Scripture Memory Verse for Dec 15th

I do trust each of you is enjoying this wonderful and blessed Christmas season with your family and friends. Meditate on some of the beautiful verses about Jesus' birth in Luke, Matthew, Isaiah and other wonderful books that tell of his coming and his life. May you grow in your love for Father God during this wonderful season of the year!! Merry CHRISTmas to each of you and your sweet families.

Please add your memory verse, the translation you are using and your name to:
www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas and much love,

Kay

December 1st Scripture Memory

Hey Girls,
I do trust each of you had a blessed Thanksgiving with your families and loved ones and now we all look to preparing our hearts for the Christmas Season and experience the wonder, magesty and awe of celebrating Jesus and His Birth!! Wow, that's exciting, isn't it? The exciting fact is that we can experience Jesus every day of the year!!
I hope you can have a 'birthday party for Jesus' with your children sometime during the month!!!

Please post your scripture for memory/meditation along with the translation you are using on the website: www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

Christmas Blessings and Love!

Kay

November 15th Scripture Memory/Meditation Verse

Hey girls,
I trust you are having a wonderful November so far and enjoying the season change and we all hope the 'rainy season' is over!!!! Be sure to spend time with the Father and let Him speak to your hearts during this time of Thanksgiving. Just look around you and notice His beauty and handiwork! Remember that we will be having a women's get together at the Hil-Way House on Dec 3 with food and ANN ALLEN will be sharing a powerful word!!!

Blessings on your families as you assemble for Thanksgiving to enjoy each other and give thanks to God for His Bounty!!

Post your scripture verse/verses and the bible version you are using to:
www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

Lovingly in Jesus,
Kay

November 1st Scripture Memory Verse

Can you believe that November is upon us so quickly and it will be Christmas before we know it? I can think of no better way to get our hearts and minds ready for the season than to hide God's Word in our hearts amid the hurry and scurry of the season!!
Please select the verse or verses that God places on your heart and share with us your name; verse selection and Bible version you are using to:
www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

May God really bless you and your sweet families during this wonderful Thanksgiving Season for we all have so very much to be thankful for!!

Love in Christ,

Kay

Oct 15th Scripture Memory/Meditation

Girls, It's so good to welcome each of you to the blog on this time of the month of October when the foliage is beginning to turn those beautiful shades and God is truly painting His pictures for us to enjoy! Take your children for a ride to see His handiwork around the countryside and just see the different colors He's provided for us!
I trust you are enjoying your time in the Word and allowing God's Holy Spirit to bless you and speak truths to your heart. Please share a special verse you are meditating on and memorizing with us and put your name, the verse and the translation to: www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

Love you in Jesus!

Kay

October 1st Scripture Memory Verse

Well girls, I have been a busy gal what with my 'computer crashing' and all. I have missed being online on this computer 'where all my good stuff is'!!! I truly hope ya'll have had a wonderful September and are enjoying the Lord's goodness and mercy!!
Please invite your friends to join us in this wonderful venture of scripture memory and meditation!! Be blessed as you add your verse for this time along with your name and the version you are using!! just go to www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com and add yours!! Remember God loves us and honors our obedience to HIM!!

Lovingly,
Kay

September 15th Scripture Memory

Is anyone else shocked that it's the 15th of the month already besides me???  I can not believe how fast time is flying this year! We started this journey to learn 24 scriptures 9 months ago and I pray that you have seen the fruit of that commitment in many ways so far in 2009! 

That being said......it's not time to take a break!!! Pick your verse, post it on this blog and don't forget to include your name! 

Have a blessed day!

Melissa

September 1st Scripture Memory

Ok, girls! If you've kept up with your verses each month, congratulations on memorizing 16 new scriptures!!   Whether you have memorized 16 or 6 this year, keep it up!! God's word will not return void! It will accomplish what He desires in your life! 

You know what to do.........post your verse, with scripture reference and translation!   Y'all are awesome and are doing such a great job! Love you!

August 15th Memory Verse

Hey girls,
God is so good to meet all our needs as He so graciously does! I trust you are allowing Him to meet WITH you and to HEAR your praises and MEET your needs according to His riches in glory!!

Post your new meditation/memory verse for this time at:
www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

I trust you have a wonderful 'rest of the month' and blessings to you and
your sweet families.

Love,
Kay Howell

August 1st Scripture Memory

Hey girls,
Here it is August and guess what???? here comes school starting and back on that schedule!! I trust each of you is blessed as you get kids ready, etc.

Don't forget to be blessed and add your memory verse for this session on the blog at:
www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com
Father God will certainly lift you up as you meditate & memorize a new scripture !!

You are each blessings to us!

Love, Kay

July 15th Scripture Memory

Hey ladies,
I feel so blessed to be encouraging you today to post your scripture verse for July 15th. This is an awesome opportunity and I thank Father God for having me in this place at this time. You all are such an inspiration to me and I thank God for each of you!!
Don't forget to add your NAME, your VERSE and the TRANSLATION you are using.
It's so neat to have these verses to meditate on and thus memorize.

Log into: www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

Love in Christ,
Kay

July 1 Scripture Memory Reminder

Hey girls,
Just a reminder for the July 1 Scripture Memory Verse. Hope you all are having a wonderful 'summertime'!! We had a fantastic get together at Hil-Way house the last of June and Ann Allen blessed our hearts with 'truth' and ministered to us all!!
Hope to see ya'll at the July gathering!!

Remember to put your NAME, YOUR SCRIPTURE,and the TRANSLATION!!
go to www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com

Blessings and Love,
Kay Howell

June 15th Scripture

Sorry it's a day late, ladies.......

Don't forget to put your verse location and translation! I pray you are being blessed by hiding God's word in your heart!! You are doing awesome! Encourage others to join us anytime they like! It's never too late!

