2120 Before the Sun Sets

Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and thought, “Please get to the point.” Some people include every detail, every side story, every random moment. And when they say, ‘To make a long story short,’ you know the story is about to get longer. Now, when it comes to your Bible, long stories are kept short. One encounter with Jesus would be an entire best selling book, and instead we read about it in a single paragraph. Many details are left out for the sake of not losing our attention. How sweet of God to get to the point and keep it short. However, when studying our Bible, it’s important to remember, there’s always more to the story than you read. You have to read between the lines and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the details and feelings that apply to you today. Don’t just speed read the story, slow down and imagine it fully. What you will find is a lesson that applies to you today. Let’s practice together today. Take a few minutes and read Acts 3. In my Bible, this story is titled, “Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar.” Acts 3: 1-10, “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.” “Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’” “Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping and praising God, he went into to the Temple with them.”   Now, let’s dig deeper. Let’s read between the lines and find more in this story. First, get the visual. This gate outside the temple is not just an ordinary gate. It is the Beautiful Gate, literally. It is 75 feet tall, made of solid bronze. It is the massive entrance to the temple where people would gather to pray. And here this man sat at a beautiful gate while living a broken life. Isn’t it interesting that a broken man was laid daily at a gate called Beautiful? You can be surrounded by beauty and still feel broken inside. You can sit at the entrance of worship while silently carrying disappointment, pain and unanswered prayers. It was customary to give to those in need on the way to the temple, so the gate was the gathering place for anyone seeking spare change. But don’t you know, God is interested in more than spare change, he is interested in soul change! He wants to create a change in you that cannot be denied, and he wants to use that change in you as a display of his undeniable power to everyone around you. Now this man who was born unable to walk was over 40 years old. And we’re told that he was carried there each day to beg from those entering the temple. This is the same temple Jesus himself had gone to just weeks earlier. Jesus had likely walked through this exact gate. And if this man was carried there every day, odds are Jesus had passed right by him. Weeks earlier, Matthew 21:14 says, “The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” Yes, this same temple with this same gate. Jesus had been there. Jesus had healed other. So, why hadn’t Jesus healed this man when he was there? I want you to imagine for a moment being this man, laying by the temple every single day, begging for a little change, and one day Jesus shows up and heals people just like you, BUT NOT YOU. Imagine seeing others get their miracle, but not you. Why are you left still begging and waiting? Why couldn’t Jesus change your situation when he so clearly changed others? And maybe that’s exactly how you feel right now. Other people have gotten what you’re still begging for, so why were you overlooked? If God has the power to do it for everyone and you’ve seen him do it for someone else, why won’t he do it for you? You’ve heard those love stories of the girl finally finding the man who could love her so perfectly … but why not you? You’ve heard about people with your exact same illness being miraculously healed, but why not you? You’ve heard about God showing up and providing in the wildest ways, but why hasn’t he shown up for you? Nothing tests your faith quite like watching God do for someone else what you’ve been begging Him to do for you. Or maybe someone you love has been left still waiting and wondering ‘why not them’? If Jesus can do it, and he has done it for others, why hasn’t he done it for them? What do you say to that? Could Jesus have passed by this man before? Could he have chosen not to heal him? Could this man have been left out when others were healed? Absolutely. But why? Everything God does and doesn’t do is for the perfect timing for the greatest glory and eternal purposes. There’s always a much bigger story unfolding. We only see the current page in our present chapter, but God knows the whole story and he’s not rushing to get to the end. God is not willing to waste a single opportunity or miss one detail. God’s purpose is always greater than our understand, even when the outcome is different than we expected. Before Peter ever noticed this man laying at the gate called Beautiful, Jesus already knew his name, his pain and every day he had spent waiting. Jesus always knew about this lame man laying at the gate called Beautiful. Remember, Jesus is God in the flesh. They are one. God created this man. God knew every detail about him. He wasn’t overlooked. He wasn’t forgotten. Delay is not denial when God is still writing the story. He was left still waiting and begging in the weeks after Jesus had come to the temple and healed others, and he was waiting for a greater purpose. It was for the greater glory of God that Jesus would heal this man from Heaven, through Peter and John. We need to see that Jesus doesn’t have to personally be seen for his power to be at work. He heals from Heaven, and he does it through us! So, yes, Jesus likely had walked by this man at the gate before. And no, Jesus didn’t heal him when he was there, he left him waiting. Waiting but not without purpose. My sister, you are still waiting because there’s a greater purpose. There’s a bigger story. Let’s read between the lines. Just a few days before the cross, Jesus came to the temple. He helped the blind and the lame. People saw his wonderful miracles live and in person. But, scripture says they were indignant, meaning they were annoyed, irritated and angry. But now when Peter and John come to the temple a few weeks after Jesus, they heal this one man and something huge happens. Acts 4:4, “Many who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000!” Could this crippled man have been left waiting for healing because God had bigger plans to use his later healing for the saving of thousands of lives? YES!!!! And could you be left still waiting, not because God has overlooked you, but because God has bigger plans for things you can’t even imagine? YES!!!! My sister, your story is part of a bigger story. Have faith in God’s perfect timing to show up for you, then use you for his glory. Now, let’s dig even deeper. Remember, you’re getting a very long story made very short, but the Holy Spirit wants to show you more. This man was begging for money to just get through the day, and there’s no fault in that. There were no government programs to assist him. They had no special jobs for those who couldn’t walk. The only thing he could do was beg. But God can do more than make our current condition more bearable, he can radically change it! This man would have settled for a little change that day to buy his next meal, but what God had in mind was a big change so he could earn his next meal. We would all be so quick to settle for a little change to make our current conditions more bearable. But God wants to change something within you and empower you to live like you’ve never lived before. Are you up for that change? Are you up for never sitting where you’ve been stuck before? Are you up for being strengthened to show up different? Are you ready to leave behind the identity you’ve carried in your brokenness? Are you ready to stop living limited by what once held you down? Not everyone is ready for that, so really consider what you would do if your excuses were stripped from you and you have absolutely no viable reason why you can’t show up in life. If you’re ready for that, God’s got something for you! One more aspect of this story I feel the Holy Spirit is prompting us to see is the details of the healing. Let’s read verse 7 & 8 again, “The man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk!” It’s so interesting that the word translated “feet” only occurs in this scripture. It is never used anywhere else. It was a word used to differentiate between parts of the human heel. The word “ankle” is a medical term also found no where else in scripture. The phrase “jumped up” describes the coming suddenly into socket of something that was out of place. This is literally a medical description of what happened for this man. The power of God put what was out of place into place. What’s out of place in your life? Do you need God to suddenly put it into place? GOD CAN DO THAT!!!!!! He can take what has always been out of place in your life and put it right where it needs to be so that you can do what you’ve never been able to do before. And maybe he’s never put it into place before, but it’s not because he can’t. He knows exactly what needs to happen, and he knows precisely the right time for it to happen. Sometimes God’s great purpose leads to immediate breakthrough. Sometimes it leads to endurance, deeper faith, or a testimony built over years instead of moments. But either way, your waiting is never wasted. The man at the Beautiful Gate thought he needed enough change to survive another day. But God had planned complete transformation. And maybe what feels like delay in your life is actually God preparing a moment that will reveal His power in a way you could never have imagined. Do NOT lose heart in the waiting. Heaven has not overlooked you. Jesus still sees you. And there is still more to the story. Follow Pamela on Instagram – Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and thought, “Please get to the point.” Some people include every detail, every side story, every random moment. And when they say, ‘To make a long story short,’ you know the story is about to get longer. Now, when it comes to your Bible, long stories are kept short. One encounter with Jesus would be an entire best selling book, and instead we read about it in a single paragraph. Many details are left out for the sake of not losing our attention. How sweet of God to get to the point and keep it short. However, when studying our Bible, it’s important to remember, there’s always more to the story than you read. You have to read between the lines and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the details and feelings that apply to you today. Don’t just speed read the story, slow down and imagine it fully. What you will find is a lesson that applies to you today. Let’s practice together today. Take a few minutes and read Acts 3. In my Bible, this story is titled, “Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar.” Acts 3: 1-10, “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.” “Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’” “Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping and praising God, he went into to the Temple with them.”   