Kayden Charles Elliott

PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE PRAYER WARRIORS!!!

My sister had a beautiful baby boy 19 days ago, 6lbs 9oz little champ named Kayden Elliott, he is her 2nd child and joined an adorable 3 year old sister Karlee.

Last night my sister had to take him to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis, what we thought was a heart murmur, turns out to be now as VSD. Ventricular Septal Defect. A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a heart malformation present at birth. Any condition that is present at birth can also be termed a "congenital" condition. A VSD, therefore, is a type of congenital heart disease (CHD). The heart with a VSD has a hole in the wall (the septum) between its two lower chambers (the ventricles).

Right now the doctors have decided not to do surgery but to let the medication work through IV’s to try to close this hole in his heart. If his heart does fail then surgery will be an immediate need. But if the medication does work they will still be looking at surgery, just later down the road 5-6 months from now. It’s easier to operate on a bigger healthy baby I’m sure than a 19 day old baby. I still do not have all the details but I do know that they will be in hospital for the next week so would you please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We want a full recovery and a healthy baby boy to return home. They have to be in the hospital for a week for him to be watched closely as this medicines trys to take effect for his heart to remain working and not to fail.

Please think of my sister and my family when you pray and have quiet times this week. God is good and faithful. This will be a time of stretching for me and my family but through it God may have the glory. In every instance there is always good that comes out of bad.

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus (which was for our victory), that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."2 Corinthians 4:10-11

Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."

"Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."Mark 11:24

Thank you to everyone for your prayers I will keep you posted as changes are made.

What is a True Disciple?

Hey there all i just first off wanna say hi to all of you. So i found this video of a clip from a sermon from a guy overseas and it really moved me. The things that i take so for granted, and the things that i am. And how there is a God who just wants me to worship him with everything i have, leaving everything else behind. So i really wanted to share the message with you guys so i typed it bless you all and may God change our lives never leaving us the same. May we come to realize that he is our very sustenance. We have a special stewardship from God..We must be holy. It wont take just five minutes..it will take our whole lives..and all of it. Love you all my brothers and sisters!!!

What is a True Disciple?
“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Mark 8:34) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it. What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? When you read the New Testament, you see that when people received Jesus, there was a cost; there was a price that had to be paid; there was a walk, which would be painful, requiring death to the flesh. But this is a necessary process. It is a hard way, it is a narrow way, and it is a way, which will lead to persecution for those who desire to live in the fear of the Lord. It involves death to the self. But it is a death, which is a sign of your love for God. We want to receive Him, but we don't want to give to Him. We want to enjoy Him, but we don’t want to suffer for Him. The spirit is dwelling among us. We want to come and receive, but we don't want to come and lay down our lives and sacrifice ourselves. And when it comes to the hard way, where you are to pay a price, where you are to sweat a little, bleed a little, then you run away. You desire not. God is calling on a generation, who will suffer, who will bleed, and who will walk all the way. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"(Mark 8:36) What good does it do for you to receive all these things? What good does it do for you to attain all this esteem and all this so called success? What good does it do, if you end up losing your life? Compared to the life which is coming- if you win it- the life which is now is of no value...Compared to the life, which is coming. It’s of no value. It is therefore a deadly poison, when the church replaces the Cross of Christ with seven steps to a better life. I want to give you just one step tonight: Die, Die to yourself! Lay down what is of yourself. Christ is calling you to be a follower of Him.. Someone who will give it all. Someone who will say: it’s not about me; it’s about your name. It's about your name being glorified and exalted through my life, no matter what it may cost me. Being a disciple if Christ means that everything in our lives reflects a perspective of eternity. Everything in our lives reflects the perspective that there is a life which is coming after this life. And we are motivated by this life. The only hope we have with regards to eternity, is what happened 2000 years ago, when He hung on that tree, naked and humiliated, beaten and bleeding. Dear friends, there are great consequences for not having this perspective. There are great consequences for saying: well, I'm just living my own life, and I want to live it in a way that makes me feel good. There are great consequences for not understanding what this is all about. Not having a strong, daily awareness about living for Christ and understanding what He did for us on that cross. The cross of Christ should be the very foundation of our lives; our all consuming passion and motivation- That which drives us; the very power, which causes us to live. If you desire to be a disciple of Christ, you must have the power of the Gospel in your life every day of your life. You must be aware of what Christ did 2000 years ago. Not just the story you heard back then, when you received Jesus. But it is something which is alive to you- where it is so real to you it's as if He died yesterday. And it moves you just as much as if He had. It must move us every single day. It must be a living reality to us every single day. This is where the power is. The power is in the Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God for those who believe. It is a power, which causes your heart and your thoughts to be drawn towards eternity, rather than the things of this world. The Gospel is the power of God for those who believe. This means, it is God's power for us as Christians, because by definition, we are those who believe. The Gospel is God's power for us every day of our lives. And as followers of Christ, this power must be working in us, so that we can keep our hearts and minds focuses on that day when we will stand before Him. "For consider him", says Hebrews 12:3, "that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Consider Him! Keep your focus on him. Let it be Christ in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening, and all through the night. Is He everything to you? Does He fill your thoughts? Does He fill your heart?