Love,

Melissa

June 1 Scripture Memory Verse

Can you believe it? June is here and summer is here and guess what???? before you know it summer will be gone and school will be starting again!! Boy, that sounds yucky, doesn't it? But that's just how fast time flies. We want ya'll to have a wonderful, productive and protected summer with your sweet children, your families and friends but don't want you to let summer go by and get busy & bogged down and forget your scripture meditation and memory verses!! As we hide God's word in our hearts He gives us that ammunition we need to be overcomers!!
I trust you receive a special blessing these 'lazy daze' of summer and don't forget to post your
name, your scripture verse and the translation you are using to:
http://www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com/

Be blessed in Jesus!!
Kay

May 15th Scripture Memory Verse

OK girls. let's not let the summer get us in a 'summer slump' as they say!! :) We need to arm ourselves with the Word to give us the protection we need to fight those darts that the ole evil one wants to throw at us!!

I do trust each of you has a wonderful summer with your family and friends and enjoy each other as you kinda 'wind down a bit and relax'. Remember how much Jesus Loves You!!

Add your name, your memory verse and the translation you are using to:

http://www.vaughnforestwomen.blogspot.com/

Love ya'll,

Kay Howell

May 1st Scripture Memory Verse

Hey Girls,
May 1st is upon us and this month brings graduations of all sorts; children out of school; reunions; vacations and life just kinda slowing down! Take the time to relax and get with your families and enjoy each other in the Lord....Remember though to tuck your special verse in your heart this month and meditate on it so you can stand firm again any adversity that comes your way!

Post your name, your new verse you will be memorizing and the translation you are using and be blessed!!

Love in Jesus! ♥

Kay Howell

April 15th Scripture Memory Verse

Dear girls,

Here it is April 15th and hopefully all the rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes are behind us! I trust each of you had a wonderful and blessed Resurrection Day and weekend with your families.
Remember to relax in God's love and peace and enjoy His presence as you spend time with Him and meditate on His Word.

Post your name, your new verse and the translation you are using and may God bless you
as you meditate and 'chew'.....

Love in Him,
Kay Howell

Balancing Your Life - April 8, 2009

“Think JESUS ….not Think Positive” 

     I’m grieved when believers use the worn-out phrase “I’ve got to think positive.”  There is nothing Biblical about thinking positive. Thinking positive is thinking what we think is positive, i.e. - favorable outcome in our eyes-our eyes of flesh not the Spirit. Because” God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, as high as the heavens are from the earth are His thoughts from our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9), this thinking positive thing just doesn’t hold scriptural H20 to me. When we find ourselves in a tough spot there is only one way to think and that is with His Spirit, which says “Lord JESUS, I don’t understand how you are going to make this for my good but I trust you and I will keep my mind on you and your promises.” I must at this point choose to “set my mind on the Spirit’ (Col 3:2) and then moment by moment “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). You can bet that Jesus has a plan to prosper you and not harm you and a plan to work this for your good if you are called to His purpose in your life. He can’t break His promises. He is faithful. That’s His nature. The positive sign (+) simply needs to have the vertical line extended downward to form a perfect cross. Our job is to lay the situation, circumstance, person, relationship, crisis, trouble, hardship, etc.  at the foot of that cross and leave it there. The worst place to pick it back up is IN THE MIND. The demonic “what ifs” begin to dance around and the thoughts are then negative, down, straight from the pit where they originated. At this point you may be giving yourself a spiritual pat on the back because you have overcome this destructive negative thought pattern but are you guilty of “positive thinking”? Yes, I said guilty of positive thinking. In situations where there is only one correct position I’m all about being positive. For example, if  in golf your ball in on the green and you are lining up the putt,  I’m all about thinking that I can make that putt no matter how difficult or long it may be. There is but one correct position the ball must land in-the cup. There is no other correction position. I played in a golf scramble years ago with a former Women’s Amateur Champion, Virginia Derby Grimes. No matter where our ball was on that green she never failed to speak out loud, “We can make this putt.”  She said that we had to think it before we could do it. Out attitudes were those of champions although the other three of us were certainly not champions but she spurred us on to thinking like champions. The results were amazing. Did we make every putt? Certainly not, but we thought that we could before the putter ever struck the ball and that was the bulk of the battle. In life’s battles I must know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has a plan and that it will be for my ultimate good and although I can’t see how this trial could possibly be working for my good right now I know that it is BECAUSE I TRUST HIM. My thinking is all focused on “thinking JESUS” not “thinking positive” which of course would be what I would muster up in my mind to be the positive outcome. Riding out a storm like this is so exciting because you haven’t a clue when it will end and what life will look like when the winds do die down. How you ride out the storms of life depend upon how much you trust your shelter. Now that’s something I can think positive about. My shelter is the best fortress around and His name is JESUS. The next time you have the tendency to “think positive” stop and “think JESUS”. His possibilities and plans are so amazing. Get in on the ride of your life. Trade your “positive thinking” in for lifetime adventure with the King of Kings.

                                                                              Ann Allen Salter

                                                                              May 3, 2008

MOPS lesson - April 7th

                                          “Do You Want Fruit, Cheese or Ice Cream?”