Now, let’s dig deeper. Let’s read between the lines and find more in this story. First, get the visual. This gate outside the temple is not just an ordinary gate. It is the Beautiful Gate, literally. It is 75 feet tall, made of solid bronze. It is the massive entrance to the temple where people would gather to pray. And here this man sat at a beautiful gate while living a broken life. Isn’t it interesting that a broken man was laid daily at a gate called Beautiful? You can be surrounded by beauty and still feel broken inside. You can sit at the entrance of worship while silently carrying disappointment, pain and unanswered prayers. It was customary to give to those in need on the way to the temple, so the gate was the gathering place for anyone seeking spare change. But don’t you know, God is interested in more than spare change, he is interested in soul change! He wants to create a change in you that cannot be denied, and he wants to use that change in you as a display of his undeniable power to everyone around you. Now this man who was born unable to walk was over 40 years old. And we’re told that he was carried there each day to beg from those entering the temple. This is the same temple Jesus himself had gone to just weeks earlier. Jesus had likely walked through this exact gate. And if this man was carried there every day, odds are Jesus had passed right by him. Weeks earlier, Matthew 21:14 says, “The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” Yes, this same temple with this same gate. Jesus had been there. Jesus had healed other. So, why hadn’t Jesus healed this man when he was there? I want you to imagine for a moment being this man, laying by the temple every single day, begging for a little change, and one day Jesus shows up and heals people just like you, BUT NOT YOU. Imagine seeing others get their miracle, but not you. Why are you left still begging and waiting? Why couldn’t Jesus change your situation when he so clearly changed others? And maybe that’s exactly how you feel right now. Other people have gotten what you’re still begging for, so why were you overlooked? If God has the power to do it for everyone and you’ve seen him do it for someone else, why won’t he do it for you? You’ve heard those love stories of the girl finally finding the man who could love her so perfectly … but why not you? You’ve heard about people with your exact same illness being miraculously healed, but why not you? You’ve heard about God showing up and providing in the wildest ways, but why hasn’t he shown up for you? Nothing tests your faith quite like watching God do for someone else what you’ve been begging Him to do for you. Or maybe someone you love has been left still waiting and wondering ‘why not them’? If Jesus can do it, and he has done it for others, why hasn’t he done it for them? What do you say to that? Could Jesus have passed by this man before? Could he have chosen not to heal him? Could this man have been left out when others were healed? Absolutely. But why? Everything God does and doesn’t do is for the perfect timing for the greatest glory and eternal purposes. There’s always a much bigger story unfolding. We only see the current page in our present chapter, but God knows the whole story and he’s not rushing to get to the end. God is not willing to waste a single opportunity or miss one detail. God’s purpose is always greater than our understand, even when the outcome is different than we expected. Before Peter ever noticed this man laying at the gate called Beautiful, Jesus already knew his name, his pain and every day he had spent waiting. Jesus always knew about this lame man laying at the gate called Beautiful. Remember, Jesus is God in the flesh. They are one. God created this man. God knew every detail about him. He wasn’t overlooked. He wasn’t forgotten. Delay is not denial when God is still writing the story. He was left still waiting and begging in the weeks after Jesus had come to the temple and healed others, and he was waiting for a greater purpose. It was for the greater glory of God that Jesus would heal this man from Heaven, through Peter and John. We need to see that Jesus doesn’t have to personally be seen for his power to be at work. He heals from Heaven, and he does it through us! So, yes, Jesus likely had walked by this man at the gate before. And no, Jesus didn’t heal him when he was there, he left him waiting. Waiting but not without purpose. My sister, you are still waiting because there’s a greater purpose. There’s a bigger story. Let’s read between the lines. Just a few days before the cross, Jesus came to the temple. He helped the blind and the lame. People saw his wonderful miracles live and in person. But, scripture says they were indignant, meaning they were annoyed, irritated and angry. But now when Peter and John come to the temple a few weeks after Jesus, they heal this one man and something huge happens. Acts 4:4, “Many who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000!” Could this crippled man have been left waiting for healing because God had bigger plans to use his later healing for the saving of thousands of lives? YES!!!! And could you be left still waiting, not because God has overlooked you, but because God has bigger plans for things you can’t even imagine? YES!!!! My sister, your story is part of a bigger story. Have faith in God’s perfect timing to show up for you, then use you for his glory. Now, let’s dig even deeper. Remember, you’re getting a very long story made very short, but the Holy Spirit wants to show you more. This man was begging for money to just get through the day, and there’s no fault in that. There were no government programs to assist him. They had no special jobs for those who couldn’t walk. The only thing he could do was beg. But God can do more than make our current condition more bearable, he can radically change it! This man would have settled for a little change that day to buy his next meal, but what God had in mind was a big change so he could earn his next meal. We would all be so quick to settle for a little change to make our current conditions more bearable. But God wants to change something within you and empower you to live like you’ve never lived before. Are you up for that change? Are you up for never sitting where you’ve been stuck before? Are you up for being strengthened to show up different? Are you ready to leave behind the identity you’ve carried in your brokenness? Are you ready to stop living limited by what once held you down? Not everyone is ready for that, so really consider what you would do if your excuses were stripped from you and you have absolutely no viable reason why you can’t show up in life. If you’re ready for that, God’s got something for you! One more aspect of this story I feel the Holy Spirit is prompting us to see is the details of the healing. Let’s read verse 7 & 8 again, “The man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk!” It’s so interesting that the word translated “feet” only occurs in this scripture. It is never used anywhere else. It was a word used to differentiate between parts of the human heel. The word “ankle” is a medical term also found no where else in scripture. The phrase “jumped up” describes the coming suddenly into socket of something that was out of place. This is literally a medical description of what happened for this man. The power of God put what was out of place into place. What’s out of place in your life? Do you need God to suddenly put it into place? GOD CAN DO THAT!!!!!! He can take what has always been out of place in your life and put it right where it needs to be so that you can do what you’ve never been able to do before. And maybe he’s never put it into place before, but it’s not because he can’t. He knows exactly what needs to happen, and he knows precisely the right time for it to happen. Sometimes God’s great purpose leads to immediate breakthrough. Sometimes it leads to endurance, deeper faith, or a testimony built over years instead of moments. But either way, your waiting is never wasted. The man at the Beautiful Gate thought he needed enough change to survive another day. But God had planned complete transformation. And maybe what feels like delay in your life is actually God preparing a moment that will reveal His power in a way you could never have imagined. Do NOT lose heart in the waiting. Heaven has not overlooked you. Jesus still sees you. And there is still more to the story. Follow Pamela on Instagram – Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and thought, “Please get to the point.” Some people include every detail, every side story, every random moment. And when they say, ‘To make a long story short,’ you know the story is about to get longer. Now, when it comes to your Bible, long stories are kept short. One encounter with Jesus would be an entire best selling book, and instead we read about it in a single paragraph. Many details are left out for the sake of not losing our attention. How sweet of God to get to the point and keep it short. However, when studying our Bible, it’s important to remember, there’s always more to the story than you read. You have to read between the lines and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the details and feelings that apply to you today. Don’t just speed read the story, slow down and imagine it fully. What you will find is a lesson that applies to you today. Let’s practice together today. Take a few minutes and read Acts 3. In my Bible, this story is titled, “Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar.” Acts 3: 1-10, “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.” “Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’” “Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping and praising God, he went into to the Temple with them.”   Now, let’s dig deeper. Let’s read between the lines and find more in this story. First, get the visual. This gate outside the temple is not just an ordinary gate. It is the Beautiful Gate, literally. It is 75 feet tall, made of solid bronze. It is the massive entrance to the temple where people would gather to pray. And here this man sat at a beautiful gate while living a broken life. Isn’t it interesting that a broken man was laid daily at a gate called Beautiful? You can be surrounded by beauty and still feel broken inside. You can sit at the entrance of worship while silently carrying disappointment, pain and unanswered prayers. It was customary to give to those in need on the way to the temple, so the gate was the gathering place for anyone seeking spare change. But don’t you know, God is interested in more than spare change, he is interested in soul change! He wants to create a change in you that cannot be denied, and he wants to use that change in you as a display of his undeniable power to everyone around you. Now this man who was born unable to walk was over 40 years old. And we’re told that he was carried there each day to beg from those entering the temple. This is the same temple Jesus himself had gone to just weeks earlier. Jesus had likely walked through this exact gate. And if this man was carried there every day, odds are Jesus had passed right by him. Weeks earlier, Matthew 21:14 says, “The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” Yes, this same temple with this same gate. Jesus had been there. Jesus had healed other. So, why hadn’t Jesus healed this man when he was there? I want you to imagine for a moment being this man, laying by the temple every single day, begging for a little change, and one day Jesus shows up and heals people just like you, BUT NOT YOU. Imagine seeing others get their miracle, but not you. Why are you