Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell speaks to us of exercising patience; of letting patience have her perfect work.  We are to rest in God, trusting Him.  The question is asked: “How can you be overwhelmed when I am with you?”

The first thing I thought of was Peter trying to walk on water.  As soon as he took his eyes off the Lord, he saw the waves coming at him.  He felt the wind, and his mind latched right on to the fearfulness of both wind and waves.  See the shell game the Devil played right there?  Replace your power with fear.  Jesus is our power. (Philippians 4:13) “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” This is the NIV version.  I used it because of the way it’s worded.  “through him,” who gives me strength.  Naturally, the scripture is referring to Jesus Christ.  But, that statement is very true.  If you give the devil a foothold, he’ll help you to fear, to doubt, and to sink.  Jesus’ words to Peter were, “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  I also thought of Lazarus, dead and in the tomb four days already, by the time Jesus showed up.  But Lazarus came out when Jesus called, didn’t he?  Yes, he did.  “I am the resurrection and the life,” says Jesus.  There’s a promise in that statement.  The promise is that no matter what it is, it cannot separate you from the love of Christ. (Romans 8:38) and part of that scripture says, “neither the present, nor the future.” That means that you will come through to the glory, and you will have the victory.  

Cultivating this patience, peace, and calm, if done on a daily basis, whenever the opportunity arises, empowers us to face the wind and the waves in any storm.  One way to do that is to “be still and know” that God is, God is God, and God is present. (Eph. 4:6)  The long line, the grumpy guy ahead of you, the long wait just to find out the show is sold out, etc.  Those things are like little weights that work out our patience muscle in the spirit.  I’m thankful for my children.  Motherhood soooo helped me exercise my patience muscle, people.  Actually, so did marriage.  Thanks, ex-hubbies.  LOL  The most helpful thing in regard to not feeling overwhelmed is to speak God’s Word in the situation.  “It is written,” said Jesus, when Satan was tempting Him in the wilderness.  He wouldn’t trade His faith for anything.  Faith is the opposite of fear, so we know where fear comes from, don’t we?  Jesus often said, “fear not,” and “take heart.”  It comes down to remembering who really is in charge; in Christ Jesus, we are.  This truth changes our position entirely.  You are not the victim; you are the victor.  The situation(s) are to serve you, not vice versa.  They serve us by allowing us to exercise our faith.  We serve them when we let fear move that boundary stone (the authority and power we have in Christ Jesus).

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 7, 2020, 12:34 p.m.

 

And…working on some Spring and Summer items…Today’s message from God Calling- A.J. Russell, reminds us that God sometimes bangs the doors shut in front of us.  What?!  Aren’t all the promises of God yes and amen?  Yes, they are.  Therefore, as Romans 8:18 tells us: “I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.”  Get that part about the glory being revealed in us?  Wow! Isn’t that cool?!  AWESOME!!!

Okay, so we now can be sure of two things.  First, the door that just banged shut in front of you is not God saying, “NO!”  It is God saying, “Not just yet.”  It could be you’re not ready.  It could be someone else in God’s plan is not ready.  It could be you’re at the wrong door.  Your door might be the one five doors down.  Secondly, OMG, how we suffer sometimes when those doors bang shut, don’t we?!  Wounded pride, hurt feelings, then comes self condemnation, doubt, and even fear…just to name a few.  I remember some bitterness and actually hatred going on.

But…the pride, the hurt, the resentment, doubt, and fear, are the very scouring powders that God uses to bring out the shine, or the glory, within us.  I may just have to swallow my pride and admit I wasn’t ready, and let God lead me through it.  Have you ever been so hurt by someone you thought you wanted to die?  One day something happens to that person, and you are in a position to help him/her.  And guess what God did in you?!  You actually find sincere compassion and loving tenderness within you…toward that person.  That’s all-just that-but, oh, how awesome and awesomely liberating that is!  And God smiles and says, “my, how you’ve grown!”  Suddenly, a door opens for you.  And, when you look a little closer, you’ll see it was connected with that pain and bitterness that had you in bondage to the memory of that hurt.  That person was holding you hostage, and, neither of you even knew it.  Here’s the kicker:  That other person may have needed to learn some lesson by that banged door, too.  People get caught up in emotional manipulation, “puppet master games,” etc.  Have you ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend that was really pretty much indifferent about your relationship…even when you break up; they’re so cold…Until you  find someone new.  Now, they’re back in your face and wanting you back with them.  Yeah, that’s someone caught up in some puppet master game.

