What if??

I know the cross is foolishness to those who do not believe, I know those who do not believe think they are right. I sure did and was willing to say it without reservation. But the fact that we all start out with an inner voice, God-conscienceness. That tells me at sometime before we press down that inner voice, before he is quenched and grieved, I believe he causes all of us to sometime ask ourselves, WHAT IF I'M WRONG!! We ask ourselves that question about such lesser things, I know I asked myself that question, and even deeper and to the point, I know God directly asked me that question WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG? So is it just me or did you come to the place where you asked that of yourself, or did he ask that of you? And did that help to further draw you to him, or do you stand in the crowd that says we believe foolishness....and if you do stand with that crowd ARE YOU SURE 100% I believe it was Fanny Crosby (blind writer of many old hymns)...that said she was so sure she would swing over top of hell singing "Blessed Assurance" By the way, God says it is the FOOL who says in his heart there is no God, not those who believe in the cross, everyone becomes a believer at death, not everyone rejoices in it though! A one second after death conversion is no conversion at all but is eternal damnation, knowing the truth and knowing you are separated from God forever because you rejected his call to you......So ask yourself honestly no-one but you and God present........WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG?




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The Communion of Community...

I love these pictures...


Mostly because of the memories that surround them, that you can't see


In progression, they tell a story of individual lives,
coming along side and becoming community



God intended us to live in community not isolated,
we are better when we live within community where we can share and grow

You see at the time these were taken, life, Satan, and some very toxic relationships had turned me to isolation, And I was down for the count. You know the kind of days when you want to pull the covers over your head and never move out of the bed! Or like when Elijah sat discouraged, tired and defeated ready to give up and die, because it was too scary and too hard. Ever had one of those days?

Just as God brought ravens to Elijah's rescue, God brought a handful of good friends to see me through, when everyone else, yes mine own familiar friends that I went into the sanctuary with as David said; Turned their backs on me without even asking my side of the story.
Ahhhhh but those faithful friends walked alongside me, counseled me, listened to me, corrected me where needed, encouraged me often, stood by me at the risk of their own well being, ate with me, laughed with me, cried with me, opened the word with me, prayed with me and for me, trusted God with me when none of us could see the answers, but knew God would not leave us nor forsake any of us.
I was with 2 of these friends when I took these pictures, 2 years ago, and at the time of these pictures none of us knew how the story would be written for or against us, we just knew we had our God and a few good friends that could be transparent with, and pour our hearts out to. To me this is what God had in mind when he made us to need and desire community. We are stronger in community, we are wiser in community, we are better in community, we grow in community, we mature in community.
To the glory of God, we had different paths to get where we are today, but certainly as of the time of this writing we all are healed because of community, stronger because of community,sharpened within community and better equipped to help others heal within the safety of community.
And you thought these were just some random pictures of some horses......

2Bclear or more to the point, 2Bcrystalclear....

Strange how something makes an impression on us, and it can have such a profound effect on us that it becomes us, we embrace it, it becomes our mantra....



Or was it maybe always meant to be, is it who we have always been, possibly even who we were born to be and through life and revelation of our own being we come to the knowledge that has always been us? Something possibly Sovreignly designed and destined for us from before the foundation of the world. Yes this is the belief to which I subscribe, and the reality that I live on a daily basis. Some might call it being comfortable in my own skin, The truth to which I subscribe is that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and that this truth allows me to know just how loved I am. And I awake again and it is just as true today as it was yesterday and more so as I sink down into the truth that has certainly set me free.
For many years I have known the meaning of my name:
Crystal: Brilliantly Clear
So what about it? Well for years I would say it means what you see is what you get because that was what it meant to me, and I didn't think much more about it! Oh until the giver of life came and completely changed my life around and I began to see meaning in even the smallest things. I was very interested as I looked into the bible how God would emphasize the meaning of a name and that it totally embodied who that person was. I then began to think of my own name and what that said about me? Yes what you see is what you get, but what does that mean and what impact is it meant to have on me and on those around me? I began to realize to be brilliantly clear meant being totally transparent, see through, no masks, no facades! And I knew that is how my life was intended to be lived out, not just for me, but for those around me who may not be able to as easily live that way. This is why my email, my car tag all reflect this saying 2Bclear, 2Bcrystalclear, O2Bcrystal clear, it is a reflection of who I am to be in Christ. And when I am living Spirit-Filled, is when I come closest to fulfilling who I was made to be. And as I have come to a new understanding of that, God has allowed me to again see a new meaning to my name to be Brilliantly clear, also says to me that I am free from sin, clear...Brilliantly Clear never to be judged on my sin, but now free 2Bclearly who I was made to be... no longer 2 just B Clear but 2Bcrystalclear.........

