If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. Desmond Tutu

Meaning of Enemy a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something:

The word "enemy" is in the King James Version of The Bible 107 times. It is in 106 verses.

Who wants to peel this word back for me ??? Such a dark word. Who is this enemy? Where do we find him? Does this enemy cause us pain? Does he live within our hearts? Are we our own worst enemy? I do believe it comes from a dark soul that does His best to see us fall. He does His best to see us fail, to see us cry out in heartfelt pain. I do not give him credence or power by mentioning his name... He is not worthy of my tongue uttering his name! But I am sure you have heard his name!! 

As I discover these words, I can only speak from experience. I do believe we all have experienced the enemy living within our hearts... It’s known as fear. It’s known as doubt. It's known as darkness.  Darkness can take us to a place of sadness.  A place of beautiful surrender. A place of self-discovery. It’s in the darkest hour, we hit our knees, and bow our heads and say I cannot do this alone!  God, please help me!! Take this from me! Some even try to make deals with God? Why do we wait to call His beautiful name? Why is it in the bad or uncertain times we search for Jesus? Why do we forget the Holy Spirit is the greatest comforter? They have been with us since birth. And then this Scripture came to mind. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22.6 -

We are His children! He is our morning light, He is our Joy, He is our soft place to fall in our darkest hour... He is our power and strength when we find the need to fight the enemy. Even if the enemy is darkness within. 

I can only urge you to find the child within... It's the innocent child that has never forgotten Him... It's in our adult state we have forgotten the inner child and the inner child holds the key to God's heart... And with Him, we can be victorious over any challenges that we may face in our earthly life!! 

The enemy within is real, it sometimes is a subtle whisper or it can be a raging war. 

Don’t wait, arm your inner child. Give them the greatest weapon to fight the enemy! Give them Him !!! 

You will fall in love with Life and His Love. You will find the power and strength you never knew existed. He is our lifeline. Call 📞 Him, Find Him, Love Him! Arm yourself, give your inner child the tools, to be ready for any battle.. He has promised us to never leave us!!! 

It’s Him, It’s always Him! 🔑

He is my protector, my confidant, my love, my guiding light... with Him darkness dissipates like a vapor in the wind! 

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

“The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. Joshua 10:19

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displeases Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.” Proverbs 24:17

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Phil Wickham - Children of God (Official Lyric Video)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 

Meaning of chapter: the main division of a book, typically with a number or title.

When I started my quest to find out more about the word chapter it immediately brought me to these statistics. Which I found quite interesting and thought I would share.

Number of books in the Bible: 66

Chapters: 1,189

Verses: 31,102
Words: 783,137
Letters: 3,116,480

https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/q10_bible_facts_statistics/

This amazing Book never stops amazing its believers. I will confess I chose this word today because I wanted to chase the chapter that is known as the LOVE chapter. 1 Corinthians 13. After all, February is a month where many celebrate LOVE. 

When did LOVE become so commercialized? When did we have to be reminded to LOVE? We have been given a LIFE manual we lovingly call the Bible. It’s a book that holds a wealth of information and it teaches us how to conduct our lives. This amazing treasure goes back to the beginning of time.

Here is a peek at the Chapter on LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸ Love never fails. 

After reading the scripture above, I remembered I actually read these very words at my cousin's wedding. But as I read these words today my soul leads me to another place. These words speak of the very character of our Heavenly Father! I challenge you to think of Him and now re-read the above scripture. 

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:6

But now that we have embraced these character traits. The question becomes, how do we own them, carry and execute these traits for ourselves? How can we own them for more than just one month a year? 

I say Ask. 

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 

We are all a work in progress, I can only suggest that you make each day better than the last. Wishing that you are blessed by His abundant LOVE.

 It's Him. It's always Him. 

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Hillsong - Deeply in love

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrew 4:13..

Meaning of naked (of something such as feelings or behavior) undisguised; blatant:

According to one source, there are 104 references to the word " naked " and its derivatives in 87 verses of the King James Version of the Bible.

When I say the word naked for a Bible word study it may raise a few eyebrows... But I have been challenged by a good source.. so let’s see with the naked eye where this word might take us?? 

