Catch This Blessing-Don't Let This Blessing Pass You By Ano Nuevo 2014

I wish for you this year of 2014, that you will have Merry Hearts.  That laughter will rise out of you; that you will laugh readily and easily.  
That you will have undying confidence that there is Hope and Joy.  That you will know that help will always come.  And that when you are seeking, you will be finding.  That there Are Dreams that you were intended to dream.  That your path is defined and knowable.  That you Can run the Race and Win It.  
That you don't have to collect only sham and finite things-that you can gather things that have depth beauty goodness and that will never pass away. 
That those around you will feel hope encouragement and will be able to laugh freely because of you, being released from things that hold them down. 
That your name will last in perpetuity.  That in the future people wil speak your name in gratitude. 
That you will not be bound by anything that would put you in shadow; that you would be full of light.  That you would have knowledge in dealing with exploiters, and would be able to recognize it and to resist it and overcome it.   That you would empower others to resist exploitation, and they would continue it on.
That you will be surrounded by encouragement as you allow it to well up in you and to overflow onto those around you.
That you always be connected to the Lover of Your Soul.  Because Love is Stronger Than Death. 
AM Blevins
Revivaissance.com

Christmas and Eternity

"I could do presents, or I could do decorations, but I couldn't do Both.",  I heard myself tell my friend, who visited over the Holidays.
A decade ago, when the kids were small, I would've felt So humiliated at the lack of decorations, or decorations that were not as elaborate as the neighbors' or what was in "my Design studio in my mind".  I would've expended So much emotional energy, and would've been so crestfallen and exhausted by the time guests came, that I couldn't enjoy my guests, couldn't be in the moment, and would have distanced my family, the very ones that I was slaving for, so as to enrich their Holiday experience.  What a mess.  What counter encouragement.
The pivotal truth, and the Encouragement that I Needed to help me to encourage others, was that just as "...the world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the Angels sing.", the Holiday Season is a time to connect to Eternity.  It's a time to use the things that we can see and hear, to become connected to God and His Heaven, and His Gift of Eternal Life in the Birth of Jesus.  It's a time when we realize that this world is a temporary ecosystem, a fleeting environment. An illusion, in so many ways.  We can thrill to the glory of God in us, showing us that we are made for a more glorious world and existence.  We must not give in to the fleeting sham illusion.  We can draw strength from our Creator, The Father of Lights.  If we give our lives to master and possess this world, we inherit and are mastered by a world that is corrupted and that will perish, destruction,.  To give all that we have to be a "Master" of this world, is the ultimate Slavery and exploitation, of ourselves.
To be able to connect our children to Eternity is the Greatest Calling.  To touch their hearts by making clean, lovely beds, and to make tasty meals, and to decorate (as much as time and budget allow!).  To be honest about our weaknesses and mistakes and to ask them forgiveness, is to show them that our fallenness is real, and that only God is perfect.  They can learn the truth that we can never be perfect, and we must and can go to Him for Salvation, to escape the coming destruction.  And that we must go to Him, on a regular basis to receive mercy, grace, and Power to live and to carry out the destiny that He created us for.
Our use of our time, money, and resources, will help to put the Kingdom of God in our children's hearts, or help to block it.  They have their own sin nature to deal with, as well as the world, the flesh, and the Devil;  We want to make our time at home, as rich and loving as possible, with the budget that we have available, to encourage them to choose Eternity, to choose the Lover of their Souls.
Ana Maria Blevins
Dec. 30, 2013
ReviVaissance = Revival + Renaissance TM
Come Alive Again And Flourish, Flower!     

