Live Like You're Dying

 Hey everyone! So it's been a while since I've written anything, at least for the public eye. I have found myself having countless sleepless nights with all kinds of things rolling around in this spirit and brain of mine. My life is an absolute circus right now, in a great way, so when my head hits the pillow at night, I use up every second of sleep. I figure being wide awake at all different hours of the night might just be a neon sign and extra push from God that I need to get out what's in me. 

Those of you who know me well, know that when it comes to the things of God, I'm pretty vocal and confident about who He is and who I am in Him. I've never had great confidence in myself, really ever and still don't, but I do have confidence in who He is in me. When He speaks, I listen. When He says move, I move. When He says write, I write. I am a walk by the Spirit of God type girl because #IwouldntsurviveeverydayifIwasnt!  I'm not even sure blogs are still in style these days or if podcast and YouTube channels are the new fad. But this is where God started me and gave me a place to speak so here I am for those who He wants to see and hear. 

To get to the point of my post today...I've been following this young girl, Brooklyn's Journey Home, on Facebook for about a month. This sweet soul has been in a battle for her health for a long while and as of January of this year the doctors had nothing left to offer her. She decided that it was time to stop fighting the process of dying and embrace her journey home to be with Jesus. She's basically the bravest person I know right now and I don't even know her personally. She is in the midst of hospice care at home and just walking out the process of her body dying physically. Seems so morbid, but not to her. She has put out many posts full of truth and her faith in Jesus seems to never waver. She knows she's weak but in her weakness she knows He is strong and she is relying on Him to usher her in to eternity with faith and peace on her feet. She realizes we are all dying, she's just dying a little quicker than most. 

Being faced with so many health challenges and still on the daily having to push through things to stay on my feet, I can in some very small way relate to Brooklyn. You see, she's learned in her journey how to live like she's dying because she is physically dying faster than most. She's learned how to hang on to joy and peace while going through some major trials and still live in the midst of dying. This is what drew me to her story because even though I'm not physically on my death bed right now, I thought I was going to be a few times in the last 18 years and I have had to learn this very principal. Live like you're dying. 

Until I encountered Brooklyn's story, I didn't know how to quite say it in words, but there it is. I realize there is this unseen balance that there has to be between looking to the future and living out every day as if it's our last. I don't know how to do this perfectly and probably never will but I want to live like I'm dying whether it's today or 50 years from now. I want to be intentional with all the things in my life. There are days I go to bed and think, "God, please let me wake up tomorrow because I want to do better with the things you've given me and I didn't do well with them today!" I totally get it. Especially with young kids...#survivalmode...as a mom, I don't ever feel like I'm making a difference in the daily scheme of things. But just like when you are trying to get in shape physically, what is it that every trainer with tell you? Consistency...just keep getting up and doing what you know is right. Just show up and you will eventually see the results. 

All Jesus requires of us weak humans is to just show up. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). We have to be able to say yes to Him every day in order to live like we are dying. Do you want to make a mark in the world? Say yes to Him. Do you want to make a mark on your children? Say yes to Him. Do you want to make a mark at your workplace, with your family and on and on? Say yes to Him and He will help you to live like you're dying. 

Brooklyn has figured out how to laugh and smile in the face of death. Why? Because God isn't just some mythical being that she's been told about. God is a real being that is living and active in her life and eternity is real. Who wouldn't be excited to trade a broken body for a completely whole one and life eternally? I want to be more like that. I have gotten much better at it over the years but to be honest I waver in my excitement of the unknown. I love what I can see and feel and touch and do right now on this earth even though my body struggles. God is good and He's been good to me. I have to be better at trusting this goodness and know that what He has given me here is just a taste of the goodness that I'll know in eternity. I can't be afraid to live like I'm dying because I'm afraid to die and neither can you. Isaiah 41:10,"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  

God needs us to live passionately and live awake! Those of us who know Him, it's our mission to live this way so others will want to know Him! I am so grateful for a person like Brooklyn who can say yes to Jesus and be used by Him despite her fears so that I can benefit from her walk with Him! 2 Corinthians 1:3-4," All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."