We all have grown accustomed to adorning our bodies with clothes that reflect our own self-worth and our personalities and style. And we seem to think that our own beauty will shine for others to see. But do you ever wonder why we come into this world naked? Because you are a beautiful miracle from God. He loves us as we are... But as we grow we began to apply layers to protect ourselves from a cold sometimes cruel world. But God will always see us through all layers, all the scars.. all the beautiful moments of life... But as we build our perception of what we want others to see. We begin to hide the beautiful child within. 

If we are fortunate enough to find God!! Again !! He will strip our layers one at a time. This sometimes can be a beautifully painful experience. But with His love, you will emerge into the true you. A beautiful creation from God. 

We will begin to shed the layers we have built to hide the child within... We will see past the outerwear that covers our bodies. We will be reintroduced to our naked soul, the naked child that lives with our hearts... And as we feel this freedom. We will begin to emerge naked for the world to see... And God will say hey it’s you. I love the nakedness of you welcome back. Being naked in front of God is one of the most soul-opening experiences you will ever imagine!! You don’t even need to say no peeking. Because He knows everything about you inside and out ... There is No one else that we know that knows us that well. 

It’s Him, It’s always Him. 

Go and be the beautiful you! The beautiful child that God has always seen... 

“And said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”Matthew 18:3 NKJV

Photo Pexel & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Natalie Grant- The Real Me

"If you don't know, ask. You will be a fool for the moment, but a wise man for the rest of your life." Seneca

Meaning of ask: say something in order to obtain an answer or some information.

The word ask is mentioned 119 times. 

The first thing that came to my mind is the proverb  “Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies If you want the truth, better not ask directly.” It’s listed in the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, this saying recurs throughout 150 years of English literature. 

Have you ever spent a day with a child when they are in the WHY stage?  Do we ever ask the hard questions? Do we ever ask God? Why me?  I have. Do we ever ask a stupid question? Wait a stupid question ??? Never? I come from the school of not asking, is a stupid question. Because not knowing the answer can leave you void of knowledge.  

During my discovery of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  I asked a question on Social Media? Who do you pray to? God? Jesus or the Holy Spirit? And that brought a mixture of responses. Even  “that's a stupid question?” I did not take it personally I genuinely wanted to know? And I asked openly so others that may be too timid to ask could also grow. 

I will ask you who do you pray to? Some say I pray to God. Some say I pray to Jesus. Few say I pray to the Holy Spirit. Some say I pray to the Father in Jesus' name? Some say, Lord. Let’s not cloud the issue with the multitude of names they are known by all over the world. Now I will ask do you believe in the Trinity? Do you believe that they are one? Do you believe that they are all the Father? 

Hmm, so now I ask you who do you pray to? 

I can only share my answer...During my journey with the Three, each of them playing a significant role in my life. It was a struggle to know who direct my thoughts and prayers. But it unfolded like a beautiful flower. One day during prayer to my Heavenly Father I said these words, Father, Father is too formal I have to call You something else. I then said I know I will call You LOVE because that is what I think of when I think of You! ❤. And then roll it forward a few months and I found myself deep in the meaning of Easter. And with conviction in my heart, I felt I was leaving a part of my new Divine friends out of my prayers and out of my life.. and on that very day, I started calling them LOVEs. So when I pray I address My LOVEs and that is for My Heavenly Father, Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit.. You see for me They are all one in my heart. 

So now I will ask you who do you pray to? 

Ask Him the important questions. My Father in Heaven knows His Children are full of whys and He loves to hear our thoughts. He may chuckle but He does this in the most loving way. He knows by asking questions is how His children grow. 

Have you ever thought of the vast amount of questions and thoughts that are asked of Him on a daily basis?  When I thought of this statement I had to change my direction and my questions turned into the following: 

Good morning LOVEs. Let me ask You what can I do for You today? How can I lighten Your load? What do You want of me?... 

And now I will ask My LOVEs why me? And His answer is Because I love you! And that is a WOW. Because I have felt His LOVE... and it will blow your mind... 

I will end this with my thoughts. Find the name to call your LOVEs that resonates with your soul. There is no stupid answer. It’s a personal choice that will fit in your heart perfectly. And He will wrap your voice in His loving arms.

