Spiritual Warfare
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Know Your Enemy’s Tactics
Before we dive into the deeper waters of spiritual warfare, I feel led (and have for weeks for this series) to help you have a better understanding of what spiritual warfare is and what place is has in our lives. For years I lived in a place of fear in regards to the enemy. I’d…
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Welcome To The Terrorist Training Camp
On this bright and crisp Monday morning where it is colder here in Temecula (So California) than Chicago, I WELCOME YOU. I also welcome the FBI who likely will be reading this series because their computers have just detected a blog using the words “Terrorist Training Camp.” Hi Guys!!! Yep, that’s us. For the next…
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Self-Love And The Battle At Hand
As we leap into 2013 and prepare for the series on Spiritual Warfare, I want to set the tone for that study. In December we spent some time talking about the love of God. We talked about moving our relationship into deep intimacy. (Read Can You Pray "Good Morning Daddy?”) What I have come to…
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Get Ready 2013
Hi Everyone, I’m a bit behind in posting this brisk Friday morning. I’m hopeful that your Christmas was wonderful. I was able to drive to visit my son and his new wife on Christmas day. My son turned 30 years old and we surprised him for this over-the-hill birthday. Yep, he is my Christmas baby.…
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Who’s Your Daddy?
Okay, I’m totally ripping off Lynn and some tacky song thing, right? But it’s what popped into my head and those are usually my best lines. (wink) With that said, I’m going to share a few tidbits of my past that, well, I really didn’t plan or want to but God’s giving me the nudge…
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God’s Unexpected Healing, Part 3
Read part 1 here.Read part 2 here. Last week, I ended with a promise to tell you what fear and love have in common. I left that post convinced the answer was “nothing.” But I figured I better ask God, just to be sure. After all, the Bible tells us to fear God. So, I…
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Pray With Power, Real Power
I’m writing to you on a Sunday afternoon. The rain has been gentle outside. The birds at my feeder are engaged in boisterous tweets as they tussle for the seeds. My exhausted daughter is having a nap and I can hear the crowd noise coming from the family room where my crazed husband watches and…
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Arrogance or Confidence?
My call to jury duty last month was the closest I’ve come so far to being seated on a jury. In years past my number has either squeaked by anonymously, or, like last year, the jury was completed just before I would have been interviewed. It's a fascinating process and as I listened to the…
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Taking a Walk with Nehemiah, Part 2
On Tuesday we started our journey with Nehemiah and his calling to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. In the comments, Shelly pointed something amazing out in Nehemiah 2: After this post I was intrigued to read Nehemiah myself with the perspective of marriage at hand. Only made it to chapter 2 but what stood out was…
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Taking a Walk with Nehemiah, Part 1
If you're doing a read your Bible in a year plan, chances are you're reading in Nehemiah right now. I've been reading this story of rebuilding Jerusalem's wall with a new fascination. It's as if God is whispering in my ear as I read, asking, "Are you committed to building your marriage like Nehemiah fought…
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It’s a Dog Gone World
Let’s finish this tale (pun intended). To read Part I of the Hound from Hell, visit here. Is He a Nice Doggy? As he approached the last barrier I was a little nervous but because this was the main fence separating the property from the road, I wasn’t yet in full panic in that’s where…
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Shades of Grey and a Hound from Hell
So, ahem.. Right…. I have a story to tell and I’m about to be very real. It’s a risk to share what I’m about to tell but, I absolutely know there are so many of you who will understand. I know sharing my little escapade will keep you from tripping up like I did, and…
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Spiritual Warfare, Part 3: The Rest of Our Armor
In my last post I left off with our feet. Yes, our feet shod with the gospel of peace! When our minds are full of God’s Word, and we are relying on and trusting God, we are STANDING firm in our faith. This is our strength. I read something in a Bible study (Duty or…
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Spiritual Warfare, Part 2: Your Bible is Really a Sword
In last week’s post on spiritual warfare we talked about shifting our focus and seeing who our real enemy is. This week let’s dive back into Ephesians 6 and talk about one specific piece of our armor. Our sword. Before we do that, I want to make one more interesting observation about verse 12: For…
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Praying in the Spiritual Realm- A Chronicles Update
Why is it I’m always surprised by the warfare and the extreme challenges to come into my home life when we write about spiritual warfare or when we speak about a specific topic? I remember getting into some major brew-ha-has (is that a word?) with my husband when Dineen and I were in the middle…
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Weekend Devo – Sifted Like Wheat
Yesterday we were blessed by a POWERFUL reader letter. In it she mentions Luke 22:31-32: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” If you’ve read Peter’s story you…
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Another Open Letter
The following is a letter I received in December from a dear reader who has been part of our community here for a number of years. She speaks frankly about spiritual warfare and I thought it appropriate to share with you today in light of our current series. My friend is writing to Dineen and…
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Who Are We Really Fighting?
Recently I watched the show Once Upon a Time. One of the characters, a young boy around the age of ten or so is keenly aware that his world is a battle between good and evil. In this particular episode Henry tells the one person he thinks can save them all, “Evil always wins.” Let…
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The Stories Behind the Story
Hello again, dear friends. First, I want to give a big hug and shout out to Lynn for letting me monopolize the blog this week to share this story with you. She rocks! Second, I want to thank you again for sharing this with me. It’s the culmination of a dream that started in 2009…
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An Interview with Lexie Baltimore, Part 2
Welcome back, everyone! Here's the second half of Lexie's interview. Okay, here’s a tough one, Lexie and I hope you don’t mind us asking, but I think it’s an area we should address. How did you wind up handling your feelings for Nate? First of all, I went to God and confessed them. I had…
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An Interview with Lexie Baltimore, Part 1
My friends, I had a lot of fun (and shed a few tears) doing this interview with Lexie. You spend months and even years with these characters and they become almost real. I thought you’d like to see the picture I used to help me visualize Lexie too. So, without further ado, here’s Lexie. Lexie,…