left still begging and waiting? Why couldn’t Jesus change your situation when he so clearly changed others? And maybe that’s exactly how you feel right now. Other people have gotten what you’re still begging for, so why were you overlooked? If God has the power to do it for everyone and you’ve seen him do it for someone else, why won’t he do it for you? You’ve heard those love stories of the girl finally finding the man who could love her so perfectly … but why not you? You’ve heard about people with your exact same illness being miraculously healed, but why not you? You’ve heard about God showing up and providing in the wildest ways, but why hasn’t he shown up for you? Nothing tests your faith quite like watching God do for someone else what you’ve been begging Him to do for you. Or maybe someone you love has been left still waiting and wondering ‘why not them’? If Jesus can do it, and he has done it for others, why hasn’t he done it for them? What do you say to that? Could Jesus have passed by this man before? Could he have chosen not to heal him? Could this man have been left out when others were healed? Absolutely. But why? Everything God does and doesn’t do is for the perfect timing for the greatest glory and eternal purposes. There’s always a much bigger story unfolding. We only see the current page in our present chapter, but God knows the whole story and he’s not rushing to get to the end. God is not willing to waste a single opportunity or miss one detail. God’s purpose is always greater than our understand, even when the outcome is different than we expected. Before Peter ever noticed this man laying at the gate called Beautiful, Jesus already knew his name, his pain and every day he had spent waiting. Jesus always knew about this lame man laying at the gate called Beautiful. Remember, Jesus is God in the flesh. They are one. God created this man. God knew every detail about him. He wasn’t overlooked. He wasn’t forgotten. Delay is not denial when God is still writing the story. He was left still waiting and begging in the weeks after Jesus had come to the temple and healed others, and he was waiting for a greater purpose. It was for the greater glory of God that Jesus would heal this man from Heaven, through Peter and John. We need to see that Jesus doesn’t have to personally be seen for his power to be at work. He heals from Heaven, and he does it through us! So, yes, Jesus likely had walked by this man at the gate before. And no, Jesus didn’t heal him when he was there, he left him waiting. Waiting but not without purpose. My sister, you are still waiting because there’s a greater purpose. There’s a bigger story. Let’s read between the lines. Just a few days before the cross, Jesus came to the temple. He helped the blind and the lame. People saw his wonderful miracles live and in person. But, scripture says they were indignant, meaning they were annoyed, irritated and angry. But now when Peter and John come to the temple a few weeks after Jesus, they heal this one man and something huge happens. Acts 4:4, “Many who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000!” Could this crippled man have been left waiting for healing because God had bigger plans to use his later healing for the saving of thousands of lives? YES!!!! And could you be left still waiting, not because God has overlooked you, but because God has bigger plans for things you can’t even imagine? YES!!!! My sister, your story is part of a bigger story. Have faith in God’s perfect timing to show up for you, then use you for his glory. Now, let’s dig even deeper. Remember, you’re getting a very long story made very short, but the Holy Spirit wants to show you more. This man was begging for money to just get through the day, and there’s no fault in that. There were no government programs to assist him. They had no special jobs for those who couldn’t walk. The only thing he could do was beg. But God can do more than make our current condition more bearable, he can radically change it! This man would have settled for a little change that day to buy his next meal, but what God had in mind was a big change so he could earn his next meal. We would all be so quick to settle for a little change to make our current conditions more bearable. But God wants to change something within you and empower you to live like you’ve never lived before. Are you up for that change? Are you up for never sitting where you’ve been stuck before? Are you up for being strengthened to show up different? Are you ready to leave behind the identity you’ve carried in your brokenness? Are you ready to stop living limited by what once held you down? Not everyone is ready for that, so really consider what you would do if your excuses were stripped from you and you have absolutely no viable reason why you can’t show up in life. If you’re ready for that, God’s got something for you! One more aspect of this story I feel the Holy Spirit is prompting us to see is the details of the healing. Let’s read verse 7 & 8 again, “The man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk!” It’s so interesting that the word translated “feet” only occurs in this scripture. It is never used anywhere else. It was a word used to differentiate between parts of the human heel. The word “ankle” is a medical term also found no where else in scripture. The phrase “jumped up” describes the coming suddenly into socket of something that was out of place. This is literally a medical description of what happened for this man. The power of God put what was out of place into place. What’s out of place in your life? Do you need God to suddenly put it into place? GOD CAN DO THAT!!!!!! He can take what has always been out of place in your life and put it right where it needs to be so that you can do what you’ve never been able to do before. And maybe he’s never put it into place before, but it’s not because he can’t. He knows exactly what needs to happen, and he knows precisely the right time for it to happen. Sometimes God’s great purpose leads to immediate breakthrough. Sometimes it leads to endurance, deeper faith, or a testimony built over years instead of moments. But either way, your waiting is never wasted. The man at the Beautiful Gate thought he needed enough change to survive another day. But God had planned complete transformation. And maybe what feels like delay in your life is actually God preparing a moment that will reveal His power in a way you could never have imagined. Do NOT lose heart in the waiting. Heaven has not overlooked you. Jesus still sees you. And there is still more to the story. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Today in Venice, I will take my retreat girls to a church most tourists will never enter. Not because they can’t—but because they pass right by it. There’s no line wrapping around the building. No admission ticket. No crowds shuffling through with cameras. It’s not treated like a museum or a famous attraction. Years ago, when I was completely lost wandering the winding canals of Venice, I stumbled into this church by accident. And somehow… it captured my soul. It wasn’t the magnificent architecture. It wasn’t the intricate stonework or priceless paintings. But there is one thing inside this church I have never forgotten. One image that still grips my soul years later. It was one statue. A statue of the Archangel Michael. Michael stands there with a sword raised high, his foot crushing Satan beneath him. The imagery is unforgettable. Evil beneath his feet. Darkness defeated. Heaven victorious. Not fighting for victory – but FROM victory. Evil beneath him. Defeated Crushed. Satan rendered powerless. And every time I see it, I’m reminded: There is far more happening around us than what we can see. Thousands walk right past this church every day unaware of what’s inside. And I think we often live that way spiritually too—unaware of the unseen reality surrounding us. Heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. Most people live only aware of the physical world—the meetings, the schedules, the disappointments, the conversations, the bills, the diagnoses, the delays. But Scripture pulls back the curtain and reveals another reality entirely: A spiritual battle raging in the unseen realms. This statue always brings me back to one story in Scripture about Daniel. In Daniel chapter 10, we find Daniel praying with no answer. Now remember, Daniel is a man who knew God. He’s the one who was in the den with lions all night and walked out without a scratch. But now we find Daniel praying and praying and nothing. He’s been praying for 3 weeks and Heaven has been silent. But heaven was not silent. Remember, heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. In Daniel 10: 12-14, an angel finally appeared to Daniel and said: “Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me.” Daniel thought nothing was happening. But heaven had been responding SINCE DAY ONE. The answer was sent the FIRST day Daniel prayed. But for 21 days there was warfare in the heavenly realms over the delivery of that answer. While Daniel kept praying on earth, angels kept fighting in heaven. While Daniel prayed on earth, heaven fought on his behalf. I wonder how many times we quit praying because we assume nothing is happening. We pray for … the prodigal child the healing the marriage the breakthrough The depression The addiction The loneliness And when we don’t immediately see movement, we quietly stop asking. But what if heaven was moving the entire time? What if there was a battle happening over your breakthrough that you could not see? Heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. While you pray on earth, heaven fights on your behalf. Literally. What prayer have you stopped praying because heaven seemed silent? Ephesians 6:12 tells us: ““For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly realms.” What is happening behind the scenes in the spiritual realm is a full on battle! Behind every scene, the angels and demons are fighting. The demons are fighting to delay you, distract you, discourage you, overwhelm you, depress you, and destroy you. All the time. Every time. But God’s angels are battling them to protect you, deliver you, encourage you, strengthen you and move you forward. It. Is. Real. But know this, God is sovereign. Victory is already Christ’s. The battle is real but it is never, not even for one second, uncertain. Do you understand there’s a battle happening in the heavenly realms over the answer to your prayer? I don’t think we get that. Satan knows what will happen if your prayers are answered – oh the unstoppable faith you will have – oh the praise you will give – that’s the last thing Satan wants! So he sends his demons into battle to delay your answers. Are there delays in the spiritual realm? Clearly, this is an example. Heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. So, that leaves me to wonder … were you praying specifically for something, but then you gave up? What if you gave up while the angels were battling for you and the day you quit praying was the day God called the angels back and said, “She’s just not asking anymore.” How much angelic assistance have I forfeited because I failed to be consistent in prayer? Here’s what I’m learning: PRAYER REALLY MATTERS! An angel was dispatched because of Daniel’s prayers. For every day he continued to pray, that angel continued to battle the demon sent to block him. Jesus