When God calls you to serve Him you do not get to choose what He calls you to do, He lets you know. You just say "yes" and move forward without knowing where, when or what.  I said "YES" 19 years ago, it's a great adventure, a hurtful adventure, a hard adventure however, not one that I regret.  I am so happy God called my name, has He called yours?


 For many years I taught Bible studies, all life applicable and life changing for those who wanted to change ( me included).  Then somewhere along the way people, women, teens, married couples began coming to me asking me for help, most of them were suffering in their relationships. I took necessary training and became a Biblical Counselor.  BA in Christian Studies with a few certificates under my belt for Life Issues, etc.
 There was never a time when someone cried out to the Lord Jesus and studied His word and true heart change didn't take place.  I had no idea what it would take for some people to receive help, but God did. I just read Gods Word with them and prayed before, during and after. 
I depend on Him to convict and correct where need be.  However, when someone is willfully, knowingly going against God's Word and instruction, then come to me for "help" I give them the one and only TRUTH, found in God's Word.
This is not popular at all, it is actually a very dangerous position to be in, nevertheless, it is the ONLY position for those that love God.  I have counted the "cost" and am willing to lose my reputation, money, home, whatever the Lord chooses.  That's when you really see Him and His glory move in and through the lives of others.  It's the most awesome experience ever! 
I see many people, pastors and church denominations water the Bible down, down, down.  They might preach it, teach it and tell others what to do but have a hard time living it out in their own life.  No confrontations, no anger, sometimes no talking at all, a lot of assumptions....almost to the point of being passive and making excuses for the sin.
For about 10 years I have mentored women on purpose (Titus 2 & Galatians 2:20)


A women who has mentored me and many other women internationally, had received negative feedback from another woman.  It can be very hurtful and cause great confusion for those of us who are targets.


I am so glad she shared this with me ( and others) I like her,  have experienced negative comments from 1 woman in particular which the enemy of darkness tried to use to convince me to walk away from God and the ministry of teaching He has called me to, therefore, I post the following, maybe it will help you too;


I feel led to share this quote from an article on Stand True's blog:


But I am more concerned that we take care to examine our own motives when offering negative feedback whether in written letter  to another or in person.   Maybe you are speaking negatively regarding another to another leader.   Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself before speaking to someone about an issue:


1. Is what I am planning to say true in an objective sense or just reflective of my own feelings? (expressing your feelings and speaking the truth are not synonymous. Scripture is the guide here, not your heart)

2. Is the person caught up in a sin or is he/she merely getting on my nerves? (a personality clash is not a reason to “confront” someone)


3. Do I have a past history of strife, jealousy, enmity or anger with this person? (If so, you probably aren’t the person to “restore gently”)


4. Do I genuinely want to help the person…am I willing to invest the time to meet, discuss, share my own struggles, and help this person escape from the sin I’ve observed? (if not, you’re not qualified to speak)


5. Is it something that the person knows about already and is trying to work on? If so, how would it be helpful for you to point out again what he/she already knows?


6. Do I have the ability to speak with gentleness and kindness or am I a battle axe? (if you don’t know, ask your wife, husband or closest friends. If you’re not kind, leave it for someone else)


7. Have I been praying for this person in private regularly? (If not, chances are that your heart is not in the right place)


I pray God, The Captain of the Lord of Hosts, goes before us in all we do!  amen
Deb

Standing Firmly Rooted in Good Soil

from This Day with the Master
by Dennis F. Kinlaw

The Scriptures say that God is the source of all truth.  If we turn away from truth, we will end in illusion or delusion because only truth is reality.  When we walk away from truth, we lose reality and are destroyed by delusion.

I was in my sixties before I ever wondered where the word true comes from.  I pulled down my dictionary and found that the word true comes from an old Indo-European word for tree.  I was intrigued by the idea that the word truth comes from the word for tree.  The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make perfect sense.  Trees do not move.  We can count on them to be there every morning when we wake up.  Truth is the same way.  We can count on it.  It will not deceive us.  It will not give us one face today and another tomorrow.  The best news of all is that Jesus Christ is true.  He is absolutely, totally reliable and faithful.  And when our lives are ordered by Him, we stay in reality, and we walk in truth.

