Tuesday, April 3, 2018

March 2018, Battery Point Light House, Crescent City, CA

This was our 3rd time to be light house keepers here, from Feb. 28 - Apr. 1.  For the most part, the month was very rainy and blustery.  It was very much like March we were here in 2016.

While cooped up early in the month, we listened to an awesome sermon by Roberts Liardon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqi_UJ7y9EY

About God’s call and are we willing to do what God says, no matter what.  We were discussing ‘what is our purpose here at the lighthouse/Crescent City this go around.’  Each time in the past, God has specifically directed us to do or to say specific things – having prayer meetings, ministering to various people, helping at the mission, William walking the cross through town, Good Friday/Easter service, etc.  This time, we feel God brought us here for a purpose and we have fulfilled that purpose: to encourage those who live in this community to believe and to pray for revival, to get out and to do the work, etc. 

It wasn’t until the 9th that I (William stayed at the light house to do ‘spring cleaning’) finally got to visit those at the mission (Our Daily Bread) and got caught up on all that’s gone on there the past couple years – good to see the people there.  I got back to the lighthouse, carrying all the groceries and a large family (looked like Mennonites or similar) about to leave and they stopped me and asked if I lived there.  I answered a few of their questions, and asked if they saw the whales.  They hadn’t so while I brought the groceries in, William came out and pointed out the whales.  This family is from John Day and were on their way to central CA for a wedding the next day, so William offered to take them up in the tower (the kids were so excited – 9 of them).  Good thing they all went up, because William noticed that the light was out.   It is official – William is a Bulbie (back in the day, keepers were called Wickies) – he had to change the bulb and the fuse (he was actually excited about it since not many people get to do this).    Pretty interesting afternoon, talked with lots of people, great conversations, especially great conversation with a couple from Vancouver, Canada - everyone was especially excited to see the whales – 3 of them seem to be hanging nearby pretty much every day.





March 10 – Our first day to give tours and even though I went into the gift shop ½ hr early to familiar myself with the products, reviewed the directions, looked over the POS, I still screwed up massively!  I get so mad at myself when this happens – when I get overwhelmed by chaos, pressured by time, I get confused and can’t think.  That is what happened right off the bat when we opened.  Around 10:30 or so, there were about 8 people in there, everyone chatting and carrying on, wanting to buy stuff and take tours, I got so confused and started hitting wrong buttons.  I still really don’t know what happened, but at the end of the day, nothing I could figure would add up: on the receipt I was $29.40 off in the cash drawer; however, I knew (and wrote it down at the time so I’d remember to write a note) my mistake was a $36. mistake – so how this $29. came to happen, I don’t know and can’t make since of it.  So after that 8 went on the tour, there was another lady with several items and I was still so flustered and couldn’t think, I just entered everything in as misc., but after she left I wrote down the items and tried to match them up with prices later.  I finally calmed down and figured right after that.  Dan had come up to help for the day, so he did the upstairs and tower, while I did the Parlor and William did the Dining Room and Kitchen.

Unfortunately, I forgot to keep a tally of the actual tour people, so I just went to the sign-in list at the end of the day and wrote it down:  41 adults, 5 children.  A couple of cool things did happen:  I got into a conversation with a lady who, for 4 years, traveled around in a little Dolphin RV and had been to 531 lighthouses – from Michigan, East Coast, South, and she was now going up the Pacific.  She had filled up 4 of those little lighthouse stamp books.  Another cool thing, a guy came in and was talking with me, then William came in and he looks and said, “I thought she looked familiar (pointing to me) and now I know – you’re William!” and he gave William a hug.  He was a person we knew in Ashland, who came out periodically and helped in our park ministry/homeless feed we did there prior to 2013.  That was cool touching base with him.



March 11 – 2nd day of tours.  Dottie came up and she did the tours downstairs while William did upstairs and tower.  That way, I just concentrated on doing sales/admissions and kept a tally of who actually went in:  21 adults, 6 children.  The list had 39 adults and 6 children.  A couple of issues: there were these 2 teen girls (around 14 or so, I think) that came in with backpacks and attitudes.  They weren’t with any family and I asked if their parents were around.  They looked at each other and said they were somewhere else.  I asked where they came from and they just said “from around here” – they were so evasive I gathered they were either run-aways or just off on an adventure by themselves.  I listened to them as they talked to each other and one said that she hoped she got her own room when they moved and she mentioned her mom in that sentence, so I don’t know what their status is.  Either way, I wasn’t comfortable about them and really watched them.  One of them was eating cheetos and had very messy hands.  I saw her touch something and I jumped up and grabbed a couple Kleenex and said: “here, lick your hands and wipe them off and don’t touch anything.”  They got all huffy and asked if we had bottled water or sold snacks.  I said no and they said that we should.  They paid to take a tour and I said it would be a minute or two (I heard Dotty winding down in the other room) so I told them to go out in the foyer, sit and wait.  They really had attitudes and rolled their eyes, mumbled, but did go out and sit.  I wondered if Dottie had any problems with them.  William told me later that they were rather obnoxious upstairs, but he shut them down right off – he thinks that since he was a guy and was rather strict in his mannerisms, they shut up and just listened the rest of the tour.

