I'm an Auntie!!!!!!!!

On June 27th 2008 Alanna Nicole Gallman was born. She was born 6lbs 12oz and 19" tall, full head of hair and as beautiful as can be. She's healthy happy and is going to be dedicated to Jesus at her church soon. Her mommy is my beautiful sister Amanda and her dad is my sis's boyfriend Jamon ... I am so excited to be an auntie and really wished they lived closer (their all the way in Maryland). Pictures show Alanna, my sister and my mom. Enjoy Alannas pictures and please, please keep her and her parents in prayer. God bless you.

Thank you Jesus for Alanna!!!

God Is so Wonderful

My God Is so Wonderful! Jesus I love you, please allow this blog to be a blessing to your kingdom. I dedicate this online journal to You. I am nothing without You. You are the author and finisher of my faith. Please help me to hear and obey your voice.

A few days ago I started struggling with a certain temptation, I've had it before, but this time it was strong because I fed it. No I did not succumb to this desire, or impulse I had, but I thought on it, excused it, even made provision for it by putting myself in places where it could have overwhelmed me. I wont disclose what it was, for I wish not to glorify it. However all sin is equal to death, and while some things aren't spelled out as sin in the Bible, they invoke compromise, which eventually leads to sin.
Its funny how our flesh is. All it takes is one day without praying and then its harder to pray the next day. Then thoughts begin to creep in, offences are more frequent and things we have overcome begin to beckon us to revisit those old dried up places, promising it will satisfy us this time. Perhaps you are better than I, but for me all it takes is a day or two of not praying and praising God and all of a sudden life begins to look bleak, I get irritable, and I temporally forget why I have certain lines drawn in the sand. I stop focusing on helping others and start focusing on me. My problems, my wants, my feelings, my needs, and on and on.
For the past week I haven't really prayed like I needed and I got offended a few times and really started feeling sorry for myself. It was like I totally forgot all the blessings God has poured out on me, all the times He has provided and all I could see was how mean some folk are and how hurt I felt. Then these thoughts began to arise about doubts, fears and filling my desires elsewhere. I really allowed the flesh to run wild in my mind. I even went as far as going somewhere I knew there would be compromise, but thank God, I had the sense to call a friend to hold me accountable! I called a godly friend and told them what I was contemplating and they kindly listened and pray with me. That helped so much and I was able to flee temptation. The next day I was still feeling offended and victimized and so I continued contemplating on my desire to compromise, but I didn't. Then Sunday I was still feeling offended, angry and out of sorts, however I put that aside for a little while to fulfill my ministry, but I wasn't even able to enjoy the fruit of my labor, because of my attitude.
We didn't have service going that night and I really wanted to go to church somewhere but it was already getting late as I thought about it. Well, I went to my churches youth center to go help clean and one of the girls was talking about wanting to go visit another church that evening. Then I realized there was a good church not to far that had night service and I went. Praise God, He spoke to me during worship, the word, in prayer and boy, did I pray through! Hallelujah I felt so good when I left church last night. It wasn't all emotion either, it was because God dealt directly with the areas I was struggling with. I love that! No one knew in that church what I was going through but Jesus did! That temptation died last night and I desire afresh to know the voice of my Lord and not to stray from the path of consecration and holiness. Holiness is beautiful. God is holy! I desire to know His voice.
See the problem is, our human reasoning can only take us so far. There come times when the trials and the pain is so loud that it gets confusing because we don't know what voice to listen to. Should we leave, should we stay put, should we run, should we walk, should we shout, should we stay silent, should we hide, should we confront, should we speak, should we listen, what should I do? The voices today are loud, they are giving us reasons, they are offering excuses as to why we don't have to consecrate, they are telling us to go in the way society is going, they tell us were too old fashioned, too legalistic, too rigid, too simple, too passionate, too emotional, too loud, too submissive, too modest, too pure, too forgiving, too kind, too giving, too faithful, too literal, too out-of-touch, too spiritual, too godly, too holy. And, with all the chaos and all of the voices of this life trying to get our attention, how do we know which voice to listen to. How do we recognize the voice of God out of all the others?
We pray, we worship, we read His Word and we listen to our pastor (assuming he is a pastor that believes, lives and preaches the Word of God). We get emotional with Him and we retrain ourselves to listen and obey His voice. His voice will manifest itself through the man of God (our pastor), elders in our lives, in prayer and reading His word. His will is not for any of us to perish, but for all us to repent. He is not a cruel task master. He loves us and has good plans for us, but in order to receive His blessings, we must obey His voice.
He knows our desires and He knows our struggles, but He will allow us to go through the storms to test our ability in hearing and obeying His voice. He doesn't want us to fear because even when the fire burns and the earth quakes and the winds howl and the waters rise, he is there, and if we listen, there is a still small voice.

Questions

Have you ever wondered why certain people are in your life? Has the irony of crossing paths multiple times with one person ever caused you to wonder, how? How, with all of the billions of people on earth, do you have in your life the people who are there?

I recently ran into a friend I havent seen in years and it was funny because he's from Santa Cruz and I saw him in San Jose. Now you may think thats not a long shot, but again I asked out of all the millions on earth, out of all the times and destinations, how does it happen.

Well the Bible says the steps of a righteous man (person) are ordered by the Lord. So I believe He puts specific people in our lives for specific reasons and at specific times.

The Word will answer it all

In a recent discussion with a non Christian, I was asked many questions, some of which were easy to answer and others were not. I found though, that for every answer I could answer it with the Bible. I have a pretty good knowledge of the Bible (not enough though) and so I was able to use wisdom, scripture and even stories and examples written in the Word. How exciting to know that the Word will answer it all!

