Welcome to...
THE JOURNEY LIST!
They say every journey begins with a single step. Well, I guess I've been stepping a while, since I was born in 1951.
My Spiritual journey came as a child when unexpected visitations from God would come. God has a way of just opening your soul and making His Presence known! I didn't really understand it or why He would even talk to me. When I shared with others, they did not seem to really understand. It's not that they didn't believe in God, He just was not arresting their souls like He was mine!
Since I was just a kid, I just enjoyed Him and talked to Him. I didn't really even have praying relatives that I knew anything about, not of the Pentecostal type for sure, but obviously somewhere someone was praying. I have heard of intercessors for people like that and they meet them years later.
Later I would have dreams. Then in my youth and early 20's, as I would see needs, including my own, I would be burdened for the times. I knew things could be better for people and I knew they needed help. All this made me very hungry to understand but there would still be years before I did.
All I knew was that He was developing the relationship at different times and making me aware of things. I would feel very bold with my views. I didn't realize what the demands were, so I just went on living my life because that was all I knew. When totally broken after a divorce in 1974, He began His supernatural ministry to me from outside the walls of my kind, but not demanding, Methodist Church.
Supernaturally He gave me the message of the baby eagles learning how to fly. It was a terrifying time but somehow I knew it was the only way and that He was in it and that He was speaking to me of having faith for impossible things. I felt I had totally failed at life and He was saying it was only just beginning.
MUCH has happened since that day. I have to say that I did get a good foundation there in the Methodist Church in many things and much of the things I learned are still key and solid issues today about the Love of God. What was missing in the messages I heard was that God was really holding us accountable for certain things in lifestyles. That was a new concept. I had been taught freedom but not structure as much as I needed it.
I always knew we had choices, but I thought they were all mine. Some of the serious problems I had were because I didn't know any better. We just did the best we could. Both my parents worked and so a lot of their efforts went more into their jobs.
I know that in some churches the burden of missing it is so strong that people are heavily laden with guilt and are overwhelmed with fear. I didn't have that! And I am glad. I am not legalistic. But I did feel that there were many things that I had to learn the hard way and the consequences were hard.
But yet, I knew there was a God who had an interest in human hearts and events and even me. In my early days, because of all that, I had a prophetic voice but didn't have a clue that is what it was. I just knew I was inspired and had the ability to speak for Him at times because He was speaking to me. And others just thought I was strange but friendly. (It's still like that somewhat! Smile...)
But I knew that things were not all right in the world but that God wanted them better and He wanted other people to know. When other ministries began speaking into my life, my whole outlook changed. I praise God for Christian television.
Suddenly I realized there was such a thing as a ministry that I could do and I was beginning to understand that I was called to it. But I didn't have a clue how to go about it. Of course I went through all the "Who me? Why me?" conversations, but my hunger led me to seek Him more.
Finally through a college group Christian gathering called "The Open Door" in Huntsville, Texas, that was so sweet and had the most incredible worship, I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1976. It changed my whole life. Shortly after that I had a Visitation from the Voice of the Lord that was my calling. He spoke to me audibly, "I have called you to be a prophet from the west to the east. You will go to many nations and do all I command you to do. You will speak what I tell you to speak and you do what I will tell you to do. I have hidden you in the hollow of My Hand," and He gave me the verses of Jeremiah 1:9-10 and Isaiah 51:16.
I was clueless. I didn't know what a prophet really was. I just knew they spoke and got killed for it. It scared me. I tried to beg off and He said with a frightening power, "You will serve Me or you won't!" I said, "Lord, you will have to confirm this to me." (I had heard about the men in white coats who will come and take you away. Somedays I still wonder how far away the are, ha ha! Claiming to be a prophet was not cool in those days, not in my circles!)
I knew enough (which had to be inspiration from God) to get into the Bible and read everything there was about prophets. It was invaluable teaching because later ministers would tell me how prophets were and it did not always line up with Scriptures! I also said to Him that I wanted at least two witnesses that this was Him. (In those days I did not even know that Scripture.)
After several years of devoted living, the witnesses came through a dream someone had and the other was words of prophecy. But in the meantime I had prepared myself through study and prayer. You just can't have a worthy gift without the preparation. Some of my start was rocky, but more and more things came together. Half of my battle was believing it, the other half was learning what and how to do it. A ministry is about helping others, not making a name for yourself. God had put His fear in me. And thankfully, there were a few others saw a gift that even I didn't and they encouraged and supported me. And today this ministry has gone to many nations.
But still I have to say that a true prophetic calling is often a lonely calling. God has to so convince you it is Him and that there are no votes, and then you have to best learn how to implement it and help others. This is where so many miss it, especially in their early days. They know God has spoken and revealed things, but they have a prideful type spirit about it. Knowledge puffs up, so even when God has shared something, if it is delivered with a superior arrogance, the ministry is not really there because God is not getting the glory for it.
continued on next column>>>