Living like we are dying requires a consistent posture of submission to the Holy Spirit. How do we do that? It's as simple as waking up everyday and saying, " Holy Spirit, I submit to You." As you do this, He begins to speak and your relationship with Him will grow into something you could have never done on your own. Your life will become full of purpose before you can even realize how full it is. I am a living testimony of this. I went from a very dark place of deepest pain and doubts to a life driven by the Holy Spirit and full of joy, peace and purpose and I don't think I'm even close to fulfilling everything God wants from me! 

I say all this to say, it doesn't matter where you are in your walk with Jesus! All you have to do is start showing up. Start saying yes and let Him take over. Submitting to Him is the only way we can live like we are dying and still have life! 

Giants + New Life = Victory

    This morning I was watching an episode of Dora and friends with my little princess. The whole episode was about how Dora and her friends came to the rescue of a little village who was going to be attacked by a very large giant. They ride in on their horses, singing a song of warning to flee to the nearby castle up the hill where they could take refuge. Very heroic indeed. As the giant was getting closer to the village one of the horses that one of Dora’s friends was riding noticed a beautiful little butterfly and starting chasing the butterfly…right in the direction of the giant….dun dun dun. Silly horse. As they approached the giant something amazing happened. The butterfly started to swarm the giant and the giant got scared! This bearded, grown giant started crying of all things and pitching a bit of fit like a toddler until the butterfly flew away. That gave all the villagers and Dora’s friends just enough time to get behind the castle gates before the giant started charging their way. He was, as you would expect, extremely upset and he was on his way to make sure those villagers knew it. As you can imagine, when a giant runs there’s bound to be some shaking. The shaking was so strong that it knocked down the securely locked castle gate, leaving the villagers and Dora’s friends completely exposed to the giant’s impending attack. But then, one of Dora’s friends remembered…she remembered that the giant was afraid of butterflies. So they came up with a plan and while one of Dora’s friends rode out to distract the giant they somehow had enough time and supplies to construct a giant butterfly that could act as a puppet over the castle wall. As the giant approached they lifted the giant butterfly up to the castle wall and the giant came face to face with the vicious creature and fled the other direction. Dora and her friends and the villagers were safe at last! 

 

As I’m watching this, I said to my husband, “ Wouldn’t it be great if we could just chase our life giants away with a butterfly?” But then, I really thought about it. The truth is we CAN chase our giants away with a butterfly. I started thinking about a current giant that I’m facing and I then started thinking about what the butterfly represents. If you google it, butterflies represent life and more than that they represent endurance, change and hope. Now you see where I’m going. 

 

What are giants? They are fears and challenges dressed up in a big, hairy, silly, toddler acting shell. Nothing more. When those giants see a butterfly or they see life coming at them they are afraid because they are reminded that they aren’t bigger than life or even better, the One that gives life.

 

We all face giants, daily…our weapon is the source of life, Jesus. He represents endurance as He walked out His journey to the cross. He represents change as His word is consistently challenging us to be more like Him. He represents hope, hope in Him and His promises. And lastly, life, He represents life, life abundant and life eternal. If we face our giants with our butterfly, Jesus, our giants will certainly flee. If we face our giants with endurance, change, hope and life then death cannot stand and win. 

Happy 4 Year Anniversary

Philippians 1:6, " And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

I am certain that 4 years ago today, God, began a good work within me. While it hasn't felt good or remotely looked like my definition of good, it has certainly been a good work in accordance with His word. It has been a work like no other. He has been stripping me and pruning me and making me into the person He wants me to be which is ultimately a person that bears His image, if that's even achievable. 

This day, 4 years ago, God spoke to me and told me I was healed of multiple sclerosis. I have since then been through so much and everything around me has tried to convince me otherwise. Some days, everything around me wins, but most days I stand and keep standing believing that God will continue to work on my behalf. That He is interceding for me, that He is for me and not against me despite what I feel and see every moment. 

I told myself I would document this day every year whether any body else recognized it with me. So here it is, another year down and hopefully many more to come with new victories every time. I'm still fighting and still persevering and that has to count for something, right?! 

