Count me in…. are you coming ??

Meaning of census a count for official purposes, especially one to count the number of people living in a country…

The word census is in the Bible approximately 36 times.. 

Counting, counting, counting... What is the purpose? Are we just a number??? 

Many of us have been part of a census... Many of us have not even realized that we have been included even without doing a thing... 

But the question that came to my mind is why do we need to segregate? Race and Ethnicity??? Class??? Rich... Poor... If truth be known we are more alike than we care to admit... When did being a part of the human race become less important than where we came from or what color of skin covers our inner soul... 

We are all looking for that golden ring... that peace in our hearts and that love that heals our scars and for that inner circle that accepts us for exactly who we are... We all dream of being included in what I call the census of the heart... 

The word census has taken me down memory lane!! I started my amazing journey 3 years ago. Without a religious background, I had a Holy Spirit Encounter that rocked my world... The first Sunday after my spiritual experience I found myself in Church. This quite private, awkward soul marched herself to the front row and took a seat... The music began to play and I slowly stood... Raised my hands... 

( something way out of my comfort zone) I closed my eyes... Tears began to stream down my face... And in my soul, I could feel Him... And I whispered in my heart ”count me in I am here!!!!” And from that day I was all in... There was no turning back... And then He proceeded to take me on the most amazing journey of my life... 

So when I think of the word census... I have committed to seeing beyond our world, beyond where we came from... and beyond the color of our skin... I will strive to look at the soul and the heart... I will look to Him for guidance on how to love beyond boundaries... We are not perfect... We the people have many flaws... But I have given Him my heart and my commitment to follow Him... 

So I urge you to raise your hand today...make your comment, be counted as one of His chosen people... You will be accepted just as you are... And you will experience love beyond this world... 

 “And we no longer see each other in our former state—Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, male or female—because we’re all one through our union with Jesus Christ.”

Galatians 3:28 TPT

 It's Him, It's always Him... 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

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Switch - "Count Me In"

"Agape is total love... Whoever knows and experiences Agape learns that nothing else in the world is important – just love." ― Paolo Coelho 

Pattern meaning: A Biblical pattern is a spiritual model or example given in Scripture for purposes of imitation.

The word pattern is referred to in 8 verses in the Bible.

I truly had no idea how this word came to my mind.. It not a word that I would normally think of... Is this a pattern in my journey?  Is this a word with more depth than I could ever wrap my head around.. 

As I opened this word I stepped back with great amazement... Many Bible scholars have studied in depth the patterns that seem to hold many secret messages throughout its delicate pages... 

I do believe I have found a gold mind hidden here... But unless I am prepared to spend a lifetime studying these nuggets of wisdom I would need to address this word on a much higher level or isolate one pattern that speaks to my heart... I will wait for guidance... 

Waiting on Him.. Now that is a pattern I understand... lol

This is such a daunting and challenging task... It is like trying to pick God’s brain... Which one of us is equipped to understand His complexity and depth? There are so many articles on the patterns in the written word. For instance, there are patterns that point us to Numbers, Prophecy, and Jubilee... just to name a few... 

Pattern hmm is this a secret code from our Heavenly Father? How do we with our limited thinking unlock this code? What type of Mastermind can create such an intricately woven Masterpiece of literature??  It has captured and maintained the hearts and minds of humankind since it was written ... How did He organize and orchestrate this with such rudimentary supplies? They did not have the technology that we have grown accustomed to. Let's just look at the statics of the Book itself. 

The Bible was written over a period of 1400 to 1800 years by more than 40 different authors. The Bible is a compilation of 66 separate books, divided into two primary divisions: the Old Testament (containing 39 books) and the New Testament (containing 27 books). It is believed that all of the books of the Bible were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.(www.allabouttruth.org/when-was-the-bible-written) 

I do believe the only way this could have ever been accomplished is by Divine Intervention and inspiration... 

Just imagine the simplistic yet magnitude of this project. 