First of all, I want to say that I am so excited about this blog. I have been wanting a way to stay connected with you Mexicoan people. I love to know what's going on in your lives so that I know how to pray for you. I also love it that I can share what's going on in my life so that you know how to pray for me. It's so awesome!

God has really been working on my a lot lately. He has been talking to me about the way I see things. Most of the time I see things through my fleshly eyes. When I look at people, it's normally through my flesh and I end up judging them when I really don't know what's going on in their lives. When I look at sin in my life and in the lives of others, I see it though my flesh and I end up making my sin look pretty good and everyone else's sin look terrible. When I look at God, I see him through the flesh and, depending on how I feel that day, He may look like a demanding master or a father who looks the other way when his child does something wrong or even a "wizard of oz." Another way that my flesh gets in the way is when I think about lost souls. I tend to forget that hell exists and just let those lost souls wallow in their muck.

The amazing thing is when God helps me to take off those flesh glasses and put on His Spirit glasses, my whole life begins to change. This is why I have to walk according to the Spirit every minute of every hour of every day. God longs to pour out His annointing on us because when He does, we change. We love Him more. We love our family more. We love our friends more. We love our enemies more. We see why sin is so bad and we see why God is so good. He begins to mold us and shape us into something new. When we see through our flesh glasses our vessel begins to crack. We are no longer useful vessels. But when He starts to mold and shape us, He makes us useful again.

"But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8

Master of Breakthroughs

Here's a summary of the message Pastor gave at Hideout on Sunday night...

Title: Master of Breakthroughs
Primary Verses: II Samuel 5:17-25

In this passage David had just been anointed as King over Israel. The Philistines heard of it and planned to come find him and kill him. When David gets word of this, he makes his way to a stronghold. Stronghold in this instance does not hold a the negative connotation that we might be used to thinking of from its usage in 2 Corinthians 10:4. Instead, the stronghold is as place of safety, protection, prayer, and close time with God (Psalm 57:1-3, Isaiah 26:20).

The Philistines come to the Valley of Rephaim to look for David. (verse 18)
(literal translation of Rephaim = band of giants uniting; energy)

When in this stronghold, David inquires of the Lord what he is supposed to do with this situation.(verse 19) While he was just crowned king, David does not assume that his own authority is the answer and turns to God for guidance and help. He is not presumptuous, but rather humbles himself before God and realizes his need for Him. Pastor emphasized that prayer is KEY - it is important for our flesh to resist the desire to do things on our own, and to submit to the Lord and inquire of Him what His will may be in situations in our lives. As David inquired to the Lord about the Philistines, the Lord promised to deliver them into David's hands. Then comes verse 20:
"So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim."

Literal translations: Baal = "master", Perazim = "breakthrough"

Because of David's humility and going to the stronghold, the Lord brought a breakthrough and victory from enemies seeking to harm David and his army! From this we can glean that God desires us to spend time with him in prayer, to seek Him, and as we do that God will bring victory in our lives and there will be breakthroughs! God is near to those with a broken spirit in a contrite heart (Psalm 34:18) and loves when we will humble ourselves and come to him.

Next verse - 21 "And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away."