I'll finish with the following scripture: 

2 Peter 3:9, " The Lord is slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

God is patient with me in this process and because of that He is bringing so much to the light causing me to repent and become more like Him. He's not slow and He isn't withholding His promises from me...He is waiting, He is watching and He is wanting me. He is jealous for me and wants me to succeed. He wants to prosper me. I will probably never understand why I'm walking this journey but thank God I don't have to in order to be victorious. I don't have any idea what the future holds, but I will continue to not be moved or shaken by my circumstances by hanging on to my unshakable God.

Here's to another year...

Visions and Dreams

Visions and Dreams...they can be a beautiful thing and/or absolutely terrifying. We've all had them. We've all been woken in the night either delighted at the possibility of that dream becoming real or woken up praying that it doesn't. We've all had the experience of being able to get away from our reality, whether welcomed or not, only to wake up to our reality.

Over the last 10 months I've learned a little something about visions and dreams. As most of you know, we've just recently had a new addition to our family. Our sweet little girl, Ashlyn. She was a sweet surprise to our crazy world and season. She wasn't planned, at least by us anyway!

 Just a little back story...I have dreamed of Ashlyn since I was just a teeny bopper! Literally, I would have visions and dreams of her that would wake me in the night. I would feel her kicking me in my womb before I even knew what it felt like to be pregnant. I saw her sweet face on more than one occasion as well. God gave me her name before I knew my husband. When I got married and 6 years later found out I was pregnant, I started looking at names and discovered the meaning of her name (not sure why I never looked it up before that) as we were hunting names for boys and girls. I thought for sure she was in the line up to be in my arms! Well, 2 beautiful BOYS later, I started to wonder. Come to find out her name, Ashlyn Renee, means Vision or Dream reborn. As we went through the ups and downs with my health and all that it took just to have our 2 sweet boys, I started to realize that this little vision might just be that. Nothing more than a vision and a dream that wasn't going to be a reality. I thought, why would God allow me to see her so vividly and so many times if I wasn't going to get to have her in my world. I questioned if it was God who gave me these visions and dreams when I knew it was absolutely Him. And from day 1 of my pregnancy, the enemy was there, waiting to steal, kill and destroy that which God had ordained.

To the point:

1. God gives us visions and dreams for a reason.

God allowed me to see this sweet girl before I even knew if I was getting married, before I knew if I could bear children, before I knew I would be hit with sickness and disease...He allowed me to see a glimpse of what He had for me so that when I am being hit from every side, I could see His plans to prosper me and give me good things. He allowed me to see His goodness so that I would have something to look to...Hope, He was setting a foundation of hope in Him and not my circumstances. This vision was pretty much an impossibility in my world. My circumstances said no on every side to this becoming a reality and my circumstances are still screaming no even though it's my reality!

Take away: Don't let go of what God has shown you. If it's Him, no matter your circumstances, if you delight yourself in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

2. It's easy to question whether the vision or dream is God's or of your own making.

I don't know about you, but there have been many times I've thought I've heard the voice of  God only for it to be mine. There have been many plans and even things I've thought were visions and dreams from Him that totally flopped because it turns out it was something made from my own soul. So how can we tell the difference? The answer that has proven true for me is to stay in constant relationship with Him. To really die to myself and walk by the spirit. We have a greater chance of not missing Him that way. When God gives us a vision or a dream and our circumstances say something else, it's very easy to lose heart. It's very easy to doubt Him and believe that it was just something we conjured up. Because I am connected daily to Him, I laid this vision and dream at His feet. I buried it and I waited to see if He would resurrect it. And He did!

Take away: John 3:6," That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." We have to continually lay our visions and dreams at His feet and be willing to let go of them.

3. The enemy is waiting to steal, kill and destroy our visions and dreams.

I've encountered a lot in the last 11 years with my health specifically. God has sustained me, but even now as I type, I am still walking through a very hard season. Physically having to over come, mentally having to stay constantly renewed and spiritually having to fight to keep the hope alive that one day the vision and dream that I will be completely well is on this side of Heaven and a God breathed vision and dream. From the start of my pregnancy the enemy was there seeking to devour the vision. We thought we lost her multiple times and then the pregnancy itself was an experience! Without going into all the details, let's just say the process was not the most joyous. Lot's of complications thus making both Chad and I think, " was this really God?". And you know what? The enemy is STILL trying to make us think it wasn't God because of everything I'm going through right now. The enemy just doesn't give up and we can't either.