   This was a phrase I had to memorize in French when working at a small bed and  breakfast in Villar, Switzerland during the summer of 1979. Villar was in the French speaking part of Switzerland and I knew almost no French except for hello, goodbye, counting numbers to 8 or 10 and whatever remained in my brain from 5^th grade at Cloverdale School. My job consisted of cleaning the rooms, helping in the small kitchen, and serving the guests breakfast and dinner. The menu was set except for their choice of dessert which was fruit, cheese, or ice cream.  I had to memorize these words and of course if their response was ice cream I then had to respond with the pre-memorized, “Do you want chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?” It was an interesting summer to say the least. As soon as I opened my very Southern mouth they realized I wasn’t from around there but they would then assume that I did speak fluent French and then they would haul off speaking who knows what. They were certainly speaking but I did not understand a thing because I obviously spoke only Southern English... Oh yes, I “knew some French”….hello, a few numbers, two pre-programmed memorized questions, and of course good-bye. I didn’t fool them for long. Because I didn’t really speak their language I couldn’t go any further in our casual relationship. If I had wanted to get to know them more I couldn’t because I couldn’t understand them. I fear that this describes the relationship  many  professing Christians have with Jesus. Oh yes, they say they know Him and love him but when ask about their prayer life they say it is weak, very weak. Well in God’s eyes our prayer life is our relationship to Jesus. That’s what makes Christianity a relationship not a religion. The person of the Holy Spirit is living in you giving you 24/7 direct access to the throne through Jesus. Oh yes, most Christians say they pray… Hello, a few pre-programmed sentences, and then a quick goodbye. Fellow believers, this is not a prayer life. This is not a vibrant relationship. Trust me, if you are His, He is always speaking to you but do you understand Him. Are you listening?  Do you know His voice or does it sound like French to you? Do you want to turn it around-do you want to have an intimate relationship with your Creator and come to the end of all your longings? He is just waiting to teach you how to speak His language and listen to His voice. It starts with a radically surrendered heart and a plunging into His Word and walking by His Spirit.  He’ll fill you up with more of Him  than you can imagine if you’ll just ask and mean it. If you can pick up the phone and order a Rosetta Stone Language learning CD and be speaking fluent French in just a few months can you even imagine what the Father can do in your life in a few quick months through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit? Start learning a new language today- the language of the Holy Spirit in you. Get into His Word so He can get His Word out of you. Don’t settle for just fruit, cheese, or ice cream when He has the whole smorgasbord awaiting His beloved. Enjoy!

   Ann Allen Salter                                                

                                                                

April 1st Scripture Memory Verse

Dear girls,
Here April is upon us and we can REALLY see God's beauty all around us! I trust you are enjoying all the newness and lovliness of God's gifts to us! Just relax in God's love and peace this month and enjoy His fresh calming presence as you meditate on His Word!!
Post your name, your memory verse and the translation you are using and share with your friends to join us this month!!

Lovingly in Christ! Kay Howell

March 15th-Scripture Memory

Dear girls,
Spring is upon us with all her signs of new life around us. God has created for us this beautiful season of the year in which to learn more of Him and to grow closer to Him. As we see the budding of the bulbs and flowers let us remember that He wants to fellowship with us through His Word and draw us closer and closer to him. I trust you have a wonderful time with Him as you spend that quality time each day.
Remember to put your name, your memory verse and the translation you are using.

Until next time...God bless!!

Love,

Kay Howell

Balancing Your Life - March 10, 2009

“Lady Heintzelman and the Animal Crackers”

   I already miss Lady Heintzelman.   When I walk down the grocery store aisle with the cookies I can’t look at the little circus boxes of animal crackers and not think about her.  Let me tell you about one of my favorite patients ever.  I first met this beautiful yellow lab in 1998. She was the only 4-legged mouth to feed in the home of Rudy, Janet, Carmen, and Jill Heintzelman.  Rudy was truly surrounded by four beautiful girls but the “baby “ Lady  stole my heart early on.  Janet would bring Lady in for her routine semi-annual visits and after a few years she would always come with a little plastic bag of animal crackers.  I’ll never forget watching Lady “do her trick” for the first time. I was fascinated with her obedience. Let me attempt to explain with words what I wish that each of you could have seen in person. (Maybe it’s time to teach your old dog a new trick!)  By the way, pet owners want me to see their dog or cat’s trick in the exam room and they (the pets) are seldom cooperative. It’s akin to trying to get a three year old to “perform” when you ask.  It just rarely happens. Lady was the exception and her trick has and will always be my favorite trick of all. Janet would have Lady sit and position her head such that the bridge of her nose was perfectly parallel to the floor. She would then ever so gently strategically place an animal cracker just behind her nose. Even the slightest movement on Lady’s part would have made it fall off. It was balanced there only if she remained perfectly still. Lady would just sit there and hold that “statue-like” position until Janet gave her the “O.K.” signal and in a split second, almost faster than light, Lady would somehow flip that little animal cracker off her nose and catch it in her mouth. It sounded like a big fish striking at bait-so fast you couldn’t follow the cracker from her nose to her mouth.  I never tired of watching her do this trick. And of course I wanted to get in on it as well. It took me three or four sessions before I got the hang of it- cracker placement, timing, etc.  Janet brought more than the usual number of crackers when I got in on the fun. I don’t remember exactly when it happened but one day as I was sitting there enjoying Lady’s prompt obedience the spiritual analogy hit me and I realized that one day I’d be writing this pet parable about Lady.  I’m sure I’ve given the surprise of the parable away by now.  Lady and the animal cracker is a perfect lesson in prompt obedience to our Master.  Lady remained perfectly still until her master gave her the “go” then she wavered not but promptly obeyed.  Because her master placed the task strategically all she had to do was obey.  The scriptures we can use are countless as examples. To mind initially comes one of my favorites in Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”   Another version says to “Cease striving and know that I am God.”  Lady was as still as she could be. She didn’t have to try and place that cracker on her nose. Her master put the task before her and she was left to be still, be patient, and then promptly obey when the signal was given.  Her timing was crucial to obedience. Slow obedience is of course no obedience.  Let me tell you also about Lady’s eyes while all of this animal cracker placing and waiting was going on. I bet you can guess where they were fixed. Her gaze was of course fixed on her master.  They weren’t glancing to the right or the left; they were focused on the one and only. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:2).  The bottom line in Lady being able to fix her eyes on Janet and being promptly obedient every time she gave a command can be summed up in one word- LOVE.  Lady loved Janet as much as a pet can love a master but first Janet loved Lady as much as a master can love a pet.   “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  It is so clear in John 14:27 that obedience is the only outward evidence that we really love God. “If you love me you will obey me.”  Lady was surrendered to her master and she loved with all her heart.