_________________________

Remembering My First Love

FB asked me what am I REALLY thankful for today?

 

No Fluff......straight from MY HEART is:

 

that my Lord was relentless in my pursuit...that He ran after me....that He never gave up on me when everyone else did. 

Because of His relentless pursuit of my heart and life I was saved from my destructive ways.....
without that.....
I would have lost many people and things; no children, grandchildren, loving family & friends and no fellowship with God's family...

most of all I wouldn't have been FORGIVEN, CHAINS WOULD NOT BE GONE, I would not be able To LIVE & BE HEALED a set apart LIFE with JESUS as my very life. 

 

Thank you for the Peace Lord, I know your voice very clearly today, keep me from surrendering to the things of this world. 

You alone are Holy Lord.

Use me to build your Kingdom your way here on earth, thank you for feeding me your TRUTH, Forgive me of my debts and wrong-doings to others.  I do and will freely forgive all others who have done things to hurt me or against me or my family, deliver me daily, I need you daily.

LEAD me in the direction you want me to go, keep me from evil, keep evil from me;

for  You are the True Kingdom, Power & Glory Forever and Ever, amen..

 

Thinking of the song;

OOOOHHHHH Happy Day!

A CULTURE ON THE BRINK –CAN ANYTHING BRING US BACK?

A CULTURE ON THE BRINK –CAN ANYTHING BRING US BACK?

Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.  I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell.  The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." 
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
Lookout replied, "Steady captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship:  We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees."
Back came a signal, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."
The captain said, "Send, I'm a captain, change course 20 degrees."
"I'm a petty officer second class," came the reply.  "You have better change course 20 degrees."
By that time, the captain was furious.  He spat out, "Send, I'm a battleship.  Change course 20 degrees."
Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."

God's truth is like the lighthouse- and we are like that battleship.  In our human arrogance, we chart our own course and demand that the world adjust itself to our wishes.  But God's truth is unchanging, unbending, unyielding.  It is not God's duty to alter His truth.  It is our responsibility to chart our course according to the light of His Word, which is ultimate, objective reality.  If we fail to do so, we risk running our lives aground (excerpt from Spiritual Warfare – How to Stand Firm in Faith by Ray Stedman)

America is a Christian Nation, not because we have more Christian churches or Christians but because our laws and government were founded on the Old and New Testament.  Pastors would preach sermons on morality, appropriate Biblical behavior and social virtue was the standard by which we lived.  We understood we needed to follow God’s Word in order to have a successful nation.

So let us fast forward to the 20^th century where a small group of socialists wanted to shift this Christian nation away from its Biblical roots.  The problem was that God’s Word was constant, unchanging, unbending, unyielding so our laws could not be changed.  The answer:  introduce a new science which would conclude that we were not designed by God and that we are evolving.  Introduce “human sexuality” which states that we are sexual from birth and should not be inhibited or restrained by God’s Law. 

This new science was the foundation to usher in the legalization of sex education, pornography, birth control, abortion, and sodomy in America.  In came no fault divorce, same sex marriage and intergenerational sex (used to be called pedophilia).  So where is the Christian church in all this?

This brings me to 1997 when I received the answer to where is the church?  I had been asked to speak for 15 minutes at a church school where my oldest son, then a Kindergartener was attending.  Someone thought since I had been a sex educator and was now an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) clinic nurse; I would be a perfect person to be on the Sex Education Curriculum Review Committee.  As a committee we were looking over the Learning About Sex series which had been taught in this school for over 25 years.  It was one of the first “Christian” sex education programs to be introduced to Christians.

As I got up to speak, I felt a strange choking sensation.  Since I was a public speaker through the Health Dept. I knew that I was not nervous.  I also knew I was not ill.  What I spoke on was “I believe that Dr. Alfred Kinsey’s (father of the Sexual Revolution)” science” was at the foundation of the Learning About Sex series.”  I soon came to realize that this was spiritual warfare and that I needed to press on.  The choking sensation left me about two thirds of the way through my speech and when I was done I sat down physically exhausted.

