The Joy Has Returned

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . .

I was feeling out of sorts. Exhausted, but worse. No sense of life. No desire to do anything. Just felt dead inside, like my life had come to a halt.

When thinking about something I might want to engage in, I kept saying things like, “I don’t know” and “I don’t care.” As someone who had always loved writing and teaching, I heard myself saying, “I have nothing more to say. There’s nothing I can or want to write or teach anyone. I’m done.”

I thought my recent vacation would help — and it did alleviate my exhaustion. But it didn’t change my lethargy, my lack of desire to do anything more with my life. When I returned home from my wonderful vacation time, I felt refreshed for sure. But inside, my pulse was still silent.

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A New Heart Life

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . . 

Friday night, I typed a medical transcription about heart health. I even looked at pictures of a heart to help me get the words right. If you don’t know the path I’ve been tiptoeing down, this might not seem like a big deal. Trust me, it is. A week ago, I could not have done any of that. This was a huge breakthrough beyond anything I could have expected. It came from the healing work God did in my own heart five days earlier.

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Cindy’s Story

A guest post by Cindy Caldwell . . .

I was the firstborn in my family of four children. My parents believed in God. My mother grew up going to a Baptist church. I am not sure if my dad went to church growing up. When I was a small child, they took us to a Baptist church where we heard about Jesus. God was not talked about in the home, and I don’t remember my parents praying with me or reading the Bible. The mindset in those days seemed to be that spiritual teaching came from the church. It was more of something you believed with your mind, rather than a personal relationship with God.

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Restoring Ground

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . .

Years ago, because of fear, confusion, and lack of wisdom, I made decisions that still have a profound effect on my life. I allowed myself to be a doormat, and the enemy took advantage. I’m still living with the consequences.

I’ve been through a lot of healing, repentance, forgiveness. I started on a journey to walk free of fear, and while I’m still in progress, I’ve come a long way. I have less fear, more wisdom, and I’m discovering that I don’t need to be a doormat. That’s not my true identity. It’s not who God created me to be.

But what about those consequences. Would I ever get free of those? Do I get a year of jubilee?

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Fragrance Restored by God

Inner Healing Testimony

A guest post by Karen Castleberry . . .

The unhealed parts of our hearts do affect people around us. I didn’t really believe that statement fully until this past spring when a potential tragedy occurred at my workplace. I am an administrative assistant at a school with 400 students and 60 employees.

The bell rang to start the school day when a teacher rushed up to the front desk and said with alarm, “I smell gas, do you?” The receptionist called the Principals to the area who smelled gas too, so they immediately evacuated the building. A gas leak was discovered in the pipes in the ceiling of our building. Due to a teacher’s sense of smell, a tragedy was averted. That day helped me to realize the importance of being able to smell.

I had lost my sense of smell 24 years ago during the birth of my son. Or so I had thought.

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A Child’s Grief Story

A guest post by Susan McPherson . . .

Our eight-week grief support class has come to an end. I’m going to miss these ladies. It was such a privilege to be a small part of their grief journey.

Our grief group has been open and vulnerable about where they are in their grief journey. As we have learned (through the book Understanding Your Grief by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.), you have to feel to heal. Grief is on the inside, and mourning is grief on the outside.

We also learned some healthy ways to mourn: crying, journaling, painting, and talking about your pain and grief, sharing your story.

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What I Wish I Had Known about Yoga

A guest post by Susan McPherson . . .

Several years ago, my head began shaking. When I would look down to read something, it was more pronounced. My children, family, and friends gradually began commenting, so it was getting more noticeable.

I went to a prayer ministry session during this time, and the minister saw a snake (spiritually) circling up my spine. The prayer minister knew that yoga could cause this, resulting in nervous system disorders and worse. I had been doing yoga for about two years. My situation had only gotten to head shaking. I repented of it (never to do yoga again!) and closed doors, and my head stopped shaking. So that’s how I know firsthand how dangerous this is.

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Honoring the Sacrifice of Fellowship

I had someone contact me this week to interpret a dream.  Basically, she had a dream she was in college.  The next thing she heard was Leviticus 3 and 4.  The highlight of these scriptures is “… sacrifice of fellowship offerings …”

What an incredibly interesting God we serve! And He never ceases to amaze me with the way He plays with words, symbolism, and His unexpected sense of humor.

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Dedicating Your Home and Land to God

Here is a testimony regarding sin/curses passing with the land and the beautiful process of consecrating your land to release the blessings.

When my husband and I moved to our property 22 years ago, almost immediately, we started ending every argument with the word “divorce.” Strangely enough, we had never used that word prior to moving to Dahlonega. Before long, we began to feel that divorce was our only answer. Thankfully, we both turned to God for direction. The Lord prompted us to repent for any sin/trespasses that had occurred on our property. (Not only ours, but also with anybody that had owned the land before us.) We followed the processes of consecration, pouring new wine, oil, new grain into our land, planted a Bible, and took communion as a family.

We later discovered that every time our land had been sold, it was because of broken relationships. The curse of broken covenant had passed with our land, and we were starting to reap the fruit of it. That took place 22 years ago, and the word “divorce” has not been a go-to for us any longer. As a matter of fact, we have lived safe, peaceful, blessed lives on our land. As well, others who visit have commented about how quiet and peaceful our home and land are. Continue reading “Dedicating Your Home and Land to God”