Miss Ariana Lynn~~~Miss America

I have always heard that good things come in small packages! What an understatement, this little girl has changed my life in a way words could never express. There are not too many times in life that I have been left speechless, when I think of how incredibly blessed my family is to have such a wonderful addition as little Miss Ariana is, truly there are not words to describe. What an impact for good she is to all of us, she is sheer pleasure and pure joy, to each one of us. I can already see that her name "Ariana Lynn"~~meaning~~"Holy Beautiful" is absolutely who God has made her to be, certainly she is hope for the future and my prayer everyday is that she will have a Holy Beautiful impact on all she comes in contact with, all the days of her life. So today, September 4, 2010, the 6 month milestone of her birth, (wow does time go quickly)I just want to publicly thank my Lord and my God for blessing us with her in our lives, as I spill over about how much joy she has brought I want to make sure I state, that my God the giver of all we have and ever will have is to be honored and glorified above all else, for HE alone is worthy of all my praise. I have always been taught to be careful not to worship the gift above the giver, and I know that "Little Miss Ariana" is the one gift to be most careful with. Lord we know without you there would be no joy in anything, your life within gives the ability to enjoy to the fullest all we have, your son is the greatest gift I will ever have and gives the ability to enjoy all else, Thank You for salvation, and may you bring this wonderful gift to Ariana at the earliest age possible, may you always be real to her and may she serve you all her days with unmatched passion!!

