“So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6

Ever held a seed in your hand and imagined the possibilities? Well, you can keep on imagining all you want because until you plant it, it ain’t growin nowhere! I can have a seed, hold a seed, encase it in beautiful jewelry, but until I plant the seed it, water the seed, care for the seed, nothing will ever come of it.

Seeds have a purpose-to reproduce after its own kind. Has your seed of promise remained in your hand and you wonder why it hasn’t done anything? Plant it! I’m not saying toss it onto any old ground and hope for the best, I’m saying spend time with God and get some direction. Ask Him where the best soil is for that particular seed! If you want optimal yield, you must learn to listen and obey.

Sometimes you have to look for a better job to replace the one you have. Sometimes you must plant your children (NOT LITERALLY-though at times you may want to!) and totally trust God for their future before you see the slightest bit of change.

Don’t be discouraged! Don’t be downcast, oh my soul! My help comes from the Lord! Even when you can’t see what’s going on with the seed, it’s growing. Don’t gage the end result by what you see while it’s still growing. I love what God has done in both my daughters but most of you didn’t know me going through the ‘growing’ part. I had to stop talking about what I saw and go by what I heard Him say about them.

I had to put on my blinders and speak of things that were not as though the already were. It was the soil I got dirty in, caring for the seed I had entrusted to the Lord. Water, watch, water, till, weed, water, watch…it’s a long process, but keep remembering that tree is destined to grow and yield fruit!

So, imagine what one seed of Faith can do. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Sandy G

Can you imagine getting up every morning, putting on what you wore yesterday, then putting something clean over it? Day after day, you go through the same routine putting on layers of old and dirty just to cover it with a clean outfit. After a few weeks of this, the clean clothes would have to be a much bigger size just to fit over all the old not to mention the smell.

Crazy, right? Yet everyday we refuse to lay down the old in exchange for the new. We try to carry on with the old life and just cover it with our version of righteousness. We add our own twist to worship, but our praise is not from our hearts but from our flesh.

Isaiah 61:3 says, “To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

I cast off the old, the pretend, the garment that makes me stink of old mindsets, selfish desires, self ambitions and traditions and I trade it for Your robe of righteousness. I want to be called Your own. I want to look like You, talk like You, smell like You. When others look at me, they only see You! Oh Jesus, I’m so glad You made a better way. Thank You for cleansing me in Your blood, washing me clean and placing on me a robe of righteousness. I’m Yours to use, Yours to claim, Yours forever. May the smell of Your glory permeate the world today as I pass through wearing Your robe. Like the woman who touched the edge of Your robe and was healed, may everyone who touches Your robe on me be changed, healed, delivered and set free. May they look at me and say, ‘She looks just like her Daddy!’

Sandy G

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6

Did you catch that? It’s a voice activated Kingdom we live in! WOW! What’s that mean to us? SAY IT! DECLARE IT! DECREE IT! It’s not going to happen by itself. You will say! There are times when you ask, but there are times to declare.

God didn’t say, ‘Light, will you come please?’ No, he said, LIGHT BE, and it was! Kings who rule do not ask, they command. If you don’t talk to your circumstances, they will talk to you. Don’t believe me? Try not eating for a few days, your stomach will talk to you!

When Jesus healed the sick, He spoke to sickness. He activated His words to create a different outcome. What sort of outcome do you want? If you knew that your miracle is waiting on you to activate your words, would you stay quiet? I sure wouldn’t!

Pain-you’re dismissed! be gone! I say health come. Nothing missing or broken! I say to Lack-you’re dismissed. Poverty is under the curse and I am under the blessing. Nothing missing or broken in my finances, in my family, in my future! I speak to my destiny, COME! All things are possible to them who believe.

Oh, thank you Jesus for showing us a better way. You didn’t say to ask the mulberry tree to please go to the sea, You said it as a command. You speak to your children who are lost in this world’s system and call them back. Speak to whatever you’re facing and have faith that your words, joined with your faith will bring the results you’re saying. Remember this, God backs your words! Good or bad, you can expect to have what you say. Make your words count in activating the supernatural in your life!