While they enjoyed victory, they did not keep the idols for themselves but got rid of them. Sometimes when we have victory in a certain area, we have to be careful not to focus back on ourselves. It's important to keep close to the prayer closet. With victory there can be the temptation to minimize or not be as fervent in the prayer closet because we don't feel the need as heavily as when we were faced with our enemy. We WILL face the enemy again! We should use the victories as an even further motivation to stick close to God, remain humble, and not trust in our own strength. Give all glory to God!

Verse 22 - The Philistines come back again! In verse 23, David once again inquires of the Lord. He doesn't assume that just because God brought victory that the same thing will happen again. God rarely does the same thing twice. :) This time God speaks to David again, giving him very specific, different instructions on how to attack the Philistines. David obeys the instruction of the Lord again and victory is won.

We can learn again not to assume that just because we've had victories in other areas, or even in the same area, that we can do it on our own the second time around. Perhaps God has specific instructions to give us in order to bring us to victory! We can only know this if we stay fervent in prayer and go often to the "stronghold".

Also...if we are struggling in any area - seek God in prayer! Inquire of him. Know that He is the Master of Breakthroughs and can bring victory as we humble ourselves and seek Him fervently.

Pastor also gave 4 key things to remember when it comes to breakthroughs and victories:

1. Keep in contact with God (Psalm 109:1-4)
2. Exaltation brings new attacks. "Greater levels bring different devils."
3. It is God who treads down our enemies.
4. There are always more Philistines!

Casting down everything thought......

Greetings and God Bless you all. For those of you who do not know my testimony I haven't had the easiest life, but then again who has.....I wont go into the whole ordeal or even certain events that has lead me into a constant battle I seem to come to more times than not. But I will say that past sin and even present sin has me up at night, has me distracted, has me out of focus and has me stressed and just weary at times. I have been leaning on Psalm 25 for a good part of a year now. I quote it, I pray it, I read it, I sing it, I say it, I breathe it. If I could roll it up in a blanket and sleep with it I probably would at this point.!! :) "To you O Lord I lift up my soul, O my God I trust in you" That very verse is enough for me to just feel my need for him, "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths" I want to know God's ways and forget my own. My struggle is that with full intention and zeal and thrill and passion and excitement and love for God, I am in a battle of the mind. Not a condemned battle that I believe that I am not who God says I am but I have memories, flash backs, mind scars I would call them, that I just cant shake, and through prayer and the word I deal, but this is not an easy thing to live with especially when you feel as though these times have come and gone and had plenty of time to heal, mend, get over etc. But at last I am still burdened by the thoughts and distractions of past sins, I picture events, hear words, go through different times. I know that the Lord is faithful, but I am not. I am but dust and am still being molded and shaped by God.

"Casting down imaginations, and ever high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

My prayer request would be for define intervention spiritually, that my thoughts would become his and not my own, that I wouldn't admit defeat when my mind has wondered all day but instead pick up my cross and continue on, "Jesus is my model and my example by which my soul and body shall crawl for my weak legs to stand up and stand firm in the wonders that is him"-Deena.

Thank you all for your prayers and you encouragement, Love you all!! Have an awesome week!!!!!! :)

11.14.08 Thrive Recap

So I didn't really have a title for what I shared on Friday...like I told everyone who was there, I actually had something else in mind to share but then felt the Lord prompted me to share this (something he had worked on in me the week prior, personally). I had shared with the group that I felt I just needed to be real and share what I was experiencing. Here's the gist:

