The Empty Chair

At many tables this holiday season there may be an empty chair. This symbolic empty chair may represent a relationship that is now broken, a family member that you haven't spoken to in years or possibly a prodigal child who hasn't yet come home. High emotions are felt when you realize that this person will not be there and you may experience sadness, regret and maybe even the feeling of incompleteness.  If you find yourself in this predicament you need to ask yourself if that chair needs to really be empty? Maybe there is something you can do. You can be the key to making a difference in someone's life by doing one small thing....reserving some space at your table.

You see I had a person live with me and my family for a few years and he was like a son to Don and I and suddenly he was gone without explanation and without any communication from him. I let time go by and I did not pursue the reasoning. I was just hoping that "He would come back and we would work it all out" but of course that never happened. This situation has tore at my heart for over 6 months and I decided finally that I was going to do something about it. This Christmas my goal is to have him at my table. I haven't done a thing to reach out to him YET but I have the plans to make it happen. I feel that we let people and situations go WAY too easily and as time goes by it gets easier to push back the emotions and the hurt and you find yourself wanting to forget. It just seems easier that way. God places people in our lives so that we can learn and grow from our experiences. We cannot grow and learn if we are not willing to follow through with the hard things. There is something I can do about this situation and I will not let another month go by without making it right. I don't care if he isn't living right and I am prepared if he reacts in anger and tells me all the things that I did wrong. I will listen and be ready to act in love. Justin will come home and our relationship will be reconciled and God can do the rest. He will be my filled chair this holiday season.

Jesus was critized heavily because he did not hesistate to break bread and share his table with broken people. He did not just include perfect people and he didn't wait until people "got it all together" to invite them....He ASKED people to come to Him just as they were. Jesus used communion as the first step towards reconciliation. He sat and shared a meal with people that He knew were going to turn on him! You see there is nothing more personal that we can do than to invite someone to your table. When you ask someone to come into your home and you share your blessings and you wait on them and serve...it is doing just what Jesus did. Sharing from your cup and your plate is one of the most intimate things anyone can do. Especially in this day and age when it is so much easier to ask others to go out and eat...it is being hospitable without any of the work! Maybe you need to ask someone that has no family and is alone for the holidays, or you need to invite that family member you have been at odds with, or open your home to the homeless who is cold and has no other place to go. Matthew 25:40 says, "For when you do unto the least of these...you do it unto me".

Everyone of us has a empty chair. We have room for one more. Just like the time of Jesus birth when there was no room in the inn...they looked beyond the ordinary and actually found some extraordinary space. We need to open up our hearts and the doors of our homes and ask others to come in. One meal may not fix the overall problems in this hurting world or the dysfunction in your family;
but one more filled chair can be an answer to someone's prayer. Hope in this world is found when we give forgiveness, kindness, compassion and most of all give to others what God so richly has blessed us with.  

Fill a chair this holiday season and God will fill your life with blessings that you never even thought of asking for.

Merry Christmas!
Jonna Gibson

*The Law of the Garbage Truck

Have you ever been in such a great mood with a skip in your step and enjoying the chirping birds and the perfect weather and life was just so very grand? THEN...you encounter someone grumpy and hateful and you try really hard to input your positive mind-set into the situation but the unthinkeable happens? They do not respond favorably???


It train wrecks you and all the sudden indignation rises up and this person just continues to spew rudeness your way and you find yourself mirroring their attitude. You walk away shocked and awed! How could they treat you like this? They were so hurtful and rude and I WAS in a fabulous mood but I told them a few things! Then you continue your day in a fog and even find yourself short with people and repeating the event to others over and over; finding yourself justified in your behavior. The birds chirping is giving you a headache now and the humidity is aggravating and making your hair bushy and my how I feel exhausted.....

Well this has happened to me a time or two...I was minding my own business and BAM...I got ran over by a Garbage Truck! The Law of the Garbage Truck is a book about personal growth and can help you learn how to respond to people who "dump" on you as well as deal with negative situations that are beyond your control. Let me share this story with you from the book:

"One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded and missed the other car by mere inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us! My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy and remained friendly. I was shocked and asked, 'Why in the world did you just do that? That guy almost wrecked your car and sent us to the hospital!' The taxi driver said, 'People are like garbage trucks; they run around full of garbage, full of frustration, anger and disappointments and as their garbage piles up it naturally falls on others. You just have to learn not to take it personally. Just smile, wave and move on. Don't take their garbage as your own and then spread it around to others and make it a part of yourself.' I couldn't believe what I was hearing but as I let it sink into my head that day I realized that this man had something powerful and this is how the Law of the Garbage Truck was written."

You have to recognize hurting people and try to empathize with why they are behaving a certain way and process it quickly so that you do not find yourself REACTING to what you see. Life is truly 90% of how you TAKE things and 10% of what you MAKE it. You can have a great day and a great life and take things wrong and find yourself bound up in hurt and bitterness and spreading it everywhere you go. Choose to let garbage lie and not pick it up and add it to your load. This is a mind set that if practiced daily can become a natural way of life for you.

Sure you may be happy and positive and try your best in situations but the other person doesn't change or mirror you...it's okay...you planted a seed in their life and walked away richer because you sowed something into someone. You walked away knowing that you shared love...something that doesn't flow naturally in any of our lives. It is a choice to love and serve others and in time you will reap the greatest rewards. Happy and loving people have the best lives because no matter what they are going through...they are putting their hope in someone and something greater than themselves and they have the ability to see their world in rose colored glasses that only God can prescribe.