It’s Him, It’s always Him

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube

Austin French - Why God (Lyrics)

Jesus makes you happy in reality. The world makes you happy escaping from reality. – Jack Hyles

The meaning of escape an act of breaking free from confinement or control:

There are approximately 23 verses in the Bible that reference the word Escape...

Have you ever felt trapped? I am sure if you are taking the time to read my thoughts on this confining word. The word may have been trapped in your subconscious mind at some time in your life. 

But are we trapped in the physical or does it go deeper? 

When we think of our souls are we trapped in our earthly body? Does our soul yearn for a freedom that we once knew? Does it crave love from a place it calls home? 

The closest thought I have on this subject matter is meditation. I have found this gift to be amazing. I was introduced to meditation in a very unconventional way... 

The day after my heart and soul felt a love like nothing I had ever experienced here on earth. Without any coaching, intervention, or knowledge... I placed my earbuds in my ears, listened to music, laid my lazy boy chair back and I found that I drifted to an unconscious state of meditation. I started this activity at 5:30 am and I escaped to a place that I did not understand. I can only tell you how it felt. 

It was a time of love on a spiritual level where I communicated with my Heavenly Father. I did not know Him before this encounter. I knew of Him but I did not truly know Him. I was a state of bliss, a state of oneness I was in a state that I could not escape... But in reality, I did not want to escape from my piece of heaven on earth. I remained in this state of communication for approximately 12 hours. 

Don’t ask me how I did this? Because I myself do not understand what happened on that day. The mood broke at 6:00pm with the ringing of my phone! I can not tell you what we shared that day. I can only try to explain this moment in time and share Him and His beautiful gift of love with anyone that is open to listening.  I did escape that day... it is a time in my life that has left me forever changed... 

But the story did not end there. He lovingly waltzed me through the most amazing journey of discovery. I discovered me.

It’s an escape, that I chase and willingly pursue. My Heavenly Father is our refuge, His beautiful Son, Yeshua is the key ... and the Holy Spirit is the love that lives within my soul. 

He is the best escape that anyone can pursue.. without ever leaving home.

It’s Him. It’s always Him

Join me, earbuds in.. music on.. layback .. and .... meditate on Him.  Warning ⚠️ your life may never be the same.  

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Photo Design & Written by Lori Garner

Inspiring Music: YouTube 

Kari Jobe - Favorite Place (Live)

Kari Jobe - Favorite Place (Live)

“If you look at the Bible as a whole, it’s redemptive and beautiful, and it’s God’s love story to mankind.” – Tom Shadyac

Meaning of the word Book a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.

There are 28 Bible verses that reference the word “book”.

There are so many books we could have chosen for this word study. But since this is a Bible word study, we of course landed on the most amazing book of all time. 

Did you know these facts?

By the end of 1995, combined global sales of Today's English Version (Good News) New Testament and Bible (copyright for which is held by the Bible Societies) exceeded 17.75 million copies, and the whole Bible had been translated into 349 languages; 2,123 languages have at least one book of the Bible in that language.https://www.guinnessworldrecords.

The oldest Biblical text that has been found is about 2700 years old

The King James Authorized Bible has 783,137 words.

There are 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament. This gives a total of 31,102 verses.

When we look with our eyes at the facts about this amazing book. A book that was written so long ago it can be mind-blowing. But what happens when we began to see the words with our spiritual eyes… I know by experience It can blow our souls wide open. 

As always, I will share just a little fact about me and my journey. Before I started on this amazing journey, I had never read the Bible. I had a Bible, but I found the book confusing, old and boring. This square black book that I received over 30 years ago, has been sitting so quietly on my shelf. It has a gold inscription of my given name on the cover.  When I think of all the years it has been with me I truly do not understand how it survived. I most likely only kept it because my name was so permanently engraved on its cover. It was personalized.  