Take away: We have to be aware that the enemy is constantly after the visions and dreams that God has given us (1 Peter 5:8, John 10:10). We also have to be willing to fight for those visions and dreams and not doubt even when everything around us is telling us to.

Even though the struggle is very real, God is still good and He is for us. He wants to prosper us. He wants to give us visions and dreams. He wants to produce hope in us. He wants us to trust Him, to rely on Him, to believe that what HE says will be, will actually be.

Carrying a baby aka a vision or dream is hard work and birthing it is even harder. But the end result, well you know, it's absolutely worth every moment of struggle. The outcome is so rewarding and so beautiful.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made...keep hope alive and keep dreaming. 

Happy 3 Year Anniversay!!!

Hebrews 11:1, " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

I have been fighting myself all day today on whether or not I should write a blog today. Yep, it's been 3 years today that I heard God say that I am healed of ms. 3 years. So why the fight? Why not total celebration and excitement? Why the above scripture?

I am writing out of obligation to giving all the glory to God for what He is doing in my life. None of you would remember this date unless I posted something, so no offense, but this isn't for you as much as it for me and the process of glorifying the only Person that matters! I can celebrate today because of the above scripture. I can celebrate the fact that despite my body going through every known symptom that I still have ms, that the faith that I have is the evidence of things not yet seen!

I was told a couple of months ago that I should be back on ms medications. Since then I have had, two major, what the neurology world would call flare ups. I'm currently on massive steroids trying to get this current one to subside. But I still hear that still, small voice saying, " You're healed, you're healed."

God is doing some amazing things in the process as usual. To update all of you, there's a new perspective that we have. As you all know, I'm weaning off of a very powerful benzo drug. Almost halfway there! Along the way, I have hit some walls, but God has been gracious to help us find the doors to open along those walls to make it through to the next step.

This past week, we feel the Holy Spirit brought to our attention a new perspective and a way to treat and walk out this perspective. My nervous system is being attacked. Old damage, new damage. Whether it be ms or this drug has been the outstanding question in our  minds.  However, we keep pushing through believing what God said 3 years ago. So this past week, we discovered a medication that has proven helpful in aiding the central nervous system to actually repair and function better. I know, I know, another medication? Yep, we said the same thing. Call us faithless, but we are at a place where we realize that my body needs help to get through this crazy weaning process. My central nervous system needs help to stay alive and have me walking on the other side. So we did our research, prayed, asked questions, prayed, made many calls, prayed...you get it. We decided to start this medication this past Wednesday. You may ask why this medication wasn't brought to our attention by my doctors way before now. Well, it's unconventional and it is not proven to slow the progression of ms so my doctors didn't see it as an option as they still view me as someone with ms. Perspective.

Thursday morning was the 1st day in I can't tell you how long that I woke up and the world wasn't spinning, at least for a couple of hours anyways lol! But hey, I'll take it! We are believing that this new drug along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit is going to eventually help my quality of life to improve. Faithless no, hopeful yes. Is our hope in this drug? NO! It's in the hope that the Holy Spirit keeps revealing to us what is needed in this process of ours to continue to shape us into the people we need to be on the other side of this.

God can totally snap His fingers and take all of this away. And we will never stop asking Him to do so. But until He does, I fully believe He is preparing us for something that is much needed in the advancement of His kingdom. It's not my job to say what that looks like or how long the process should be. It's my job to listen and have faith in Him.

So I celebrate today that I am still in step with Him. That I am still in the process that He is in control of. That I am still dead to my agenda and He is having His way. That the enemy has been defeated because I'm still overcoming. That God is good and He is continuing to make me more like Him.

That my faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Yes! I will celebrate whether I see my circumstances changing because He is worthy of all the glory. Because He is faithful to His promises and His word never returns void!

So there you have it...Happy 3 years...no matter what, keep the faith because one day, it won't just be the evidence of things unseen, but SEEN.