Matthew 23:26 "Can't you see that if you clean the inside of the cup, the outside will be clean too?"
What a great reminder that we cannot do all this in our own power but in Christ. He cleanses us from the inside out. Psalms 51:10 states, "Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit in me".  Ask Jesus today to help you to start seeing things the way HE sees them. He wants us to be people who sets others FREE from their trash and filth...but if we keep picking up their stinking stuff and making it our own...well then we become burdened down and unable to do the things that He has called us to do. This I believe has set back the church YEARS behind where we should be!

Become trash-free today and start living "The Law of the Garbage Truck"!



You are Graciously Adorned!

❤ Jonna




-excerpt by "The Law of the Garbage Truck" written by David Pollay

Using your Scars for His Glory

"Because I was willing--not necessarily able, but willing--to take the one step and then another, and another. God has brought me to the most interesting of places. He took what I thought was broken and unworthy...my heart...and made it into something beautiful by giving it to others who were flattened by life and circumstance. This is God's nature. The very thing that the enemy uses to try to destroy your life is the very thing that God uses to help others. God can heal every hurt and can turn your scars into signs of strength for His glory."

"Your past mistakes, hurts and pain can help give someone else a future. Whatever we have gone through enables us to help others. God doesn't waste one experience of our lives. He uses everything to help someone else. He doesn't want us to remain crippled, immobilized, or paralyzed by the past. Instead, He sent us Jesus to show us how to step into the future."

"I have always known that I was not the only one carrying around such pain. We are all broken in some way. We all have wounds. some of us use that as an excuse to do nothing, to serve no one, but rather to sit and nurse our own misery. That is not what God wants, and not the model we see over and over again in the Bible. The biblical model is that God deliberately chooses imperfect vessels--those who have been wounded, those with physical or emotional limitations. Then He prepares them to serve and sends them out with their weakness still in evidence, so that His strength can be made perfect in that weakness. In fact, more often than not, it's our weakness that makes us capable of serving, because those we serve identify with our pain. As always; God works in us so that He can work through us."

----Excerpt from "Undaunted" by Christine Caine

God is able to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Healing doesn't happen overnight. Just as Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-19 was told to dip seven times in the Jordan river for his healing...it was messy and took time but he made a choice to do it. We can choose to heal, and trust the Great Physician in our lives. With any healing there is pain with restoration like there is pain with my husband's broken arm and his physical therapy; but you endure it because you want your full function back and it will be well worth it! Colossions 3:13  God tells us to bear with one another and forgive one anther just as we have been forgiven. Bearing doesn't sounds like an easy word at all..sounds painful in fact. Forgiveness is a hard road and every day brings a new opportunity. Will we fail on some days? Of course we will...after all we are human. Good thing there is hope in a new day to get things right.

If you find yourself in pain today; work through it. If there has been years...scar tissue might have grown up around the issue and dealing with it makes it that much more painful. You might even find yourself mad at God today. Know this...that is okay....tell God your heart...because in actuality...He knows about it already. He wants to hear from you. He can restore you to your former glory and give you joy, peace and the ability to rise above all the circumstances that used to bog you down.

I have never met a prisoner that didn't want to be free. Jesus has the keys to your freedom and it is right within your reach. Take the keys; because no one can do it for you; and release yourself of the bondage that you were never meant to carry. And through the process (not when your healed-but during) give the keys to someone else....because your ugly scar in your life (your testimony) is what will bring hope and healing to others. And this my sister is how we are meant to live....loving and helping each other and being the light of Jesus in someone else's darkness.


Don't forget to adjust that crown because you are after all... royalty and meant to shine.

Jonna

Consider Job

"Consider Job"....those two words just slapped me in the face! Job is identified as a blameless and upright man who feared God and turned away from evil. God was pointing out to Satan that Job loved him with a pure heart and the enemy was arguing that the love was because of material things. Well the devil was being set up; although he thought he was setting up God. Silly Devil. We all know about Job and in the first chapter he goes from riches to rags; from being blessed to what seems like cursed. All his livestock were killed as well as his children and servants and he was left with only his wife and just when his grief was subsiding Job became plagued with boils all over his body that were excruciatingly painful.

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.  Job 1:20-22

I can picture Satan surrounded by his 10,000 angels awaiting Job's response. And when Job answers I can also imagine all the multitude of angels in the heavens shouting, "Worthy is the Lord God of Job!"and how mad must Satan have been and I am sure he had to flee at that very moment!

Job must of been something pretty special to God for him to be pointed out. I wonder in our lives if God ever points you or I out? Would He ever say, "Consider Jonna"? I know that I am not perfect but I surely do pray that I get His attention. I want God to be pleased with my attempts and with my love and obedience towards Him.

Now don't get me wrong...I am not asking for trouble! I just want to be known as a child that loves her Heavenly Father way above and beyond any Earthly treasure. When the time of calamity comes to my house and it will come one way or another...I will choose to do what Job did and Bless the Lord!



Adjust that Crown,

Jonna

Nice girls don't change the world

All my life people have told me that I was nice and kind. Now I know that is a great compliment! But as I have grown older and more mature no one tells me that much anymore and you know what? I am just fine with that! Now before you pass out or call one of the board members of our church...because you all know my role as a Pastor's wife...let me tell you a little about some lessons I have learned the last few years.