refers to Satan as the “Prince of this world” 3 times in the book of John. These spirit princes being revealed to Daniel are Satan’s demons, his battle buddies, his soldiers of evil. They are the evil spirits battling God’s angels, trying to block God’s answers, God’s blessings, God’s breakthroughs and God’s works. But what we see here is as long as we pray, the angels will not quit fighting for you. I know what it feels like to pray for years and still be waiting. I know that weariness. I know that disappointment. I know seasons of giving up. But I’m reminded I’m not battling alone. Maybe it’s time to call in the archangel Michael! When the battle keeps going, Michael is called in for help in the spiritual realm. Yes, that spiritual warrior in the statue I told you about. He’s crushing satan beneath his feet. Michael’s foot is on his neck. Y’all, that’s what our angels are doing for us! It’s real. It’s happening. There’s a battle, and the battle is often over your prayers. Don’t stop praying now! Why is there a delay in your answer? Well maybe there’s a battle happening for you! Maybe God has sent your answer the moment you began to pray, but the journey to you has been a fight. Here’s what you need to know … God says you’re worth fighting for. 2 Chronicles 20: 15-17, “This battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you.” Deuteronomy 20:4, “For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!” Now is NOT the time to quit praying. There’s a battle happening in the spiritual realm and your angels will not stop fighting as long as you’re praying. They are not giving up on you, now don’t you give up on them. God has a victory here for you and for your family. So if heaven feels silent today, don’t mistake silence for inactivity. The first day you prayed, heaven heard you. And while you kneel on earth, there may be battles being fought in heaven that you cannot yet see. Heaven hears. Angels are fighting. Christ has already won. Keep praying. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Basilica of Santa Margherita — the big church perched high above Cortona. From down in the valley, it almost seems to float above the town. This church is dedicated to Margaret of Cortona. Margaret is unlike any other saint you will likely ever hear about. Her story is fascinating and dramatic. If you were choosing the story of a woman to become a saint known for her faith in Jesus, this would not be the chosen one. But, thankfully God doesn’t choose as we would choose. He never dismisses us because of our past. Our shame or guilt is never beyond his touch of redemption. His good plans for us still stand even when we have done our best to mess them up. Margaret of Cortona’s body rests in a sealed tomb behind glass within the church high on the hill above the Tuscan town of Cortona. Yes, a corpse now 729 years old on display. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it wasn’t her preserved body that has left me in awe – it’s her story. Margaret was born in 1247 in rural Tuscany, in a tiny village near Cortona. Her mother died when she was young, and much like a Cinderella story she was then under the rule of a mean stepmother. As a teenager, she ran away with a wealthy nobleman named Arsenio. They lived together for years and had a son, but they were never married — quite scandalous by the standards of the time. They never married and Margaret had decided she would be okay with that since being Arsenio’s mistress afforded her a life of luxury and wealth. She was attached to her new lifestyle and she build her identity around a relationship with a man that wasn’t honorable. Hmmmm … not so saintly, huh? Then came the event that changed everything. One day Arsenio never returned home. Margaret followed his dog into the woods, which led her to his murdered body. The shock shattered her old life. Yes, her old life of luxury. Her old life of wealth. And her old life of being the mistress that had settled for a life that fell so short of God’s standards. After the death of Arsenio, Margaret left everything behind and went back to Cortona in deep grief and repentance. She knew the life she had been living was wrong and she wanted to make it right. At first she was rejected — even by family — but eventually the Franciscans took her in as someone who wanted to repent and do better. She became deeply spiritual, seeking God’s way instead of her own. But what made her beloved wasn’t just repentance; it was what she did afterward. Margaret devoted herself to the poor, the sick, and the outcast. She founded a hospital in Cortona and became known for fierce compassion and being in the presence miraculous acts of God. Margaret’s story reminds us you can have grief, you can carry shame, and God can still use you in powerful ways. In the hands of God, that’s a life that can reach other lost souls who feel distant. Her troubled past is still being used today, 729 years after her death to reach others with a troubled past. She was often compared to Mary Magdalene of the Bible. Remember Mary Magdalene – the woman no one else would have chosen, but Jesus chose her as one of his closest followers. Luke 8:2, “Jesus took his 12 disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them was Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out 7 demons.” It’s often thought Mary Magdalene is the sinful woman seen anointing the feet of Jesus in Luke 7. A woman believed to have been a prostitue. A woman who simply needed healing from all the enemy had used to destroy her in the past. Mary Magdalene was deeply afflicted and Jesus freed her. And afterwards, she devoted her entire life to him. She was at the cross when Jesus was crucified. She was the first one Jesus appeared to after his resurrection. She was the woman with an imperfect past that was chosen personally by Jesus. AND THE SAME IS TRUE FOR YOU AND I. CHOSEN. REDEEMED. HEALED. SET APART TO NOW DO SOMETHING GOOD WITH OUR LIVES. You may think certain things disqualified you, but God says surrendered things become powerful things. Your past does not cancel your purpose. Your story still belongs in the hands of a redeeming God. God wants to use ALL of your story — not just the polished parts. The healed parts. The overcoming parts. The still-growing parts. Stop believing you have to be perfect to be used by God. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Ephesians 5: 15-17, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools (asophoi), but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Just as God has a work he wants to do in your life, so does the enemy. The devil wants to do a work in your mind. He wants to do his nasty work in your heart. And he wants to bring absolute destruction to your relationships. And here’s the really dangerous thing … you may just be doing the devil’s work for him. That’s right – you might be causing the destruction yourself. Most of us have partnered with the enemy and without even knowing it, we’ve been doing his nasty work for him. We’ve made his job easy. Paul warns us of this in Ephesians 4: 26-27, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Here’s what this DOES NOT MEAN – this does not mean you can never be angry. This doesn’t mean you have to smile and always be happy. There is righteous anger. There are times when it is right to be angry. Jesus flipped a few tables in his day. You don’t have to be a pushover. In fact, God’s word even warns us that it’s not good to just go along with the crowd. We are to stand up for what is right. We are to be the light in the darkness. We are to cast out demons and evict evil. But, here’s what we cannot do – we cannot let anger control us. You can have anger – but don’t let anger have you. There’s a difference. When anger has you, it takes control of your mind and your mouth. When anger has you, you lash out and you act in a way that is not honoring of God. When anger has you, you sin. Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Where has anger taken control of you and left you thinking, saying and doing things you don’t even want to? Do you see this anywhere in your life? Do you know how that happened? Plain and simple, you didn’t put a time limit on that anger. You can feel what you need to feel, but you can’t allow yourself an open ended space to feel those negative feelings because then they take root and they begin growing in you. Whatever grows in you begins to take over you. This week I was sitting in a small village in southern Italy just looking at the old stone buildings and architecture. I noticed a grapevine that had grown up the side of the building. But then the grapevine had began to grow into the building. Attaching itself to the stone, wrapping itself around the railings, and literally growing to become part of the building. The grapevine was creating damage to the stone walls and taking over the walkway. This is the perfect picture of what happens within us with anything we allow to grow. We are taken over. Some of us have angry grapevines growing on every surface, creating damage and destruction. It didn’t happen instantly, it happened over time. Time. God works with time, but so does the enemy of your soul. If you give God time, he will radically change your life and set you free. If you give the devil time, he will wreck your heart, corrupt your mind, and destroy your life. And this is why Paul says, “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” This is about time. If you give the devil time with your anger, he will do his nasty work and eat you up on the inside. All anger, even justified anger, must be managed with a time limit. Anger absolutely cannot take up permanent residence in your heart and mind! How much time will you give anger? Something makes you mad – okay – so how long will you allow yourself to be mad over that? Paul says, NOT EVEN A FULL DAY. That’s what it means to not let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t let today’s anger flow into tomorrow. Don’t go to bed mad about this and wake up mad about it again. Set a time limit on that anger. Unlimited anger with the free rein of time gives the devil a foothold. Do you know what a foothold is? Think of it like this – if a bad guy is chasing you and you run into your house, but he sticks his foot in the door before you get it closed, that’s a foot hold. With his foot in the door, he can gain access and do damage. It might only be a 3 inch crack, but if he gets his foot in the door, then you are left vulnerable. That’s what anger without a time limit does in your life – it lets the devil get his foot in the door to your life. That small opening gives him access to do great damage. It may not feel like it, but even that justified anger that lingers can make you spiritually vulnerable. There comes a point with anger where we almost cherish it. We find delight in replaying the story, retelling the events, and rekindling the anger. The more people we can get to join us in that anger, the better. But that’s only better for the enemy. Now he has greater access to more hearts. Footholds are everywhere, and we are creating them! 1 Corinthians 13:6 TPT says, “Love finds no delight in what is wrong.” Really think about that. We are called to love. That is our purpose and our mission. Love finds no delight in what is wrong. That means when we are living according to the way God has called us to live, we don’t happily point out and talk about what is wrong. We