Total sales for today $328.30 and YEAH!  I did it right and the cash drawer came out just right $266.30 (plus the $100 in the drawer).  One lady had bought 3 cups, leaving 1 for display – I couldn’t find more cups anywhere to replace them.  I’ll try to remember to get more from the Museum.

March 13 – We had such an awesome time in the Lord this morning.  We’ve been reading Is. 53, 54, 55 the past couple days (as well as myself personally in Luke and James) and God is so good!  We realized today that us being at the lighthouse:  Our 3rd time and we’ll be here 33 days (Feb. 28 – Apr. 1)
Blue moon set 7:30 first day of Passover and our sunrise service is 7:30 the next day (Apr. 1st)
The lighthouse light went out last Friday and William replaced the light which light represents the Gospel of Christ.  He also had to replace the fuse which represents the power of the Holy Spirit to shine the light of the Gospel.  The fuse (HS power) takes more work (faith) to replace – take a hold of the Word and Walk the Word – takes work to enter into faith.

We just thought all of this was so cool and enlightening.  We were also discussing our calling.  We have been called to do a deliverance ministry, to preach the Gospel in all that entails (feed the poor, heal the sick, etc.).  God proved that over and over – for example, just the other night, the enemy was really attacking me.  My sinuses really filled up, it looked as if I was getting a full-blown cold (which I haven’t had in at least a couple years) and I was doing what I usually do, “I refuse to accept the lies of the enemy, my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, be gone in Jesus’ name”, etc.) and it just kept getting worse.  That night, not only was I coughing, sneezing, having trouble breathing, etc. and etc. and I went to bed and I got attacked all over my body – like my nerve endings were all on fire, like someone was taking a miniature cattle prod and poking me one place after another.  After suffering for a few hours and calling on Jesus, I went to William and asked him to pray over me.  He did, cast the evil spirits off of me, then he rubbed his hands over me (as instructed by the Holy Spirit), and then everything cleared up and I fell asleep.  The next morning, I was perfectly fine! 

March 14 – The last 2 days have been beautiful – yesterday, sunny mostly, but extremely windy (William had trouble getting the flag off the pole – and today sunny and fairly warm with a bit of a breeze.  William’s been busy the past couple days: put 2 coats of Thompson’s Water Seal on Dottie’s birdhouse, built a new mount for it, and now letting it dry.  He’ll probably mount it to the tree tomorrow.   He had quite a fit with the electric drill – it kept dying on him, he’d try to charge it, it wouldn’t take a charge, he’d wiggle it, then it would, etc.  William also spent part of today scraping paint spackles off of the outside tower windows and washing them all.  He also called the company that is to put the chimney mount back up – he set the date for the 23rd.   He also re-set the night light timer due to day light savings time change.  He also loves to walk around and talk to the people as they wander the property – he ended up talking with this one guy, whom he took up to the tower and spent at least 45 minutes up there gabbing away!  He was a busy guy!  The guy William took up to the tower, came down and William and I prayed over him and we talked for quite some time.  It was quite impactful with the guy and God ministered to him in a great way.  William told me later that God told him to go get the guy and take him to the tower and talk with him.  It always amazes me how God works.

We had such an awesome morning in the Word this morning.  We were listening to a sermon by Lester Someral and we got to talking about it.  We realized that the established church has it backwards – take a person and say “Jesus died for your sins, now say the sinner’s prayer and come on in.”  Which is all correct and all; however, it ‘s backward – Jesus did and said to go out to preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand and to lay hands on the sick, cast out demons, etc.  That is what we need to be doing first.  The other thing that God dropped into me this morning is that I realized that in 1485, the Bible was first printed on a printing press, then Martin Luther came along and posted his 93 thesis on the door of the church in Oct. 31, 1517 (Jewish New Year 5278 was the end of Sept. of that year) – here it is 500 years later (5 means grace) and I think that it is very important in the end-times timeline, because people finally got exposed to the scriptures after over 1000 years of darkness and learned about true Faith for the first time.  I think there is something more here in all of this – and now that we are in year 5678 in the Jewish Calendar – a year of Jubilee and God about to unleash the greatest revival of all times; anyway, I think there is something more to all of this.  Very interesting.