Nice defined is 'pleasant, agreeable,socially acceptable, and exact in standards'. Now nothing is wrong with any of those words! But my role as a Pastor's wife is to assist my husband in "leading" and "guiding" people the right direction in life. Sometimes my role is to be a disciplinarian and to speak truth when it isn't "going to be well accepted". I may have to talk to some people about a conversation or a situation so that the "air can be cleared' and that isn't going to always be pleasant or agreeable either! To do what God has called me to do and do it correctly...some people will think that I am not nice!

Now years ago I so wanted to be accepted by everyone and wanted to be loved by all. Ohhh the things I would do so that everyone would look at me and think the best and the highest. I would go on outing with ladies to places that I dreaded going and would never speak up and tell them that I was not interested in those things. I was trying to be nice and appease them. I would wear things that they made me even though it wasn't my preference and style and even be embarassed but they would never know it. I have even let them come into my house and hang pictures on my walls of paintings that were NO where close to anything I would EVER pick out and "live with it" and not tell them or speak up. Because it was more important for them to be happy and think that i liked everything they liked. Isn't that what a good pastor's wife supposed to do? Well...that might have been nice...that actually might of been more like dumb. LOL. I was miserable because I was being what I thought everyone else wanted me to be...and sadly I was not being ME. Now I know that God is not wanting me to be "socially acceptable"....He is wanting me to simply obey Him and that includes being the person HE made me to be. 

We all have personalities, quirks, interests and talents that are totally unique to the person that we are and sometimes those things need to be "tweaked".  Being too "nice" and a people pleaser and never speaking up and sharing likes, ideas and desires deprives everyone around you....including yourself! It can be exhausting!! Just like being bossy and a loud mouth will just turn everyone off and cause people to avoid you and not be a good example of Christ. We are called to love people and there are ways of speaking your opinion and it be done in the right way that is pleasing to God as well as everyone around you!

I came across this book by Lynne Hybels called, "Nice Girls Don't Change the World". It was a God send to me! It talks about how Pastor's wives and women in general used to stand in the background cooking, smiling and being the silent partner and after so many years Lynne had a revelation that she was called to be something better than "looking the part" of the pastor's wife and a Godly woman...that she was to take an active role and stand "next to" the pastor. This just made something jump within me and my whole outlook changed. I was trying to be something I wasn't and things weren't working out because I wasn't functioning in the place that I was to be at.

So I stepped out and let me tell you I have had frightful days! But I know that I am doing just what I have been called to do. Let me clarify something though....I don't believe in two headed monsters...that meaning I don't say I am a Pastor or a Co-Pastor....my husband is the Pastor and I am his helper and greatest cheerleader. He is not only called but WE are called and are in this together.

So let me encourage you with this: you no longer need to just be nice....God called you to speak truth and speak it in love. Your willingness to be involved in the lives of others will cause you to be sucessful. You might speak the wrong thing but if it is spoken in love then your mistake will be forgiven with much love. We no longer need to be quiet and act like perfect ladies that we "have it all together"! That has been terribly ineffective and not very attainable to anyone from the outside the church looking in! They want to see humanity and realness and the fact that you trip, fall and lose your car keys sometimes...just like them. How can we reach the lost if they cannot relate? So get out and get messy and stop thinking that what is in your heart is not valuable to someone else!

Nice girls DON'T change the world....but girls and ladies that love Jesus with all their hearts DO! I challenge you to no longer just be agreeable and socially acceptable....I challenge you to be God's voice and speak truth in love and go where He tells you to go in obedience and girl,
....you will most definitely change your world!

Adjust that Crown,

Jonna

*Joy is the flag flown high

→I remember singing this song in children's church and I loved it....marching around with
a flag and lifting it high in the air! Revisiting this song now as an adult I realize the power
in it and the fact that it has such a greater meaning to me now:


Joy is the flag flown high from the 
castle of your heart,
from the castle of your heart, from 
the castle of your heart.
Joy is the flag flown high from the 
castle of your heart,
When the King is in residence there.

So lift it high in the sky and let the 
whole world know,
Let the whole world know, let the 
whole world know.
So lift it high in the sky and let the 
whole world know,
That the King is in residence there.


A Flag is so important to a country because it is a way of portraying itself to the rest of the world. It can unify a country and it's people in a time of trouble and can be a real sign of hope in desperate situations. Flags were used long ago during wars when the air was cloudy and dusty people would lose sight of
their group and would look up to see where the flag was and to also know who was winning the battle!

So what flag are you flying? How do you portray Christ to the rest of the world? Is what your waving filled with love, joy and peace? Is it creating unity and hope to the desperate people around you? Are you helping people find their way to Jesus and showing them that a life of a Christian is like being on the winning team?

Reevaluate what banner you have over your life today. The castle of our heart should radiate joy in your life, your words and your actions. That doesn't mean that we can't have a bad day or make mistakes! But our residences should be places of peace and harbors of joy for everyone you come in contact with. Where the King is allowed to be on His throne...there will be life and there will be ripe and growing fruit of His spirit. We want the whole world to know who resides in us! #Galatians 5:22

You ARE Graciously Adorned

❤ Jonna

Scars

A scar is just a remnant of a healing that took place over a traumatic incident. Everything within your body responded to make that area of hurt get back to as normal as it could. Unfortunately our body is not able to heal as clean and nicely as we like...thus creating mementos or "war wounds".

Some scars might not be seen by the human eyes and are internal and harder for others to know about or even for us to realize. Everything in your thought processe, mindset and heart are working hard to overcome this type of injury as well. Unfortunately unlike most physical injuries these can cause the most lasting damage.