   On a Monday in October of 2008 Rudy brought Lady in because she was just not herself. I could tell immediately by her breathing that something was wrong. That day there would be no animal cracker tricks to be played. After a series of testing the terrible diagnosis of lung cancer was made.  Saying goodbye to Lady was incredibly tough for the Heintzelman family and  their vet.  She had fought the good fight but it was time for her to hear them say what a good and faithful pet she had been for over ten years.  Lady Heintzelman has taught me a lot about waiting on my Master’s timing; keeping my eyes fixed on Him; and  then promptly obeying when He speaks.   My prayer is that  you’ve gleaned some spiritual principles from her story as well.  I know  I’ll never look at an animal cracker the same way again.

 

                                                                                   Ann Allen Salter

                                                                                   December 7, 2008

Balancing Your Life - March 4, 2009

“A Heavenly Bath”: My Westin Experience

   A lot of families gave their children Wii’s or IPod’s for Christmas this year but the Salter boys got tickets to the 75^th Sugar Bowl to see the Crimson Tide of Alabama  play the utes of Utah.  My husband, Rusty, is an incredible organizer and trip planner. Nothing is ever left to chance.  He had planned for us a quick and rather inexpensive trip when it comes to going to New Orleans.  Our plans were to leave at 7:00 sharp on Friday morning, check into the Hilton Riverside by lunch, tour the French quarter, meet friends for dinner at 3:45 at the ‘Gumbo Shop’, leave from there to the game (this is where I go back to the hotel as any good Auburn fan doesn’t want to spend money watching Alabama) and then depart on Saturday after eating beignets at the Café Du Monde followed by a tour of Tulane.  The schedule was set and discussed and we pulled out of 1707 Wentworth Drive at 7:08 (not too bad).  We walked into the lobby of the Hilton just on schedule but then the plan took an unexpected turn. It seems as if the Hilton had greatly overbooked and there was no room in the inn for the Salter’s. It was like an episode from ‘Seinfeld’.  They obviously didn’t have a problem taking the reservation but it was the holding of the reservation that had failed.  Sort of like hearing the Word but not doing it. The boys and I were of course imitating Jerry Seinfeld, “Anybody can just take the reservation but it’s the holding of the reservation that matters.”  God used it for our good.  We ended up in a free room down the street at another hotel so that is how this story about my Westin experience began.

   Fast forward to game time at 7:00 pm.   The three Salter boys were in the Superdome and I was having a Jerry Clower moment in my loose fitting pj’s propped up in the comfortable down-feathered king size bed in Westin Room 2030. Away from the crowds of the French Quarter and the 75,000 fans clad in red and black and white hounds tooth ‘I didn’t want anybody messin with the deal I got.’ My quieted mind ended up thinking ahead to January 10^th, the date set for the next Firebranded Ministry ladies function.  I was sure that I had received the message I was to teach that upcoming Saturday- “Will You Abort the Word in ’09?”  It had already been written in my heart and in story form and I knew there was no going back.  Never underestimate the enemy’s ability to try to snatch truth from you-especially if you are planning on delivering it to another.  The father of all lies will throw them out there more plentiful than Mardi Gras beads in the French Quarter.  Our job is not to receive the lies but to stand firm and fight with the Word. Well I failed the test and ended up with a few strands of those beads around my neck.  As harmless as it seemed I began to doubt if I was to share one part of the message, simply put that the Word and the Spirit are inseparable and must be restored in their fullness for the church to manifest the glory of God and for us individually to fulfill the destiny and purpose of our lives.  I had heard and have shared before that there is a silent divorce in most churches today. As with a divorce some of the children go with the mom and some with the dad.  Some churches have focused on the Word with negligence on the fullness of the Spirit and some have so focused on the Spirit to the negligence of the power and authority of every verse of the Word. Man has forever been trying to dissect the Trinity only taking what pleases him or lines up with traditions or his denomination.  It’s time for the remarriage of the Word and the Spirit. It’s time to restore balance and the fullness of Christ as He intended and died for His church to have. The enemy’s job is to snatch the fullness of the Spirit or the Word  or get one or the other way out of balance. The Word without the Spirit you’ll dry up. The Spirit without the Word you’ll blow up.  The Spirit with the Word you’ll grow up.  So back to the Westin Room 2030. You see I chose to doubt that I was to share what I just briefly shared with you.  The primary message was about aborting the Word. I spoke on flowing with the Spirit the time before.  I’m sure they can connect the dots I told myself. … I’m sure that you will tell them Lord. Do I really need to stand up there and say what is  happening in the great majority of the churches in our nation?  Lord, you know many of the ladies coming are part of these churches. .. Isn’t it amazing the dialog we can actually have with the holy sovereign God of this universe as if He really needs a news scoop about any of His children or His bride.  He ever so gently took me back to my life verse from 1997 which I have tried to ignore until a few months ago. “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them or I will terrify you before them” (Jeremiah 1:17). What a gentle verse to have for life. Thanks Lord. Now for the love test. “If you love me you’ll obey me” (John 14:15).  Of course I’ll share what you’ve put in me…I really don’t want to find out what being terrified before them feels like. ……….. Fast forward to early the next morning. Our God is so good and speaks ALL the time through ANYTHING. I should have woken up in the Hilton but remember I’m in the free Westin. I woke up and just laid there for a few minutes praising Him for another day, praising Him for the end of another football season (this is more meaningful to my fellow Auburn fans!), praising Him for the Godly man beside me and the two growing young men on the floor (no rollaways which doesn’t seem too important when the room is free and you’re not the one on the floor).  My mind then went to the struggle of the previous night. I was resolved to speak His truths no matter the cost but oh how I needed to “know that I know” that it was the right timing and venue. The seed He gives us must be scattered at the right season into the right soil to grow.  I headed to the bathroom and picked up the hotel’s shampoo. Guess what it said. No, I’m not crazy the bottle didn’t speak like the donkey in the Old Testament. What’s written on it is what I mean.  In black and white (actually in olive green): White Tea Aloe Shampoo-‘RESTORE BALANCE’.  Thank you Lord.  Restoring balance is it. You knew I needed that confirmation after my struggle with the Word and the Spirit truth. It gets better. I got in the shower, looked up and saw two separate but joined Water-Pik showerheads. The utes from Utah may have been familiar with this fancy shower setup but this gal from Alabama was impressed.  Both shower heads were large and connected by a small pipe coming from a larger pipe. Talk about a shower. Complete coverage. Fullness. The analogy is obvious - The Word and The Spirit from The Father.  As if I needed more confirmation after the shampoo bottle and the double showerheads I reached for a towel and my eye caught a large tag on the side. Guess what was written on it- ‘A Heavenly Bath’. I certainly had a Mandisa ‘God Speaking’ song moment-“He’ll do and He’ll use whatever He wants to.”  I’m sure He would have gotten through to me at the Hilton in some other way but He chose the Westin bathroom!  He is speaking ALL the time through His Word, someone, or something if we’ll just be still and listen.  I learned a valuable lesson that morning. The enemy will do whatever it takes to steal, kill and destroy what God is putting into you. Refuse  to catch the beads.  Resolve  to stay in the Word; don’t grieve  His Spirit and listen so you can hear and promptly obey His still small voice. He’ll speak to you in the oddest ways if you’ll  just  listen. I’m so thankful for my ‘heavenly bath’  that morning. One night at the Hilton in New Orleans: $200.00. One night and shower at the Westin: Priceless.                                                                                                    Ann Allen Salter

