The Unlikely Missionary

2016 has been very... (insert whatever and how many adjectives you want) Many of those who started the year won't finish it and many who didn't start it will live to see another year. The political, financial, personal, professional and emotional landscapes for most as 2017 looms may not look promising and at the very least daunting. But hope... Hope is, in my opinion, as necessary to life as air. Hopelessness is a deep pit that can swallow you whole. When our hope is built on shifting, sinking sand it is very easy for us to lose it. But.. MY hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and Righteousness... God is still God. The sun still rises and sets. Jesus is still risen from the dead. So therefore I will always have hope because money, people, things, leaders, bosses, jobs, empires, nations pass away but inspite of our best efforts to destroy and eradicate God from our world HE STILL LIVES and HIS PROMISES are still TRUE . I dare not trust the sweetest...

I wrote  What If I'm the One to Start A Revolution?  5 years ago. I felt then as I do now that God has one more great awakening in store for America. In the recent months I have begun to feel this great sense of urgency. Not because of our new president but because of how far the message of the American church has strayed from who God truly is. I have been brokenhearted at how some churches have become so focused on money and trivial issues that they forget that it's about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What is the Gospel?  It's the Good News. It's that Jesus Christ came to earth; lived, walked talked, breathed among us; was killed so that we might have life in abundance and so that the relationship with God that was severed by sin was restored with His Blood; He rose again as He promised; He ascended to Heaven, and He is sitting right now at the right hand of God the Father talking to God on our behalf. The gospel is NOT we bash you because of the color of your sk...

Merry Christmas & Happy Sunday!

This time of year can be very hard, especially if you feel alone or forgotten. But I want you to know that in the kingdom of God you are not alone, you are not forgotten, you are loved. Avalon sings this amazing song called Orphans of God. And whenever I feel my lowest; unloved, ignored, beat down, alone, unwanted, misunderstood, or cast aside - I play this song and remember that I am a child of God and He loves me and for this reason I am not alone. EVER. I hope this song encourages you as it does me and remember... You are loved  and You are loved,  We are loved. The Unlikely Missionary DHW

This song always touches me. We, since the beginning of time, have been waiting for the Lord. But He is already here, in us Enjoy! The Unlikely Missionary, DHW

I learned at a young age that Santa was not real and that Christmas was not about receiving. As far back as I can remember Christmas Day at my house started with church, then we would go visit people who may not have a visitor at a nursing home or the hospital. We would bring them gifts and conversation and sing carols and THEN we went home to eat and THEN we opened presents. We sometimes didn't open presents until well into the afternoon depending on how many visits we made. As a kid, this was annoying because I wanted to get home to see what I got. Of course. In our little kid mind its all about the gifts! Now as an adult I appreciate that my parents put the focus on serving others and not ourselves. That's what Christmas in about after all. Jesus didn't come to earth to be born because it was going to be a fun vacation, a reward for being a good Son. We are celebrating the ultimate act of service. Jesus was born to die in 33 years. We don't know when we are goi...

One of my fave artists. You Are Loved! The Unlikely Missionary, DHW

Even if no one else anywhere ever tells you this, I am here to deliver God's message to you that... YOU ARE LOVED! I have become overwhelmed by the number of hate crimes that have be occuring since this election and God has been moving within me to act. I'm not a speaker but I am a writer and through my written words God has always helped me to articulate what He wants me to know about who He is. And I learned this particular truth many years ago... God said and continues to say, no matter what you are, no matter who you are, no matter what you have done, no matter where you have been, no matter where you are right now, no matter what people may say about you,  God loves you . God is love and He can be nothing else. Don't let people tell you that you have to do x,y, and z to gain or be worthy of God's love when the Bible says the exact opposite. For God so loved  the world that he gave  his one and only Son,  that whoever believes  in him shall not ...