You may be hurting today by someone or something and are struggling hard to recover from it. Know this and be encouraged....if you are still breathing and still standing then you have won the important part of the fight. You might have got hit but it isn't going to take you out. Your hurts, bruises and scars are just a reminder that you have been through a rough patch but the promises of HIS Word that is IN you is working itself OUT of you.

 You may have lasting effects in the form of marks and even some long term pain; but you are going to make it and boy will you have a story to tell! So fly the flag of victory and put down the rag of surrender. You are an overcomer in Jesus name! #James 1:12

Straighten that Crown,

Jonna

I am so Glad that You Exist!

The word exist or existence comes from the Latin word "existere"meaning: "to appear", "to arise", "to become", or "to be", but literally, it means "to stand out" (ex- being the Latin prefix for "out" added to the Latin verb stare, meaning "to stand").
In other words...you were made to ARISE and STAND OUT...this is WHY you exist...for HIS purpose and glory! Your life matters and not only am I glad you are here...God smiles when He thinks of you.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb .… Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13, 16 NIV)


Adjust that crown,

Jonna

Is Jesus your Facebook Friend?

Ever have a Facebook friend that you really didn't want to accept as a friend? But after months of them continuing to ask to be your friend you just got weary of hitting the "not at this time" button so you added them? (well maybe that has just happened to me!) I guess persistence truly does pay off. ha.  Then before you knew it they were all over your photo albums "liking" everything and making comments and asking questions. Ugh. What a pain. I don't have time to explain all that stuff...this is old news. Then out of the blue they post a horrid picture of you from 20 years ago and you scramble to "hide" it from your newsfeed. What will people think? That picture is not the "me" now! This new "friend" of yours "pokes" you everyday and constantly sends you requests for every game ever made, and always messaging and of course commenting on every status you place. Wow...how aggravating! They are like stalking you!

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus is like that friend. He is there wanting to interact with us in everything we do and we are so good at "ignoring" Him. Yet he is persistent longing to talk and wanting relationship with the one that He made and loves. He is constantly sending us messages that He cares for us and He is with us with every move we make. He is the still small voice that helps us and warns us when we are near danger. He is in everything we see in creation and enjoy and is present in every situation good or bad. He longs to be a part of our everyday thoughts and is interested in every place we go and do. he wants to be included and sometimes we are just too busy to take the time to add Jesus to our lives.


Adjust that Crown,

Jonna

Intercessory Prayer: Mantle of Esther

(Excuse the "roughness" of the following teaching...these are the notes I used when speaking to our intercessory group)

Let me start by saying that you all are extremely valuable to Don and I and our family...and it dosn't stop there. Whatever we have accomplished in terms of success or breakthrough is because of prayer. And because of your prayer we credit you. Your sacrifice and your devotion is not ignored and unseen. Although I know that none of you want your "crown" to be here in the earthly form....I still want to tell you thank you. We do not take lightly what you do and what God is doing through you. 

Luke 16:12 If you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 

You are guardians and carriers of the ministry of both Mercy Gate as well as for your pastor's. Your faithfulness is seen and felt. Answered prayers and conversions are the direct results of your obedience and time. Your actions, behavior, attitudes are all a direct reflection of our ministry. We are very closely connected. And I truly believe that God is going to bless each of you mightily. 

Esther Mantle

Now I do know this: that most Pastor's have a love/hate relationship with their intercessors. I hear the term you as: flighty, flaky, nuts, their head is in the clouds, strange, weird etc. There does seem to be a disconnect sometimes where people of prayer are not fully understood. "they always have a word" or a "dream". Ha. Well there needs to be balance in all of these areas with the intercessors and with the pastors. I really feel that this anxiety that most pastor's feel is because of past experiences with their intercessors. (ex. Dance showing spiritual birthing process, Tambourines by children, Flag flying in the church, Words given at inappropriate times) Intercessors are creative and expressive people! The problems we experienced as well as our fellow pastor's;  were from the ignorance and lack of experience in how to handle those situations. There is a time and place for the noise, the flags and interpretive dance and the revelations. 

One of the biggest issues we run into is pride. (Don told me that he touched on that when he spoke to you guys last month.) He talked about servant leadership and having a humble spirit. All that we are are servants to the people....you may call me pastor's wife or Don pastor but we are in fact humble workers for the kingdom. WE should never forget that we are not doing this for a title, for a position or for people to see us or for self exaltation. When we hit that platform or when we get on our knees...we need to be reminded of our positions. 

The enemy surely knows what buttons to push to get some of us to trail off in the wrong direction. You have seen pastor's preach and then find our they were in moral sin and failure....how can that happen? How could he be annointed and hear from God while he is doing THAT? Well...the same can happen with an intercessor. They can pray and hear things from the throne room of God but not be in the right place. You can actually "hear" what you want to hear and function in a role in your own talent and annointing for a time...but it will be lifted eventually. What could happen with an intercessor is that they get a word or a picture of what should happen and present it to the leadership but if they don't do what they want them to do then they start praying prayers of manipulation and develop a haughty spirit that they may know more than the leadership, know more  about the direction of the church. Trust me....we have seen this happen over and over again.

Just like me having a best friend in the church can prove to be quite hairy....telling intercessors all the details on something can cause them to lose respect for authority or for the pastor. Everyone has differing opinions on direction and plans but God gave Pastor the vision. Before you know it they are bringing a group to another church because they don't like "the direction". Our group is not going to do that. We are not going to allow each other to go astray. 