March 1st Scripture Memory

Here we are at the beginning of March already.. Isn't God good to let us see the beautiful changes in nature around us? Take a few minutes in the next few days and just look around your neighborhoods and see the new growth springing up. (Even the rain and possibly snowflakes!!)
I trust you are being blessed as you are hiding His Word in your hearts as I am!!

Don't forget to add your memory verse for March 1st; the translation you are using and your name!

God Bless!

Kay Howell

February 15th Scripture Memory

Hey Girls,


Here's you 'sweet' reminder once again to enter your scripture for February 15th that you are memorizing with us, ladies. Isn't God good to allow us to select a special verse from His Word for us to meditate on and plant in our hearts? Bless you as you walk with HIM!
Oh, and hope you have/had a Happy Valentine!


Remember to sign your name, your new verse and the translation you are using!!

Blessings and MUCH LOVE!



Kay Howell

"Balancing Your Life '09" Session 3

 “What Do You Do at the Foot of the Cross?”

   If we were all completely honest we would admit that at the foot of the cross we sometimes spend more time “wailing and lashing” than “shutting up and listening.”  We finally get driven to the foot of the cross to do business with our Father which in most cases should have done much earlier. You see “our busyness” keeps us from “His business” much of the time.  So we get there and instead of “laying our burdens down at the foot of the cross” we have a tendency to rehearse the problem to God (as if He needed this news scoop) and then when the tears have come we emote on the problem in our mind over and over.  After some period of time, usually after our mascara has washed away and we feel the need for new Kleenex to blow our noses, we get up, head to the bathroom and are quite proud of our prayer time.  Warning to men readers: don’t quit reading.  Although men may not have a women’s emotional makeup the scriptural principles certainly cross genders. Let’s get back to the cross. I know I’ve had a lot of pity parties at the foot of the cross instead of times of intimacy with The Almighty.  How do you know the difference?  The simple one word answer for knowing you’ve been in His presence at the foot of the cross is “PEACE.” Any emotion the opposite of peace, and obviously there are too many to list, shows that you didn’t make it into His presence. His presence is peace. “For He Himself is your peace.” (Ephesians 2:14)  The foot of the cross we talk and sing about is the “Holy of Holies” in the order of prayer. Remember that effective prayer has an exact order. We don’t just stroll in there casually. We enter His presence clean as snow and with fear and trembling. The cross is where we learn to shut-up. The cross is where we learn to listen. The cross is where He applies the His blood and His grace and His supernatural provision to our lives and we are changed. We are ALWAYS changed in His presence. Remember the examples in the Bible when people were literally physically in His presence-they were physically changed as evidenced by a “holy glow” for a period of time.  We can never enter His presence and not be changed. He is in the transformation business. Our job is to get to Him over and over and over.  With all that is in us to make it to that place of transformation, of healing, of immunity, of intimacy, that must be our first priority.  Our job is to keep seeking Him; He’ll do the rest. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). “You will find Me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). 

   Because of the life-changing power at the foot of the cross the enemy of your soul will do all that he can to keep you from that place. When you need The Father the most, Satan will put “deadly substitutes” right slap dab in the middle of your path. If you are unaware of his schemes you’ll listen to the substitute voices. It’s a hard pill to swallow but the enemy can and does masquerade as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).  NEVER confer with flesh and blood before you do business with The Father. Your answer and blessing can easily get snatched. Opinions of man can prove deadly because they kill your getting to the cross, to the “Holy of Holies”, into His changing presence. The voices of man may go down smooth and taste good but they are as lethal as any poison pulled from under your kitchen counter.  Just how many of your friends will really give you God’s perfect answer. How could they possibly begin to know unless they have spent much time in prayer and His presence on your behalf?  Are you changed in their presence? Do you have that “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7) after you get up from being with them? Oh yes, come to the place that you realize that the deadliest substitutes in your life are not for the wicked things of this world but can be listening to and depending upon the “good advice” of well meaning family and friends. The “good” is always the enemy of the “best”. Am I saying that you don’t seek wise counsel-absolutely not. The Bible states over and over wisdom gained from many counselors BUT the key is the order. You go to the cross FIRST and friends for confirmation if needed secondly. And it should go without saying that the “friend” better be sold out to Jesus and listening to Him before you share your situation at all. If not, trust me, you’ll be conferring with the enemy sent to get you out of God’s will. Your destiny is His will found only at the foot of the cross and Satan’s job is to pull you from it and he will use anyone to do this.  This is why we pray for more and more discernment as we grow.