Supernatural Eye Exam

I have had my share of eye exams, but I can tell you for sure that this past Friday July 30, 2010 will be the most memorable ever......I was supposed to be leaving for Cuba on this day, or so we thought. Life is what happens while we make our plans!
So let me back up a week and catch you up. Saturday July 24th I received an email that was unbelievable, with all preparations just about complete, bags packed, All teaching printed and ready....the email said our Visa's were not yet signed, the Cuban Govt closed because of heat until Wednesday July 28th, and we needed the govt, immigration and the council of churches to all sign off before we could leave and we only had until 5pm Wednesday before we would have to cancel the flight and hotel to recoup some of the monies raised. We prayed, many fasted, and we knew only God could answer now, and we fell at his mercy and his will.....the days leading up to Wednesday were intensely prayerful, Wednesday was just intense in every sense of the word. As I walked into my training class in downtown Bethesda at 1:30I was awaiting the email that would tell our fate with much anticipation. At about 1:38 the email came and our hopes that were so close to becoming reality were come to an end, and I must confess I was devastated on many levels. It was all I could do to get through this class............God knew I needed to be in Bethesda and spend the next few hours with my best friend, Kim Sheffield. What a blessing it was to spend the time with her, and ponder the goodness and sovreignty of God with someone whom I have many times shared the highest highs and also the lowest lows. God was in it all, no doubt in my mind. It was home and to bed not really wanting to stay awake to this any longer today, Thursday proved to be one of those long days that never end before a 10 day vacation~~ I decided I needed to be off anyway and I would get some of my projects around home finished and make good use of the free time!
Christina and Sarah already had a plan for Christina to have her eyes examined at Washington Eye Specialists, in Providence hospital (where Sarah works) Since Christina would be having her eyes dialated I offered to drive and then had Sarah set up my eye exam, which I haven't followed up on in 2 years....it seemed to only make sense, I was going to be there anyway! Oh my I had no idea how set up it was.
We went in very early, and by 7:15 I was being taken back to the intake room where the technician would begin initial testing and eyedrops to finish off my tests. He was a nice man and after putting me in the room, he said he would be right back, when he came back he was shaking like a leaf on a tree, and I asked him if he was OK? He told me that his 19 year old son had just been rear-ended. Of course I asked if his son was alright and he said "yes I am just upset because he is far away and I cannot see him". I asked where he was and he said Miami. Out of the abundance of my own heart I said to him, "I was supposed to fly to Miami this afternoon and on to Cuba on a missions trip". He looked at me and said "I am from Cuba"(WOW)He then asked me if I had famiy there and again I said "no a missions trip with my church". He said "what city are you going to most people go to Havana or Santiago de Cuba", I said "No we were supposed to fly into Holguin and drive further down to Bayamo". At this point tears flowed down his face and he said to me "This is my city, my sister is there and is an Opthamologist,I will speak to her you must stay with her" I reiterated that we would not be going as my tears flowed down eyedrops and all, because our Visa's were not signed in time. He said "Yes this is the way of the Cuban govt" He then asked me what religion I was and I told him Baptist. He said "Good, because there are many false religion in Cuba" and he spoke of the National Church Voodoo, as he said "The religion of Fidel Castro, you can see little children in white sheets walking the streets, part of the black magic. He said I will pray that you can go to my people they need you to come. I was able to then tell him that it was not about any religion but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that we enter into when we except his payment for our sin, on the cross and that it is the only way to be saved from our sin, he said yes this is what you must tell them when you go. We cried, we hugged, we stood amazed both of us, knowing this was way bigger than we were, we some how finished his part of the exam, but believe me my eyes were wide open now sight pretty clear that God had reached down in his Sovreignty and set this up. As I was about to go into the next room and wait for Dr Gafouri, Manuel said to me "I could have picked any chart this morning, I think God picked your chart for me"! What are the chances I have never met anyone from Bayamo in my life. And on this day that I was to meet the people of Bayamo, God brought Cuba right to me, and I was able to tell Manuel of Jesus unfailing love ina supernatural way that I could not set up at all. WOW, WOW, WOW!! And when I got home God illuminated these verses just to put the icing on the cake!
Ephesians 1:17-19~~ That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, THAT YE MAY KNOW THE HOPE OF YOUR CALLING, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power~~
O how he displayed the exceeding greatness of his power to me today and hopefully it will be an emcouragement to a whole team of people, who along with me, had our hopes dashed and questioned for a moment whether or not to believe for this ever again. The eyes of my understanding being opened wide, I know the hope of my calling and know also one day my faith will become sight on this trip...in his perfect timing!! To God be the Glory Great things he hath done!

Chosen Before the Foundation of the World......

For the last 2 months I have been totally immersed in the book of Ephesians, It started as an Outline of the entire book for Sunday School, which quickly turned into 4 main topics that I already knew I would be teaching in Cuba, but didn't realize that they were perfectly and in order set in the book of Ephesians.....(you think God might have known all along)? Well as is usual with me, the more I studied, the more I saw, the more I realized a lot of things for myself. I believe teaching comes from the abundance of the heart, that spills over.... I have made ready four shorter outlines for Cuba, even found a way to translate them into Spanish, with an ever increasing love, desire and anticipation I looked forward to July 30th to leave and meet the Cuban people.
My bible reflects many written dates next to John 15:16 as God has encouraged me and moved me forward in my faith, when men and circumstances have tried to tell me a very different story:
You have not chosen me, BUT I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. That whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
This has been what his gentle voice has led me on saying all the while...so when I started studying Ephesians, chapter 1:4-7 stood out immediately, and God took me on a wonderful treasure hunt that strengthened my faith, and confidence in who I am IN HIM. Immediately I knew this message of hope and love needed to be conveyed to the oppressed ladies of Cuba... because I knew how much I need to be reminded often, and how much greater their oppression is in a spiritually dark land.
Little did I know that I was going to have to put on hold the desire to convey this to them and through this passage God would comfort my heart and assure me that this is not a no answer but a not now answer and that my faith will become sight at the right time. This was enough and I was anchored in the hope that is in Christ alone, but he is a very extravagant lover of our soul and he went way beyond this to comfort and assure me.......I know that I was Chosen in him before the foundation of the world......and that he has made me ACCEPTED 5487(charitoo- to grace; endue with special honour to be highly favoured) in the beloved. That greek word is used one other time in the new testament,
Luke 1:28-- and the angel came in unto her, and said Hail, thou that art HIGHLY FAVOURED 5487 (charitoo- to grace; endue with special honour; to be highly favoured) the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (this is a perfect passive participle, indicating an action done in the past that has continuing results! and being passive means that the subject is receiving the action of the verb)
I am so glad God allows us to go as deep as we want to go with him, and he is there to meet us with wonderful treasures that we will only see as we dig for them. "What measure you mete will be measured back unto you" Leaving no doubt of his love and care for us! O what a love affair we have with Jesus Christ that only ends where we leave off, he has SO MUCH MORE to give than we are able to receive. His is truly a surpassing glory! He has left me with no doubt that He has chosen me, and that it was before the foundation of the world, and that because of it I can also say with the ferver of Mary, that my soul too doth magnify the Lord, for he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.... Luke 1:46-55