You need to be accountable to your leader....Annette. if you find yourself feeling like you know more then her or that you don't even want to listen to what she has to say or how she is saying it....welll....that is a sign of pride that leads to the Jezebel spirit...which is just a spirit that uproots authority. You need to hold each other accountable with your attitudes, words, talking about people. Gossip runs rampant in prayer groups. One person "feels" something about somebody and before you know it you are telling each other "in prayer" of course what you think is going on. 

We need to all be like Esther. She is a remarkable illustration of intercession. She intervened in a dangerous situation for her people (the Jews) with the King and it resulted in deliverance and victory. She stood against two realms...the natural and the supernatural. In her own power there is no way Esther could have had the outcome she had. She demonstrated an attitude of humility and reverance that can be the difference between intercession that fails and intercession that triumphs. 

"Esther demonstrated an attitude of humility and reverance that can be the difference between intercession that fails and intercession that triumphs."

 And we all know what happened to Queen Vashti....she refused to obey the king when summoned. She got so wrapped up in "who she was" and with all her attendants and fanfare she lost all respect and forgot about the authority the king actually had. She was wrapped up in her own selfish desires and giftings...that led to her downfall. She was dethroned and is still heralded as the first independent minded feminist. Some say that she was a bad example for all the households in the Kingdom...because she rebelled others rebelled against their husbands as well. Just like Vashti we NEVER want to FORGET who we are...we certainly do not want to cause confusion or trump any pastorly authority as well in the house of God because we may cause others to stumble. We may have a title and we may have some power but the King gave it to us and He can also take it away. 

When God calls us it is because of he awesome sovereignty. He has decided what He wants done and He is calling his faithful and beloved. He does not set office hours and like the ER...it's open 24 hours a day. He is looking for availability no matter the costs. 

Esther was one of many ladies summonded to the King's palace. She was caught up in something beyond her control. I often wonder what her life plans were...did she have a boyfriend? and now found herself in this situatuion? Whatever was going on in her life...she set it aside...she reordered her priorities and gave way to the purposes of the Kingdom. 

Hegai prepares Esther for her meeting with the King. She was already nice to look at. The training would be demanding but she needed to be found pleasing to the King. She had 12 months of beauty treatments...six months of oil of myrhh and six with perfumes and cosmetics and 7 attendants to help her. This truly is a time of patient preparation for ministry. Myrrh suggests death and 1 Corinthians 15:31 says; "I die every day for the cause of christ".  Our own ambitions and desires need to die before going before the King and we need a group of people to keep us be accountable to that. 

Esther was called the tenth month of the 7th year of the King's reign. It wasn't a full 12! We might be called to intercession but feel "not ready" or inadequate but we must trust and not rely on ourselves but only on His presence, guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. The intercessors primary concern is to please the Lord. When that prevails, the power and blessings of heaven are released on Earth.

The King loved Esther more than all the other women and she won grace and favor in his sight so much that He placed the royal crown on her head and made her his queen. The King was so happy that he declared a remission of taxes and distributed gifts with royal generosity. (Eshter 2:17-18)  The Church's first calling is to behave like a bride....the best thing we can do for the World is please God. Esther did not storm around the palace with shrill opinions and moral directives in regards to the administration.....the Church should be a blessing to the World and the Kingdom and she then in turn pleases and delights God. When God is pleased we get His attention and can then change cities and regions with His nod.

Esther approaches the King and asks him to a banquet and the King asks her for her wishes...she never even has to hint or ask him first. When we are in communion with our King He doesn't have to coax the petition out of us, we have entered into a most holy place. But a good intercessor knows that timing is everything and while Esther did not immediately tell the King; things were being worked out behind the scenes. Esther does not strive against the evil one but her strategy is to expose Haman in the presence of the King...not just in front of others...Intercessors are aware of evil but know that how we  deal with evil is not how the King will deal with it. Amazingly enough in the story, before Esther can even tell the King what she wants the King remembers something from the past and unsettles Haman's scheme. God never forgets, does he? He has so arranged the ministry of prayer that events and promises from the past shall be recited before him. 

Without Esther lifting a finger....Haman stumbles. Blind faith is at work here....sometimes we are tempted to work things out ourselves in the natural realm but we could mess up the perfectly orchestrated supernatural set up. It actually turns into what seems like a movie out of Hollywood. Haman has to announce favor and distinction and honor to Mordecai....the man he was just planning to kill!  

Sometimes we are tempted to work things out ourselves in the natural realm but we could mess up the perfectly orchestrated supernatural set up.

The banquet comes around the Haman's plot is revealed and the King gets very angry. Meanwhile Haman begs Esther for his life. When the king returned into the room he sees Haman falling on the couch next to the Queen. It is amazing the deals that the enemy will try to strike with you when He realizes the authority that you carry. But Esther spoke with Mercy to the King always out of compassion and love and not with anger or threats. She maintained her composure....she truly was graceful and knew how to walk with a crown.

Esther and Mordecai took over every deed and every job formerly controlled by Haman in the Kingdom. The ministry of intercesseion participates in the release of Christ's authority.....Mordecai sat outside the gates in sack cloth and ashes untl Esther's intercession prevailed. 