   So in closing let us all reevaluate what we do at the foot of the cross. Let us remember to go there first, early and often. Let us learn to lose our busyness and do all our business there. Let us learn to shut-up at the cross and just listen. Let us “be still” (Psalm 46:10) there and be changed in His Holy presence. I promise that your peace will be like a river. At the cross you are in for the ride of your life. Don’t miss it. He’s waiting for you.

                                                                           Ann Allen Salter

                                                                           July 24, 2008

"Balancing Your Life '09" Session 2

                                             “Will You Abort the Word in ’09?”

   Mary was chosen to carry the Son and when told she promptly said, “Be it unto me according to your Word” (Luke 1:38). Prompt obedience to the complete unknown.   What have you been chosen to carry this New Year?  What dream or vision is alive in your heart?   As a Christian you are called to carry the Son 24/7.  It is a nonnegotiable in our Father’s eyes.  I fear that most believers walk around pregnant with plans and agendas of their own or others all the while asking their Father’s blessings on them out of selfishness, tradition, or ritual but really aren’t at all about their Father’s intended business for them.  If it ‘s not of Him it’s a deadly substitute- an illegitimate  vision  which  will sap your time and energy and produce no real fruit of righteousness or  harvest for His glory.  Back to the year 2009. The number 9 means fruit or harvest. I guess that’s why we are in the womb for 9 months. Seed….time…..harvest.  There are no shortcuts to God’s perfect plan. He has had it all figured out from the beginning and our job is to get in on what He’s doing in His timing. Mary said it all. “Be it unto me according to your Word.”  Mary’s purpose and destiny in life as well as yours were there from the beginning of time.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).  The Word will come to you today in many ways if you have eyes to see, hears to hear and a Spirit to perceive.  The most obvious way and I fear the most underutilized way the Word comes to us is black and white-the written Word, the Bible. Show me someone who is in love with the Lord and I’ll show you someone who loves the Word. They are one and the same.  We have to get it (Him) into us so it (He) can get out of us. “Meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do all that is in it…The Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path… If it were not for the scriptures I would have perished in my afflictions… For the Word is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword… He sent forth His Word and healed them…  He watches over His Word to perform it… Man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. .. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.”  The Word…the Word… the Word… The written word… the spoken word… the perceived word… Jesus said, “You are in error because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). The Word and the Spirit are in perfect harmony. Balanced. Not dissected as man wants to do. The Word without the Spirit you’ll dry up. The Spirit without the Word you’ll blow up. The Word with the Spirit you’ll grow up. As previously spoken the silent divorce has happened in most churches today. Like children of divorce some are going with the mom and some with the Dad. Many churches have decided to focus on the Word. Many have decided to focus on the Sprit. They need to remarry the Spirit and the Word and then we’ll see revival in our dry parched land. The Word and the Spirit are inseparable twins who must come together in both emphasis and experience.  By the Spirit we receive the Word and the Word tells us of the Spirit. The power to obey the Word is the power of the Holy Spirit given by God’s grace. It was that grace obedience that caused Mary to promptly obey what was spoken to her. That Word can also come to you in the spoken form from a teacher, a pastor, a prophet, or anyone or anything God chooses to speak through.  If it is a true Word it will always line up with the written Word. Always. It will never contradict the Word.  Many will abort the Word coming to them just because they are unfamiliar with the channel.  What a shame. This is so true of the prophetic voice. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).  Just because you are not familiar with it doesn’t mean it’s not real. Always remember that traditions of man negate the Word of God.  Oh, how I don’t want to abort any form of God’s Word coming to me to grow me, to warn me, to encourage me, etc.  How many times and how many ways can you and me abort the Word He’s wanting for us?  As graphic as this may be I can think of no better analogy than physical abortion. “First in the natural, then the spiritual “(1 Corinthians 15:46).  There is an entire other lesson that could be written but just think about this for a moment.  When this country started legally killing babies in the womb with Roe vs. Wade didn’t we then begin to see an ever increasing death of the Word in the hearts of our people, the home, the church, the nation?

   On with the analogy of the analogy.   You are probably so familiar with the parable of the soils you could probably teach it without your Bible. You’ve heard it spoken of and preached so many times that I fear that you like me have failed to really grasp the full extent of it. Before God hit me over the head with this abortion analogy I used to think that the parable of the soils just applied to new believers and was not really very relevant to me. I read it many times through prideful eyes.  Let the Word speak for itself and then I’ll attempt to explain the abortion analogy. “ Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear...  The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word which was sown in them.  Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.  Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop- thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown”(Mark 4: 3-9, 14-20).  The abortion analogy will be graphic but it serves to remind us that as reprehensible as destroying human life inside of us is the abortion of the alive Word in our hearts. The Bible says that the Word is very near us-it is in our hearts and in our mouths yet do we allow it to grow and produce a crop 30,60,100 times what was sown or does it get aborted before full-term?  There are many forms of abortion but the three most common forms line up exactly with the first three soils Jesus describes. The most common form of abortion is performed in the first twelve weeks of life and is called suction or D & C (dilation and curettage). The uterus is dilated and the baby is literally sucked away like the birds eating the seed along the path.  Did you know that 25% of all pregnancies in the world are aborted and 75% of the abortions are done by this method?  The Word and the baby are literally sucked away in an instant. The death of the seed on the rocky places is represented by another form of abortion called RU486. This “morning after pill” blocks progesterone which is responsible for maintaining the nutrient lining of the uterus so the baby literally withers (starves) because of no moisture and nutrients.  This is exactly what happened to the plants when the seed was sown on rocky places- “…and they withered because they had no root.”  It’s difficult to even describe the abortion method which represents the thorns choking out the growing plants. This salt poisoning method is used for babies over four months of age. Salt is injected into their amniotic sac and the baby sucks in the salt; chokes and then burns and dies.  “The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things” come in and choke the word making it unfruitful.  I’m literally heart-broken and half-sick at my stomach to read and study the various abortion methods. I’ve spared describing partial-birth abortion which could be a whole other story but suffice it to say that as disgusting as physical abortion is to you and me shouldn’t I be equally disgusted when I choose to abort the Word in my life. I mean every jot and tittle of the Word.  Maybe I’ve had victory in some areas but am I aborting what He says in other areas.  The Word is the perfect anointed seed and it will produce a crop if the soil is perfect. That soil is a pure clean heart-a heart surrendered and anointed. Believers have chosen to abort the Word over and over and it’s time for that to be overturned. Start with 2009. Purpose to produce a 100- fold crop because you choose to carry the Son to full term. Be it unto you according to the Word.