Unforgiveness:Violations too Big for God to Handle

Unforgiveness:Violations Too Big for God to Handle
by Ana Maria Blevins
2/25/2013

My friend lent me a CD about The Bait of Satan-how he tries to trap us into bitterness and unforgiveness.  Since he’s been around for thousands of years, he knows our family line and can find how we may more easily be trapped (into sin) and into unforgiveness.
This revelation that the trials and offenses that we experience, are designed to cripple us in unforgiveness, was revolutionary, remembering that this is part of the spiritual battle that is waging here on earth.  Like earthly military strategy and military science, the psychological battle can cause the warrior to win or lose the battle.  
Military tactics may include dropping literature into an embattled zone, to cause the citizens to get information and to work for freedom. The enemy, meanwhile, is trying to get the people to think thoughts that will cause them to reject freedom or freedom fighters.  Similarly, God is wanting to give us information that will cause us to turn towards freedom from slavery and bondage, while the enemy is opposing this.
This revelation was Powerful, and then, God dropped something in my lap, that moved me to even greater Freedom.
The most difficult offenses seem to be the ones of betrayal and control.  Having encountered these, a legitimate response is often to cut off those relationships and situations.  In cutting them off, there can be a wall that we build, that can be like a six foot deep cement blockade.  It means, “Never Again.”  The deeper the pain, the deeper the blockade.
Recognizing the violation and the violator is Essential, and to refuse to go along with them is Absolutely Necessary.  The Wall in our minds, however, may be not just Wisdom, but it may be Unforgiveness.
A Good Wall or Boundary, would recognize that a violating behavior is unacceptable.  A Wall of Unforgiveness, however, may be more than a healthy boundary. It may be a structure that we construct because deep down, we believe that God can’t handle this degree of violation, so we have to handle it;  
It may become like a monster in our closet, that we have to keep the door shut on, or it may get out and wreak havoc.  
Is it possible, that holding the doorknob so Hard, and always keeping the door mashed shut, may be exhausting and self-defeating?  Is it possible, that by feeling that we have to keep this in control, that we may feel, deep down, that We Have to Control this, because God can’t or won’t?  
Amazingly, God’s promise is that if we do good to those who hurt us, that we are actually having an effect on them of waking them up to their cruelty, “heaping hot coals on their heads”.  And also, that God Will take Vengeance for us.  He IS our Daddy, and He doesn’t just let us get beaten up.  Wow.  He defends us and He will visit the results of people’s evil actions on them, even in this life.  Not just for eternity, to those who refuse to repent and receive His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus Christ.
When I had 3 children, 4 and under, I began having a series of car accidents, where people hit me from the rear, the side, and unbelievably, from the front.  Some people in church laughed at me, although the first accident left me with fibromyalgia for six years, with 4 children 5 years old and under.  Those who laughed at me had car accidents within a few months, and accidents worse than mine.  I wasn’t glad that they had accidents, but I saw that God does Not take it lightly when someone is Unkind to His children, and especially, His children who are disabled and have little children to care for.  He Does say to weep with those who weep.  Don’t laugh at them.    
Letting God handle offenses, looks like thanking God that that demon didn’t get a hold of us (Sid Roth).  It also looks like refusing to get in that situation of violation again, as far as it is in our control.  Then, surprisingly, it looks like saying that God Can Fix this.  People CAN wake up and Stop violating us and others, and it’s God’s Job to stop them, and He CAN and IS working on this.  While we Need NOT and Must NOT go along with other people’s wickedness, we don’t have to feel responsible to never let it happen again.  We do our best to never let it happen again, and we can let God have this battle; He can fix violations that come.  And they WILL come.  None of them will be too big for Him. He will deal with them.  
By forgiving the person, we say that God can handle this-He’s bigger, smarter, and He cares about us and also about the violator.  He knows how to wake them up and cause them to be broken over their sin.  By forgiving them, we say that this situation is NOT the most important thing in my life.  We state that We HAVE a life, and we will trust God, and we refuse to be a slave to fear or anger at the violation.  The violation is Not Right, and we don’t ever need to go along with it or the violator, and by releasing the person to God for Him to deal with, we let go of the doorknob, and let God deal with the monster in the closet.  
Then we can go outside and play.