 We need to prepare ourselves for "such a time as this". We all have a past and varied backgrounds but we have been hand picked by the King and we are royalty. He sees greatness in each of us even if we think we are insignificant and without talent. We need brave women who are willing to draw close to HIM and form themselves in a place of quiet power where His kingdom is being exalted. I desire the mantle of Esther and know that with prayer and unity and keeping our focus on HIM there isn't anything that we cannot do. 

You are Graciously Adorned!

❤Jonna

Bum, Tramp or Hobo

I learned something very interesting today from one of my patients...there is a big difference between a Hobo, Tramp & a Bum. Mind you; this man was definitely homeless and had a grocery cart full of items that he wanted to cart around the Emergency Room. His emergency was that it was cold and he was hungry. But he told the triage nurse that he was having chest pain. After working him up and he knew he was being admitted for observation he began to open up.

He said that there is a large misunderstanding on the streets regarding homes people. He says that some treat every person sleeping outside the same and that just isn't the case. This man was very interesting and I enjoyed the few hours I spent with him. Although he did eat four sandwiches and numerous cartons of milk!

He told me that Hobos travel around in different areas and towns looking for work. They carry their belongings everywhere they go and are hard workers. They just do not have a home. They are the ones that usually have fell on hard times and now can't seem to get back to normal life. 

Tramps travel all around from city to city but they don't look for work. They look for the best spots to beg for money. They are the ones that are known to steal or barter to survive. They are the tough ones that you have to really look out for. They are the people who usually are hiding from the law. They will never have an identification card on them. 

Last but not least there are Bums. Now they do not travel and they do not look for work...they just beg. They usually are ill or have some type of impairment that hinders them from traveling. These are the ones that are always hanging around. They won't steal and they won't barter. They will just ask for a handout. These are the ones that are usually addicted to alcohol or drugs. 

I asked my patient which one he was and he said: "It just depends on what day it is".  Ha. 

That is life at Ben Taub Hospital for you. 

Adjust that Crown

Jonna

Blesson

Whatever that you are in the middle of today...I'm hoping you can see the BLESSON. It's the blessing that you eventually see after going through a life lesson. The key here is expectation...having faith in God and his plan and trusting Him as you go through it knowing something great is just around the corner. When you can smile while going through the worst time of your life is the greatest testimony of Christ you can ever have.

"26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Romans 8:26-28 The Message

I'm not talking about being fake and I am definitely not talking about being afraid to speak about your circumstances because "they might just come to pass". I am talking about the still, quiet spirit of peace that comes when you know your God has got your back and He will equip you and sustain you and give you the strength to do just what His words says you can do. Bring on the Blessons!



Adjust that Crown,


Jonna

What a friend we have in Jesus

Friendships can be SOOOOO very complicated because after all; we are just human beings and can't help but be imperfect and emotionally unsteady at times. Nonetheless, there is someone I know who can be the perfect friend even when I stink at it and forget to talk, listen or even think about him; he doesn't snub me or talk down to me...He is always there forgiving me and understanding.

Jesus is faithful, so kind, and loving. He sees us just as we are and loves us despite the flaws. When it seems everyone else is busy it is so good to know that I can call on him. There is freedom in knowing that there is nothing I can do to cause Jesus to want to halt our relationship. His Word assures me of that! Jesus has loved me with an everlasting love that is not dependent on my employment, my financial status, my outer beauty, my sense of humor, my behavior or performance. Even when my circumstances change, Jesus remains faithful, true, and constant. Never too busy for one of his own, he talks to me, imparts wisdom and is always glad to hear my voice. He is the best friend anyone could ever have.

13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.          John 15:13-15

What a friend we have in Jesus! Oh, that we would be more like Him in our own friendships. Selah! Now THAT is something that I need to work on...



Adjust that Crown!

Jonna
















Jonna

I want to be called GOOD!

I have always loved the story about the Good Samaritan and it has made me always want to be the person that helps. How in the world can someone be hurt and beat up on the side of the road and people not help them? Luke 10:25-37 tells the story about a Samaritan, Priest and a Levite who saw a person in need. The only difference in their perspectives was the fact that one chose to stoop while the others only stopped, looked

and then went on their way.

Now if someone is in the ditch and you are walking down the road; surely you are going to see them and stop to assess the situation. Then depending on what your schedule or day is like; you will determine just how involved you are going to get. Now I know that ALL of us has done this sometime or another. We have thought about helping someone and then dismissed it because it sounded way to energy-consuming and we just didn't have "time for that". Helping people can be really hard work and it may take you way beyond your comfort zone and cause you to have to cancel some plans and reschedule some rest or spend some money or even share a meal.

I think that the priest and the levite didn't want any "interruptions" to their day and I think that they stopped but talked through it and decided to walk on. Possibly their schedule was so full that they couldn't be late or that they thought the situation was way beyond what they thought they could handle. Many times we ask God to give us opportunities to serve and minister but when presented we doubt our capabilities or we aren't sure what to say or do and end of kicking ourselves later because of the wasted opportunity.

Each of these men had the same ability to help out but only one made the effort. You don't hear the story told in the Bible as the "Good Priest" or the "Good Levite"...but you see the title that we have given to the Samaritan as "Good". The Samaritan not only stopped but went "over to him" and stooped down and bandaged him, picked him up and carried him to a ride, to food, to shelter and to restoration. He not only gave of his time but also gave of his treasure.

