Pray for me!

I think I may be surrounded by crazy people.

Madame Jeanne Guyon

Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

Chapter: To Christian Workers

Johnie

Johnie! 19!

19 years ago today Nick and I welcomed out third child, Nicholas John Barry Ellison

"Johnie", the only one in BLUE, for a change!

5 lbs 11 oz

17inches long

What a great kid he is!  So blessed to be his mom!  

So long, farewell!

I had to do it.  I had to deactivate my FB again.  I see something that irks me and I spend the day brooding over it.

I don't have TIME for FB!!!!  I seriously have to deactivate my account or I will check it a hundred times a day.  Oh my...

So, so long-
 and farewell,

AGAIN, FB!

Amen!

Born again is a once only experience. -John 3, 1 Peter 1
Being saved is a daily experience.- MW

1 Corinthians 1:18
 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

It's Here!

Beautiful Feet

As a runner, I do not have beautiful feet.  I have feet and toes that are calloused and blistered.  And honestly, I don't care.  I'd rather run than have beautiful feet. : )

But, to God- I have beautiful feet!  How do I know that?

Romans 10:15b
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Every Thursday night I get the pleasure of sharing the truth of Who Jesus is- to teenage boys that have been- abused, broken, hurt- in ways you can't even imagine.  9 out of 10 come from homes so broken they don't know that they are broken because it's so normal.

These teenage boys have been hit hard by cycles of sin in their families.  And unless someone goes TO THEM and ministers Jesus to their brokenness, their hurts, their besetting sins- they will never change.  They will grow to be old men in prison with children that follow in their footsteps. 

But how do you come out of this brokenness and find life, joy, freedom, victory and peace if someone doesn't tell you?  And SHOW you?  How can you or me or these boys be saved from a life of defeat?  A life of giving in to sin, temptation, fears, control, abuse, gangs, violence, left-behind children- and on and on and on.  How will they know there is real LIFE?

Unless someone- sent-goes.

Are you that someone?  Sent on beautiful feet to share good news of good things?

Are you willing?  

If God is speaking into you- that this is His desire for you- then please message Nick or me!  One Thursday night a month.  Only an hour and a half.  : )  

Romans 10:13-15

13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

How then?

I have a super super busy fall and spring coming up.  I am so looking forward to each and every thing!

BUT

I am a bit overwhelmed.  I have not gotten in 'over my head' but there are a couple of area's- in ministry- that I have asked for help.  One is to teach Sunday School to my dear senior ladies, bi-monthly.  I do love them so- but between a heavy work load, now disciplining/mentoring a young mother to be, Advanced Discipleship Training one weekend a month, teenage boys detention center ministry once a week- and trying to have life with my family and taking care of my spiritual, emotional and physical health AND going home to Ky to see my Dad- I just am overwhelmed.

So, friends- pray for me?  Someone to teach my SS class bi-monthly AND we are looking for a couple of people to go to White Pines (teenage boys detention camp) one Thursday a month.  It's only for an hour and a half.

Here in SC we have a church on every corner.  We have people willing to go on mission trips and so on.  We have people willing to serve, granted it's mostly in their home churches.  But who will go outside of the wall of their own church?

These teenage boys have been hit hard by cycles of sin in their families.  And unless someone goes TO THEM and ministers Jesus to their brokenness, their hurts, their besetting sins- they will never change.  They will grow to be old men in prison with children that follow in their footsteps.

Romans 10:13-15

13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

But let us people of beautiful feet!  Let us lead others to the feet of Jesus!  In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins!  The One who transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light!

Pay Offs!

Well, I feel like my body is finally getting stronger.  It's been a journey this last year.  Between the low ferritin levels and the pain from the sciatic...I've been a mess.

But you just keep on, keeping on.  You learn which vitamins your body needs...and when to take them.  You run to repair injuries and yet maintain health.  You learn to rest when needed and run- hard or slow, long distances or short- when needed.

I am so thankful for cooler temperatures, vitamins and YOGA!  That has been a tremendous help.  Yes, more often than not, I hurt on my right side when I run but it is a lot less than it used to be!  I've learn to deal with the pain and push through it.  I'm learning what pain is just a part of running and what pain is injury.

But I love running.  I love the rhythm of running.

I am so glad that I can run.  I am so thankful that it is a part of my life.  Running is a blessing : )

The beginning of ?

You may look at this picture and just see my beloved Nick.  But there is more to this picture than Nick picking up tree limbs.   See, Nick just cut a tree limb down so a building mover can move a 12 x 24 building right behind where that mower sits.

Last spring I bought my neighbors building.  My first thought was a small herb shop here in Pauline.  I was going to put it on the back of our property, on Bagwell Road.  But...I decided not to move it there and finally settled on where we will have it moved to today.

And until last week, it still going to be an herb shop.  It may still be- but Nick suggested that I used that building to hold small groups and if anyone ever came over to "talk" we could use that building.

I don't know.  This is all I know...it's paid for...and it's up to God what that building is used for.

I pray others come to know Truth, Victory and Freedom- in that building.  Whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual.  May Christ be revealed and magnified!

Unbroken, Louis Zamperini

Being by myself a lot, I listen to a A LOT of audiobooks. This book is one of the BEST I have ever heard! I don't know if I ever truly realized what American soldiers went through to keep us the land of the free. Not only to fight to protect OUR country but to defend the citizens of other countries and their freedom.

I'd like to thank our outstanding military- past and present and future- for defending our country, our liberty. I love America. I am so so proud to be an American. Especially when I hear stories of what men and women went through to SERVE their fellow Americans. So that me, and my children and my children's children and so on- can live in this great land! Free! 

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163

Well, you never know who God will bring in your life or WHEN!