I am sure many words were written by Candlelite and scriptures show us that they were inscribed with an iron tool on a lead or engraved in rock forever! (Job 19:24) They had no computers, no file sharing... No, delete or save buttons ... No spell check... And every beautifully written word pointed to Yeshua, the Son of God, the pages are filled with a poetic love story between the Trinity and all of mankind... He wrote the words in a way to keep our hearts and souls interested for centuries!! Will we ever unlock all the messages within its pages... Will we truly ever understand all the patterns? Will we grow in our knowledge to understand the magnitude of His great love ??? 

I feel so ill-equipped... 

I can only stand in awe... His very presence blows my mind... He is so much more than my earthly mind can understand... I am so grateful that the pattern that fell from the sky into my heart that day was a “feel” clue. It is such a small word with such great power... He let me feel His love... He opened my spiritual heart and eyes. I know I should study this magnificent book, I should look for all the hidden clues... 

But I will admit ... my attention span is not that broad.. As I began to read I seem to always be swept away to thoughts and conversations with Him... Many call it prayer some call it devotionals... I call it heartfelt... 

As I traveled on this journey I have had the privilege of witnessing the great love He has for all of His children. As a parent that thought seemed simple enough for my earthly mind to understand... 

But it did not stop there... His LOVE is real, His love runs deep His love WOWs me... It is way beyond what my heart and soul have ever felt.. it boggles my mind.  As parents, we say we love our children. We would give our life for them... We would move Heaven and earth... And when that child looks at you with adoration, and smiles and says from their heart  I Love You ... You smile and your heart melts. 

And to think,  our love is only a fraction of the LOVE our Creator shares!

Double WOW 

It’s Him. it’s always been Him... there is no one that has ever or will ever come close... 

He is the master of my heart and soul. I rest on the pattern of His Love!

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

 Finding the Pattern - Jessica Curry 

Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is.” — Mark Cuban..

Meaning of sweat moisture exuded through the pores of the skin, typically in profuse quantities as a reaction to heat, physical exertion, fever, or fear. 

The word sweat appears approximately 5 times in the Bible... 

Many of us have heard Jesus sweat blood🩸? But what does that mean? Do we even stop to understand the deeper implications or do we just pass over those words without feeling and pain in our own hearts?  

I did not even know that this was even possible, did you?

I did discover yes, that you can sweat blood... It was not just a symbolic view of a pivotal moment in history. 

There is an extremely rare condition called hematidrosis. The face and forehead are common locations for this to occur. Many people do not know anything about this condition. But many have heard about it from the Bible but how many of us have taken the time to understand the depth of this moment ??  

When we look to the Bible we see in Luke 22:44; “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” 

The operative word is agony... The rare condition can occur with great FEAR... 

Have we ever stopped and lingered in this moment? Or do we rush past this moment straight to the cross? I do not want to diminish the suffering of any of these precious heartbreak moments... 

But I do know from my own experience there are times we suffer long and hard before the actual event occurs. 

He was suffering in the garden long before that heart-crushing day occurred ... He was left to suffer in anguish alone and fear gripped His mind with such magnitude that He sweat those precious drops of blood... 

Even though His mind knew what was to come His soul knew it was written and the moment must be fulfilled for all of mankind... He could have walked away... But He knew it was part of His Heavenly Father's greater plan. 

What a beautiful heartfelt gift of LOVE. His only crime was that  He wanted is to teach us how to live and how to love...Crucifying Him was the biggest crime man will ever encounter. 

So I can only ask what sweat equity have we given Him in return ??? That is a question that only you can answer... 

All I know is that it would be a crime if we do not surrender our hearts to His commitment of love...  He sweat those tears of love for you and me.

He is the most amazing gift our Creator has ever shared. He is the brightest star and our guiding light... Our love for life! 

It’s Him... it’s always been Him 

Turn up the heat for Him &.... Sweat 💦 

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling do And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22:44

Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true.- Patrick Swayze...

Meaning of hesitation 
the action of pausing or hesitating before saying or doing something:

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions... life is full of decisions ... But wait ...I am not ready yet... Hold on..what about tomorrow? What makes us hesitate? Fear?  Over analyzing? Rejection? Doubt? Worried what others may think? 