Psalm 107:1 ; Psalm 136:1 Thanksgiving has just passed and we gathered with our families. For me and my family this holiday has never been about pilgrims but about being able to gather, when we normally probably wouldn't because life gets in the way, to look at all the ways God has blessed us and kept us. Its a time to pray and thank God for life, strength and each other and of course eat. I know for some Thanksgiving is not a happy time because of history and current events but I want us to stop and think about the things we have to be grateful for, that we are thankful for. We take many things for granted and all we have can be gone in an instant. There are very few guarantees in this life. I am thankful to God everyday because He is good. He wakes me up when many others don't. He starts me on my way when many others can't. I have ears to hear. Eyes to see. Clothes to wear, food to eat, and a place to sleep. That is all I need and God promises to supply all our...

In God's economy Love is Action Many of us know the 1 Corinthians 13 which has been dubbed the "Love Chapter" of the Bible. It has always bothered me that people say they fall in love with people because to me this means that just as fast as it can happen it can end. And if that is true that means that God can fall in and out of love with us at any given moment. And if that is true how can God be love personified if love is so wishy washy? That doesn't fit with who God says He is. But, when people talk about love its like this mystical thing that just comes upon you. But to God and in His Word it is much more than that. It is a conscious, and deliberate action that you can control. I've listed the ways that God says we are to love. Its here both in the the traditional version that I memorized this verse in when I was a little girl and then in The Message. I love The Message version of scripture and you will see it quoted here often because it breaks th...

There are too many Pharisees in today's American church. If you don't know what a Pharisees is let me explain... PHAR'ISEE, n. Heb. to separate. One of a sect among the Jews, whose religion consisted in a strict observance of rites and ceremonies and of the traditions of the elders,and whose pretended holiness led them to separate themselves as a sect, considering themselves as more righteous than other Jews. In today's world that would be a self-righteous person. See here  for a history of their exploits. Before there was the church as we know it there were Jews and there were Gentiles. In case you are wondering, unless you have Jewish heritage we all qualify as Gentiles. The Pharisees were what we would consider modern day religious folks that think they are above it all. They were very law focused and intent and content to tell you all of the things you were doing wrong and in some cases using that guilt trip for personal gain. Hmmmmm. Sound familiar in pre...

After the election My social media timelines have been full of people saying that we need to pray. And they are absolutely right. However.... The Bible ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-18 ) also says there is a time to pray and a time to mourn... We have abbreviated this to the old adage there is a time and place for everything. So we need to give space to those who are mourning, we need to give space to those who are angry and let everyone feel what they are feeling and stop telling them we just need to pray. Why do we need to stop this? Because besides giving people space, prayer is not always the only answer that God gives us. Sometimes he calls us to pray but other times he calls us to march (think the walls of Jericho, see Joshua 6 ), sometimes he calls us to speak up (see Esther 4 ), sometimes he calls us to be still and listen (see 1 Samuel 3 ) and sometimes he calls us to fight (see the story of the Judge Deborah in Judges 4:6 ). As a Christian even I am telling you that the " we need t...

I love music because it is the way that God ministers to my heart. I will be sharing a lot of music on here but today I just wanted you to know that God hears you when you pray and He WILL ANSWER! The Unlikely Missionary, DHW

It has been 5 years to the month since my last post. Five long years. Many things have happened to me in this span of time that caused me to turn my line to God off. I have experienced great highs and incredible lows. Life happens... But during this election season God has been weighing heavily on me as I have watched hate, lies, death, hurt and turmoil permeate and dominate my social media timelines. It made me especially sad that many of the people spewing these offensive things were people who proclaim the name of Jesus. I would like to say, on behalf of the God that I serve... I'm sorry! I knew God was real on a sunny day more than 20 years ago when I felt a hand in the middle of my chest push me out of the path of a speeding taxi. He reminded me again when I was 19 and I had planned to commit suicide. And He reminded me again just yesterday. When God's hand is on you there is no escaping. And I can tell you with confidence that the God that I serve is a ...