Jesus sacrificed much for us and he stopped when he saw us in great need and went WAY out of his way toward us, he stooped under a cross and carried it far to provide for our every need and gave us a way to restoration. May we never forget that we were once in the ditch with no hope but someone saved us so that we would go into the highways and byways and do the same for others. Because one day what will matter most to us all is when God says, "well done my GOOD and faithful servant." Now that is something to think about.

Adjust that Crown!

Jonna

SPAM!

What images do you get when you hear the word, Spam? I tend to think of the "loaf of mystery meat" that is packaged in a can that you have stored away somewhere in case of a nuclear war or something. Also spam is a word used for "junk mail" that comes from an outside source without your consent. I have to sift through what is legitamate or not everytime I check my email! I didn't ask for these people to send me anything and how did they get my email address anyway? And let us not get on the subject of the pop up ads.....

Persistent distractions are something that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Just like going through my email I have to be diligent to "unsubscribe" to the things that I don't want to be a part of. I have to change my settings on my computer to make sure that these unwanted and pesky ads do not just "jump out" unwelcome, unwanted and uncensored. My Firewall has to be updated periodically to protect me from new security threats, bugs and viruses that can harm my computer or allow someone to steal identity and personal information that is vital and important to me.

Firewall defined: a system that isolates another in order to prevent unauthorized access.
Like our computers, our firewalls of Faith need a little diagnostic tune up. Of course that doesn't mean we need to be reading the bible for hours at a time. Focusing daily on a scripture, reading a devotional, a moment of quiet prayer or singing your favorite praise song can do a lot of good to adjust your attitude "settings." Daily firewall tune ups are the true secret weapons to winning our everyday battles. 

 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

The enemies pesky spam will try to trip you up, tug on your broken heart or even poke at your deepest insecurity. But we have something that he lacks and it is a firewall of Faith. In fact, our firewall is his Kryptonite. God will protect whom he loves from the unwanted, unwelcome and uncensored if we let Him.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble and deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:14-15

Adjust that Crown, 

Jonna

Goodness and Mercy

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." This is a fact as indisputable as it is encouraging, and therefore a heavenly verily, or "surely" is set as a seal upon it. This sentence may be read, "only goodness and mercy," for there shall be unmingled mercy in our history. These twin guardian angels will always be with me at my back and my beck. Just as when great princes go abroad they must not go unattended, so it is with the believer. Goodness and mercy follow him always "all the days of his life" the black days as well as the bright days, the days of fasting as well as the days of feasting, the dreary days of winter as well as the bright days of summer. Goodness supplies our needs, and mercy blots out our sins. "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." "A servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the son abideth ever." While I am here I will be a child at home with my God; the whole world shall be his house to me; and when I ascend into the upper chamber, I shall not change my company, nor even change the house; I shall only go to dwell in the upper storey of the house of the Lord for ever." 

 ---Charles Spurgeon regarding Psalms 23

Wow...need I say more? I so love the insight of Charles Spurgeon and love to see his thoughts on various topics and scriptures especially regarding the Psalms. I remember as a child we had a painting of two small children in the dark walking and the atmosphere looked scary and bleak but in the background was a angel with her wings spread out like a mother hen would be protecting her chicks. I always loved to look at that picture and smile. So many times in life we find ourselves in precarious situations and we "feel" so lonely but if only our physical eyes would be opened to what was truly going on in the spiritual world...we would FREAK out.

In this scripture of Psalms 23:6 I so claim the thought of two constant companions...goodness and mercy. If these two are following me all the days of my life...how can I go wrong? I want  the Goodness and the Mercy of God to always be at my "back and my beck". Now I had to look up "beck" and I was thinking it meant the "front" of me but actually it means to be "at my beck and call...at my summoning or beckoning". WOW.  I got excited! So goodness and mercy is just a call away! Not only will they make sure that goodness and mercy is backing me up in all I do but that if I find myself in a quandry needing some help that it is just a call away! Also the word "follow" in Hebrew means to 'pursue as if a hunter tracks his pray'.....this furthers that thought process that we are NEVER EVER going to get very far from HIM...he will always know where we are at! 

Just as royalty is never in a situation "unattended" we the children of the King have protectors who look after us. They make sure that we are safe and experience favor as well as have access to any resource that we need. We have the 'seal' of "surely" that I picture as a big ball of wax that is finalized with a stamping of a ring of royalty...representing an order or a final order! We aren't just inhabitants of a house but we are going to live in the upper chambers of a palace where we DWELL forever as only kings/queens or prince/princess live....peasants and servants would abide in the basement/dungeon areas. 

Short prayer: Father, thank you for forgiving me of my sins and giving me goodness and mercy with a new batch available every morning! Thank you for dying in my place to give me eternal life. Help me to show goodness and mercy to everyone I know and meet and to freely give it away just as it has been given to me. I want to live a life of obedience that makes you smile. Thank you for never giving up on me and having so much confidence in who I am that you have already prepared a place for me. I love you and thank you for the opportunity to represent you.  In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen. 


Adjust that Crown!

Jonna

It's ALL about JESUS

One Sunday morning Praise and Worship started up and it was one of my favorite songs....ahhhhh....I am not a great singer at all but I LOVE to sing and especially a GREAT Song! As the song started I heard a very odd sound and I turned a little towards what I thought was the origin but didn't see anything odd. But I continued to hear a very weird-pitched moaning sound and I turned around again to look for the child who was horribly hurt or the animal that was surely dying and then I realized....it was the man directly behind me that I had never seen before! He had his eyes closed and mouth WIDE open showing every tooth and was singing soooooo  LOUD that I couldn't even hear myself. I thought, "My God. Someone stop this madness! The Bible says to make a joyful noise but this is just torture!"