What is it that makes us have any hesitation when we speak of our Creator, His amazing Son, and the beautiful Holy Spirit?  I have found that many people hesitate or even hide their true feelings or only worship Him in the silence of their mind for fear of what others may think? 

There are times in our lives our hesitation can and will paralyze us just where we stand. ...This can hinder us from becoming everything God intended us to be... 

How do break the chains? How do we embrace freedom and cast caution to the wind ??? How do we become publicly confident in showing our love for Elohim? How do we learn to travel this amazing freeing journey to a brighter God-given destination?  How do we let our light shine without any hesitation?? 

Truly it’s Him, for with Him all things are possible... The more time you spend getting to know His beauty and love, the braver and stronger your faith in Him becomes. 

As your relationship grows, You will begin to wait on Him. You will learn to heed His guiding whispers... You will trust Him with all facets of your life... It's at that pivotal moment in time you will throw caution to the wind and let the world know how you truly feel, knowing full well that if you fall... He will catch you without any hesitation!!! There is an amazing freedom that comes with letting go and LOVING HIM.....

Cast your fears to the wind...

And JUST JUMP... Feel that freedom to live life large and love with all that you are !!! 

It's HIM... It's always Him... Catch me I am falling in LOVE...

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:40

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. Matthew 21:43 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube) 

NONAH - Jump (Official Lyric Video)

The heavens proclaim the glory of God...night after night they make him known (Psalm 19:1,2).

At Even Ere the Sun Was Set

As the sun is setting in the evening sky.  The colors are bright orange and red. Spectacular visions to our eyes. How can He show such rare beauty?  It is His gift of love for us to behold. 

Father, though the evening of this world is here, we come with the hurt, the sick, the prisoners, and all who need You.  

Jesus - At evening they brought all the sick to You.  You took all pain and sickness to the cross as well as man’s sin. With every blow, wound, bruise, and touch of the spear you took it all.  And at the end, You said “Father forgive them.”  The thunder sounded in the darkness and the earth shook as You breathed your last breath and said, “It is finished”.  

It was evening.  

As watchers of this scene went home. So sad.  They did not know that Jesus had fulfilled His assignment, the Lamb of God had been slain. He was slain for you and me.  The redeeming price had been paid.  The evening sacrifice had been made. 

Soon the evening and darkness would turn to dawn.  He was raised by our Holy Spirit. And early that morning on the third day He appeared.  They had last seen Him in the evening on the cross. 

Now He is alive and He is still healing the hurt, the lost, and those without hope.  He says come,  In this evening of time, His touch is the same as in ancient times.  Come to the One who loves you with eternal love.  Love this One who gave His all.  Love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind. 

Psalm 113:3  From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. 

Psalm 65:8 They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs: You make the dawn and the sunsets shout for joy. 

Photography by Lori Garner 

Written by Joann Turnbull 

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube) 

have i told you lately that i love you - van morrison

Podcast / Opening Heavens Gate

When we think of Everlasting love.   We began to search our souls for answers. And as we try to understand this timetable. And if we are lucky our soul will enlighten us.

But I feel as long as we are in our earthly bodies we will never truly understand the dynamics and full beauty of this word our Creator so graciously put into His heavenly plan.  

Come, join me as I travel back in time. And I open my heart and share a word from our Bible word study and meditation. I have fused them together to create a self-narrated story called 

"Opening Heavens Gate"

Podcast / Triune Loves Me /Opening Heavens Gate

In worship, God captures your heart; when he’s got it, then the real work begins. ― Matt Redman.

There are numerous definitions of the word worship. Yet, one, in particular, encapsulates the priority we should give to worship as a spiritual discipline: Worship is to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission.

The word worship seems to be used approximately 40 times in Leviticus when it describes how to sacrifice and bring offerings to God. 