And, oh, the things you can discover about yourself when God gets you alone!  Sometimes the door bangs shut, and you go on your way, and the next door that opens is the one God’s behind.  He’s waiting to deal with you about some things.  Thank you, Lord, for your patience, grace, and mercy.  I can laugh now, but I sure didn’t like seeing some of that stuff on me!  What?!  MOI??!!  No, that CANNOT possibly be ME!  It was.  And God, in His grace and mercy, with all the patience of a loving father, helped me clean myself up, get that stuff out of my way, and get back up…even better than I was before.  1 Cor. 15:34 says, “it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.”  The passage of scripture is talking about the resurrection of the dead.  So, we have the power, in us, of resurrection from dead things and dead ways.  Praise God!

I’ve learned, whenever the door bangs shut, to start looking for God’s glory trying to come through it.  (2Cor. 3:18) “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  Notice the unveiled part.  Remember in the Garden of Eden, how they were afraid and hid from God?  Yeah, and you really can’t hide from yourself either.  Keeping in mind that Jesus is the truth, the life, and the way…those are the three things I look for.  What’s the truth about this part of my life, in what way(s) am I handling the truth(s), and how can I bring that into alignment with God’s Word and His Way?  The last thing I want to say is that sometimes you have to just be still and know that He’s God-and that has to be enough for the moment.  That’s an exercise in faith and patience…which are two areas we can always use some growth in, right?

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 7, 2020, 11:37 a.m.

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, speaks to us about cultivating silence, and admonishes us that God speaks in silences.  Psalm 46:10 is referenced by the message: “He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.” This makes me think about those harmful thoughts, and turning them out.  They get your mind going, don’t they?  Yeah.

Philippians 2:13 came to mind: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”  When you put these two together, we get a revelation about perfection.  It is the perfected being who brings forth works perfected in love, and works that perfect the being.  God is perfect. His love perfects us.

Being perfected comes down to cultivating love, and the fruits of the Spirit (1 Cor. 13:1- 13, Gal. 5:22)-love of God, loving ourselves, and loving others.  Cultivating love and loving things in our hearts, souls, and sacred spaces (home) fills us up with good things, and smooths the rough spots and harmful things away. They create silence/peace within us.  Remember that word: “Shalom?”  It means wholeness, nothing lacking, perfect peace.  Philippians 4:7 tells us that the peace of God , which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  That tells me there’s such a thing as giving too much thought to something.

Remember Jesus words- “The kingdom of Heaven is upon/within you,” That tells me we need to care for that which is within.  It’s this that empowers us to care for all that’s round about us.  I’ve listed some ways to quiet things down within…my favorite five:  1. Richly scented bath by candlelight and some quiet music like Forest Garden by Palchelbel.  2. Bamboo Flute music.  3. Candlelight and water fountain, and my favorite drink to sip on-a warm mulled or spiced wine.  4. Coffee in the warmth of the sun.  5. A walk in the forest or by the river.  It’s easy to get so caught up in our busy-ness that we forget to take time out for ourselves.  Today, resolve to make time to take time for yourself…daily!  Even 10 minutes is better than nothing.  Jesus withdrew often to be alone with God. (Luke 5:16)  (1Sam 16:23)-David played the harp for Saul to quiet him.  PS – Sometimes just by sitting quietly and listening, you’ll hear the most amazing things from God.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 6, 2020, 2:11 p.m.

 

 

 

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell bids us to make every effort to become sharp and ready instruments in God’s hands.  This post is for anyone who suffers from negative mindsets-yours or others’, or depression.  Please read the message at twolisteners.org in its entirety.  It speaks of fear, prayer, studying God’s Word, and training in discipline.  These are all keys to spiritual growth and success. (Eph. 6:13-14) When we are disciplined and diligent to pray, study God’s Word, and train our hearts and tongues to come into alignment with that Word, we begin to see progress.  We get sharpened spiritually, and more and more ready to bring the good news to others.  I’m not just talking about preaching or witnessing.  I’m talking about encouragement, admonition, etc.  We’re also less and less susceptible to those bouts of weakness, as we progress.

One of the things the message addresses is turning out all harmful thoughts.  This is to bring purity and goodness into our lives.  The message, in fact, tells us that purity and goodness of, and in-I believe, is a necessity to us.  When I think of purity, I think of the sublime.  The opposite would be settling for a car that was half Corvette Stingray, and half Chevy Cavalier.  What?!  That’s NOT a Corvette Stingray!  If it’s worth doing, in other words, it’s worth doing right, all the way, and all the way right.  When I think of goodness, I think of love, peace, security, safety, comfort, acceptance, laughter, emotional support, and the like.  These are all things that are important for my well-being within.  Those things pretty much come under the love heading.  Keeping in mind the two commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your might…and love your neighbor as yourself…I am going to work on changing my thought process to loving thoughts, or positive thinking, instead of harsh criticism, self loathing, doubt, fear, negativity of any kind.