I got to share JESUS tonight with a woman at my yoga class!  It was so so cool! Her name is Tammy, she is in her early 50's and had never been to yoga.  She came in and told me she is going to try and quit a 35 year old habit- smoking!  She thought yoga might help.

After class, we began to talk and as we were walking out I told her that I would pray for her as she was trying to quit smoking.  She said, "Oh no, don't do that!  I know that is real."  Which kind of threw me off!  I asked her if she went to church anywhere and she said no, she had never really went- HER WHOLE LIFE!

We spend about 30 minutes in the parking lot talking about Jesus.  I didn't overwhelm her.  I just kind of shared with her about how God had healed me, Who He really is and who I am because of Him.

She has learned a lot of wrong things from this old world, philosophy and religions.  There have been well-meaning believers and not so well meaning unbelievers that have lied to and deceived her. Satan has lied to and deceived her. This woman has been through some tough stuff in her life.  Maybe someday she will really open up to me : )  Weed out all the lies and replace them with Truth!

There are two things she said that really stood out to me, "Jesus is really real?"  

"Yes, He is", I said.  

Then later she said, "Does He has a presence on this earth?"

Yes, He does.  I told her about how He comes to live within the believer.  How He is our life, our guide, our peace, our joy- our strength, our hope. How He changes us from the inside out.  How He loves, loves, loves us.  

It was so- real and so honest to say to her, "When you look at me, Christ Jesus lives in me."

I told her, "You know- all you have to do is ask Him to reveal Himself to you and He will.  It's pretty simple.  Don't let other's tell you who God is- you ask Him, and He knows if you really want to know Him- and He will speak to you the truth of Himself."

I asked her if she had a Bible and she said she did.  I told her to read Colossians 1 & 2 and just simply ask Jesus Who He is-  I know this to be true as a way He reveals Himself because He did me.  

I told her Jesus came to heal the broken and set the captive free.

She said she felt so weak.

I told her, "that is the BEST place to be".  

And she asked me what I pray for her about- and I said, "Whatever God leads me to pray about for you."

"Ok then, you can pray for me." 

Well, amen!

Organic Church

Here's my heart, may God raise up women and men in this hour that are humble enough to learn what it means to live by the indwelling life of Christ and are courageous enough to proclaim the unsearchable riches of that Life to others. A group of people sharing that Life together, a group of people that are displaying that Life together.  Making Him visible. - Frank Viola, 1 John 1:1-3

Johnie : )

Johnie Ellison

10 hours ago via iOS

"I began to find my identity through church. I was good at it --- good at church. And I just became better and better at it. I became very good at "pleasing" God, but simply trusting Him was very foreign to me."

- Bart Millard, the leader of MercyMe has a testimony that I think most of us can relate to. Check it out in the book, not the song, "The Hurt and the Healer."

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• 3 people like this.
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  Starla Ellison Johnie, I just want you to know how proud I am of you. I live with you, so I know you pretty well, and you aren't a "Sunday morning Christian". In your head, I know you have a continual conversation going on with Jesus. I see it in you- and I hear it from you. I am thrilled that at an early age, through Jesus, you are laying aside the things that can encumber and have fixed your self on Jesus. Sadly, I see such a lack of spiritual discernment in the church today- and we need to be a people that as we trust, rest and abide in Christ- He anoints us with His Truth and in His truth is discernment. So many think that going to a church to worship on Sunday morning is "enough" but that's outward. It's the worship (and Henry Blackaby says "worship is bowing our hearts before God") of the inner man, moment by moment, that pleases God. And then the outer man will bow his heart before God. For so long I thought if I changed the outer man the inner man would change. Well, for a long time, I didn't know there was a inner man, to be truthful. I guess it would be more accurate to say that if I change my behavior I would change all of me. But then I learned about the inner man- the inner man has be "changed, exchanged and transformed" before the outer man can be affected. I guess that's part of the "whole message" of this Life that doesn't get out too much. I pray your hearts desire is to be continual held by Jesus. I see Jesus in you.

  a few seconds ago · Like

Idols

I hate to say but in the American churches, we have gotten to where we worship the place we are supposed to worship- instead of the One to whom are to worship.  Been there, done that- and of course, like all idols, it brought about a death in me.  Cause idols don't give us life, only Jesus does.   I look at American churches and what we have become and then I look to Nigeria and see all the people slaughtered because they want to really join together and worship God, no matter what.  How many of us would really join together for worship (devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer) if we were threatened with death every time?  But the enemy has found other ways to distract the American churches.

Nelson Study Bible

I just bought....ANOTHER Bible.... : )

This time?

The Nelson Study Bible, blue bonded leather,
 it's NKJV, - not my favorite version (NASB, is my favorite)- but the study notes are awesome!

I currently use as my daily Bible Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principles Bible.  I love this Bible.  But...the study notes are not what I thought they would be.

I HAVE a Nelson Study Bible already...I don't know why I got another one.  Well, the one I have, has someone's name on it.  I wanted a new one- fresh, ready for me to write in!

This makes my...10th Bible.  This does not include the extra's I have of the original 10.

Several years ago, when God revealed to me that I had made an idol of the "written word" and I laid aside my favorite Bible, the one I used for years and dearly loved- I began to buy and used various Bibles.  I love the written word, but I don't idolize it now.  I ask the Holy Spirit, to speak Jesus to me, through the written word- and He does.

I read my Bible- even, yes, study my Bible, not to get close to Jesus but because I am close to Him!

Cool Site!

http://diycozyhome.com/

Lay IT aside!

I had an epiphany.

It is amazing how drawn I get into Facebook.

It is amazing how much less anxiety I feel when I lay it aside.

"Lay aside every encumbrance....and fix your eyes on Jesus the Author and Perfecter your faith."
Hebrews 12

Well, amen. : )