don’t joyfully retell the story about what is wrong or who is wrong. Why are we making our conversations all about what is wrong? We have to stop that! Find something better to talk about. My goodness, there has to be something better to talk about. And here’s the thing … someone just has to turn the conversation and redirect it to what is right … I’m pretty sure God has asked YOU to be that person. I often make it a daily goal to “take no delight in what is wrong”. I can fall into the trap of watching something bad unfold and secretly enjoy the show. I caught myself just yesterday watching an angry old man on the train to Rome causing a ruckus for everyone around him. It was delighting to my eyes like entertainment. I wanted to hear the fighting. I wanted others to get involved. I was literally delighting in what was wrong, and that simply IS NOT LOVE. The enemy had a little opening to my heart and actively began working on my dislike of this human who I didn’t even know. My facial expressions told everyone else on that train that I was with them in their anger towards an old man who was clearly having a very bad day. That’s not right. That’s not God’s way. In fact, I’m just actively doing the devil’s work for him. I’m part of the problem. Paul gives us the solution earlier in Ephesians 4:2, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Can we just make allowance for each other’s faults? Can we be tolerant with one another? Can we remember that sometimes people have bad days? Can we remember that some people are carrying heavy burdens within that we know nothing about? Can we assume the best instead of the worst and allow space for our differences without anger? This isn’t just for strangers on a train, this is for the people we live with. Can we just allow space for rough mornings, overwhelmed minds, and poor choices of words sometimes? Can we give grace where they are wrong without making it all about us? You know what that does – that slams the door on the enemy. If his foot was trying to slip in there, his toes got smashed! The devil gets no foothold because my anger isn’t necessary and it’s simply not allowed here in the things that ultimately don’t even matter. But when it does matter – and sometimes it does – what’s important for us to remember is SET A TIME LIMIT on that anger. Don’t let the anger grow and fester. If you keep replaying the offense, the resentment will grow and bitterness will take root. And that bitterness is like the angry grapevine that attaches to you and creates destruction. It just won’t let go. It will wrap around you and force its way in. The foothold given to the devil becomes his stronghold. And if he has a stronghold on your heart, then you become the angry bitter woman you never wanted to be – and the woman no one wants to be around. Clinging to anger helps the enemy accomplish his work. He is the accuser, the divider, the destroyer, the condemner … and we partner with him in our anger and begin doing his work for him. We accuse instead of restore. We divide instead of reconcile. We wound instead of heal. We rehearse offenses rather than extend grace. This isn’t love … this is the enemy’s trap and we fall right in and become his slaves in his nasty work. When you feel angry, deal with it quickly. Don’t nurture it. Don’t let it settle it. Set a time limit and when the time is up, let it go. Your heart NEEDS YOU TO LET IT GO NOW. Before the sun goes down, let it go. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

When you realize how truly loved you are by God, you are made complete with two things: the fullness of life and the power that comes from God. Knowing you are loved frees you to live like never before. Not in fear and not in shame, but in bold courage to show up in this life you have been given and live like the girl you were truly created to be. Oh how I pray you are living in that freedom, my sister. You don’t have to play little. You don’t have to shrink back. You don’t have to sit it out. You can show up as the unique masterpiece you were created to be and live as only you can live. Now, today let’s talk about the second thing that makes you complete in God’s love … POWER that comes from God himself. What a trick of the enemy to make you think you are helpless and hopeless. What a lie from the pits of hell that tells you you’re just a victim to life’s circumstances and bad luck is all you ever have. No, my sister, you have power. And what can the power at work within you do … well, you have absolutely no idea! Like truly, your mind can’t even comprehend the power working in you as the recipient of God’s love. Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” You literally have no idea what God’s power within you can do. You have never even dreamed up a dream comparable to what is truly possible with this power of God’s you have within you. BUT DON’T YOU WANT TO? Don’t you want to start living with a better awareness of this power? Don’t you want to wake up with the knowledge of what can happen with God? When you begin to know about God’s mighty power that is working inside of you, you start living different. You stop backing down in fear. You stop dismissing yourself. You stop allowing fear and anxiety to take root in your mind and rob you of your joy and peace. This is not God’s promise to give you bigger stuff than you ever dreamed of … this is God’s promise of his power to do greater work IN YOU than you can currently imagine. Read it again – Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” He can change you. He can supernaturally strengthen you. He can make you in tune with his voice and sensitive to his promptings. He can give you holy courage to do what you’ve always been to afraid to do. He can guide you to be in the right place at the right time for his perfectly right plans to unfold. Sounds great, doesn’t it? We all want that. But don’t pluck this single scripture out and miss the full picture of God’s word. The revelation of this power at work within us comes AFTER experiencing the true measure of God’s love for us. This power doesn’t come without relationship. God is not a genie in a bottle with 3 wishes. He’s your loving creator who designed you to need him and thrive in the experience of his love for you. You are not complete without his love and you are not filled with this power without a relationship with him. Nothing is impossible with God – that’s true. But let remind you of the impossible work God focuses on BEFORE the open door, before the opportunity, before the success, and before the breakthrough … he begins by giving you a new mind with new thoughts. He begins by healing your heart to make it soft again. He starts by strengthening your spirit. Before he builds your business, he builds your courage, grows you in maturity, sets you free, and teaches you to love like him. If you’re only looking for the perks of riches, worldly success and selfish dreams, you may be sorely disappointed. God holds all those things, but he focuses on who you are becoming within FIRST. It’s his power at work WITHIN YOU, and that power can accomplish infinitely more than you could ever ask, think or imagine. Those habits you feel can never change … oh they can change! That old way of worrying about everything and overthinking all things … well that’s all powerless compared to God’s power now at work. Maybe you were once jealous, negative, or fearful … welp, all that is subject to the power of God now working in you. Once you know just how loved you are, then you’re under his power to change everything within you. Is there something you will boldly dare to ask God to go to work on in you? Something you want to surrender to his power and release to his control? Something you want to lay down right here and now and never pick it back up again? What is it? What yucky thing within you do you struggle with? This morning I sat down with God and I wrote a list of 34 different inner battles. Things I’ve personally battled or seen others battle. Every single one of which God has the power to change, but first we must acknowledge our own struggles before God. Don’t ignore this – if you really want God to do impossible things within you starting today, then it starts right here. Where have you struggled and you want God’s power to change: • Your tendency to perform • Your deep need to be liked • Your fear of disappointing people • Your negative self-talk • Your constant comparison • Your default of inappropriate flirtiness • Your need for validation • Your emotional over-eating • Your inability to say no • Your fear of being overlooked • Your inability to rest without guilt • Your twisted thought patterns • Your instant anger • Your overwhelming worry • Your need to control • Your unquinchable thirst for more • Your busy mind • Your negative thoughts • Your inability to finish what you start • Your tendency to embellish the story • Your constant scrolling and distraction • Your default of gossip • Your jealousy of others • Your bitterness from past hurt • Your addiction to comfort • Your fear of failure • Your perfectionism • Your procrastination • Your inability to trust God fully • Your secret pride • Your habit of settling for less than God’s best • Your tendency to quit when it gets hard • Your obsession with appearance • Your struggle to believe you’re already enough in Christ Oh my sister, you’re not alone – we all need God’s power at work within us. There’s no shame in what you’re willing to surrender right here to God. Decide now, are you going to continue to wrestle with this, or are you going to seek the power of God at work within you that can accomplish infinitely more than we could ask or think. This isn’t about your willpower to change, this is about your surrender to God’s power. Will you surrender this? If you’re really serious about this, I would recommend you go back and really listen to this list and with each one, ask God if this is an area you need his help with. Write them down, then bring them to God in prayer every day. Here’s how you could do that Example: If you struggle with negative thoughts, a default of gossip and an obsession with appearance, write them down in your journal. On one page write NEGATIVE THOUGHTS, then write Ephesians 3:19-20 to yourself, “I’m open to experiencing the love of Christ. Now I’m being made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. God is able, through his mighty power at work within ME to accomplish infinitely more than I could ask or think.” Then, in your own words, invite God’s loving power to go to work on your negative thoughts. Ask him to heal your mind. Ask him to do things you don’t even know to ask for. Then on the next page, write your next struggle, DEFAULT OF GOSSIP. Once again, write out Ephesians 3: 19-20 to yourself, “I’m open to experiencing the love of Christ. Now I’m being made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. God is able, through his mighty power at work within ME to accomplish infinitely more than I could ask or think.” Then, in your own words, invite God’s loving power to go to work on your default of gossip. Ask him for holy conviction so you’re aware when it’s happening and special strength to change. On another page write your next struggle, OBSESSION WITH APPEARANCE. Once again, write out Ephesians 3: 19-20 to yourself, “I’m open to experiencing the love of Christ. Now I’m being made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. God is able, through his mighty power at work within ME to accomplish infinitely more than I could ask or think.” Then, in your own words, invite God’s loving power to go to work on your obsession with appearance. Ask him to take away the desires that are not of him. Ask the Holy Spirit to heal what has been broken within that makes you unhappy with who you naturally are. Keep going back to this in prayer. As you recognize another need for God’s help, write it down in prayer. Will it work? Absolutely it will work. Not because of a magic formula, but because of God’s promised power for the girls he loves … and that’s you! He wants to work in you. He wants to heal what has been broken, he wants to restore what has been stolen, he wants to fix what has been twisted, and he wants to renew what has gone bad. Bring it to God, surrender it all to his power, and watch him work within you in unimaginable ways. He will radically change your life … and he’ll start with what’s happening inside of you. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Something happens in your life when you have a personal encounter with God’s love.  Something that changes you. I’m sure you know that God loves you.  But do you only know that on a surface level? For some, it’s a mere blanket statement of faith – nothing more than a thing you say because it’s what everyone else says.  “Jesus loves me this I know – for the Bible tells me so.”  But God wants his love to reach you in a deep, personal way to the core of your identity.  More than just because the Bible tells you so, but because you’ve personally experienced his love.  What God has for you is this, “Jesus loves me this I know – for he met me in my soul.” Before you are anything else, you are loved by God.  Before you are pretty enough, smart enough, or good enough in any way, you are LOVED BY GOD.  Before the first thing you did right or after the last thing you got wrong, you are loved by God.  Your mere existence proves the fact of his love for you. But because you’ve had his love every day of your life whether you acknowledged it or not, maybe it’s just become ordinary and unimpressive to you.  Sure, I’m loved by God – but what about these bills?  Yeah, I have God’s love, but what about all the things I don’t seem to have right now?  What about this mess?  What about this problem?  What about next month?  God’s love seems irrelevant in my real life of real struggles. Really, what does God’s love do for you?  Well, besides the fact that his love for you created you, gives you breath, saves your soul, and gives you a promised eternity in paradise … there’s more.  More for your real life right here today. Satan can’t take away the fact that God’s love gives you life.  He can’t cancel your promised destiny in heaven.  But what Satan can actively do is make your world so busy, so loud, and so fussy with absolute nonsense that you forfeit the power of God’s love here and now.  And then here you are walking around so totally loved by a God who holds all the power in the world, and totally unaware of how his love can radically change your life TODAY. Yes, today.  God’s love can change your experience in this day of life.  God’s love can open your eyes to what you’ve never seen before.  God’s love can change your thoughts and fill your entire existence with peace and joy.  God’s love can supernaturally strengthen you to do things you’ve never ever been able to do before. That’s what the enemy doesn’t want you to know.  Satan wants to keep you stuck in your pit of darkness, your overwhelm of sadness, your little hell of stress and worry.  Why?  Because there you are ineffective to share the light of Jesus.  There you are just another soul trudging through the existence of life waiting for it all to be over. Wait – has the enemy of your soul tricked you into living like that?  If so, recognize at the core of his trickery is the web of lies from the pits of hell telling you that you’re not REALLY loved by God.  His lies tell you that you’re just one of millions and millions of people and life is just happening to you.  His lies tell you you’re not really important to the creator of the Universe and there’s no divine power over the details of your days.  His lies tell you your prayers have no power, you don’t really hear from the Holy Spirit, and God Almighty is a little too busy to constantly be caring about you. Hmmmm – you’ve heard those lies, haven’t you?  Have you started to believe them? How do you overcome a lie?  WITH TRUTH!  Here’s the truth from God’s word. Ephesians 3:19, “May you experience the LOVE OF CHRIST, though it I too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” This is the scripture directly after yesterday’s verse giving us the measurements of God’s love through the cross.  Remember, we can look at the cross and know how WIDE God’s love is, how LONG God’s love is, how HIGH God’s love is and how DEEP God’s love is.  But it’s not enough to just know about these measurements of love through the cross, you must EXPERIENCE THIS LOVE. No you will never fully understand it, but you can still experience it.  You will never have the right words to express his love, but you will feel it deep within your soul when you encounter it.  Jesus loves me this I know, for he met me in my soul. May you EXPERIENCE the love of Christ.  The Greek word translated into ‘experience’ in this scripture is ginōskō.  This is a word for knowing firsthand after a personal encounter.  It’s deeper than knowing because you were taught or told – it’s a knowing because you’ve experienced it.  It’s a shift from “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” – to – “Jesus loves me this I know, for he met me in my soul.”  It’s a shift from “I know God loves me”, to “I have BEEN loved by God in a way that changed me.” How does God’s love change you?  It completes you.  It fills that hole that absolutely nothing else can.  You can achieve everything you’ve ever wanted to achieve, and still you need God’s love.  You can have purely wonderful relationships all around you, and still you need God’s love.  You can have the perfect body to include the hair, the clothes, the eyes, the smile, absolutely all the things, and you will still need God’s love.  You can have everyone’s approval and applause, and you will still feel a void within – a void that is only filled by God’s love.  You can have everything – and everything will never be enough, without God’s love. And here’s why – Completeness comes from experiencing the love of God through Jesus.  Again, look at our scripture, “May you EXPERIENCE the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  THEN you will be made COMPLETE with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”  The answer for your emptiness is the love of Jesus.  The solution for your longing is the love of Jesus.  Yes, that wide, long, high and deep love represented through the cross.  Have you experienced his love for you? Oh how I pray that you would be caught by God and completely swept away in his love.  I can’t give you a formula for experiencing that.  I can’t tell you, go to this exact place, pray this exact prayer, wait for 5 minutes, then his love will meet you and change everything.  It’s simply not like that.  God’s love meets us each in different ways at different times. I specifically remember the first time I experienced God’s love on this level.  It was at one of my worst moments.  A moment where I was utterly disappointed and broken by the way my steps of faith had been rewarded by more hardship.  I had grown angry and bitter in the hardship, convinced God has messed up.  Sitting on my couch that day, I wrestled with my true feelings and tried to suppress it all.  My husband said, “Pamela, why don’t you just say it – you’re mad at God.”  I had never been told I could have that feeling and still be loved.  I never knew God was bigger than my disappointment.  I seriously thought I would be struck by lightning if I told God how I really felt about the crap happening in our life.  But in that moment I just couldn’t hold it back any longer.  I screamed out, “God, I can’t believe this is how you repay faithfulness.  I can’t believe this is your good plan for me.  I’m so angry right now.” And then I held my breath waiting for the withdrawal of his presence.  But instead of being struck by lightening, I was struck by his unfailing love.  I personally experienced the LOVE of CHRIST there in my weakest and most vulnerable moment.  He didn’t turn away from me, instead I could feel his peace fill me.  In unspeakable ways, I was loved like I had never been loved before.  In my most unlovable moment, I was fully loved. That was a turning point for me.  I stepped out of being the victim and I harnessed new power.  Yes, power.  Power that comes from God when you experience the love of Christ.  Things didn’t instantly change for us, but I can look back and see exactly how God was working for good in every detail.  Our struggles prepared us for the outpouring of blessings to come.  We came out stronger, more grounded, stripped down of all the excess, and our hands were open to receive what God had for us next. Honesty allows us to experience God’s life changing love.  You don’t have to pretend you’re okay.  You don’t have to play along like you’re happy about the way things turned out.  You don’t have to smile your way through the pain.  God can handle your honest emotions – but you have to surrender them to him.  When you do, you’ll be met with a love you could never earn.  And that love changes everything. Paul writes that once you experience the true measure of God’s love that is wide, long, high and deep, “THEN YOU WILL BE MADE COMPLETE WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF LIFE AND POWER THAT COMES FROM GOD.” To have fullness means you lack nothing that is needed – you are perfectly filled.  Filled with LIFE and POWER. Have you ever met someone that is filled with LIFE and POWER?  They just glow different don’t they?  There’s something magnetic about them.  That’s the power of Jesus’ love within them.  If you want it, it’s available to you too. You’ll never understand this love, but you can live in it.  Faith is required here.  Surrender is your next step.  Go ahead and fall apart and let his loving arms catch you.  Experience his love. This is the flow: • Experience God’s love • Be made whole in his love • Live filled with God’s life and power The life God has for you and the power to fully live that life only comes AFTER experiencing his love.  You don’t get that overflowing life without allowing a close relationship with God.  You don’t get to stand on the bank, sis – You are being called into the waterfall of his love.  This is not a spectator sport.  Spectators see others be filled with life and power and walk away wondering why they can’t have the same.  This is going to require you to get fully soaked in the flow of God’s love! This is my genuine love-filled prayer for every single soul listening today – Oh how I want you to experience God’s true love for you personally.  I have, and it changed everything.  It can do the same for you. May you EXPERIENCE the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  THEN you will be made COMPLETE with all the FULLNESS of LIFE and POWER that comes from God. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