Father, You set a great example for us when You created the universe. You showed us with Your words how we are to activate the power of the Holy Spirit in us. I declare Your Word today and come into agreement with it because it will never come back empty or unfulfilled. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.’

Reminding myself!

Sandy G

For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. John 3:16 TPT

This is how we have discovered love’s reality: Jesus sacrificed his life for us. Because of this great love, we should be willing to lay down our lives for one another. 1 John 3:16 TPT

Valentine’s Day is a special day for me. Walt and I were married 47 years ago today. There are several couples that I know personally who made this day their own special day and congratulations to you all! Marriage isn’t all fun and games, it’s hard work on it’s best day, but well worth it in the long run.

But let us remember, God’s gift to all of us was His love in the form of Jesus. For that reason alone, we should be grateful each and everyday that the greatest example in history was His great expression of love for all of us, His children. He loved us so that we in turn can love others. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

None of us deserved it, but He freely gave it to each of us and it’s ours to choose. A gift that’s never forced on us, but offered none-the-less. I hope you open your arms to receive this great sacrificial gift of love.

Happy ‘Love’ Day!

Sandy G

For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! Galatians 6:14-16 The Message

Aren’t you so glad that Jesus set you free? I am! Free from guilt and condemnation. Free from sickness and sin. Free to live in communion with God. Free from being conformed to everyone’s idea of freedom to truly live free.

As the remnant, we are set apart to live a life that’s been handcrafted by God, a life that only we were made to live. A life perfected for us alone. A hand in hand, lead me and I’ll follow kind of life. Be it short or long, there is nothing lost but everything gained by living this kind of free life. It will look different from my life, not perfect in the eyes of others, but certainly perfect in God’s eyes.

Free. Walking in the covenant promises and trusting Him to keep His Word. Nothing missing or broken. Simply free.

At last we have freedom, for Christ has set us free! We must always cherish this truth and firmly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past. Galatians 5:1 Passion Translation

Stay free my friend,

Sandy G

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. Romans 6:9-10 The Message

Do you ever get tired of being nice to people? I hope not! But I have known people who make that statement, “I’m tired of being nice all the time.” Let me ask this; what are the alternatives and would you be happy with yourself being that way? I know I wouldn’t be. Besides, it’s not my nature!

How can I say that? Because when I chose to surrender my life to Jesus, I didn’t hold anything back. That means He and I are not just friends, but we are Gods children and therefore we share His DNA. His love and kindness is (or at least should be) who we are. If we truly are His, we will reflect His love.

So don’t get tired of doing good, not just being nice. If the opportunity is there, do good. If you’re able and you see someone in need, ask God what He would have you do and then do it. Don’t do it for attention, do it because it’s the right thing to do. Do it because what you do for others comes back to you magnified.

I’ve had people send me checks to bless me never knowing what I just gave in sacrifice because God asked me to meet a need. I know I can’t outgive God. It pays to be a giver and to do good things for others. Practice each day asking God to use you in that way, than listen and obey. It pays!

Sandy G

Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. Romans 6:7-8 The Message

More than anything in this world, I want a good harvest. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to pray for crop failure because I sowed some really bad seed and I didn’t want to reep that harvesst. It’s easy to do. Just ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit and do the opposite, you’ll find yourself surrounded by weeds and wishing you’d of listened and obeyed.

I’ve tried to consult God with what exactly He wants me to do or say in any given situation. Sometimes my feelings get in the way of His voice and I need to empty out my thoughts so I can clearly hear Him. I’ve made enough foolish decisions that I make a habit of saying, “Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.” There’s nothing wrong with waiting!

I can’t fool God. He doesn’t just know my thoughts, He knows my intent. If I do something even with the wrong motives, He knows. Others don’t, but He does. So my harvest is dependant on not just the seeds I sow, but the motives behind the sowing. If I sow because I’m desperate and I want God to hurry and bless me, my motive is wrong. God’s already my provider, I don’t need to do anything for Him to bless me. But sowing seed is a gift given out of the purest of motives and expecting nothing in return but knowing how God works, you just know He’ll take care of the return on your investment.