What struck me during my speech was that all the women gave me eye contact (about 10 of them) and except for the Principal, all the men had their heads bowed (including the head Pastor and male teachers).  My thought at the time was, “Gentlemen look up!  We need you in this battle!”  I had seen that type of response before when my husband confronted the Church Board.  There had been 3 people who had gone behind the Boards back to get rid of my husband.  When my husband confronted the Board, although he never mentioned names, the 3 guilty parties never gave eye contact in the meeting.

I love the story in the Old Testament where God takes Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones.  This was an army that had been slaughtered and was now wasted away.  God then asked Ezekiel if he believed that these dry bones could live again and Ezekiel, knowing full well what God could do, answered yes.  So God had Ezekiel say unto the bones:  “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4b)  Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there to see what happened as the bones came together and then flesh and skin covered those bones.

The last thing that had to be done is these warriors needed life again so God had Ezekiel prophesy the following words:  “Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” (vs. 9b)  Then Ezekiel reported:  “breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” (vs. 10)

When I looked into the origins of not just the Lutheran sex education series, but all sex education, I found the plan behind the Sexual Revolution.  Part of the plan included neutralizing the Christian Church,” slaying it” as one might say, making it ineffective in influencing the culture, allowing “progressives” to usher in their agendas.  The down cast eyes of the male leaders in my son’s church and school let me know that the progressive’s mission had been accomplished.

How many of us have been slayed by sexual sin?  Fornication, adultery, pornography, trashy romance novels, R rated movies, sodomy, and abortion both surgical and now chemical (ie birth control) lead the lambs to slaughter.  I contend that there are three things that the Christian Church can do to turn the tide around.  Ray Stedman in his book Spiritual Warfare – How to Stand Firm in the Faith shares the following words:

“We can be of no help in solving the moral, social, and spiritual problems of the world as long as we remain part of the problem (pg. 70)”

Although I have concluded that Dr. Alfred Kinsey’s “science” is in all denominations, I will use the Lutheran Church and its books as an example. 

Here are THREE THINGS THE CHURCH CAN DO TO SAVE AMERICA:

1.        Protect the moral innocence of children.  We are to protect children, not put them in harm’s way. In Matthew 18:6 Jesus shares that if anyone leads a little one to sin, it is better to have a milestone around your neck and be thrown into the depths of the sea. 

Sex education was developed based on the fraud science of Dr. Kinsey.  He used data from pedophiles who raped children and then he declared that children were sexual from birth and needed sex information.  At the heart of the Lutheran sex education series, I found Kinsey’s “science” quoted along with his friends, Dr. Mary Calderone (past President of Planned Parenthood) and Lester Kirkendall (past President of the American Humanist Association).

We need to get back to God’s Word and parents are to instruct their children in chastity, purity, modesty, and self-control.  The goal of sex education is take away all modesty a child may have and this then opens them up to sexual sin.  All sex education needs to be recalled, especially in the Church!

2.       Value life, all life again.  When we look to history, the Population Control (Birth Control) Movement came just before the Sexual Revolution.  Is it no surprise then that they have many of the same players involved?  All Christian Churches were against the use of birth control, it was against the law which was based on God’s Word.  “Be fruitful and multiply” as mentioned in the Bible was the foundation for the law.  Children were looked upon as blessings from the Lord prior to the Industrial Revolution.  Procreation was never separated from pleasure in marriage; they went hand in hand.

When I looked into why the Lutheran Church changed its stance on birth control, I found the influence of Kinsey and Margaret Sanger.  The reason we use birth control are the same reasons men and women abort babies.  The challenge isn’t abortion but are we really willing to be open to life whenever God brings it?  We cannot win the abortion fight if we stand as a Church and say we can chemically abort our babies (which can happen using the pill and the IUD) but you people over there cannot surgically abort your baby because that is wrong!