March 16 – one heck of a storm yesterday.  Got woke up the night before from intense thunder/lightening and then yesterday, hail poured down 3 different times – one time it was larger than the end of one’s thumb and just covered the ground.  I watched the mascot seagulls just sit there outside the chart room window, just getting pelted – they didn’t even go under the picnic table!  Today and yesterday was very cold and today it rained a lot – very windy and cold.


March 17 – It’s warmer today and sunny – I noticed new snow in the mountains round CC.  William hung the new birdhouse in the tree today.  Even though the schedule says to be open from 3-4 today, tide didn’t even go down enough to cross over until 3:30, so we didn’t even open.  We noticed that yesterday the tide didn’t go down until 3, so I called Dottie and asked her to call Dan and cancel him, due to the fact that we probably wouldn’t open.  William did have to chase a couple kids off the boathouse roof!  They had the picnic table moved over next to the house and William caught them perched up on crest, just sitting there.   He also ended up picking up the ‘bear’ picture that was leaned against the tree, over in the yard, in front of the lighthouse.  We talked to a few people as we wandered around.  However, we did do a lot of cleaning today – I cleaned a lot of spider webs out of the windows, washed some windows, cleaned the bathrooms thoroughly, did laundry.  We went up to the tower to clean and noticed very little water up there, which is good.  After all those storms the past couple days, it’s good to know it isn’t leaking.

March 21 – we spent the day cleaning and baking cookies, getting ready for the school kids expected tomorrow.  Dottie is so awesome – she had made up a huge baggie full of cookie dough and got it to me, so part of my work was done   Yesterday, we enjoyed a lot of time outside – it was partially sunny; however, the most striking part about yesterday was that the water was so very still and there was no wind.  It was probably about 55 degrees or so, but it felt so nice out.  Had to chase a couple off before high tide – they ended up getting very wet!  They were like, “what tide?”!!

March 22 – That was a very nice group of kids – 18 kids and 3 adults from the Azalea Middle School in Brookings.  Being a teacher myself, I expected worse from middle school kids – I was very surprised!  Their teacher, nice enough, but looked like the heavy-handed, controlling type, which of course, middle schoolers need.  He probably asked more questions (and interrupted) more than anyone!  Dottie was here, so we broke them in to 3 groups and started them each on a level.  At the end, they all got cookies and a ‘have a fun day’ send-off – 1 hour and it was all done.

March 24 – wow, what a day!  Incredible storm, high winds, pouring rain, and VERY cold last night and today – and we still had over 20 people come out – even 5 toddlers and young kids!  We opened at 10, thinking the storm was too intense and we would probably have 1 or 2 – I was surprised to see how many crazy people are out there!  I had to keep the front door locked and watch for people, because the wind was so strong, it kept blowing the door open.  People ‘blew’ in here soaking wet and shivering.  They were very enthusiastic; however, to see the place – except for 3 very exuberant Pokemon fans – a father and 2 teenage sons – only came in here to do their Pokemon game!!  What??? Wow, weird!

There was this 1 couple from Glendevon, Scotland – very interesting couple – talked about the lighthouses they’ve seen in Scotland/Ireland.  They were fascinated with this place, said this was one of the better lighthouses they’ve seen, so they stayed and talked with us for quite some time.  A family of 7 came in from Washington, 3 generations, of whom the grandmother of the group was greatly affected by William.  Most of the time she was in his presence, she was crying.  After the tour, the family came into the gift shop, she bought a book and tearfully asked if I thought William would mind signing her book.  She proceeded to tell me how much William reminded her of her recently dead husband, how much he liked the sea, would dress up like a pirate, etc.  She went back in and asked William to sign the book (he was giving a tour in the kitchen by then, and as William says, she was in tears the whole time, yet was smiling.  William signed the book “Be blessed” and some other things, then clueless as to why she was crying, asked her if she was ailing and needed prayer.  She said, “no” and that she was just happy.  In the mean time, I was in the gift shop and I heard her daughters say, “ya, he really looks like dad.”  After the day was over and William and I talked, we thought it funny that she chose the book, “Lighthouse ghosts” and he wrote something in it about being blessed.  He had wondered about her all day, so was glad to be clued in as to why she was crying the whole time around him.  Anyway, we prayed for her and her family and we’re sure God is doing something cool in her life.  Dan only stayed until 2 since it was slow and we handled the rest of the day fine.