Taking time to examine my heart today. Teach me Your ways, oh God and reveal to me any errors in my thinking.

Sandy G

Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience. Galatians 5:5 The Message

I can’t take credit for anything I’ve done in my life. My part was to do what I was trained to do. My mom and her sisters sang together as a quartet for years. My mom and dad sang together, as did his siblings. Music simply ran in the family. I started singing when I was 2 years old and harmonizing when I was 4. I don’t know how I did it, I just heard it in my head and found I could find any part and sing it. I’m thankful for the privilege to sing with some great people along my journey.

I can’t take credit for writing. My mom was simply too busy to write letters when she was running the orphanage and clinic in Haiti, so she made me her correspondent. She would trust me to answer letters from sponsors and help her write the newsletter at times. I began journaling when I was 18, and although I don’t do it everyday, I enjoy the ability to write my thoughts and share and encouraging word.

I can’t take credit for doing couples ministry or premarital counseling. I owe that to all of the teachers and trainers who invested their gift into me, who encouraged me to lead, monitor classes and share our story. All of that training enabled us to invest into other marriages and give them the tools needed to survive and thrive in their relationships.

I can’t even take credit for my beautiful looks–that was the influence of two very beautiful parents. LOL

Truly there is nothing in life we can brag or gloat on, it’s the grace of God that gifted us, but it’s our own responsibility what we do with it. I’m thankful for the opportunity to share it with you.

Everything I do or have done, I owe to those who’ve taken the time and effort to train and encouraged me. I’m especially thankful for the Holy Spirit and His constant influence working in and through me. Without Him energizing and activating His Word in me, I’d be a failure in every sense of the Word.

Sandy G

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6:3-4 The Message

Give your assignment everything you’ve got, but do it in a humble spirit. You are the only you there is and God has a specific assignment that only you can do. Until you know what it is, just keep learning, leaning and growing into your place. It may happen while you’re young or when you’re old, but be prepared to step into it when the doors begin to open. Don’t be afraid for the times or seasons we live in. God has promised to go before you and make all those crooked places straight.

When I was younger, I used to compare myself to others. When they would sing, their voices were so perfect and pure. Never having had lessons myself, I always felt the lesser or a bit embarrassed when asked to sing a solo. But one day, that perfect person came to me and said something that blew me away.

I asked for a sabbatical from my spot on the worship team I had held for over 10 years so that I could give my girls the much needed attention of ‘mom’ at that time. She came to me after service and said, “Sandy, I’ve been asked to take your place on the worship team and was wondering if you would pray for me. I want the kind of anointing that you carry when you worship.” That blew me away! It was then that I learned we each carry something special, we just have to find it and walk in it.

Maybe that’s why these verse resounded in my spirit as I decided to read through Galatians 6 this week. My job–to do the creative best I can with my own life–Lord, let that be enough.

Sandy G

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. Galatians 6:1-3 The Message

That word ‘creatively’ caught my attention this morning. The dictionary says that it means to live in an original or imaginative way. I felt it was about living life hand in hand with God, listening to His direction and not getting stuck in a rut. To live freely the way He intended, to the fullest, treating others as He would. Letting Jesus be our example, following His lead.

We cannot get hung up on what other people do or say, we must simply love them and allow the Holy Spirit to change their hearts as He did ours. It’s just not our job to get down on people who are already down, but rather give them a hand up as others have done for us over the years.

Please don’t forget that although our scenery may look different from others, as christians, we are all on a journey that leads to the same Father. Encourage one another, Jesus said. Not once did He say to criticize, manipulate or trip each other up. Never did He say to expose sin, rather He said love covers a multitude of sin.

Never did He say life would be easy, but He said He’d never leave us alone. Let’s lift one another up and help carry the load instead of adding our weight to their already heavy burden.

Sandy G