Simply Dee

This morning I had a dream that I want to share with you. My husband and I were at the beach and I was playing in the shoreline of the ocean; I was close enough to shore that I could quickly get from the ocean to the shore.

From out of nowhere, I turned to my right and there was a wall of water, like a tsunami, headed directly toward me. I sense that the prophetic part of the dream is that the tower of water wasn’t coming from out in the ocean like you would expect; it was coming side ways, like you wouldn’t expect.

I immediately came running out of the water to the shore and at first was consumed with fear. But when my feet hit the shoreline, I squared my shoulders and planted my feet, facing the tsunami head on. Once I had searched my heart and was confident my relationship with Christ was in order, a total peace came over me and I remember thinking, as I boldly faced the massive wall of waters, “though the waters try to consume and overtake me, I will not fear.”

As I woke up, I immediately began praying and seeking the LORD for the interpretation of the dream because I knew it was prophetic. I even spoke with my husband about it. I truly believe that the Spirit of the LORD is speaking to us that we are in a season of preparation; and that as we prepare ourselves … as we empty ourselves … and as we allow His Word to remove all debris and hindrances from our lives, then, from unexpected directions, like a tsunami, He is going to overtake us with blessing heaped upon blessing heaped upon blessing!

So, my expectation is at an all-time high and, according to Proverbs 23:18, my hope and my expectation will not be cut off. I am expecting FAVOR from unexpected people. I am expecting PROMOTION from unexpected places. I am expecting FINANCES and RESOURCES from unexpected avenues. I am expecting DIVINE CONNECTIONS from unexpected arenas. I AM EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED! What are you expecting? Let me encourage you to expect to be overtaken by God’s goodness from unexpected directions.

We are destined and empowered to WIN in every area of life. As a winner, we must make a shift in our mindset with a renewed approach that focuses on winning; we must believe that losing is not an option! How many times have we failed to pursue God’s best because we have become intimidated by the opinions of others?

I love the story where scientists performed an experiment with pike fish in an aquarium. Pike fish are known to eat up all the other fish around them. So the scientists put a barrier between the pike fish and the rest of the fish. The pike fish kept bumping his head up against the barrier and could never get to the other fish. Eventually, one of the scientists recommended that they remove the barrier to see what the pike fish would do. They removed the barrier and the other fish were swimming all around the pike fish. However, the pike fish’s mindset was, “I better be cautious because I’ve already done this before, and I could not get the food. There were barriers in my way.” The pike fish ended up dying of starvation because he let the previous barrier stop him.

We cannot allow past barriers and the opinions of others to keep us from the victory that God has for us. Winners do not say “we win some, we lose some.” No … winners say “we win every time!” Winners have a mentality that they will overcome every obstacle, and leap over every wall. Winners always win, and will not allow roadblocks to keep them from their winning future because they are determined and focused in the lifelong pursuit to win.

Winning is not a short-term thing. We are in a lifelong pursuit to win, even when faced with obstacles and roadblocks. In the face of adversity, we will press through to victory. We will win at the game of life that the LORD has put before us.

You may be facing an obstacle now, or you may be at a point of dealing with opposition. I want to encourage you through this blog and tell you that’s okay; you are going to win because at the end of anything that you are going through, you will always win.

This morning as I was praying and spending time with the LORD, I found myself in Proverbs 8. I specifically got hung up on verse 34, which says, “Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.” In other words, it is our daily commitment (our consistency) at the gates of the LORD that is going to cause us to hear Him and the directives He has for our lives. As I began to meditate on this scripture, the word “REAL” just kept going over and over in my heart.

See … I think people are sick and tired of the religious traditions of man and fake facades; I know I am! They are looking for something … for someone that is REAL. Honestly, we are all simply REAL people, with REAL ISSUES, that serve a very REAL God! Anyway, I continued to seek the LORD as to what He was trying to say to me concerning the word REAL. Before I knew it, I had journaled the following statement: “By keeping it REAL, revelation will pour in to me and out of me.” Then I wrote down the following acronym using the word REAL:

R - Revelation
E - Eradicates and
A - Annihilates
L - Liabilities

OMG … I knew God was speaking revelation to me, so I immediately began looking up these words so I could grasp the full meaning of what was being revealed.

“Revelation” is something that God reveals or discloses that hasn’t yet been realized before.
“Eradicate” means to remove or utterly destroy by pulling up by the roots.
“Annihilate” is to reduce to utter ruin to where it is non-existence; to make void.
“Liabilities” are debts or anything that is disadvantageous; and they (liabilities) are opposed to assets!

In other words, and this is just how the LORD gave it to me … “When He reveals or discloses truth to us, it is the truth that we know that will set us free, because the truth will empower us to remove and destroy, by pulling up by the roots, the lies the devil has told us. Through revelation, the Holy Spirit will show us how to reduce to utter ruin, to the point they are non-existent, ALL liabilities … ALL roadblocks … ALL curses that are working against us! Everything that opposes us living and enjoying the good life promised us in Ephesians 2:10 will be annihilated and made void through revelation.”