March 26 – After such a storm Saturday, I was very surprised to see how calm the water was and how absolutely beautiful and sunny it was all day Sunday.   The whole beach and grounds here were full of people all day.  I tried to keep a tally of those who came in, and I’m sure I didn’t get them all, but I had 49 adults and 21 kids down.  The list had 60 adults and 40 kids, from everywhere like MS, MT, ID, WI, AR, etc.  We got backed up with the tours – had some people waiting turns outside upwards of ½ hour – taking groups upwards of 6-10 at a time in (we only did 10 once – never again!).  At the end of the day, we were all exhausted and our throats wore out.  We brought in over $300 in tours alone.  We even turned people away at 4 when I turned the sign over to ‘closed’; however, just as I was doing so, I saw my friend from the Rogue Valley, Heather, so I let her and her husband in.  I hadn’t seen her in a few years, but do keep in touch via Facebook, so I knew she was in town and figured she’d be over sometime this weekend.  So while Dottie left, we took them to the tower and they stayed and talked a bit.  No sooner than they left, another of our friends we hadn’t seen in a couple years came in – Donna – she stayed until 5:30 talking, when we had to cut her off and say go, or she’d be stuck here!  We were so exhausted after this weekend we actually fell asleep before 8 pm!  I couldn’t imagine doing this every day during the summer – weekends are tough enough!  Spent today resting!

Mar. 27 – Well, this day turned out quite different than expected.  The power was out most of the day – around 10:30 or so, the lights flickered off and on for ½ hr. or so, didn’t find out until after 2 that it was the transformer that blew, and it was after 5 when it was finally restored.  When the power outage first started out, it was really weird – it was like we had ½ power, it would go off, then on, then ½ power fading in and out, then off and on again, over and over.  After ½ hr. or so of that, it just went off and stayed off.  In the mean time, I called the power company and reported an outage, asking if they were working on the wires or something, they said they’d check and get back with me.  After we found out it was the transformer, they ended up here on the hill replacing it around 4 or so.  William, in the mean time, was in the basement checking breakers and I called Dottie.  Because of the surging power, William then went up in the tower and turned off the light – didn’t want to blow another bulb and fuse.


It’s amazing how reliant we are on electricity.  I knew it was out, but pattern person that I am, I put a pot of water on to boil around 4 or so to make tea.  I was sitting in the chart room waiting for it to boil and William came in.  I mentioned how I was making tea, he laughed and asked how I was doing that, and I said I put a pot of water on to boil.   Then I laughed with him as I realized I had been waiting a while and forgot the electricity was out!  Oh, what pathetic creatures of habit we are!  Good thing it was a beautiful day (just cold and windy).

Spiritually, this is significant.  Not only that the light and fuse went out on 3/9, but today 3/27, the transformer goes out – spiritually this talks about the head, the heart, and flesh.

March 28 – Very interesting day.  Tide came in about 1:15 today; however, when the pipe was barely visible, 3 kids scampered across (getting quite wet) and left their parents on the shore.  I went outside to observe, and there they were standing on top of the picnic table, jumping off, then running to the other benches, standing on those and jumping off – kids with way too much energy!  I had to calm them down a bit and told them to go wait down by the water for their parents to come across!  I, in the mean time, gathered my art supplies and went to the mission (Our Daily Bread) and spent the afternoon doing an art project with the people there – at least a dozen or so - they had an awesome time creating some real cool stuff. 


It was really cool to see how much Jasper has grown the past couple years (and Thomas too).  Prior to William giving a word to the people at dinner, Jasper got up and gave a testimony and was praising God for his growth and deliverance, etc.  He even prayed for the people.  So awesome.  We talked with Thomas for a bit as well.  God is calling him to the deliverance ministry.  William is going to have Thomas come spend the afternoon with him tomorrow at the lighthouse to talk with him more, while I go out and see Reda at her place.  It’s interesting, this week has been so busy – here we are cramming everything into the last week. 
In the mean time, William stayed at the lighthouse since the chimney cappers were supposed to come out and put that other cap back up.  I found out later that they did show up; however, decided it was way too windy to put it up, so they made another appointment for sometime in April.  I came back to the lighthouse after 4 pm, picked William up, and we returned to the mission to hang out with the people and have dinner with them.  William preached a bit during dinner, which was well received.  When we got back to the lighthouse (sometime after 6), there were some people sitting at the picnic table – a mom (in her 50’s) and 2 kids (in their 20’s): she is a school teacher from Wisconsin and her kids go to college there; they were all on spring break and this was the first time they saw the ocean.  They were sitting there waiting for the sunset (it looked to be 45 min. away), so I sat there and chatted with them a bit.  Then I took them to the tower to see the sunset from there – they were so thrilled, saying this was the highlight of their vacation thus far.  I’m glad to make someone’s day