Homeschool Re-Mo Pro! (Remodelling Project)

Steps

drew up plans
knocked out walls
put up beams
shower base
tiled
new sheetrock
lights
trim
Have pix, drawings, and video...

Fun Church History-Jelly Telly - They can't steal your freedom if you Know Your History

Fun Church History-Jelly Telly - Knowing Your History Makes You Happy

A knowledge of History, God's hand on the earth, is essential for survival! Those who don't know it, are very confused about the existence of so many religions, and they don't know how to respond, and even how to view reality.  To see God's plan from Adam to Jesus to the present, is liberating, and brings peace and understanding that can't be surpassed or replaced by money, fame, or other realities.
For kids, Jelly Telly offers A Pirate's Guide to Church History, an anointed, Spirit-filled, short lesson on a historical person or era that captures kids' and parents' attention.  Jelly Telly is produced by creators of Veggie Tales.  The episode on Jan 7 dealt with "what happened between Jesus and Billy Graham", and focused on the second century, the 300's.  They dealt with Constantine, the church Bishops as leaders of the hundreds of Christian churches, and with orthodoxy and heresy.  Great stuff to base some short talks with young kids and longer with older students.
For most of us, who learn better when we get information through various channels, the cartoons, songs, and text really teach to the heart and mind.
Jelly Telly gets 5 stars from this Educator/Artist/Mother.  ***** \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ 
Lily of the Valley
January 7, 2011




  

Regular People Up & Go Campaigning

We joined Generation Joshua cuz we met Michael Farris the leader, and he was downright nice.  He wasn't the sappy kind of nice, but the deep, giving, and willing to be the last man standing kind of nice.  We had had an awakening of the crisis in our nation of the destruction of millions of innocent babies and the rabid cruel attack by those passionately slavishly devoted to this holocaust, in the name of their personal freedom.
I'm getting a vision of a video with a man holding a stick with a little baby and he's trying to shake it off the stick ,then he starts smashing it against his surroundings, as he treats it like a foreign intruder on his happiness...there's no concern nor compassion nor awareness of others...only his selfishness which results in bloody destruction.
Well, we became members of Gen J, as it's called, and here with our 5th child, we are working on a campaign for a 2nd time.
We had been phoning for local candidates in FeytvleNC and I called the GenJ office asking if there were other families doing the same thing...Networking is fabulous...it's fellowshipping, right?...researching, reaching out, finding like-minded individuals and helping one another to fulfill our destinies...
We found that there was a need to go help in the Denver campaign...We had to make up our mind in a matter of hours...Because of GenJ's vision and track record, we chose to go as a family for all to experience the campaign.  We began researching the candidate and trying to learn more on the political process...
Feeling that this was in fact, a strong candidate whom we could believe in, we forged ahead, and chose to give up some vacation days in order to participate.
The day before, I voted early, experiencing intimidation at the BOE, like other voters, and the Deputy was called. Then I visited Dr. Johnny and Mrs. Pat Hunter, receiving their video, MAAFA 21, a documentary of the link between Slavery and Abortion, as well as receiving their literature called Did You Know?  Their call to speak out against black Genocide has resonated in me and in many others...I took a case of literature, and I easily distributed it to many that I saw.  All take it willingly and it looks like God is moving in people's hearts and truth is coming forth.  The elements of this revival are a realization that: some people groups have targeted other people groups for extinction, a political movement has sought to infiltrate and destroy our nation from within, our media has created an ambience of cultural marxism which brainwashes many citizens and controls our nation's public policy, our young people have been defrauded in the area of education and have unknowingly surrendered their rights and authority resulting in powerlessness and confusion, our institutions have been commandeered by indiv's who use group manipulation tactics and are solely power-driven, the ultimate goal of the infiltrators is the deconstruction of our civ and the ensuing crisis which will leave a vacuum of order and result in chaos necessitating an authoritarian ruler... So it is about power and world domination...
As a Christian I am aware of the spiritual battle and I look for the shepherd's voice to keep me from the destroyer...I know that the world is out there and i will be tempted and tried...I just didn't realize that a political movement could be such a mighty agent of the Enemy...It's not just a sport as far as partisanship, but this is a battle of worldviews, and the victor gets the minds and hearts of the world...
Our homeschooling is a lifestyle effort to teach our children Truth, beginning with Jesus Christ being the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  We believe that children are a gift and we want to love them and guide them as well as we can.  In spite of our mistakes and our weaknesses, we believe that God will speak to them and draw them to Himself, and instruct them so as to fulfill their life's destinies.  We see that the battle for their souls is intense and more so in an overt manner than in past generations.  The seasoning effects of Christianity kept our parents' generations from leaving their moorings and going into meaninglessness and insanity, but those who departed from the Word of God were part of the movement that weakened our nation and has allowed many ills and exploitations such as the Holocaust of the Preborn. 
Recently having children in universities, we have seen in a more focused manner, the occupation of Marxist ideology in those institutions.  The presence of Exploitative Institutions such as Planned Parenthood, the lack of Protection by the University, and the growing presence of despotic religions who gain a foothold by giving large monetary donations, all show the abandonment by our university leaders of Biblical truth, and a turning away from God the Creator and Designer who knows what is best for us on a macroscopic level and on an individual level. 
The most remarkable and heart-wrenching thing is to see the reality that accompanies God-destroying philosophies of immorality and seduction. I always wondered at the seemingly arbitrary coincidence of immorality with anti-Christian belief systems.  Now I realize that those behaviors are espoused by the agents because of their ability to seduce and enslave individual  Young people who can be draw into the den of immorality have a much harder time leaving it, and can be manipulated into believing empty philosophies much easier than those who stay free.  But Christ can set anyone free, and the prodigals have much more to be thankful for.  Christ warns us to flee sin, however, not to be caught up in it so that He can rescue us.  It is not in the nature of repentance to plan to repent, or to plan a season of sinning followed by redemption.  The Word says that it is possible to be lost for eternity, and that we have a choice,  and there is a battle, and there is redemption and salvation resulting in the free gift of eternal life.  Jesus is the Beautiful One, the Wonderful One.  The Redeemer.