LORD, help us to simply keep it REAL with You, understanding that when we live a consistent life of spending time with You and serving You, we will reap the benefits of the Revelation we need to Eradicate and Annihilate every Liability that is keeping us from stepping into our destiny and being the REAL us You have called us to be!

There is a clarion call to each of you to be the very best you that you can be, because you are a gift that only you can give yourself. You are only one person, but you are still one. And no, you cannot do everything, but you can do something, one step at a time, to pursue your dreams. Be sensitive to the whispers of your soul as they will empower you to continue moving forward on the pathway to your dreams. Step into your dreams, and have confidence in each step you take. Stop looking for approval from other people, or the economy, to validate your dreams. There is only one resource that carries the assurance to confirm your dreams, and that place is in your heart. Believe in your dream because it matters to you; and then take action daily, one step at a time, towards seeing your desires manifest. With each step you take towards your dream, you will experience strength, courage and confidence to face the giants … face the fears … and face the failures that have been standing on the pathway to your destiny. As you step forth and confront those things that have immobilized you due to past experiences, you will position yourself for an outpouring of God’s grace, power and favor. So — DREAMERS … STEP FORTH!

How many times I have sat down, feeling like I am juggling just too many hats, and not doing any one of those hats justice. “BALANCE” is a word that reels over and over in my mind, and it seems to be at the top of my prayer list a lot here lately. I feel as though I am on a journey to discover “BALANCE” in my life; and what I have found on my journey is that I am not travelling this road alone. It seems as though the majority of women I speak with are struggling in this same area.

I believe that we all have experienced the challenge to maintain “BALANCE” in our life. If “IMBALANCE” isn’t your address right now, it either has been at one time OR it will be in the future. There are so many “things” vying for our time and attention – spouse, children and their numerous activities, family, church, work … the list goes on and on. One thing I have noticed is that when I am out of “BALANCE,” the odds of burn out and stress are great, and my relationships become strained.

Here are a couple of guidelines I have implemented to help bring “BALANCE” back into my life. First, I put together a list of things that I need to accomplish and then I prioritize that list. Because we are being pulled in so many directions, it’s easy to get off track if we don’t have order and structure in our daily routine. When I take responsibility for each new day the Lord allows me to live, and order my days instead of my days ordering me, “BALANCE” is then an enjoyed goal.

Prioritizing allows me to accomplish the important and necessary things. The flip side of that, not prioritizing, leaves me wide open to confusion, frustration and stress as I don’t complete the things that need to get done and I’m left wondering all over the road.

One other tip the Lord shared with me as I’ve been praying for “BALANCE” and obtaining “BALANCE” is the importance of having “ME” time where I do things that I enjoy doing. This sounds simple, but trust me, it is so difficult because we have a tendency to allow self to come up last on the list of things needing attention. Some will even try to make you think you are being selfish when you schedule such times, but I tell you the truth … there is nothing selfish about “ME” time! These designated times are necessary so you can relax and recover from the grind of your routine. Not having down time will leave you at your wits end, and you will become difficult to get along with. That’s just a given fact that I can absolutely attest to.

So ladies, let’s take back the reins of our lives and live a life of BALANCE in every area. I would love for you to share any wisdom and truths that you use to promote and establish BALANCE in your life!

Keepin’ It Balanced,

Dee

I was watching TBN a couple of weeks ago and I heard Lance Wallnau make a statement that literally stopped me in my tracks.  You want to know what it was, don’t you?  Okay … he said, “We need to hang out with people who are architects of the future.  Hang out with dreamers.” Is that powerful or what? I grabbed a pen and wrote it down and have been meditating on it ever since.

I am a person who believes that our future is connected to our relationships; and that our relationships are like elevators … they either take us up or they take us down. But this statement has caused me to really re-evaluate some things in my life.  I wonder how many of us would be found guilty of exchanging our dreams based on people’s limitations? I wonder how many of us are allowing a demolition crew to operate in our lives instead of architects of the future?

Can’t wait to read your comments.

We all know that the Lord has a plan and purpose for each of our lives, and that His thoughts toward us are to do us good, and not harm us.  We know that the Word of God says He will never leave us or forsake us, and that He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  I’ve been meditating on this lately, wondering why, if we know all of this, do so many of us deal with the immobilizing emotion of loneliness?

This is an emotion that each of us face at one time or another, and the only thing we can use to counterattack this emotion is the Word of God.  Allow His Word to be your compass to direct you into all truth.  No matter what other relationships or situations WILL change in your life, your Father remains steadfast and faithful.  None of us are immune from the emotion of loneliness, but we do have a choice as to whether or not to accept the emotion.

Proverbs 4:34 (AMP) says we are to keep and guard our heart with all vigilance above all that we guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.  The word “keep” in this scripture refers to a military term that signifies a guard standing at a door preventing anyone from going into it.  In other words, it is our responsibility to guard our heart from emotions that can topple us.

Refuse to be a puppet on a string for ANYONE; refuse sap suckers in your life. Nothing will play with your emotions quicker than those that have leached on to you with wrong motives.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you perform a pure and true reality check on those who touch your emotions.

Keep Steppin’ Out!