You were specifically designed with love for love. At your very core is the need for love. As humans, we are in constant pursuit of love. And ultimately, every behavioral issue we ever experience is in some way trying to earn love, experience love, experience love or force love. What messes we create when we fear love is uncertain, conditional, or unavailable to us. This is why as women we seek attention, and often act in ways we’re later ashamed of. It’s why we are so quick to settle for the scraps of love because some type of love is better than the thought of no love. And this is truly why the enemy attacks so hard in making us feel unloved. Have you ever felt unloved? What did you do in that space of feeling unloved? It wasn’t healthy, was it? It was far short of God’s best for you, wasn’t it. And now you know that was a scheme of the enemy to attack the very thing you are designed in and for … love. You will never not need love. You will never love yourself enough to fill that hole. There’s no surgery, no hair extensions, no diet, no new shoes, purse or outfit that will ever make you love you enough to fill your core craving for love. And there’s no human who can fill that hole. Oh how they will fall short. Why? Simply because that was never within their design. That man will fall short. Those children will grow up and move on. That best friend will get busy. BUT GOD. This is your BUT GOD moment. But God’s love will perfectly fill the hole within you. Why? Because your creator lovingly designed you to need his love, and only his love will ever do. God’s love is like the key to the lock that opens the door to the fullness of life you most desire. But if you don’t know the measure of God’s love for you personally, then you will always feel lacking and unfulfilled. Right here, today, it’s time to learn the MEASURE OF GOD’S LOVE. Do you realize that God’s love isn’t a feeling, it isn’t a thought, it isn’t a magical state or some future destination. God’s love is real and it’s measurable. This is why Paul writes in Ephesians 3:18, “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.” Literal measurement’s of God’s love. And Paul says you “May you have the power to understand it!” You see my friends, if you understand the measurement of God’s immense love for you, all that striving, all that twisting, all that forcing can end. Every ounce of loneliness, every desire for something more or something different can be quenched in understanding the true measure of God’s love for you. How can we understand how wide God’s love is? How long God’s love is? How high God’s love is? How deep God’s love is? We look at the cross. The cross where Jesus hung and died, thinking of you and I individually and personally, is the measurement of God’s love. May you never ever see the symbol of a cross again without knowing the measure of God’s love for you. Looking at the cross, let’s look at the 4 measurements. WIDE – The horizontal cross beam. His love is WIDE enough to include everyone. Jesus stretched His arms outward toward sinners, doubters, outsiders, the broken, the religious, and the ashamed. The cross is open-armed love. Jesus extends his invitation of love to every single one of us. No one is too far gone. Absolutely no one is excluded. To the very people killing him, he extended his arms. To the sinners hanging on the cross beside him, he extends his arms. To you and I, he extends his arms. WIDE IS GOD’S LOVE. ⸻ LONG – The long vertical beam . This is not just about physical length, it represents enduring love through all time. His love is LONG enough to outlast your failure, survive every season of life, remain faithful even when you aren’t, and continue through every generation. The vertical beam stands like an enduring pillar. ⸻ HIGH – The top reaching upward toward heaven. His love is HIGH enough to lift us. The cross raises us up from shame to identity, from bondage to freedom, from earthly living to eternal purpose. God’s love doesn’t merely comfort you in your condition — it lifts you up out of it. ⸻ DEEP – The buried portion beneath the ground. The deepest part of the cross is hidden underground. Much of God’s greatest work happens beneath the surface. His love is DEEP enough to enter your suffering, descend into grief, reach your hidden shame and rescue you from the pit. Jesus descended into humanity’s deepest brokenness. There is no depth your pain can reach where His love cannot go deeper still. The deepest part of the cross is the part nobody sees. ⸻ His love is wide, it’s long, it’s high and it’s deep. The dimensions form a cross… but the cross itself also points in every direction. The cross becomes the measurement of immeasurable love. ⸻ Now, notice this – Paul doesn’t say: “May you understand theology.” He says: “May you have power to understand love.” Because love this large cannot be grasped intellectually alone. It must be experienced.This is how wide His love is. This is how long His love lasts. This is how high His love lifts. This is how deep His love reaches. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Your thoughts have a massive effect on your life. Every single day, your thoughts are either running the moment or allowing you to enjoy the moment. The truth is, you simply can’t have a positive life with a negative mind. God created your mind for life and peace, but the enemy fights hard to distort our thinking. Understand, today there’s still a battle going on in your mind, and it’s creating either defeat or victory in your life. Ephesians 6:17 tells us to “Put on the helmet of salvation.” What does a helmet do? It protects your head. Do you see what the helmet of salvation is? This is Jesus’ protection for your mind! The enemy is after your thoughts. He’s after your mindset. Your mind is the full on battlefield. And Jesus says, “Let me protect your mind!” The enemy cannot steal your salvation, so he attacks your thoughts instead. Romans 1:28 warns of what happens when God’s creation no longer seeks Jesus for protection over their thoughts. It says, “And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.” Their thoughts were wrong so their actions were wrong. Why were their thoughts wrong? Because they no longer gave any effort to seeking God and God gave them over to their worthless mindset. So the battlefield of their mind was lost to the enemy. You eventually move in the direction of your strongest or repetitive thoughts. The Message translation says it like this, “Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose. They made life hell on earth.” Who made life hell on earth? The people did. What caused it? Their unprotected mind and thoughts that ran wild. Whew, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God to quit bothering me. I don’t want him to quit waking me up. I don’t want him to quit convicting me. I don’t want him to quit giving me that icky feeling in my spirit when I’m out of alignment. Lord, don’t quit bothering me! Bother the heck out of me. Don’t let me sleep if I am wrong! Have you seen a life where all hell broke loose? We all have seen that example. We’ve seen a life ruined because of a worthless mindset. We’ve witnessed the battlefield of the mind defeated by the enemy. A life filled with potential that falls so short. But understand, Jesus always wanted to protect that mind! Jesus always wanted to fight that battle. Jesus always had victory for them. But when we don’t choose Him, our minds go unprotected. Girl, put on the helmet of salvation! Make time for God so he can protect you from the battle over your mind. Your mind was never meant to lead you – it was meant to be lead by the Spirit. Our minds are wild little beasts. The moment you tell yourself not to think of something, what do you do … you start thinking of the exact thing you just said NOT to think about. I often teach how to harness the power of your thoughts using the example of a refrigerator. Close your eyes and think about your kitchen right now. Think about all the details of your kitchen, just don’t think about your refrigerator. You can think about everything but your refrigerator. Think of your kitchen, just not your refrigerator. Your entire kitchen and it’s details are what I want you to think about, just as long as you’re not thinking about your refrigerator. Now, what were you thinking about? Your refrigerator! Isn’t it crazy how the more you say “don’t think about that”, the more you DO think about that exact thing. Sounds a whole lot like what Paul is saying later in Romans 7:15, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I dow what I hate.” He’s saying, I keep thinking about the things I don’t want to think about. I keep dong the things I don’t want to do. I keep saying things I know I shouldn’t say. I can’t control myself and I can’t change myself. Finally he says in verse 24, “Oh what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this …” What will change us? What will help us control this mind that continually thinks about the very thing we don’t want it to think about? What will help us win this war on the battlefield of our mind? Let’s return to your kitchen to see! Close your eyes again, and think about your kitchen. You can think about all the details of your kitchen, but I specifically want you to think about your sink this time. In your kitchen is your sink. What color is your sink? Is it white? Is it silver? What does your faucet look like? Does your faucet have a knob for hot and cold individually, or just one knob in the middle. Do you have one of those detachable sprayer things? Is your soap dispenser built into the sink? Which side of the sink is the garbage disposal? Is your sink currently empty of full? Okay, now open your eyes and tell me what you were thinking about. What? Your kitchen sink! Precisely! And what were you NOT thinking about this time? Your refrigerator. This time, it took absolutely no effort to ignore your refrigerator. Now, why was that? Because I gave you something specific to think about instead. I offered you a new mindset. A new focus for your attention. Your mind always moves toward what you magnify. Girls, that’s what JESUS does for us! Do I believe in the power of positive thoughts – absolutely. But it’s so much more than that. Victory isn’t found in thinking more positively – Victory is found in thinking more spiritually. Thoughts led by the Spirit bring us breakthrough and victory! Thoughts led by the Spirit radically change our life! Romans 8:9 says, “BUT YOU ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY YOUR SINFUL NATURE. YOU ARE CONTROLLED BY THE SPIRIT IF YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVING IN YOU.” The Spirit of God lives within us through Jesus. And Jesus is our helmet of salvation. He protects our minds. When our minds are right, our actions can be right! We no longer have to do what we don’t want to do! We no longer have to think all the things we don’t want to think. Jesus has rescued us from the flesh that causes us to resist what is good. He is the only answer. His Spirit living within you changes your mindset! This is how the war on the battlefield of your mind is fought and won. JESUS! Remember, what happens to us when we no longer bother with acknowledging and seeking God … God stops bothering us. We’re turned over to a worthless mindset. We’re filled with thoughts of all we don’t want, and pulled right into those thoughts and create a living hell, doing all the things we know we don’t want to do. But when we seek God, when we acknowledge him, we