Girls-the Secret to the Future - Mpact Ministry

A fire burns warmly in the living room of Stacy Prevette.  It's summer, and this fire is glowing not in the hearth, but in the hearts of the women in her rich, teak toned entertainment area.  The ladies are all ages, all walks of life, but they are all devoted to mentoring young girls, spiritually, practically, emotionally, and mentally.  After 10 years of experience with the Mpact (formerly Missionettes) organization, I know that this discipleship works. 
Mpact is the sorority that we all wish we had in elementary/middle/high school.  Those who longed for relationships with other girls that fostered character and community service, based on a loving relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ, His son, would have wanted this!
The curriculum structure, devotion of the teachers, church support, and beautiful award celebrations make for a long-term program rich in delight for the girls.
Leaders over the years have created an outstanding environment of Christ-centered warmth, acceptance, and high expectations for the girls.  Our daughters have been involved since 1997, and our 3rd daughter is beginning the intensive Honor Star program, a 3 year program where the girls study the foundations of the faith, church history, and they memorize 30 plus Scripture verses.  The culmination of the Honor Star program is a comprehensive test, followed by a formal Crowning ceremony where the girl receives a crown.  The parents escort their precious daughter, and after the ceremony, the crowned Honor Star presents her crown to the Lord, according to Revelation, where the saints give their crowns to the Lord when they come into His presence at the end of time. 
The Crowning ceremony is a rich, moving event, where the impartation of faith and of the Holy Spirit is palpable and tangible.  "Study and show yourself approved.", is the call that the girls and the leaders respond to in Mpact, and the depth and richness of the relationships and the girls' spiritual commitment is one of the most heart-warming, meaningful girls' ministries available.  It must be or why am I volunteering again...!