The Pepperoncino

Last night my boyfriend and I were having dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  We both ordered the house salad.  When our salads arrived they appeared to be identical, the typical house salad with vinaigrette dressing topped with a Pepperoncino.

As I was adding pepper to my salad, gazing at the Pepperoncino, and thinking I would eat it last, I was prompted to give my Pepperoncino to my boyfriend.

I pick up the Pepperoncino and pass it across the table to my boyfriend.  His eyes got great big and his face lit up as he asked, ‘that was in your salad?’  I answered yes and that he should have one also.  He asked if I liked Pepperoncinos, I answered yes, I love them. 

 He began digging through his salad looking for his Pepperoncino.  When he finally found it, the Pepperoncino in his salad was super tiny, not even a bite, basically a stem. He was disappointed that he didn’t have a full Pepperoncino in his salad.

You see, my boyfriend loves Pepperoncinos as much as I do.  I didn’t know he got gypped on a Pepperoncino but my Heavenly Father did and the Holy Spirit prompted me to give up mine to him.

My boyfriend was blessed by the Pepperoncino … Sometimes it’s the little things that make the 

biggest impact.  

Pay attention to that “Still Small Voice”, Be obedient, and Be blessed.

Saved by Grace ♥ Changed by Love

♥Cindy♥

Deposits into Little Souls

Last night I was with a group of friends watching the 2015 ALDS Royals vs Astros game … Congrats to the Kansas City Royals!!!!

Some of my friends were drinking when one of them hands a little girl an empty beer bottle to throw away.  My immediate reaction was anger and disgust.

You see…I was that little girl.  My Dad would have me bring his beer, pot and whatever else to him and clean up after him.  When I was serving my Dad’s addictions I had his attention just for that moment and just for that moment I felt accepted and loved.   But it wasn’t long before he was drunk and/or high and I had become invisible to him again or worse, in his way.  My heart and my soul longed for my Daddy’s attention, his love, but it never came because his first love was his addictions.

As I became a teenager I began seeking relationships with the same type of men.   Going from one alcoholic man or addict to the next, convincing myself that “this one” is going to be different.   This “one” is going to love me more that his addiction.  My Dad had conditioned me to believe that this was love, that this was a woman’s worth, to be a “side-piece” to addiction.

There is much more to my story … but for now … if you are an alcoholic or addicted, I am asking you, please do not involve children in your festivities.  Little eyes are on you and you are influencing them more than you know.

Saved by Grace - Changed by Love

Cindy

The Rainbow & 9/11

So many are sharing this picture of a Rainbow originating  from the One World Trade Center.

I am curious about what everyone sees in this picture.  Rainbows are beautiful & elegant.  And I believe for the most part they bring a smile to our faces when we see them.

Rainbows remind me how great God is, His power, His sovereignty, His mercy, and His love for us.

Rainbows are also a promise from God.  A promise to us that He will never "flood" the world to remove sinful & evil-minded people.

Genesis 9:12-15
¹² God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; ¹³ I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Rainbows should remind us of the great flood.  Rainbows should remind us of who is in control and when He has had enough, He will lift the veil, remove His covering and America will suffer the consequences of turning away from Him.  Rainbows are to remind us that He will never flood the world but NOT a promise that He will allow America to continue to turn her back on Him, to mock Him and to be blatantly disobedient to His Word.  Rainbows should remind us of Who is on the Throne and Who we have to answer to.

Revelation 4:1-3

4 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. ³ And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

Today, on September 11, everyone is posting pictures of that horrific day in 2001, "Never Forget" and of course we all blame the terriosts.  But I have to wonder, who is really to blame.  If we, so called "Christians", "Believers", "Followers of Christ" had been standing, I mean truly standing, on the Rock, and not becoming a passive "Church" ... Stood faithful in prayer ... being truly godly loving people, standing against sin & less accepting of it, being the Body of Christ, not just on Sundays within the 4 walls of a building, but everyday, everywhere ... Could the attack on America on 9/11/2001 have been prevented?

I believe that our country is where it is because of generations of "Christians" that of gone before us.  They became passive, desensitized to sin, and cared more about what the "world" thought of them than what God thought.  It is time for us so called "Christians" to take up our cross and be the people we are called to be.  Stop being afraid of what sinners & the world is going to think about us ... If God said it, He meant it...He didn't compromise and neither should we.

I don't think it was a coincidence that America was attacked on September 11, 2001.  I believe it was a 911 call to prayer for our Nation.  As beautiful as the Rainbow over New York City was yesterday, I don't see it as a promise of His protection over America but as a reminder as what He did before, He can and will do again. 

Saved by Grace♥Changed by Love

♥Cindy♥

Praying for Relationships

If you want the best relationship with your husband/wife (or significant-other) seek God.  Ask God to teach you how to communicate with your spouse.  Ask God to give you divine understanding for your husband/wife.   Ask God to teach you how to be the wife/husband your spouse needs.  Most importantly ask for eyes to see your husband's/wife's heart the way God sees their heart.  And always pray for continued protection your relationships.

Always keep God first place in your life and the center of your relationships. Seek His guidance in all your relationships.  

The Enemy never gives up on destroying our relationships.  We cannot give up on prayer or interceding in prayer for others.  Never stop praying … Pray without ceasing.

Saved By Grace♥Changed By Love

♥Cindy♥

Honor

Honor is essential to build and maintain unity in the Body of Christ.
Not just honor for our leadership but honor for each other.

Prayer of Repentance

Prayer of Repentance                                                                                                6.28.15

2 Chronicles 7:14 ... and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Lord Father, I humbly & boldly come before Your throne to ask for Your forgiveness for my sins, not just my sins, but those who have gone before me, the sins of past generations and our forefathers. 

Lord, please forgive us as we have failed, gotten lazy & complacent.   Forgive us for not upholding & boldly proclaiming Your Word.

Father, please forgive us for allowing the enemy to blind us and keep us from doing what You sent us to do. 

Please forgive our churches for becoming more concerned with money & attendance than discipleship.  Please forgive us for watering down Your Word in order not to offend anyone and to increase attendance.

Please forgive us for the sins committed against You.  Please forgive us of adultery, physical & spiritual, forgive us for perversion, and for sweeping it under the rug.  Please forgive us for not upholding the covenant of marriage within the Body of Christ.

Lord Father, please forgive us for shutting out sinners, forgive us of having judgmental self-righteous spirits within the Body of Christ.  

Please forgive us for having pride, stubbornness, arrogance, and rebellious spirits.  Please forgive us for our lack of humility and trying to do Your work in our own strength and on our own terms.

Please forgive us for not fulling submitting to You, forgive us for the walls that we have built up around our hardened hearts.

Lord Father, please forgive us for becoming so easily distracted.  Please forgive us for not going out bold as a lion, please forgive us for not being Your trumpet, Your hands & feet.  Please forgive us for allowing our fire to become a smoldering ember.

Most of all Father, please forgive us for not becoming totally immersed in You, in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit. Forgive us for not being totally saturated in Your love.

Lord Father, I pray for Your mercy, Your mercy for Your children and our nation.  I pray that we are restored, that we will shine brighter than ever.  That blinded eyes and deaf ears are opened.  Lord Father, I pray that I am completely saturated in Your love, that I see Your visions and hear Your call every minute of every day.  

All My Love -

In Jesus’ name – Amen.