3.       God desires the marriage bed to be pure and undefiled.  Since the Sexual Revolution, Pastors have bought into the lies and now advise couples:  “whatever you do behind closed doors as long as it is consensual is alright to do.”  Whatever?  With a society saturated with pornography, what is right and what is wrong?

One dear friend wrote a Supreme Court brief arguing to keep sodomy illegal in this country in the 2004 Lawrence v. Texas sodomy case.  He told me we lost that case not because the gay couple was arguing to commit sodomy but the Christian couple was saying that we can commit sodomy behind closed doors in our marriage bed, but you gay people cannot.  You see it had been illegal for Christian couples to engage in sodomy in the marriage bed based on God’s Word, yet there are/were a few Christian books out there that endorse it, including in the Lutheran Church.

God loves the sinner and not the sin. It is the sexual sin of sodomy that God hates and considers an abomination (Romans 1), not the one who commits the sin.  Historically sodomy was considered crimes against nature or an unnatural act.  One would never put their mouth on a sewer pipe.  Sodomy was normalized by the pornography movement.  The Christian Church cannot promote abominations and expect to influence the culture. 

So here we are today, the bride of Christ unable to turn the tide of Sexual Immorality.  Can this nation be saved?  Can this culture on the brink be brought back?  I believe yes, we can!

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  II Chronicles 7:14

Written by Audrey F. Werner RN, B.S.N.     

Founder and President of The Matthew XVIII Group

Professor at Master’s International School of Divinity

For more information you can go to www.matthew18.org

Totally........................

Once again I have been asked, are you totally "pro-life" deb?

hmmm...I had to think exactly what does that mean......totally prolife?  my thoughts are...... yes, I am.

which led me to define "pro-life"  and get to the heart of the matter.


AT ONE TIME I WAS:
Secretive, ambitious, a perfectionist, driven, competitive, financially goal oriented, seeking acknowledgement from people who held titles & A woman who loved and had a broken heart and ultimately a heart that had become hardened to life & love,  a woman who had tried everything from the mystical to the medical to the psychological to change the way I felt and lived, all the while professing "Christianity" through a religious pattern.

I AM:
A woman who has been healed and restored from the effects of 3 abortions, leading corporate in competitiveness, divorce, broken relationships & a broken heart by listening & then answering a still small voice that called my name.

my belief :

"pro-life"  begins in the heart and mind of a person when once they receive a new heart and thus a true new life which comes from God the Father through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Then, that which you have received comes out in your daily decisions and words, relationships, etc.: it must happen from the inside out. 
once received: mercy & forgiveness personally, begs you to look at other human beings that are created by God and wanting for them that true "life". 
that same mercy begs & pleads with mankind to be saved.
that mercy begs & pleads with the living humans to save ALL life! those in and out of
the womb.

That IS "pro-life".

Being "pro-life" doesn't come by joining;   RTL, volunteering  at a Pregnancy Resource Center, obtaining college & knowledge, being a part of 40 Days For Life, Silent No More Awareness Campaign, purity programs, abstinence programs, church or by joining any other group, politically or otherwise. 

It comes only ONE way.  Don't be deceived and don't waste your time, less your house will fall as it's being built on sinking sand.

"YES" I AM PRO-LIFE, my life is a journey to be lived, not a problem to be solved.

God Bless you,
Deb


John 20:31

"...but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."

===================================================
 Deb Ives is a woman of strong Christian faith and knows the personal grief, heart break and sadness that abortion and pregnancy loss bring.

Heartfelt Family Services truly began in 1996, as its founder began her own personal journey to finding all God had for her as a Christian woman, wife and mother.

After years of Biblical Education and Leadership Development classes that God used along with Christian women and Bible teachers who mentored her, her secrets were confronted, forcing her to make a decision to be honest with God or to continue to harbor her secrets. She chose to be honest with God about all the deep places in her heart leading her to turn over her past, present and future completely to Him.

That decision resulted in finding the real peace and joy she craved, and the intimacy with her Savior, whose love and forgiveness continues to transform her life.
Deb Ives has served faithfully in her local church, also as a volunteer for various Abortion Recovery Ministries as a Group and One to One Facilitator; Volunteer counselor at Pregnancy Resource Centers; Speaker & Michigan Coordinator for Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Speaker for 40 Days for Life and Is Founder of Heartfelt Family Services in Michigan.