Waiting for Gods Will

We often hear, 'just wait on God' and 'in His time' and its easy for it to simply become cliche. Something we say were doing, but not truly understanding what it means. Now when the Bible speaks of waiting on the Lord, what does it mean? Well for one thing it doesn't mean God wants us sitting around and not doing any thing, because that's called slothfulness and God rebukes this behavior. Waiting on God is more than simply 'waiting', there's a deeper meaning and it could be said in one word. Seeking. While waiting is a passive word, seeking is aggressive. It implies action and determination. The Word of God tells us in Deut. 4:29, that in order to find God (will of God) we must seek Him with all our heart and soul. Over and over the Bible sends a strong message to seek God and tells of blessings for those that do. How can we know what Gods plan is for our life if we don't seek Him? How will we know what promises to wait for. How can we serve a God we don't really know? Jesus talks about how people will come before God explaining all the great things they had done for Him and He will dismiss then saying, 'I never knew you'. It is essential for us to seek God, so that we can understand what His purpose and will for us is. Jesus was able to pray in the garden of Gethsemane, 'thy will be done', because He knew the will of the Father. How can we as believers pray, 'your will be done', if we don't take the time to seek out His will. Are we just saying we want His will to be done or are we actively seeking it?

You may wonder, 'well how do I seek God?'. The key is walking in the Spirit. The Bible tells us that our carnal minds, or our natural way of thinking and operating, goes against Gods way. So the first step to seeking God is submitting ourselves to the Holy Ghost and not allowing our flesh (natural way of thinking and operating) to rule us. For instance, I may feel to pray, but my flesh says, 'no, I'm too tired' or, 'I'd rather read the paper'. See how there's that struggle, but until we listen to the voice of the Spirit, were never going to be able to reach that place of knowing the perfect will of God for our lives.

Waiting on God, is stilling our heart as it cries out with its never ending desires, and tuning in to His Spirit. Its coming to the understanding that He is God alone and we were bought with a price. The key is understanding that God has our best interest at heart. Everyday I need to realize that I am His creation and He made me with a purpose and design. His plan for me is my very reason for being alive, so why should I allow my will to dictate to me which direction to go and when to go there if I am not the author of my story. The Bible says He's the author and finisher of our faith. That is why I must submit every thought, every word and every desire to Him. He holds the keys to true joy, peace, and happiness.

What happens at times, is that we don't take enough time to get to know Him and so we fill in the blanks of His character with our notions, emotions and experiences in life. Without being aware we take our own human flaws and assume God has these issues. For instance, we have all, at one point or another have been forgotten, maybe our best friend forgot our birthday or a parent forgot a performance or perhaps someone has forgotten to acknowledge us for a job well done or even someone we shared a great connection with and the next time they see us they don't even remember us. Were all probably guilty of forgetting important things now and then, but God never forgets about us! He doesn't just overlook us because He's so big and were so small. In fact the Bible says He knows the number of hairs on our head! I don't even know the number of hairs on my head! Which speaks volumes to me, what that tells me is that God knows me better than I know my self, inside and out.

While waiting on the Lord is not the 'easy' path it is the more rewarding path. Hannah sought God and He gave her a promise, but she had to wait. Abraham and Sarah were given the promise of a child in their old age, but they had to wait. Ruth waited and God blessed her with Boaz. There are numerous stories in the Bible that talk of God giving a word or a promise and people having to wait. The moment we step outside of His will is the moment we open ourselves to attack from the enemy and much sorrow.

I am going to seek out His will and wait for the fulfillment of His plans for me, because if He knows how many hairs are on my head, maybe, just maybe He may know whats best for me.

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

1 Chronicles 16:10, 1 Chronicles 16:11, Psalm 25:3, Psalm 25:5, Psalm 25:21, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 37:7, Psalm 37:9, Psalm 37:34, Psalm 39:7, Psalm 59:9, Psalm 62:1, Psalm 62:5, Psalm 69:3, Psalm 69:6, Psalm 130:5

My First Wisdom tooth has Surfaced!!

I am so excited because tonight I was laying down and all of a sudden I felt something in my mouth, so at first I try to get rid of it with my tongue and then my finger and then I realize its not going away! Its my wisdom tooth coming up to surface! I went and looked at it in the mirror. Its beautiful. Well I had to share, will keep you updated!

Revival

God is so true to His Word! He says ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened. Well at First Church San Jose, we've been asking, seeking and knocking and in turn we are receiving, finding and getting open doors! It is so exciting to be a part of a church that just wants revival. We have heard that the revival will be a result of our Sunday School and youth ministry and once again we are seeing how true Jesus is to His Word! Just last week we've had 115 visitors on the Blue Bomber (our Sunday School bus)! Whats really awesome is that were having not only all of these precious kids come, but their parents are coming too! We've already had at least two parents get baptized in Jesus name! Also just last week we had two of our bus young people get baptized AND received the gift of the Holy Ghost!!!!! Praise God!!! He is doing great, Great, GREAT things here in San Jose! And if what I have already mentioned is not enough, in every service were having AT LEAST one get either baptized or filled with the Spirit or sometimes Both!!!
Revival is here folks, it is no longer just a word we use to shake things up, but it is a real and active event that is happening NOW in 2008! Were in the last days, I don't doubt that for a moment and our world is in need of a real perpetual Revival. Not a month of it, not even two or three months of it. We need to be in Revival till Jesus returns! This thing comes by fervent prayer/fasting, Sound Doctrine, sacrificial giving/ communion, fellowship with the body, and of course reaching out into the harvest!