 

                                                                                Ann Allen Salter

                                                                                December 28, 2008 

February 1- Scripture Memory Verse

Hey girls,
We are one month into this wonderful year that God has given
us and I trust that all of you are digging deep into His Word and
letting Him speak truths to you each day as you meditate AND listen.
Remember to put your name, your new verse and the translation you are using!

Blessings on each of you...YOU ARE LOVED!!

Kay Howell

"Balancing Your Life '09" Session 1

   “The Pigeon vs. the Dove:  Learning the Sensitivity of the Spirit”

   I’ve never been a real lover of birds until recently. Let me explain.  As a vet, I never know what kind of pet will be behind the next exam room door.  In my first years of practice (early 80’s) I never did very well with birds.  It’s not that I didn’t particularly have affection for them but I just didn’t know much about them.  Vet school majored on creatures with hair not feathers. Birds don’t usually act sick until they are half-dead and most of them are hypersensitive so with that combination I had many die in my hands as soon as I took them out of their cages. More times than not there was a child standing there watching just after their parents assured them that I would be able to save their precious Tweedy.  My partner in practice had similar experiences so as soon as God blessed us with an associate he was given the job of taking care of all the patients with feathers.  So for over twenty-five years I’ve completely ignored birds until recently.  My new found affection and observation of birds started this spring.  On a random Thursday morning (5/22/08) I pulled out of my driveway heading to Panera Bread to pick up some cinnamon crunch bagels.  I remember exactly where I was on Wentworth Drive when a guest of James Dobson on his Focus on the Family radio show was telling a story about a dove.  R.T. Kendall was retelling a story in his book ‘Sensitivity of the Spirit’ about a missionary couple who had moved to Jerusalem. Living in a nest built in the eave of their upstairs flat was a beautiful turtledove.  They began to notice that every time they raised their voices or there was the slightest disturbance whatsoever the dove would fly away. It would take her a long time, sometimes days, to come back. As long as things were quiet and peaceful she would stay right there. The couple loved having her there in view-she was so beautiful and peaceful.  One day the husband asked his wife if she wanted the dove to stay.  Of course she responded affirmatively.  He quickly replied, “Then we are going to have to adjust our lives to her because she is not going to adjust her life to us.”  Dr. Kendall went on to explain that the dove in this story is the perfect analogy to the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is unchangeable- we will have to learn to adjust our lives to Him because He will never adjust His life to us.  Kendall described some characteristics of the dove and then went on to compare the dove to pigeons, both members of the same bird family they are anatomically exactly the same but in every other way completely different.  As the dove represents the Holy Spirit in us the pigeon represents the counterfeit Holy Spirit or our flesh. The analogy was so powerful that by this time I’m sitting in the parking lot of Panera Bread hanging on every word.  Now remember I’m not fond of birds but this analogy caught my attention. This was definitely a message I needed to hear.  It bounced around in my head for two days and then that Saturday I was prompted to get on the computer and learn more details of pigeons and doves.  I wrote some very “rough bullet notes” which I’ll interject at this point.  You’ll see that this story just continues to write itself with no effort on my part. Excuse any repetition of what’s already been said.     

                               ‘The Pigeon vs. The Dove’ (5/24/08)

·       Both are members of the family Columbidae/ are used somewhat interchangeably although they are very different.

·       Pigeons: domesticated, in cities, parks, ugly-vile-they take over, scavengers, In NYC called “flying rats”-eat junk!  Become a daunting adversary for most cities, a nuisance; they love noise and will crawl over you to get food-they will eat anything!

·       Doves: in the New Testament symbolic of the Holy Spirit, they are wild and are the symbols of peace; quite differently they eat only seeds and fruit-they will not eat junk; they will fly away with the least bit of noise or disturbance; they are very sensitive, tender and gentle; will not readily descend on someone and if they did would fly away immediately with the slightest movement or noise.

·       Analogy spiritually: The ungrieved Holy Spirit is the dove-you are walking in His fruit (of the Spirit) when He is not grieved- present with you-like Him descending down upon you. The moment you grieve Him He flies away. The sinful thought, the sinful word, anything not of Him- any act of the flesh or evil He leaves you. He is tender, gentle…easily moved by the least wrong. When He is present you are walking in constant peace, joy…on the other hand the pigeon will light on you and you can’t get him to leave. Pigeon-religion- not the real thing. It’s the counterfeit Holy Spirit. Looks like a dove but not the real thing. A pigeon in dove’s clothing.

·       I heard this analogy on Focus on the Family- R.T. Kendall 5/22/08. I ordered a book of his so maybe it will give more insight. I’d like to do a lesson with this analogy-cultural Christians vs. followers of Christ or counter-cultural Christians.  The South is full of pigeons and doves. The doves are shot for sport and the pigeons are fed in the park. Isn’t this interesting?? The pigeons are getting fatter and fatter-eating junk, anything, filth, refuge, dirty stuff, they don’t care-they are pigeons-anatomically and scientifically just like doves cut culturally and socially totally and completely different.