Something that really helped me over this hurdle was this scripture:  “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2Cor. 1:20) There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1-2)  We are set free from the law of sin and death.  That means all things are possible for me. (Mark 9:23)-Jesus, Himself said that!  This one also helps to silence fear and doubt: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  I encourage you to write these down where you can see them daily.  Recite them for 30 days or so.  The object is to get them into your spirit to the point where it doesn’t occur to you to fear or doubt-not God, and not yourself either.  When this attitude or mindset is firmly in place, it becomes almost a natural reaction to think in terms of possibility-positive possibility.  Negativity begins to lose its grip on you.  Instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop, you’re looking/seeking the treasure-even in the darkness.  It becomes instinctive to you to praise God anyway; to thank Him anyway…and to step right up into your rightful place as His child, and take authority over the harmful thoughts that try to assail you. (2Cor. 10:4-5)  Something else that really helps me is to read the Psalms.  I call them the Balms because they really do ease the pain, assuage the fears and doubts, and stir up my spirit in confidence in God’s love for me.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 2, 2020, 2:53 p.m.

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us not to hoard anything.  We are to keep only what we need and use.   This message is an expansion on the previous two messages (Friday & Saturday) about limiting God’s power in our lives.

When we study this out, we find scriptures that would seemingly contradict this viewpoint.  Proverbs 13:22 tells us that a good person leaves and inheritance for his children’s children.  Psalm 112:2 tells us that the man who fears the LORD is blessed, and that wealth and riches are in his house.

God has given us dominion over the earth, which, in actuality is stewardship, or management over His Works.  The earth and the fullness thereof is the LORD’s.  Jesus, Himself taught us the parable of the talents, or minas. (Matthew 25:15-29) (Luke 19:13-25)-yes, Jesus is speaking about putting what we have to work for God, but aren’t we supposed to honor God with all our substance? (Proverbs 3:9)  Here’s the difference between stewardship and hoarding.  Hoarding implies fear that God cannot provide for us.  It is based in fear, not faith.  That same fear also feeds greed and selfishness; disregard for the needs of others. Jesus taught us about that in Luke 12:15-32.  If we seek first the Kingdom, in all things, honoring God with our substance and first-fruits flows naturally out of that.

Budgeting our money, time, goods, etc., is part of stewardship.  Even our time needs to be budgeted.  We’d miss deadlines and things would run amok if we didn’t budget our time.  The balance between the two things is learning when to say, “enough,” and, “no.”  Sometimes you have to say no, or not right now.  And, don’t forget, you always have the power of prayer, and God answers prayer.

Some other scriptural references are: Psalms 37:25, Proverbs 3:9, 11:25, 14:31, Mal 3:10, Luke 6:38.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 2, 2020, 2:04 p.m.

Today’s message from God Calling – A. J. Russell, is actually an expansion on yesterday’s message.  This one reminds us that we can block the flow of God’s power, and the progress in our lives, with “self.”  Selfish, rearranged a little, spells “flesh is.”  “Flesh is selfish.”  This includes operating our of fear, doubt, envy, etc.

Mark 10 :15 is where Jesus said,  “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  This implies the humility of a child, the simple trusting nature, the acceptance and eagerness to learn and grow, and the sense of anticipation and excitement; the sense of adventure.  God is our Heavenly Father.  When we try to be the “adult in charge,” which is usually when we get into our intellect vs. God’s intelligence, we block the flow of His power, limiting it in our lives. (1Cor. 1:25)   It is in Him, that our authority, dominion, and power lie.  (Matt. 28:18)  This means we have to have the mind of Christ; we have to use the mind of Christ Jesus.  (1 Cor. 2:16)  So, we have to squelch the urge to be in charge, and let God have His way.  (Hebrews 13:21, Philippians 2:13, 2Cor 9:8, Eph 2:10)  When we think in terms of who God is, the answer is, God is love.  This really is what we need to be operating out of, as only love remains, and love is the greatest, or most excellent way. (1Cor. 12:31-13:13)  That passage of scripture speaks about becoming mature in Christ Jesus…leaving the childishness of the flesh.  We all know that tendencies of the flesh can be pretty childish, don’t we?  Yeah.