The word worship can reflect a few different actions that could constitute and be viewed as types of worship.  For example, there is praise, song, dancing, spiritual gifts, sacrifice, daily devotionals... 

I believe it’s a personal choice between you and your Heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit... They know our hearts intimately.. I do feel there are degrees of intensity depending on where and when the action of worship takes place... 

In my opinion, there is no wrong or right way.  It's that deep personal relationship that most of us crave and are chasing. If you are truly blessed to feel His amazing love or you have a strong conviction in your soul you are most likely on the right track... 

Emotions from the heart must be fully engaged or you will be just going through the motions... Are your actions sincere? Or are they for the show? Where is your heart? That is a question that only you and our Creator can answer... 

We have been given scriptures that direct us to love God with ALL our hearts, soul, and mind... 

When we worship we should be “fully engaged” and in “total surrender.” The action of LOVING Him should be our only thought... When we can achieve that “extravagant love exchange” with our Heavenly Father it should tantalize all of our senses... We are placed in a state of being fully immersed in His love... The word consumed seems to best describe the relationship our Father desires from His Children... 

However, the operative word is ALL ... He desires every part of who we are. All of our LOVE All of our devotion. All ....?

The question becomes what is your definition of ALL? The full hour on Sunday ?? Or is it more ?? 

How we relate and how we achieve this goal is a personal commitment between you and our Creator... It takes time and discipline and a yearning heart to totally surrender to His All-consuming LOVE...  He is the only one that is truly worthy of a love that is so sovereign, so extravagant...and yet so intimate... 

He has been reaching out, He has been tugging at our hearts... He has been whispering ALL of our names!!! He is gathering and waiting for His children to be ALL in!!   

It’s Him, It’s always Him... 

His love is so difficult to contain!!... I worship the Holy ground He walks on!!! He WOWs me! 😍🙃🔥

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

Bethel Music - 10,000 Reasons (Live) - featuring Brian and Jenn Johnson

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus 1 Timothy 2:5 

The meaning of GAP:  an opening or breach in a fence or a wall. 

In times like these, God is looking for those who will stand in the GAP. What is it He is wanting these people to do?   

My thoughts go to the verse “If my people will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked way. Then I will hear them.”

As I thought about the word GAP.  I remember something I would watch my father do when I was a child.  When our car was not running right my father would take all the spark plugs out of the engine and take a small wire brush and clean all the carbon and build up around the GAP of the spark plug.  

Then he would take a “feeler gauge” and make sure the space in the GAP was just right.  And put the plugs back in the engine.  When the electricity came from the battery and hit that clean plug there would be a spark that would ignite the mixture of fuel and oxygen and the car would run perfectly. 

What lesson did I learn?? 

We are much like that spark plug.  We should yield to the Holy Spirit to teach us how to clean the sludge and darkness from our lives while bringing us closer to our Heavenly Father. 

We must be ready, we must be strong. We may be called upon to be that missing link in the chain of someone's life.

We must tune in to God's frequency and listen to our Heavenly Father's voice. He may appoint us to be that missing link. He may ask us are you ready to stand strong in my name, for a family member, a friend, a city, a situation. The question will be... are you ready?    

Spend time with Him. Grow to know His heart and learn to heed His call... Let's open our hearts and love Him with all of our hearts, soul, and mind... 

I urge you... be ready to be His GAP - God's Appointed Person 

Timothy writes to believers:

“Most of all, I’m writing to encourage you to pray with gratitude to God. Pray for all men with all forms of prayers and requests as you intercede with intense passion.”

1 Timothy 2:1 TPT

PS

Our God loves worshipers. 

“I am overcome by merely a glance from your worshiping eyes, for you have stolen my heart.”

Song of Songs 4:9 TPT

Photography by Lori Garner 

Written by Joann Turnbull 

Sinners Prayer 

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 Guy Sebastian - Standing With You (Lyrics Video)

"All people could use an infusion of God's LOVE."

Meaning of infuse to cause to be permeated with something (such as a principle or quality) that alters usually for the better.

There are approximately 67 verses that reference the word infuse in the Bible. 