Cuba Missions Trip Almost Here

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As the days wind down, I find myself moving closer to one of the most exciting events of my entire life! I am daily awestruck in the things The Lord is doing to prepare me personally, to prepare the words I will speak, To affect my heart for people I have never met.......but he knows each one individually, uniquely, personally!!
Looking at the map we will fly from BWI Friday July 30th stay in Miami overnight, and leave Miami Very early Saturday to Holguin, Cuba. From Holguin we will travel South west about an hour and a half to Bayamo which where will will work with the Cuban people all week. 6 of our 12 servants will work in our VBS teaching the Cuban people how to have a succesful VBS childrens ministry. 1 will work the the translators as she has done many times, 2 including myself will work with and teach the women, and 3 including Pastor Dennis (pastors and leadership), John Tatterson(evangelism), and William Rey(translation)will teach and lead the men. Our goal is to bring 12 sets of study books for twelve pastors, as many do not even have a bible, but to also impart teaching that can be reproduced and taught in the surrounding churches........what an awesome move of God to have the privilege to be part of.
As I outline the book of Ephesians in the most simplistic breakdown possible God has lead me to many different places to piece together an amazing journey of biblical truth for myself first and hopefully I will be able to by the Spirit impart it to the wonderful ladies we are about to meet. God willing my four topics will be:
Who We are in Christ (position)
Our walk in Christ (practical)
Our warfare in Christ (application) 2 parts
2 amazing things have happened since Friday that I would like to share, 1st one of my newly acquired clients at BB&T(this is only the second time we have met) asked me if we could showcase our missions trip on his gospel radio program (it airs in Lynchburg Va. his father owns the station and he runs it) Interviewing me live on air Friday the 23rd at 5pm KLLL fm gospel radio station, in anticipation of what we expect to do, and then another interview after we get back to actually speak of what God did in fact accomplish(that we know this side of heaven!) Wow that came out of left field, and this morning as I have been praying to know how to get my outline and lesson from English to Spanish I was looking for a map of Cuba and happened to get a pop-up of one of the most recently updated and technical online translation software that there is currently is on the market. Each a needed gentle loving nudge of Confirmation that God is equipping me, which confirms that it is a God call not mans call in my life..Oh how I praise him for his excellent greatness and continued show of absolute unconditional love to a sinner as myself!!
Once again he has confirmed to me a verse he has used to move me forward many times JOHN 15:16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. That whatsoever you shall ask in my name he may give it you!! That verse has been a sweet Word in my heart, mind and walk with Christ many times over....Never as sweet as it is today I am overcome by my God, and that is exactly where I want to be. Please pray for our trip, safety, understanding, favor, impartation of the Word, and all that God desires that we could not possibly know or even understand...that we stay willing vessels meet for the masters use! Look for upcoming Praise Reports!