Little did I know how my life would change. As many of you know two years ago I had a Holy Spirit experience. And the Bible was not in my sights, nor did I have any desire to read it.  I just wanted to feel Him with my spirit. I was on a spiritual quest of knowing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The three taught me many things about life and love. Somehow, someway, I found that I fell in love with the most amazing soul I have grown to know… And as I shared Him with anyone who would listen. My new-found friend continued her relentless quest of sharing the importance of His amazing book. Looking back my friend knew it was time for me to discover more about this amazing soul that lavished this unexplainable love upon my heart… 

So, it was in December of 2019. I began to open the pages and I began the most amazing journey of studying this old boring book one word at a time. As I touched each word my heart began to open and with each word He spoke love to my soul. Each word, Each verse, Each scripture came alive and brought me to a closer understanding of His amazing love. It’s is a masterpiece of wonder! It can take you to places you have never been. I can see and feel His Spirit running through each word, each chapter, each verse.

And now I know why I have carried this square black book with me for the last 30 years. Because He knew that one day His name would be permanently engraved across my heart… He personalized it with His Book and His amazing LOVE.  

As many of you know the Bible starts out with this verse  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”  Genesis 1 NIV

But I say in the beginning 

It’s Him, It’s always HIM. He is the beginning… 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner 

Bible Verses from KJV, ESV / Sinner's Prayer

Inspiring music from YouTube 

Word Of God Speak - MercyMe

The meaning of bleed: to lose blood from the vascular system, either internally into the body or externally through a natural orifice or break in the skin:

There are approximately 18 verses in the Bible that reference the word bleed.

When I think of the word bleed. I felt I needed to go deeper than just a superficial wound. We have all been taught to care for a wound. Clean it. Dress it. And wait for healing. Have you ever given it any thought of how the wound heals? I noticed that the wound heals from the inside out, one layer at a time. 

But what happens when it is our heart that bleeds? How do we clean the wound? How do we dress it? How does it heal? My experience is not in the medical field. But I have a relationship with an amazing healer! He had many years of experience. Many say He has had this gift for centuries. He has healing powers unlike anyone here on earth. He has been know to heal the wound with just one touch. I have been physically touched by His power. I call it my miracle.

But how does He heal a bleeding heart? I again can speak from my experience. When the heart is wounded by the action of another it does begin to bleed. The soul becomes sad. The mind begins to focus on the pain and the how why and who caused the pain... It can become all-consuming and even cause the body to fail.

God knows that we must go through the pain in order to understand the magnitude of the victory. We call it growth. His healing process heals us from within one layer at a time. During this process, He will open our hearts. I have been known to say, He has circumcised my heart. He will teach us many things about love, life, and forgiveness. The good the bad and even the ugly...

But mostly He will teach us about ourselves!! The faster we face and embrace His teachings the faster we can heal. He has promised to hold our hearts as He speaks words of love to our souls. But we must be willing to take the medicine He has prescribed. He promises to gently hold us, as He speaks love to our soul.

So I can only recommend: Let go, clear your heart of all negative thoughts, let go of hate, and discord.. Make room for His love. The heart will continue to bleed unless you invite Him in… Be open to His miracle of LOVE…His love can and does stop the bleeding.. He will heal the wound.. from the inside.. out.. And your heart will be free to LOVE without boundaries and to your amazement, you find that you have learned to love past the pain. 

Do not be a bleeding heart!!! Call HIM. Your heart will be freed, It will be healed. And your life with Him will be better than you can ever dream of!! Love has so many healing properties… I can not imagine our life without Him and His deep, deep beautiful love. 

It's Him, It's always Him.

Jesus knows from experience the best medicine for a bleeding heart is LOVE. Because it points Him to our Heavenly Father. The one that knows every intimate detail about us, every life trial we will face, every failure, and every victory ... He even knows how you will respond to His teachings. 

It's Him! It's definitely Him !! 

He is the loving healer of my heart and soul. It up to us to let Him in….He does make house calls.. 365 days a year day or night, rain or shine. 

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and ... But as Jesus heads for Jairus' house to heal his daughter, the crowd is especially thick. ... She has decided in her heart, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed" (Mark 5:28)

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.1 John 1- 4:8  

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. John 1- 4:16 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner 

Bible Verses from KJV, ESV / Sinner's Prayer

Book Image: Words of Jesus for Every Day Living by Christain Art Publishers

Inspiring music from YouTube 

JERMAINE EDWARDS AND BRANDIN REED-HEAL MY HEART (LIVE)