·       How many times a day do I grieve the Holy Spirit in me? How many times does my personal dove have to leave me (not physically leave me because He can never leave or forsake me but He can withdraw the blessing (by-products) of His presence-the fruit-love, joy, peace, etc. What is worth losing those for even a moment? When will we learn to quit grieving Him as we do? He has feelings…He is a person… I’ve never thought of Him like this before. The gift of the Holy Spirit-an alive invisible person living in me filling me up constantly with His fruit when I’m not grieving Him.

·       My verse for the year (2008) is Psalm 16:8-“Because the Lord is at my right hand, I will not be moved.” There are many verses about not being shaken or moved. When we choose to be moved or shaken (mentally/emotionally) meaning we are choosing to think with the mind of the flesh the dove flies away. We have grieved Him and He has to leave. He is inactivated in us. The fruit is gone. It’s so easy to grieve Him- to bring Him sorrow. He is a person-the invisible person of the Trinity-the Holy Spirit living in me. Oh, how I act like He is not around sometimes. I grieve Him over and over but the Father is so merciful over and over that He keeps restoring me.  I don’t want to grieve Him anymore. Father, make me more aware of your Holy Spirit’s presence moment by moment.

·       To get the dove to descend upon you you must be quiet and still for a long time. A few seconds won’t do. It must become a way of life for you. The still is in your mind. No more striving (Psalm 46:10). You must want companionship and fellowship with the dove more than with people. You’ll never please the dove and the world. The dove won’t come into a crowded out loud heart.  Peace be still. Intimacy with the dove requires silence of the soul.

·       Most of your friends are satisfied with “pigeon-religion” because they have never experienced the dove. One minute with the dove will change your life. You will become addicted to His peace and nothing else will ever satisfy. You will become homesick for heaven. Pigeon worshippers think they have the real deal. It’s like Coke Zero. But it’s not the real thing. Pigeon religion is a deadly substitute. “Depart from me, I never knew you…Oh, that you would be hot or cold- because you are lukewarm I am about to spew you out of my mouth!” That literally means vomit.

·       ***5/26/08 - I wrote the above bullet points this weekend at the beach after hearing R.T. Kendall’s message on Thursday. This morning (Monday) I walk out of my side door and guess what is sitting on the top of Taylor’s car roof- a beautiful dove! Another was on the top of the garage roof.  They immediately flew away when they heard me. I get to work and guess what’s in the first cage in our CCW – a pigeon with the following note attached to the cage:

Dear Dr. Griffin,

   I got hit by a satellite truck in Columbia, South Carolina. I got stuck to the air conditioning intake on top of the truck and was trapped there, spread pigeon, for 400 miles until the driver finally stopped in Montgomery for the night and pulled me loose. Someone told me YOU could help me so he brought me here. PLEASE don’t let me die now. My leg needs to be fixed. Help me. Please!

                                   Pigeon

·       The resilience of this pigeon illustrates the perfect analogy to out flesh. IT IS HARD TO KILL!! Our flesh is strong-it lines right up with the enemy every time. Our flesh or carnal nature will always be with us to some degree. We are born into this Adamic nature- the only remedy is to invite the Holy Spirit to come in and take over and little by little begin to slay the flesh every time it rises up. It will scream to be rescued just like this pigeon in the above true story. Please fix me!! It doesn’t die easy. You just can’t pray it away-you must war against it constantly as an act of your will. “I have been crucified with Christ”…”take up your cross daily”…”die to yourself”… the examples in Scripture are endless. The battle rages…the “war” as described in Galatians 5. But praise God that “greater is He who is in you” so that you can win this war moment by moment IF YOU CHOOSE TO FIGHT. The dove is worth  it!! The dove and the pigeon won’t co-exist.

   As I’ve retyped the above bullet points from over six months ago I’m still amazed how God has orchestrated every detail concerning this pigeon/dove story. I’m seeing some things that I missed in May. With any analogy or parable the Holy Spirit will give each individual specific insight for them.  I started out saying it was a random Thursday- with God nothing is random. That Thursday just happened to be 5/22. For those who are accustomed to my teaching 5:22 is huge to me. It represents the Spirit- from Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc..”  My husband and I set our alarm clock for 5:22 each morning. It’s a visual reminder that we can choose to get up and feed our Spirit or hit the snooze and continue to feed the flesh (which may be screaming to go back to sleep). Now you’ve got to just know God was showing off when He allowed me to see the two dove and then the pigeon back to back on that Monday morning after writing on that Saturday after hearing the radio show on the Thursday. I’ve been in that practice for 37 years (counting working as a teenager) and never before has there ever been a pigeon brought in. When I read the note from the pigeon to Dr. Griffin I knew that I would be writing a pet parable about it one day. After writing that I desired to do a teaching lesson on it one day I was ask exactly one month later to speak at a ladies ministry function.  I started watching for doves in the neighborhood and actually got a few photos for the PowerPoint.  Learning their sensitivity by watching them is so much more powerful than just reading about them.  The “Firebranded Women” ministry function was scheduled for November 8^th and I still needed to watch and take photos of some pigeons.  I just happened to accompany my husband in October for the Chicago Marathon and there I was surrounded by as many pigeons as runners.  Observing them interacting with one another was priceless.  Unlike the doves that are not territorial and never fought each other the pigeons were incredibly territorial and defensive.  They would attack each other for no apparent reason.  The analogy was just cemented into me after spending time observing both birds. Maybe I’m weird but this analogy just works for me.  By learning the sensitivity of the Dove I am learning to be more sensitive to the Dove. I’m slowly learning to adjust my life to Him as He will never adjust His to me.  Remember that for years I got away with ignoring the creatures with feathers. This dog and cat loving vet has fallen in love with the Dove. I’m learning to stay as far away from “pigeon religion” as possible. Fall in love with the Dove. He is worth it!!

                                                           Ann Allen Salter

                                                           December  9, 2008