I know that this sounds very selfish. But I couldn't sing at all. All I could think about was this man who had the worst voice that I have EVER heard in my entire life. Surely he could hear himself and know that he was keeping people from entering into worship, right? I mean, the entire song was destroyed and to make matters worse...it was my favorite Jesus Culture song. I even nudged Don, who seemed unphased from the major distraction and he looked at me strangely and shook his head as if to say that he didn't hear it. UGH. I tried to close my eyes and focus on the rest of the worship service but to no avail. My entire head was filled with the man whose voice should be in the Guinness World record book!

Finally worship was over and my ears were ringing and I actually had a headache from the event! But while Don was preaching someone walked up and handed me a note; it was a scrawling hand-written note that was barely legible and in short said,

"Please pray for me. I am going through some stuff. I have had thoughts of not wanting to live. My family and I are are not doing well and my wife has left me and I haven't been able to see my children. Today is hard for me since it is Father's Day and I don't feel like a good dad. I really enjoyed praise and worship at Mercy Gate. It encouraged me more than anything that God loves me and that is really all I needed today. Thank you, _____" 

After getting that note I texted the person who handed it to me and asked who it was from and their response shocked me, "it was from some guy who was sitting right behind you this morning." I quickly texted the person back to find him; after turning to see that he was gone, but they said that he already had left. My heart sank and I felt a cold sweat form on my forehead and for the rest of the service I was in a different world. I just remember looking at Don while he preached and only registering his mouth moving as he spoke but I did not hear a thing.  All I could think about was my horrible selfishness earlier that morning while a person was hurting within my arms reach on the second row of this great church.

Wow...did conviction hit my heart! We forget that it isn't about the music, the words or what our worship even sounds like. It isn't for us at all...it is about our Creator. James 4:6, 10 tells us,"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up". Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action and if our minds aren't in that mode then we aren't truly worshipping. We have to get rid of the distractions that WE allow to enter our heads and FOCUS only on Him...that is true worship. We all have different kinds of distractions and everyone's worship looks and sounds so differently. But Frank worshipped that morning with all his being and made a connection with his God and I believe that he came to our church that one Sunday just to teach ME a lesson. (side note: You see...you can be the Pastor's wife of a great church, the Leader of the Year or the seemingly most devout Christian but daily we ALL have issues that need to be dealt with. You just have to be real enough to admit them so other's can learn.)

Short prayer: "God forgive me of my proud attitudes and thoughts. It truly is all about you. Thank you for not giving up on me despite my selfish preferences and opinions. Help my eyes to be open to others and their needs and to have compassion and act in love despite my own comfort. Please continue to create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Because Father this church thing is really just ALL about you and what you are doing in OTHER'S lives through me."



Don't Judge Meeeeee... Adjust YOUR Crown :))


Jonna

*Lessons from a Pimple

Have you ever had a pimple or blemish on your face and you felt like it was as big as a golf ball? You are so self-conscious about it that everyone you have conversation with you either point it out or draw attention to it inadvertantly by trying to cover it up with your hair or your hand? Ha. Okaaaay.....I am the ONLY vain one! It is really a funny thing how we perceive things sometimes.

One day at work I felt so self conscious about a zit. I had "took care" of before work and could hardly believe that a 43 year old could still break out on a regular basis. UGH. But while I worked I could feel pain and a throbbing sensation on my face and I knew that it was "growing". I was working the trauma area in the emergency room and was no where near a mirror and no time to take a bathroom break!  I would periodically touch it and it felt so huge and I began to visualize in my mind this pulsating and disgusting growth that surely everyone was talking about! I pointed it out to my co-worker and she said, "what blemish? I don't see one. Just a red mark." I was astounded that she would just blatently say that just to be nice and not be HONEST with me when I knew that she had to be mortified to be working next to someone who needed to go fix her face.

Finally I was able to take a break and made a mad dash to the mirror. I was SO shocked when what I saw was not a white mountainous pimple of disgust but rather a flat red bump that actually didn't look bad at all! I couldn't believe it! It felt, according to my finger SO very large and I just couldn't understand it. I laughed out loud at myself and about how silly I had been to have worried while I talked to doctors, patients and other staff about urgent matters of life or death while wondering secretly what they might of thought of my blemish and I even thought their eyes had wandered to where it was; when in reality...there was nothing there! How dumb!

My how we "feel" things sometimes and it is just a big distraction. We stress about little things that people may think about and for what? It is a big waste of time and resources. Sometimes we let our feelings blow things out of proportion and it effects our relationships and the way that we feel about ourselves. We perceive that people are talking or looking at us when in fact that is the farthest things from their minds. Our emotions can wreck us. It can get us so side tracked that we miss that someone is needing us or that God is directing us or opening a door for us but we are so consumed with this "thought of ourselves" that we are not able to actually SEE what is truly going on with anyone else.

 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”     2 Cor 10:5

Don't let silliness get in the way of you being who you are called to be. Get your focus off yourself and what your not or what you think you should be. Maybe it is in our imperfections that He wants to use us the most...because that is when we have to rely on Him more and not lean on our own abilities. 

Short prayer: "God please...I have learned my lesson...no more emotional zit moments for me! I pray that everyday I take my eyes off of SELF and put it where it should be...ON YOU and the people you set in my path. Amen." 

You Are Graciously Adorned!

❤Jonna