When I think of the word infuse, it brought me to the time when that ugly word rang positive in my mind… you have covid… It was a time of reflection, shortness of breath… and a time to rest… As I laid quietly in my bed. I would go to my Heavenly Father for His love and healing… I could not focus or even talk to Him for very long. It was there, I would be lolled into deep peaceful rest.  I and found myself slumbering in His loving and protective arms… and I fell into such an amazingly deep sleep. 

I find many of us search and cling to Him in our darkest hour... 

I was blessed by a neighbor who suggested I go and get an “infusion” many have come to know this as Monoclonal Antibody. So, armed with the medical information and my Heavenly Father, my dear Son In law drove me to the hospital… I was brought in and shown to my makeshift room.. The nurse started checking me in and explaining the details... As she placed the needle in my arm and started the IV… She advised me to just sit, be still and make myself comfortable that I would be there a couple of hours... 

It was then and there that I closed my eyes, laid my head back, and began to try to take deep breaths and to speak a love language that only my Heaven Father, His loving Son Jesus, and my beautiful Holy Spirit could understand... 

My body was completely relaxed but my soul was free to feel His  presence and His beautiful healing love… 

Little did the nurse on staff realize… I was being spiritually infused and I was at peace....  mind, body and soul. 

Being spiritually infused is the greatest moment one can seek… You can get this treatment day or night 365 days a year. It will capture your heart, free your soul and heal you from the inside out.  

Our earthly bodies are just temporary vessels… It is our soul that is the true essence of who we truly are no matter where we are in this journey we call life.

I speak of this heavenly existence because I am infused with my Father's LOVE and I trust Him with my life and I whole heartedly believe in Him, His promises and His amazing LOVE for eternity... 

If you have not found Him or You have not been infused with His love … I urge you to close your eyes, be still… and open your heart and let your soul be freed to LOVE Him… 

Be infused with God's LOVE… But know you will not be able to contain this Gift you will feel the desire to share Him so others can find their way… There is nothing on this earth that can even compare to….

Him… It is always HIM 

Ezekiel 37:5 - This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live.

May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.1 Thessalonians 3:13

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

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Tasha Cobbs - Fill Me Up / Overflow (Medley) [Live]

It all starts with just a glance... But it's that second lingering look that may open your heart and capture your soul. (lg)

Glance means to take a quick look at something.  It is used nine times in the Bible. 

Do you ever wonder at the bigness of God?   There are so many people in the world that I wonder how He knows my name or what I am doing. If we think of Him as a personal God  He has to have an amazing mind and memory. 

He sees the end from the beginning.  He knows the number of hairs on our heads.  He knows our thoughts.  I do not know how that is possible.  He talks to each of us if we are listening. And nothing is too hard for Him.  The Bible says that with just a glance He examines humanity.  

This same God not only knows everything about us as humans, but he delights in us.  He can see our love for Him as He takes a glance into our eyes.  If we are beholding Him with love and affection He knows this and He is overcome by how we feel about Him.  The words of Song of Solomon say, “For you reach into my heart.  For with one flash of your eyes I am undone by your love, my beloved, my sister, my bride. You leave me breathless- I am overcome by merely a glance from your worshiping eyes, for you have stolen my heart.”

How can we not love this one who came from heaven and reminded us of the first great commandment to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind?  He loves me loving Him. As the old saying goes, “this causes me to meltdown into my socks”.  So take a deep breath. 

This has been His plan for us since the beginning. And we are here at this point in history for a reason.  In the Book of Revelation 1:16, we see him again.  

“In His right hand He held seven stars, and a sharp, two-edged sword was seen coming from His mouth; and His glance resembled the sun when it is shining with its full strength”.   He is the living One Who will take us through the rest of our days with His love, peace, and victory.  He says “Fear not, for I am with you”. 

His glance is always toward us. 

You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. SOS 4:9

Photography by Lori Garner 

Written by Joann Turnbull 

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube)  

"One Glance" Grace Williams - Album "One Glance"