When You Aren't Promised Tomorrow...

You learn that you have to live in victory today!

James 4:13-14, " Now listen, you who say,' Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." 

I was strapping on my shoes this morning doing my usual routine of submitting to the Holy Spirit and putting on each piece of the armor of God and the title of this blog hit me like a ton of bricks. What if tomorrow doesn't come for me? The answer, well, honestly I thought wow, all I have to think about is today and if that's the case, hey, I can do that. It's just one day, right? I know that seems morbid and weird but for someone who struggles everyday with questions like, what does the future hold, will I be able to walk tomorrow, will I even be able to get out of bed and function tomorrow...this is a HUGE relief!

When you look at the word of God there are so many scriptures pertaining to doing things daily. Submitting to the Holy Spirit, daily. Renewing our minds, daily. Putting on the armor of God, daily. This list keeps going and going. Every promise that was made if looked at in the light of today is in effect. If you really think about it, why did Jesus say to renew our minds daily? Why is submission to the Holy Spirit a daily struggle and commitment? Also, do you sleep in armor? I guess we could, but it'd be extremely uncomfortable! We let our guard down and take off our armor and so then we'd have to strap it back on the next day right?

A month ago, I was leading worship and my neck paralyzed right in the middle of me leading a song called " Lord Over All" crazy. I'll tell you what, when your neck paralyzes in front of 1,000 people and almost takes you to the ground multiple times, you'd better believe what you are singing! The next week we were told after 3 years of believing that God healed me of ms that there was an active lesion in the top of my spine causing all the problems. We were told that we'd better start looking at picking up meds for ms again etc, etc. We were also told our only option to stop the inflammation was to up the current steroid that I'm on for my adrenal glands in the hopes to get it to stop.

In the midst of that, a week later, after 3 years of taking the benzo drug that I am currently weaning off of, I completely forgot to take my morning dose and by mid-morning, while at church, I could barely get to the car to get home! I automatically dropped 10% of the meds and my body went into shock! So we thought it might be a good idea to try and stay at that level for week and see if my body would stabilize. If we did that, then I would gain about 10 weeks on this wean, awesome right??? Not so much. By Thursday, I could barely walk or function so we decided to just go up by 5% and my body has been stabilizing slowly but surely, praise God!

We asked God when we went to the neurologist that He would reveal truth that would set us free. Well, we got truth, but freedom is still in the fact that we believe that God has already healed me of ms despite what we see and have been told. So at this time we are not going back on medications for it. Our options were slim and we are doing some natural things and trusting in that word that was spoken so clearly almost 3 years ago.

Every day is a fight to keep our heads above the waves. BUT, if I know all I have to do is worry about today, then I can make a choice to submit and surrender and trust in God for that day and live it to the fullest instead of just trying to survive. When I start thinking about tomorrow, that all goes out the window because I don't have the strength for tomorrow. I only have the strength and grace for today because that is what God has given me. His mercies are new every morning, DAILY.

Matthew 6:34, " Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." 

Oh so very true! So let's take God at His word, submit, surrender, armor up and walk in His mercies and promises and grace that He has provided for today. Renewing our minds to the fact that today is today and we can choose to embrace what God is saying about us or not. Then we can lay our heads down tonight knowing that if tomorrow doesn't come, we lived in victory today.

Freedom Comes With A Price

WOW!  I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! So many exciting things have been going on, I don't even know where to begin. But what brings me here today is a compelling word that has been whirling around in my spirit for a couple of months now, setting me free to another level and our home. I heard the Holy Spirit say this word was worth the time to post. So here goes!

Galatians 5:1, " It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." 

Freedom comes with a price. We've heard this phrase so many times. Especially around national holidays when we are celebrating our freedom and the people it took to allow that freedom to happen...soldiers etc. Freedom comes with a price. Nothing is free, it seems. 