Okay, here are some scriptural references to go with this message:  Matt. 11:28-30, Matt 6:34, Prov. 16:1, 16:9, 19:21, 20:24, Jeremiah 10:23, John 14:6

Tomorrow’s message ties in with this message, and with yesterdays, so don’t miss it.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 2, 2020, 1:24 p.m.

I’m so laughing at that 2020 thing!  I hope you all had a wonderfull transition from 2019 into 2020.  Mine was an interesting one, to say the least.  I should have known Jesus and His sense of humor would not let me escape…There I was, on the very first day of 2020, all ready to brush my teeth…when I discovered that I had taken the wrong tube out of my bag…and had put anti-fungal cream on my toothbrush…I use that on my feet as a preventative measure.  -Not the toothbrush, the cream.  They say it’s easy to get Athlete’s Foot here in the desert.  Yes, that scripture about finishing the race did come to mind.  Thanks, Lord.  Henceforth, the glasses go on before I load the toothbrush.  Happy New Year, Jesus.  I love you!  Hmmmmmmmmmmm…….

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 2, 2020, 3:06 p.m.

Today’s message from God Calling – A. J. Russell, speaks to us regarding our strength, or the force/power of our being, and our lives in Christ Jesus.  Again, please visit the twolisteners.org website and read the entire message.

What comes to mind as I study this out, is that entering in to the Sabbath Rest of God.  Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   (John 1:4)  The Sabbath Rest (Heb. 4:9-16), comes through our acceptance of God’s love, and our trust/faith in that love. (Isaiah 30:15)   This means I have to get to know God, and His intentions toward me.  Jesus said He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.  As we get to know our Lord, and our Heavenly Father, our faith grows, and we become renewed in mind and spirit; and, in power.  In power, because we are then coming into one accord with God.  (John 10:30) Other Scriptural references: Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:7, Psalms 119:165, Col 3:10, Ephesians 4:23

Psalm 23 is a great guidepost by which to get your bearings on a daily basis, as well as in most situations you may find yourself in.  1. I shall not want-your peace, courage, conviction, etc. will not be lacking  2. Green pastures speak of life, positive movement, possibility thinking  3.  Quiet waters suggest confidence and growth in peace-no turmoil, chaos, panic, etc.  These restore the soul.  4.  Paths of righteousness give us confidence in the face of evil and fearful things.  5.  God’s table is filled with righteous and powerful things; check the fruits of the Spirit – and He’s there with you in the presence of your enemies.  6.  You are anointed to overflowing with His power.  7.  His goodness and mercy/your goodness and mercy, also, follow you throughout your lifetime  8. In His house is where the rest, the treasures, the power, etc. are.  Entering into it, brings us into the Sabbath Rest.    This psalm is like a checklist for us to go by.  If something isn’t working, we need to get right back onto track with the Lord.  Sometimes, that has to do with a boundary stone being out of place.  Other times, it could be a sign that someone’s trying to remove one, or someone/something is trying to distract you and put you off course.    It’s also possible that you are trying to do things in your own strength/power, and are operating out of fear, frustration, anger/bitterness, envy, or weariness and impatience.  When we do that, we limit God’s power.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, January 2, 2020, 12:43 p.m.

 

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to help to save others.  We are bid to refuse to be downcast; to stand steadfastly in the joy of the Lord.  We can take great joy in our Lord, Jesus.  We are loved unconditionally by Him, and He will never leave us or forsake us.  It will help you to read the message at twolisteners.org in order to put this post about the message into practice.

We are asked, in the message, how many burdens we can lighten this year?  How many hearts can we cheer?  How many souls can we help?  Did you notice the word, “help” is used; not the word “save.”  Jesus is the savior, and He is able to save them through our love.  It is our love that points to Him, and draws them to Him.

First, I want to remind you of the two greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mk. 12:30-31)Check out that part, “as yourself.”  That means you fill yourself first, and first of all.  You can’t give what you don’t have, right?  (Matt. 12:34-35) teaches us how this works.  Fill up your heart with good things from God’s Word, and from other inspirational sources.  Prospering your soul early in the morning, gets you through the whole day a little easier.  One of my favorite things is a cup of hot coffee with Amaretto creamer.  It’s a treat to me.  That’s how I like to start my day-being good to myself.  As I’m sipping my coffee, I begin to think about God’s Word, about His goodness, His love for me, His grace toward me.  That not only fills my heart with good stuff, it prepares my heart for my Bible study time, and for these posts.