Last week I was going through some tough things, and while I felt the Lord had really sustained me thus far, I was starting to slip a little. I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling...basically it happens when you hit a dilemma, and work really hard to give it over to God and trust Him with it...so things are good - like sittin on a fluffy cloud, not able to feel one bit of the turbulence. THEN here it comes like a thud in your stomach - DOUBT...insecurity..worry...lots of ways to put it but basically taking it on again instead of committing it to the Lord and trusting Him. There I go, the fluffy cloud gives way and I'm swirling around in the turbulence again. Yep, so that was me last Wednesday. I took my lunch hour to read my Bible and pray, knowing I really needed to take some time to talk to God. During this time I was kinda upset so I asked God to give me just a little tidbit to help get me through...I don't know what I wanted, just something!! I felt God prompt me to go to Psalm 31. Great Psalm, very encouraging. It talks about God being our fortress and rock, and pulling us out of the net. This was good! I could feel my spirit starting to lift, then in verse 5 the words jumped out at me, "Into your hand I commit my spirit...". Most of you probably know where this took me...Jesus quoted these words as he breathed his last breath and died on the Cross. So flipped over to Luke 23:46 (no, I didn't automatically know where it was, I had to look it up :) ) and read that account of Jesus' death. Suddenly, it clicked! God just began to show me that through this time of affliction that I (and others) were experiencing, I was getting a glimpse of what Christ did for us as Paul says in Phil 3:8-10 ...

"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ; the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

At this point I started to weep, just thanking the Lord for what He had done for me and for us! This really put things into perspective for me...that as I "commit my spirit (or whatever I'm dealing with) into His hands" and take part in the "fellowship of His sufferings"...life and resurrection would come from it! That it would no longer be me that lives, but Christ who lives in me! Galatians 2:20 sums it up pretty well -

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

I began to see that though these afflictions and trials are real and hurtful, I can rejoice in the fact that not only am I getting just a taste of the humiliation and pain that Jesus experience, but ALSO my own flesh is going through a crucifixion! As I am crucified with Christ and the flesh is cast away, the resurrection life of Jesus takes its place as I place my faith in Him and wow is that empowering! For me, the flesh in this instance is the need for control, the need to understand, to have resolution. As I die to those things, I am liberated to walk forth in the power of Jesus Christ because of the blood shed for me on the Cross! Not because of my own merit, but because it is by grace we are saved through faith! That faith is so key....we are reminded in Romans 4 that Abraham was counted as righteous not because of what he did, but because of his faith! I want that kind of faith! To have that kind of faith is to continue to trust God through the painful times of personal crucifixion, or dying to the flesh...knowing and having faith that there WILL be resurrection and life abundant as a result! Wow. I needed to hear that desperately. It seems like such an elementary truth, but it was living water to a thirsty soul last week. I looked up the Greek meaning of "commit" in these verses, and one of the definitions said "like food placed on a table". I thought that was cool, it reminded me of when I used to be a waitress at good 'ole Cracker Barrel. When I served a plate of food to a customer, I would never consider coming back while they were in the middle of their meal, and taking the plate of food away from them so that I could eat it myself. That would be crazy! I would've been fired! How many times do I do that with God? Hmm...just some "food" for thought...hehe :)

Let me share one last thing that during that time the Lord really used to put the bow on the package last week. God is so good like that, by the way!! The whole "personal crucifixion" idea is not exactly the most pleasant thing to thing about, because it obviously involves pain. Of course we know that it brings a good end, but it is also tough! But God is so good to give us hope and encouragement to help our poor little minds swallow it! Anyway...back on track. In reading Luke 23:46...the next verse (47) smacked me in the face - in a good way - and gave me just the little spark I needed to start running the race again. Verse 47 -

"So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"

WOW. Do you see that?? This centurion is a Roman soldier, quite possibly an unsaved pagan who didn't really understand what was going on. But as he witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and heard His words "into your hand I commit my Spirit"...he ended up praising God!! He suddenly got it - he realized the truth!! I tell you what, THAT is a miracle. And the resurrection hadn't even occurred yet. What this tells me is that as people see us dealing with the trials and difficult times in our life, and see us committing it to the Lord, trusting Him and keeping our chin up, God WILL be glorified! As we allow our flesh to be crucified, keep the faith, and contintually commit things to the Lord, miracles happen! We can also know that life and resurrection WILL occur as we crucify our flesh and through faith allow the Spirit to move in our lives. People are looking for that realness...for people who deal with real, everyday trials and tribulations and yet still are able to have hope, peace, and joy in the midst of it, and come out on the other side victorious.

Needless to say, that put a lil wind in my sails. :) Praise Jesus! Thank you God, You are indeed Mighty to save! May we continue to commit everything in our lives to You, holding fast to our faith...and stand back to see You glorified and move mightily!