Deb Ives is currently the President/Executive Director Heartfelt Family Services. She is a certified Biblical Counselor for Life Issues as well as Abortion Recovery through Masters International School of Divinity. Deb is a Community Bible Teacher and is the current ARIN Ambassador to Michigan. She is also a Life Affirming Specialist through International Institute of Education Standards. Deb is a member of many organizations such as Abortion Recovery InterNational, Heartbeat International, Macomb County Domestic Violence Peer Counselor and Michigan Rescue & Restoration Coalition. She is a board member for an organization called “The Matthew 18 Group.”

Forgotten Fathers

THE FORGOTTEN FATHERS

the man that married your mom and gave up his "right to do what I want to" life to make sure you had your daily needs met :  food, sleep, shampoo,  a new hair dryer, a ride to your friends house in terrible weather, money for the new dress for homecoming or prom every year,  money for a new skateboard; he told you that you HAD to work you thought he was being mean he was teaching you moral values and integrity; he checked on you to make sure that you did your homework when your mom told him that she couldn't do it;
he served as the "go- between" with you and your mom when you became a teenager and the little rebel in you came out:  he listened to endless stories of how "unfair" people & the world is; sat up for hours with you after working for hours making a mathematical board as a visual education tool to help you "get math"; 
the man who encouraged you to be different & welcome adventure through looking and living in God's will and creation; taught you not to be afraid of the dark;   the one who said, let's make the drive a part of the vacation!;  the one who got mad when life didn't go the way he planned for all of you because he only wanted the best for you and he told you so; 
the one who helped or sometimes did your laundry to make sure you felt prepared for the next day; 
the one who loves your mom and therefore loved you and stuck it out through thick and thin, insults and injuries, money and no money;

He's the one who sits in the background and doesn't fight for front row title of "Dad" in your life; 

you may not ever see it, however,  you need to know,  he cries when you are hurting and prays for you everyday;
he waits for your call on his birthday and each and every Fathers Day.
The world calls him "stepfather" :
God calls him "mine"

God sent him into your life to be your blessing.

If you have a man in your life that the world may title as Step Father, I pray he is a man of God like the one described above,if so,
know the plans God has for you are Good & go beyond your greatest imagination.  Although your life may not have been what you thought it should be, don't waste your days blaming others and living life with regrets,  live first looking above to your Heavenly Father with a heart of thankfulness, that will make it easier to look forward with happiness & hope and live knowing you are loved.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the Godly Stepfathers, bless them.  I also ask that you Bless all the children who have experienced divorce or death of a parent.  Open their eyes and hearts to see you & Fill them with your love, hope & joy. 
I love you Lord, Deborah

Live it, Preach it, Teach it

My Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ get your cup of coffee;

I attached below something I received  from a friend and mentor. Knowledge is power. 

I pray you read it and allow God to prick your heart with the truth & your eyes will be opened.

It's never to late to make up your mind to live, preach & teach a pure life for God and not man.

Do you want a revival?  True, God given revival will happen in your own heart.  It begins with your faithfulness to God & His Word.

Live it, preach it, teach it...... remember....it's not you, it's the Holy Spirit, because of Jesus Christ, who forgives, heals, fills and gives power to those who are "willing". 
 
I believe what God says in His Word, do you?  You say "yeah sure I do", but, do you believe it.... really?   

As the leaders , true leaders called by God, through Jesus Christ, begin to Live, Preach & Teach truth is when you will see our homes, marriages, communities & churches transform before our very eyes!

Stop building churches and parking lots and start rebuilding lives  with love, kindness, concern and begin healing hearts with compassion, truth and mercy.

Acts 17:30-31 New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁰ “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. ³¹ For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

amen!
  

1 Corinthians 2:4-5   New Living Translation (NLT)

^"4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. ⁵ I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. "

Sending much love, 
Deb Ives

.       May the Lord fill our churches with faithful mothers.