are given a new mindset led by the Spirit. We no longer think about what we don’t want, but about what we do want. Our thoughts are Spirit led! Our thoughts are filled with goodness, and our actions flow from that goodness. We are able to take our wild thoughts captive and make them obedient to Jesus! Naturally, we will no longer dwell on the things we don’t want to because we’ve replaced it with the things of the Spirit. You don’t have to avoid thinking about your refrigerator when I redirect you to your kitchen sink. Jesus redirects us to our sink. Jesus doesn’t merely remove bad thoughts, he replaces them with life-giving truth. To the good story he has for us. To the power he has given us to change. To the mind that is set on him. There’s a battle going on in your mind. The enemy of your soul wants to keep you stuck in a pattern of doing what you don’t want to do, and not doing what you do want to do. He wants to make you feel powerless and out of control. He thrives on this chaos and brings his hell to your corner of this earth… IF YOU LET HIM. Don’t let him. Devil, you’re out. Jesus, you’re in! My thoughts are fully on you! I find my strength in you. I put on the helmet of salvation and receive protection for my mind. Through his Spirit, I have the power to control and direct my thoughts. The last paragraph of Romans 7 reflects exactly what we battle in our minds and therefore in our choices. (Reading from the MSG translation): “What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? NOW here comes the answer with the final verse in chapter 7 and the opening verse in chapter 8: “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. With the arrival of Jesus that fateful dilemma is resolved. A new power is in operation.” My mind has been reset by Jesus, and Jesus brings LIFE! Now living within us is God’s Holy Spirit who gives us a holy conviction when our thoughts are out of alignment. That’s where that icky feeling comes from, and thank God for it! And now you know, that’s God’s redirection of our saved mind to get in alignment with him. To help us stop thinking about our refrigerator, and think about our story. To shift our thoughts and therefore shift our entire perspective, attitude, words and actions! Today, practice allowing God’s spirit to help you shift your thoughts from negative to positive. From what’s wrong to what’s right. From what you don’t want to what absolutely beautiful thing God is doing all around you that you will so easily miss if your mind isn’t right. You win the battle of the mind by thinking WITH Jesus. The enemy wants to access your thoughts because your thoughts influence your future. But Jesus isn’t just saving your eternity, he’s saving your mind. May you put on your helmet of salvation today and recognize when God is bothering you to bring you back into alignment. And may you be so absolutely overwhelmed by what God is doing that you aren’t the least bit bothered by the attempts of the enemy to steal your joy and peace. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

How many of you would admit you over-complicate things sometimes? You overthink things and make things harder than they really need to be. Today, let’s let God drastically simplify a few things for us so we really get it. Yesterday we looked at that well known scripture, Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Other translations put it in terms we can really understand. “We are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good. We have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” Now today, let’s go deeper! My sister, EVERY DETAIL of your life becomes part of something good when given to God. He wastes nothing and uses everything. God doesn’t merely work around your story – he weaves through it. You can’t lose what you surrender. But, it doesn’t stop there. I usually stop there. I read verse 28 and I’m off searching for my purpose. I’m digging through the bad things in my life and reminding God they’re not good yet. But today, let’s keep reading beyond the popular verse 28. Romans 8: 29 & 30, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his own glory.” Woah, that’s a lot. We have an entire waterfall of promises here. Don’t choke on the overflow, let’s get in the flow. Stop trying to control the river and learn to move with it. One leads to the next, then the next, flowing over our lives and flooding us with hope and assurance. Today, let’s get in the flow and receive everything God is offering us! This flow begins with those God knew in advance. And honey, God knew you before! Nothing about you has ever surprised God. He knew you before you achieved any level of success and before you screwed up. He knew you before you got it wrong and before you got it right. He knew you before. Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Oh yes, he definitely knew you BEFORE. He knew you before because he CREATED you with a great purpose in mind. You have been known in advance. And with that, the flow over your life begins. For those he he knew in advance, he chose them. YOU. ARE. CHOSEN. God Almighty, the creator of the universe, chose YOU. He wanted you. He knew everything about you and said, “She’s the one I want.” Girl, stop dismissing yourself! You have not been dismissed. God doesn’t regret his choice. What has he chosen you for? He has chosen you to become like his Son, Jesus. Woah – big pressure, right? Actually, no. You naturally become more like Jesus with each surrender of your own way. Every surrender makes more room for Jesus in you. When you’re living in the flow, it just flows. Ultimately, this means we’re just returning to what we were always meant to be from the beginning. Remember back in Genesis 1:27, “So God created human beings in his own image.” We were always created to bear this image, now God has chosen to bring us back to it. You are chosen to bring life to the room. You are chosen to bring hope to the people. You are chosen to bring love to the table. You are chosen to wash some feet. If you’ve been looking for your destiny, here it is. Your destiny is to become more and more like Jesus! Before God calls you to a place, he calls you to himself. The closer you walk with God, the better you learn to serve, to love, to forgive, to touch, to walk with, and to invest in God’s people. And for those God has created, he has chosen, and for those he has chosen, he has called. And this is where God got me. I am called. You are called. We are called. But, we all want to know to WHAT? Where am I being called? What am I being called to? What is my calling. Of all the questions I receive, this is probably a top 3. “Pamela, how do I know I’m being called and how do I discover my calling?” Is that a question you’ve been asking? Well first, we KNOW you have been called, because you’re in the flow of all of this. God created you, right? Because he created you, the flow tells us he chose you. Chosen to become more and more like Jesus to reflect his image. And that now leads to what God’s word says is next – CALLED. But called to what? I began studying this word, “called.” And you know what I found? I found we’ve been over-complicating it! We’ve made this a whole lot fussier than it needs to be. Think of it like this … If we were in the store together, but on separate isles and I called out to you, it would be for 2 purposes: First, I’m making it known where I am, and second, I’m leading you towards me. If you’re a mom and you call out your child’s name, they hear you, then they know where you are and they know to just come to you. And that is precisely what a calling is. To be called by God is two things: God is breaking into your awareness so you know he is there, and he is drawing you toward him. Calling is less bout finding a destination and more about following a voice. Look at our scripture today again – Romans 8:30, “Having chosen them, he CALLED them TO COME TO HIM” If you feel “called” toward a new job, that is simply because God is making you aware of his presence and he is drawing you to move toward him. This is how you step right into a new job … you follow the calling. God, I am aware of your presence in the details of my life. I’m moving toward you in faith. Where do you sense God’s presence? Move in that direction! Ahhhh, so simple. 1 Samuel 3: 1-10 shows us exactly what a calling sounds like and how we’re supposed to respond to it. This chapter in my bible is titled “The Lord Calls Samuel”. I think that’s the chapter you’re at in your life. The Lord is calling you. Oh, yes he is. How do I know? Because he created you and he chose you, and the flow from there is to be called! Samuel is a young boy and he’s living under the care of his mentor, Eli. It says: “Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle. Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did. Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” “I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” The people most led by God are usually the people most willing to listen. God is making his presence known. He is breaking into your awareness. If you feel God is calling to you, simply say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” For real, why would we make it more complicated than that?!!! When you sense his presence, move toward it. To step into your calling, you simply need to be aware of God and move toward him! You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to understand the next 10 steps. You don’t have to see precisely where it’s all leading. You simply ask, “God, is this you? I’m listening.” Then start taking some steps of faith in that direction. And there’s more great news standing in this overflowing waterfall of God’s goodness. For those he created, he chose. For those he chose, he called. For those he called, he gave them right standing with himself. There it is – you’ve been made forever good enough because of Jesus. Not because of anything you have done or could ever do, but because of what God has done for you. You have been made right. Ahhhhh, yesssssss. Breathe that in. Jesus has brought you into right standings with God. You have been given full access to the throne! And for those he made right, he gave them his own glory. Yes, we are to bring glory to God, but did you know he also wants to glorify us, his children? Do you know how he does that? He makes us more like Jesus! He redeems us. Your story doesn’t end in struggle, it ends in transformation! Here on earth, to be glorified means we have the privilege of seeing him in everything and being transformed from the inside out. In Heaven that means full redemption of our bodies. Honey, this body will be made glorious after your journey here is complete! Who’s excited about a new glorious body?!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoop Whoop … it’s coming. It’s promised. Get in the flow. That’s God’s promise. That’s how this all ends!!!! Stand under that overflowing waterfall and get in the flow. The flow begins with: YOU ARE CREATED. YOU ARE CHOSEN. YOU ARE CALLED. YOU ARE MADE RIGHT. YOU ARE GLORIFIED. And God, well he is in every detail of our lives, continually weaving it all together for good. And he’s calling out to his girls. Calling out so we are aware of his presence, and we continually move toward him. Just keep moving toward him. This is living in the flow and fulfilling his designed purpose for your life. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com