IDOK DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2009

I am ‘eating’ my words this morning from December 19, 2007

Myself, Me and HIM

Let me share a phrase (from Wonderful Names of Our Wonderful Lord, compiled by Charles E. Hurlburt and T.C. Horton) that I read today – it seemed to be ‘highlighted’ by The Holy Spirit. The piece was written about Jesus, saying He is our Strong Rock, our Refuge, our Safe Retreat. And He is. We have experienced Him. And then this phrase, listen: “A strong, safe house, in which I am defended from myself, the world, and the devil.” He is the place, the Whom in which I am DEFENDED; but look at the number 1 person from whom He defends me — ME. I am pondering this one. I know it is true, I am my own worst enemy and I am pretty sure you are your own worst enemy too. BUT we have a CHAMPION. We have a DEFENDER and His Name is JESUS. So when Myself attacks ME, He defends Me. Is that incredible?! So how does Myself attack Me. There may be a number of fronts of attack but they all begin in one place – the MIND. Myself begins her attack on Me in my thoughts. And what’s worse when those thoughts find voice – MY voice, others can be hurt too. And often the others hurting are those closest to Me – that spouse who grieves when Me talks so badly about his wife that he loves so much; or children who love their mother and they hear ME belittle her. Wonder what that generates in their thoughts? Does it begin to erode respect? Does it cause pity to grow? What? So how does my Champion defend Me? The same way He resisted Satan.

Matthew 4:

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

So when the tempter speaks to us, be that tempter – Myself, the world or the devil – The Word of God is our defense.

John 1: 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

There is a passage of Scripture that addresses every battle and it is our job to look and find them, with the Holy Spirit guiding us, of course. In the meantime, while we learn, here is a nugget that will ‘defend’ and give victory in all situations: when Myself attacks Me or if Me is tempted to attack some one else.

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

The Word commands us to be kind to one another, don’t you think that includes ME (you)? Why do we say things about ourselves within the confines of our own thoughts that we would not say to someone else? How often do you look at your best friend and tell her she is fat, ugly and stupid? But Myself tells Me that, doesn’t she? Is it because we have believed the lie of the Evil One, that’s somehow humble means to belittle ourselves?

Lets give Jesus a wonderful gift this year; one He really wants – accept Him as our Defender of Myself and fight back with HIS WORD.

Now I am accountable to you for practicing this message and my beloved will be my witness – hmmm. How do I get myself into these ‘messes’ – opening my big mouth!!

Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Father, thank You for lessons we must have even when they are hard to admit and hard to heed – help us all practice today for Jesus sake. Thank You for the good work You are doing in each of these listed here today. We pray for children and grandchildren going to school this morning that they will do their best and You will be glorified. We ask You for protection for our IDOK Troops today, to keep them from all harm in mind, body and spirit and we ask that they be comforted with Your Peace this Season and bring them home to us safe and sound at the appointed time and bring a successful conclusion to this war and Peace to Israel, and Repentance to America and Revive Your Church Oh Lord, especially help us repent and be filled with You Holy Spirit as our gift to You Lord Jesus. Amen and Amen. A SPECIFIC UNSPOKEN. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Vickie and Family. Brittany M and family. Dennis and Lisa. Jack. Melanie and Jay M. Susanne M. Alice T. Elaine W and Family. Joni and Todd. Roy and Julee. Glenn R and his family. Holly. Donald 2. Ed G. Debra B. Jon E. Katie B. Brian. Donald 1. Loyce McM. DeLois. Mollie B. Marzelle. KC. Neolle T. Mary F. MH and J. Caleb and his family – Rob, Vaughn, Whitaker and Donoghue. Dora. Mattie. Jarrod. BETTY. Brenda and her family. Joshua A. Kim T and her parents. Martha McC. Tamra and Family. Rachel and family. Joe and Rose. Darlene’s Sister, Leona. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Natalie. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Sandra. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family Mary.. Susan D. Melissa and daughters. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Katelyn (B) J Lloyd. Janet and Steve. Bay and family. Bill and Judy. Doug. Larry and Claudia and family. Callie. Ruth. Cynthia. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Chuck. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Andrew and Daughters.

Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

ABBA, I am removing this ‘posting’ for the Cleansing of America and leaving it with You.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Justin G. Michael K. Bay N. T. Palin. Richard M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T. Kyle N(3/09). Jessica D. (4/09) Sgt. Vince Barrientos (5/2009)

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G. Tommy W.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08)

Military at home, specifically those emotional-spirit wounds that only God and Time can heal – Adam M. Captain Tran. Josh. John L. Drew.

As I post this it is 99°F and clear in Al Asad, IQ (Airport) and the time 3:38 PM AST on August 11, 2009.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2009

This is an adjustment! The house has been keeping us and today I must return to keeping house; my beloved (as I begin) is on his way to the office – staycation is over. Retirement is looking better all the time!

Psalm 23 (Amplified Bible)

A Psalm of David.

1THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

2He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.

3He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him–not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.

4Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.

6Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

This is the text from which my Pastor preached yesterday. He gave us word pictures and even though the psalm is so familiar, I listened with sweet tears as he told us about the oil on the head and the overflowing cup. Oh how great is our God, our Shepherd! Pastor told us about the ancient custom of the cup; that when your cup was empty it was time for you to leave the table. He said imagine being seated at the King’s table and your cup is nearly empty, just one more sip and you will have to leave, so you linger over that sip not wanting to take, not wanting to leave the table. And then an arm comes around you with the pitcher in hand to fill your cup but it’s not the arm of the waiter it’s the robe-clad arm of the King Himself and he pours into your cup and he keeps pouring till the cup overflows. Pastor said that robe-clad arm is the arm of our Shepherd-Savior-King pouring an everlasting cup for us. We never have to leave the Table of our Savior! And as the Pastor spoke, an additional picture formed for me and I thought of quiet times, times of study and devotion as the table and the cup when the fellowship is so sweet, sweeter and more delicious than the best wine (not that I drink wine, mind you) and as you drink and drink and talk and talk and listen and listen then you notice the cup is getting low signaling it’s time to go and you think no, no I don’t want this sweet time to end I want to keep sitting here leaning on Your Heart and then you realize your cup is full but it’s a TO GO CUP and He is inviting (commanding even that) you go and prepare a table in His Name to serve others, inviting them to come to HIS TABLE. Can you see it? Is that good or what!?

Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

For those of you who may not have already heard, Mike passed away last night (Saturday) about 7:30. He was at home and surrounded by family. Arrangements will be finalized later today. Thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown us during the past couple of years; it did keep him going and gave us comfort. Bless you all, Vickie

ABBA, thank You for this beautiful, beautiful picture that speaks so clearly and so sweetly to me, I pray Holy Spirit You will anoint it and speak it into the hearts of our IDOKs as You will. I pray for Vickie and her family this morning as they grieve this temporary separation from Mike. Thank You for the sure knowing they have of seeing him again. Thank You for the sure knowing that he is more alive now than he has ever been and he shall now never die again; I pray You will comfort them with this and in the appropriate time give Vickie visions and dreams of her calling to serve You here until You call her to come there and join You and Mike there. And we pray You will give such other dreams and visions for each and every soul on our list today that we may serve You in our living or our dying. We pray peace and safety for our IDOK Troops and for Israel and for each one of us in and for Jesus Name sake. Amen and amen. A SPECIFIC UNSPOKEN. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Vickie and Family. Brittany M and family. Dennis and Lisa. Jack. Melanie and Jay M. Susanne M. Alice T. Elaine W and Family. Joni and Todd. Roy and Julee. Glenn R and his family. Holly. Donald 2. Ed G. Debra B. Jon E. Katie B. Brian. Donald 1. Loyce McM. DeLois. Mollie B. Marzelle. KC. Neolle T. Mary F. MH and J. Caleb and his family – Rob, Vaughn, Whitaker and Donoghue. Dora. Mattie. Jarrod. BETTY. Brenda and her family. Joshua A. Kim T and her parents. Martha McC. Tamra and Family. Rachel and family. Joe and Rose. Darlene’s Sister, Leona. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Natalie. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Sandra. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family Mary.. Susan D. Melissa and daughters. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Katelyn (B) J Lloyd. Janet and Steve. Bay and family. Bill and Judy. Doug. Larry and Claudia and family. Callie. Ruth. Cynthia. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Chuck. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Andrew and Daughters.

Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

ABBA, I am removing this ‘posting’ for the Cleansing of America and leaving it with You.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Justin G. Michael K. Bay N. T. Palin. Richard M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T. Kyle N(3/09). Jessica D. (4/09) Sgt. Vince Barrientos (5/2009)

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G. Tommy W.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08)

Military at home, specifically those emotional-spirit wounds that only God and Time can heal – Adam M. Captain Tran. Josh. John L. Drew.

As I post this it is 106°F and haze in Balad, IQ (Airport) and the time 4:33 PM AST on August 10, 2009.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009

Blessings Upon You

Staycation is almost done and Monday everything will be back to normal … yeah, right! It have been an escape from the normal and has been refreshingly tiring.

This morning we have grand-babies arriving in just a few minutes, so I just saying hello and praying for you all to be blessed.

Psalm 128

1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,

Who walks in His ways.

2 When you eat the labor of your hands,

You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

When we eat the labor of our hands – when we ‘mind’ what we do with the Mind of Christ all shall be well with us and we will be happy.

Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

My brother saw the oncologist today (Wednesday). He will have surgery on August 28th to remove lymph nodes. Please pray that no cancer cells will be found in the lymph nodes. If none are found, he will not need further treatment, but only have periodic check ups. Thank you so much, La Juanna

ABBA, You know I figure I am most needy for more training to ‘mind’ the labor of my hands with Your Mind. I suspect there are others who think that way too so I pray for us that we will submit to training for Jesus sake. I pray for our IDOK Troops for protection and safety today. I pray for Donald to have no cancer cells in his lymph nodes and for him to recovery well. We pray too for peace of mind and heart for him and his family as they wait in this time. We bring all these here below too for Your will to be done. Bless with every gift and provision for all who come to their screens to read and pray today. Amen and amen. A SPECIFIC UNSPOKEN. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Brittany M and family. Dennis and Lisa. Jack. Melanie and Jay M. Susanne M. Alice T. Elaine W and Family. Joni and Todd. Roy and Julee. Glenn R and his family. Holly. Donald 2. Ed G. Debra B. Jon E. Katie B. Brian. Donald 1. Loyce McM. Marzelle. KC. Neolle T. Mary F. MH and J. Caleb and his family – Rob, Vaughn, Whitaker and Donoghue. Dora. Mattie. Jarrod. BETTY. Billie Joyce and family. Stack Family. Brenda and her family. Joshua A. Kim T and her parents. Martha McC. Tamra and Family. Rachel and family. Joe and Rose. Darlene’s Sister, Leona. Tammy B and Family. Jackie K. Brian T. Ricky M. Linda and Family. Joe. Michael H. Linda W. Debbie W. Mike and Vickie. Natalie. Jacqueline and Sons (River and Jackson). Sandra. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family Mary. Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry. Susan D. Melissa and daughters. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Darlene and Torkel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. DeLois. Katelyn (B) J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Bay and family. Bill and Judy. Doug. Larry and Claudia and family. Callie. Ruth. Cynthia. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Chuck. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Andrew and Daughters. Mollie B.

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

ABBA, I am removing this ‘posting’ for the Cleansing of America and leaving it with You.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Justin G. Michael K. Bay N. T. Palin. Richard M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T. Kyle N(3/09). Jessica D. (4/09) Sgt. Vince Barrientos (5/2009)

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G. Tommy W.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08)

Military at home, specifically those emotional-spirit wounds that only God and Time can heal – Adam M. Captain Tran. Josh. John L. Drew.

As I post this it is 108°F and clear in Al Asad, IQ (Airport) and the time 3:23 PM AST on August 7, 2009.