I can’t believe that woman took my seat. Doesn’t she know that I sit there every Sunday?
Boy, this sermon is long. I wish he’d speed it up a bit.
I can’t believe my friend isn’t here again this week. She’s missed twice this month.
When I got home from church, I felt angry, depressed and just plain cranky. I couldn’t figure out why, so I sat on my bed and asked God to reveal why I felt the way I did.
I’ve always been a dreamer. One of the very first books I remember reading was, To Dance, To Dream, by Maxine Drury. Just seeing the cover on Amazon made my heart smile. Published in 1965 (I would have been seven years old), I distinctly remember carrying that book around with me. Filled with aspiring words, my little girl heart dared to start dreaming.
BEFORE I’D EVEN PULLED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY, THE WAZE GPS APP ON MY PHONE SAID I’D ARRIVE FIVE MINUTES LATE.
Groan. I was on my way to a group that had invited me to visit after discussing my book Little Women, Big God. My cheeks burned at the thought of walking in late.
Why can’t you leave on time? What’s wrong with you? My thoughts chided me.
This line of thinking wouldn’t make up for lost time or prepare my heart to encourage these women. I’d recently finished reading a novel with an imperfect heroine. When she ran late, I empathized with her. So, why was I so hard on myself?
“What do I know?” I asked myself when the thought of writing for publication was a mere seedling. Then it dawned — I knew the importance of living from the truth of who God is.
Gaining that knowledge came with a steep learning curve. It began in a Nepalese village where I spent the first two years of my marriage. My husband, Gene, worked as a civil engineer on a hydroelectric power project, and I taught basic health care. Electricity and indoor plumbing didn’t exist in our wee mud and rock dwelling.
Unfortunately, spiders, scorpions and snakes did. So did culture shock and fear — specifically the fear of death by tropical diseases and receiving unwanted visitations by aforesaid critters.
I AM LIKE A PRAYER INVESTIGATOR. I HAD TO BE BECAUSE I HAD A MOUNTAIN TO MOVE. After a violent car crash put my 18-month-old baby into a coma, I needed to know what it would take to touch my daughter through the power of prayer. Since that fateful day, I’ve made it my mission to understand prayer. I’ve spent hours scouring the Word to discover and understand the prayer secrets it contains, and most importantly, I’ve prayed. I’ve battled. I’ve contended. I’ve sought God. I’ve claimed promises, and I’ve prayed through roadblocks.
I’ve experienced breakthroughs and felt the heartache when God says no. I’ve worked with prayer teams and prayer partners, fought the enemy and prayed with countless people. And yes! I have seen God move. I have seen God answer prayer.
In my new book, When You Need to Move a Mountain, I share what I’ve learned to help readers not only become a person of prayer, but a person who can use prayer to reverse the works of the enemy, to save lives, to be blessed with provision and to flow into God’s best for their lives.
JENNIFER KENNEDY DEAN 1953-2019 We grieve the passing of well-loved author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean. Her many books became classics as soon as they were published. Her passion for the Word, for prayer, for her family and friends, and her impact on the Kingdom will live on.
From women just like YOU! The Leading Hearts September 2019 issue is here and the spotlight is on the Ladies of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association(awsa.com)!
Guest editor Edie Melson shares how to stay “unruffled” in the midst of ministry. Janell Rardon helps reframe those God-sized dreams. Publisher Linda Evans Shepherd challenges us to mountain-moving prayer. And read a special tribute from our AWSA sister, best selling author Jennifer Kennedy Dean.
Others challenge embracing health and healing after loss, and detoxifying your religious spirit. Michael W. Smith celebrates 35 years of ministry plus much, much more in this edition of Leading Hearts Magazine.
If you are a Christian Woman Communicator find out more about joining AWSA at applyawsa.com. Get more highlights from this year’s conference at awsa.com.
Text LEADINGHEARTS to 64600 to get this issue delivered free to your mobile device.
Click on the video above to get some morning encouragement from our Summer Cover Girl Pam Farrel: Discovering Joy in Philippians. To get this issue free text LEADINGHEARTS to 64600 or go to leadinghearts.com.
