as I was reading this I couldnt help but remember my trips to Honduras.  I had the children blow away their fears in bubbles.  That what ever they were afraid of to blow it away in the bubbles they were blowing and they would float up to the very throne room of God and he would take away all their fears.  You should have seen their faces, some were very serious about what they were afraid of and blowing it away.  These children live in fear all the time, about being abused, beating, overworked & where their next meal will come from.  But after they blew them away, their whole face changed.  And they were laughing and playing , and you could see they felt relief to know there was a God who cared about them.  As adults we seem to forget that we too can blow away our fears or what ever else is a challenge in our life.  God is there ready to take care of it for us.  We just have to ask.  I pray this verse every day, Philippians 4:9  God supplies all my needs.  I have to do this every day to remind myself he is there for me, EVERY DAY!  I pray that this will encourge you to do the same.  God bless you in your walk with Him.

  Gertie the Clown with kids blowing away their fears

Does it feel like everything in our lives is being challenged? Sometimes it seems like our spiritual compass is spinning out of control and we can't find our direction. We put one foot down and the ground moves under the other foot. There is no doubt that we have crossed over into uncertain times. The certainty in uncertain times is to keep our anchor in Jesus.

Isaiah 41:10 says, "Do not fear for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

It's time to walk by faith and not put a lot of trust in our own understanding. The winds of change are blowing and everything in our lives is affected. These winds will show us where our house is built.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus is teaching about the two houses:

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

Two houses and two foundations. Often we feel that the winds are adverse times and difficult seasons of our lives, but what if the winds actually represents the Holy Spirit?

God is redefining His Church. God is directing the wind and we find ourselves faced with two choices. We can either turn our faces to the wind or turn our backs on the wind.

If we turn our backs to the wind, we lose sight of things to come and can become rigid and unmovable, possibly even fighting against God. If we face the wind, we find ourselves positioned to have old things blown off of us, capture new vision, and become strengthened for the days to come.

LET THE JUNK BLOW OFF YA!

This shift and change is from God and we must face this wind to get to our next place. He is getting old stuff out of us. Old mindsets, old methods, old comfortable paths and predictable lifestyles are being blown off of us in this wind.

We must avoid trying to reconstruct things God is dismantling. This change is essential. We cannot move forward without it.

God is challenging us to increase our faith. We must ask ourselves this question: Will we choose to be a people of faith or familiarity?

The truth is we cannot keep going like we are going to arrive at the place God wants us to be at. The path is turning. We have to follow Him to arrive at our destiny. We are faced with an opportunity of setting the stage for the greatest visitation of His presence that the world has ever seen.

Things are being removed and things are being added to our lives. The choice is ours. Do we turn our back on the preparation process or do we face the wind and let God reshape our lives, circumstances and mindsets for His purposes?

The very wind He sends, prunes, protects, directs and guides us. There is a higher plan in place. It is God sending this wind.

THERE GOES THE ROOF

These windy times are seasonal, but our faith must increase right now. God is blowing the lid off of our little world. When the roof is gone, there is no obstruction to seeing the Heavenly realm. Things are getting exposed. We are able to see things from God's view.

When the wind dies down, we will have a clearer picture of God, of ourselves, our assignment, and a deeper dependence on God with new levels of trust and faith. Honestly, most of the stuff we thought we just had to have, we discover we just don't need anymore and when it's gone, we won't miss it - stuff in the natural and in the spirit realm.

WHERE IS OUR FAITH?

God is taking over. He is directing the ship. As this storm comes up, will we remember God's words to us or will we be like the disciples who woke Jesus up in the boat, telling Him they were going to die?

Luke 8:22-25, "Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.' And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing!'

"Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, 'Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!'"

We are going to make it to the other side. The process may take us in a way we didn't see coming, but the end result is that we will be in a new place with new perspective and INCREASED FAITH!

Face the wind. It is a good thing and a God thing.

Anchored on the Rock,

Cindy McGill
Hope for the Harvest Ministries

"If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success" (Eccl 10:10).

Manufacturing companies live and die by the ability of its designers, engineers, and staff to bring new products to market quickly. Yet for many organizations, a team's capacity to turn promising ideas into new revenue is diminished because of fragmented business processes, a geographically dispersed workforce, and a lack of standards across the supply chain according to an industry expert on innovation in technology.

We live in an information age where the level of knowledge is increasing at warp speed. The way you did things two years ago may not be the same way you do it today. The knowledge you have two years ago may not be adequate to compete in the global marketplace today. Businesses have gone bankrupt because they were not willing to change with the times. Have you seen a Polaroid camera lately? Do you know someone over sixty years old who chose not to learn about computers? The world passes by such people because they are unwilling to "sharpen their ax."

God calls every workplace believer to model four key attributes: 1) Excellence, 2) Ethics and Integrity, 3) Extravagant Love and Service, and 4) Signs and Wonders.

The first quality of a Christian worker should be excellence. Excellence does not just mean the way we do our jobs, but it also means staying abreast of how we do our jobs. God desires to reveal His innovations in His creation. You will not compete in the marketplace today unless you make a commitment to stay abreast of innovation. This too is good stewardship.

How is your "workplace ax"? Does it need sharpening? What are the areas in your working life that need to be sharpened? What innovation is needed to insure that you will be the "head, not the tail" in your workplace calling? Begin today to evaluate action steps you may need to take to have a very sharp "ax".