestling I'll walk different because he touched me.

And AFTER the dust settles I'll eat his banquet in front of my enemies.

I can do all things thru Christ,

And u, my friend, can too!

Right now it may feel bleak...

But I'm hearing a heavenly anthem...

Hey, they're playing our victory tune!

Knowledge Vs All Knowing

A tweet from one of my ALL TIME favorite comics:

@CalvinandHobb3s: It is man's indomitable nature to scare himself silly for no good reason! #calvinandhobbes Calvin and Hobbes

I have an active, powerful imagination. In a matter of a few seconds I can go from being the there's-sunshine-somewhere-even-when-its-raining optimist, to a fetal-ball of tears who's single, with grown children that won't come see me, no car to go see them, and a broken washing machine, therefore I can't get clean clothes to go get a job, thereby paying to fix my car so I can go see my kids and grandkids.

[excuse me while I go get tissue to blow my nose.]

While my mind just went to an extreme event that will likely never happen with me, I have found myself nearly incapacitated over much more possible, plausible occurrences. Like a friend dying lost and without God, or someone I love having a terminal illness, or divorce, or losing a house to the ravishes of poor finances. Life is life, and bad things happen to good people all the time. The Bible tells us that it rains on the righteous and the unrighteous. No one is exempt of sorrow and pain.

The older I get, the more knowledge I have about how quickly life can flip on you. Life can go from unicorns and rainbows, to gargoyles & rainbow-shattering thunder in a second. The more this happens, the more you witness it's reality, the more knowledge you have of it. And that knowledge can be your greatest enemy.

There are multiple reasons why Jesus requires us to be like children to enter the Kingdom of God. (Matt 18:3) One of the reasons being a lack of knowledge. A child's mind, spirit, soul, and memories are a clean slate. Parents can write whatever they want on their child's slate!  A child will believe in a myth without hesitation. Their inexperience and ignorance allows them to believe ANYTHING.

I'm not proposing God prefers us ignorant. The scripture, in fact, insists we attain knowledge. But when our knowledge of the hard-knocks of life starts to be more boss than God's reality, we have a problem on our hands. Albeit, a fixable problem.

Our knowledge plays out how and why a better situation, or a higher quality life ISN'T POSSIBLE. Our knowledge shows us who is preventing our success. Our knowledge is present because before we were in this awful problem, we saw other people in this same predicament, so now we know how our circumstance will play out.

And leaning on that kind of "knowledge," my friend, is straight up IGNORANCE.

Do you know why Saul and Judus took their own lives? (1Chron10, Matt27)

Do you know why the servant of the king was trampled? (2Kings7)

Because their knowledge wouldn't let them see God's love, mercy, and grace.

You can believe there was no hope for these people if you want to. But I've seen God forgive a blasphemous Saul-Paul. I've seen God forgive a doomed Ninevah. I've seen God bless an Esau whom he hated.

The more you know about life's difficulties, the less you can think once you're in your own crisis. You must daily, sometimes many times a day, cast down imaginations, & every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. (2Cor10:5)

Your knowledge is limited to your experiences. But God's knowledge sees the end already! He is the author! He is Almighty! He knew how to get a doomed rag-tag settlement of refugees out of Egypt's bondage. A Dead Sea didn't hinder God's ability! He knew how to feed four lepers and a city. An army starving out the city couldn't hinder God's ability!

What you know about your situation is BUNK!

Yeah! I said it! BUNK!

Cast down that imagination! Cast down your uppity, high-knowledge!

What you know about your situation is NOTHING compared to what the All Knowing God knows. He can be the author and finisher of your story, but only if you'll give him the pen! Do not let your knowledge of the normal process hold the pen and rights to your story! Don't suicide your physical self, or your spiritual self over your knowledge. God is a rescuing HERO! And he delights in making YOU the hero of your story because it makes HIM look good!

Cast down your imagination and EVERY high thing that exalts itself against REALITY, which is the knowledge of God. Your imagination and knowledge is not God's reality.

You wanna KNOW something? Know that God loves you! Know that nothing is impossible with God! Know that God is not limited by one thing in your situation!

Your situation is not too much, too hard, or too trivial for God to work out. We all are prey to habits that allow logic and knowledge to be our dictator. We must initiate habits that free faith to work! So cast your imagination & lofty thoughts down, lock 'em in jail so YOU'RE the boss of faith & hope. Get in prayer to take on the mind of Christ. When you have HIS all-knowing mind engaged in your thoughts you'll see glimpses of how God is planning to wow and amaze your life!

And those glimpses of God's reality are what we call "hope." If you're having a hard time seeing hope, get with people who can see hope. Let their strength and faith partner with you, fight with you, cast down imaginations with you.

Good things are coming your way! That's what God knows!