Now, we’re ready to let the Holy Spirit flow through us…blessed to be a blessing.  People think of burdens in a big way.  Not every burden is a heavy one; not every burden is a crisis.  Think about loading that dishwasher for Mom or Dad before you go to school.  That’s one less thing on their to-do list today.  You just lifted a burden.  We can lift burdens in many ways; small kindnesses done for others, something to make their day a little easier.  I think Buddhists call this mindfulness.  But, see how simple it is?  And so becoming!  Cheering a heart is a matter of encouragement and caring.  A simple, “Good morning,” or “you can do it,” goes a long way, and can make a real impact in someone’s life.  When it comes to helping souls, the burden lifting and heart cheering just becomes a little expanded.  Helping souls entails encouragement, admonishment at times, and helping that one to get back on track-sometimes walking with him/her for a distance.  Scriptural references I found for this are: 1Thessalonians 5:11, Ephesians 4:29, Ephesians 4:15, and Zechariah 8:16.  Interestingly, the scripture in Zechariah was spoken during the restoration of Jerusalem.  Also, Ephesians 4:29 has to do with the body of Christ, but really, all souls are God’s and precious to Him…so it applies to everyone.  Unwholesome talk, in the case of helping souls, would include negativity, put-downs, harsh criticism, judgment, and ridicule, etc.  Remember Jesus’ words, “Which is easier to say?” (Matt. 9:5)

When we begin to put these into practice on a daily basis, we really do grow up into Christ Jesus, in love, in peace, and in power to live abundantly.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 31, 2019, 12:49 p.m.

 

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that Jesus stands between the years.  I’m going to spend some time expanding a little on the messages, to help us to actually walk them out.

Today’s message speaks to us of generational curses, of healing for the past, and of hope, light, and life for the future.  Not only do we  have a hope for the future; a promise that our lives can be healed and be much better than before…but there’s hope for the generations coming up behind us.

When I got this message, I began to look at generational curses in my family.  Some, like alcoholism and drug addiction, also bring with them things like emotional detachment, or disengagement, dysfunctionality, and skewed family dynamics.  Example: Mom’s habitually drunk, so big sister or brother has to step in and fill her role as caretaker.  It’s how we end up with co-dependent personalities.  Not all generational curses begin with the generation ahead of us.  Some begin with us.  Put simply, generational curses are standards and boundaries that have been moved, or removed.  When Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well, she told him that generations had drunk from that well (Jacob’s well), even servants and livestock. (John 4)  That livestock thing got me.  Have you seen some people’s pets?  They’re just out of control and totally off the wall.  Take a good look at those people and how they deal with their pets.  Mine was so picky, she’d spit out the doggy biscuit at the bank and pout until we went to McDonalds for a hamburger.  She was the second queen in the house.

Thank God there’s always a flipside.  Jeremiah 2:13 addresses generational curses.  “For my people have committed two evils.  They have forsaken ME, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”  When it isn’t working in this generation, it’s not going to work in the next generation, if we keep doing it the same way.  Forsaking God is the same as moving or removing the standard and boundary.  Proverbs 22:28 tells us, “do not move an ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set.”  That’s like one generation having rules and bed-times, etc., but the next generation deciding they’re going to let their children rule themselves and make the decisions.  So, now, we’ve started a cycle of chaos in our family, by changing the rules, or removing the boundary stones.  The end result is chaos in the whole house, and problems later in life for the children.  There’s a reason those boundaries and rules are in place.  Children are not capable of making good decisions for themselves, until they have learned to.  As I said, there’s a flipside.  We can undo generational curses.  We do this by putting those boundary stones back into place.  There are accounts in the Old Testament about generations that disobeyed the LORD, and generations that returned to the LORD.

It’s a matter of identifying the problems in the family dynamics, in the household, in your life, and putting boundary stones in place, or back into place, if they’s been removed.  If you’ll take a closer look, you’ll see that we actually deal with boundary stones on a daily basis, all throughout the year.  Some things are small matters, others only look small, and compromising can cause big problems.  An example would be infidelity.  Infidelity is the whole reason I started going to target practice with my gun. LOL  I’m kidding.  But you understand the point, right?  So, today, and for the rest of the year, take a closer look at some of the issues or problems that may be repeating themselves in your life, and see if you can’t trace them back to a missing boundary stone.  From there, it’s a simple matter of putting one into place.  The hardest part is being diligent and persevering.  Don’t give up, though; it’s worth every effort!

PS – You can leave messages for me, in regard to my posts, and I will answer every one.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 30, 2019, 11:35 a.m.