So since my last post I am not only still off of all MS medications (coming up on 3 years!) but I have also weaned from a blood pressure medication and am now weaning from the ever so powerful benzo drug that I have been on. We discovered it was hurting me and not helping me so here we are again with no other choice but to trust God and move forward. I am doing what they call a titration method which basically means that they have turned the pill into a liquid so that I can measure out whatever percentage necessary for each step down in the process. We are taking it so slow that it is going to take me a little over a year to get off of it. A few weeks ago, I was almost halfway there and we hit a wall, as in might have to go to the hospital wall or take more medicine and start from there. So I am in the process of getting stable and then off we go again! In the midst of that, I was offered the amazing honor of becoming the vocal director at our church! Yep, I was thinking the same thing you are..., " What?" We prayed and God said do it and that He would heal me as I go and it has been one of the most life giving things I have ever done. 

I promise all of that ties into what I'm trying to say today! My goal to be free from the grip of this drug, from the grip of the ongoing effects of  nerve damage in my body...to be able to drive again...it has come with a great price. I've been on a roller coaster of every known withdrawal symptom. Because of this and the life God has me in, I have had to sacrifice and pay a tremendous price to keep myself above the waves. Staying in the Word so I can win the battle spiritually, physically and mentally. I have had to stay extremely disciplined with my diet and exercising over the top. Ultimately keeping my mind renewed every moment of the day. This freedom doesn't feel free LOL! 

Just looking at my journey before a diagnosis, the things I've walked through and had to pay a price for and it only makes me think of the price that was paid so that I can even walk through what I've walked through with victory. The price that was paid, the ultimate price, Jesus, His life, crucified, died on the cross for ME. Freedom from death, hell and the grave. Freedom from sickness and disease because of the stripes He bore. Freedom from this world and the pain that comes and the ability to count it all joy. The only difference  in these freedoms is that I didn't have to pay the price, He did. 

Not only did He obtain eternal life for us but He continues to give freely to us through the power of the Holy Spirit who is our Helper and through His Word. Here's where we pay another price by way of SUBMISSION. INTENTIONALLY SUBMITTING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD IS THE KEY TO VICTORY. 

Do you realize how many battles or shall we say freedoms we have lost just due to the fact that we haven't taken God at His word? The simple act of Ephesians 6:10-17 putting on the full armor of God? He has given us all the equipment, all the tools to face anything and everything. How incredible is that? 

We recently introduced our boys to the concept of literally armoring up and Parker, our eldest son, is so deep into this truth it's awesome and extremely challenging! He wakes up every day like a poster child for the armor of God and will walk into Chad and I and say, " Have you armored up? (pointing his finger at us like the picture of the salvation army poster guy.)" It's so awesome! While awesome, also annoying as in convicting. We were doing home school one morning and I was getting a bit irritated because it was taking a little to long to do a subject and Parker said to me, " Mom, did you put on your shoes of peace?" Oh no he didn't. Then he said, " I have my shoes of peace on me and I'm making them work for me." Hahahahahaha! This boy. So I had to repent and make mine work for me to! 

Freedom is ours. Serious freedom. Whether we feel it or not. We can over come and walk in freedom and victory. Live in freedom, count it all joy and walk an unshakable path. 

John 8:36, " So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." 

Let's take God at His Word! Let's be vocal and intentional about armoring up. Let's make Him Lord and submit and surrender to Him and walk by the Spirit of God therefore producing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control. 

I'll leave you with a description of each piece of the armor of God the way we explained to our boys and it's the way I pray and equip myself every day: 

Helmet of Salvation:this is meant to protect our minds from the enemy and the thoughts that so easily over come us. 

Breast plate of Righteousness:so that our hearts can stay pure.

Belt of Truth:so that only truth enters our thoughts and we can walk in it.

Sandals or Shoes of Peace: so that we can be ready to go wherever God leads and walk in great peace knowing it is He who is leading us.

Shield of Faith: is our belief that Jesus will do what He says He will do.

Sword of the Spirit: The Word of God, sharper than any doubled edged sword. Helping us to divide between soul and spirit. It also helps us to use the other pieces of armor effectively because it renews our minds, keeps our hearts pure, helps us to walk in truth and peace and boost our faith! 

This is so simple to do that the enemy tries to make this process more difficult. DON'T LET HIM. Armor up and see how victorious life can be. 

Signing off for now...it was nice talking with you again :-)