The past 2 times we’ve been down here, William has preached the Sunrise Easter Service (which we plan to do Sunday at 7:30 am), as well as he has in the past dressed up like Jesus and carried the cross through town and up to the lighthouse on Good Friday (tomorrow).  He doesn’t feel God telling him to do that this year – we did bring the cross and his outfit; however, he feels that God has something else for this season, which doesn’t include him doing that again.  Actually, this whole time down here has been different that the past – the last 2 times, we spent a lot of time at the mission talking and ministering with the people there, holding prayer meetings here at the lighthouse throughout the month; however, this month we have been extremely laid back and pretty lazy, not going much of anywhere.  We pretty much exhausted ourselves the past 6 months with our business start-up and this has been a true, restful vacation we needed

April 1 – Sunrise was beautiful.  We got all of our stuff packed last night and loaded onto the ATV so that when we got up at 5:30 this morning, we could be ready to take the stuff to the car right at first light, which is what we did – finished loading and right when it was light enough, William took the ATV over, unloaded, and got back by 6:30.  Got the rest of the house cleaned and at 7 am, I stood on the hillside overlooking the town and played by flute.  I had forgotten to tell William not to pack my flute and music and take it to the car – when he got there, he saw my flute and brought it back, but not my music.  So, I stood on the hill and played with only my memory for the next half hour.  It worked out great, because I would play a couple tunes I remembered, then kept playing, making something up, then remembered another song, and so on.  After the service, everyone said how cool it was to hear that sound all the way to the parking lot and as they walked up the hill. 

We had about 40 or more people in attendance.  At 7:30, we sang a few songs, then William preached an awesome sermon for about a half hour.  About 8:30 or so, we started talking with the people who came, by 9 am the new keepers got there, and by 10, we were off.  Such a wonderful month, such a wonderful place.  Even though we agreed we weren’t planning to, we signed up again – March of 2021.


Sunday, January 21, 2018

God's Blessings

It always amazes me how richly God blesses us with His Wisdom and Knowledge.  We had such an awesome time in the Lord this morning, we were going to go to fellowship; however, we got to praising God, reading His Word, and then we watch a video by Louis Giglio – How Great is Our God, Passion Talk Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAzCP8SEKwc that we lost track of time (even though we started at 9), before we knew it, it was after noon!  The whole thing struck me as real powerful; however, 2 things really got me:  the quote by St.  Augustine

“People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

and how small we are, yet God being so much huger than we can even imagine, takes time out to create us each individually, uniquely,  and He has a special love for each of us.  Ps. 139:14 “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made …”  God is an awesome God!
Inside of our Art Gallery

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Visions and Dreams

 I had a very powerful dream last night.  First off, I went to bed kind of irritated because we went to a fellowship last night and the preacher was teaching a simple, watered down message, which was  usual, based on Matt. 11.  At the end, he said that only those with an Apostolic  ministry, specially anointed, could raise the dead.  I was very bothered by this and spoke out and said, “Matt. 24 and other places (Mark 16, Matt: 28, John 14:12, Luke 9:1) specifically states that ‘those who believe will do greater things than Jesus – cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, etc.’  So, this is open to ALL who believe – we have been given all authority in heaven and earth, in the Name of Jesus to do so.”  He kind of stammered and said, “yes, that’s right, but I’ve never seen the dead being raised,” and I replied, “but I EXPECT to.”   Then William spoke up, because what he had said earlier about John the Baptist bothered him, and he said that Jesus said that we, who are in this dispensation (2000 years after Jesus) are greater in the Kingdom of Heaven than even he.  Anyway, he just closed the service, and I left rather irritated.   I totally believe, that we, who are called by His name, are His disciples, and we are to walk in total authority, just as Jesus did, to heal the sick, cast out demons, etc. and etc.


Anyway, so that irritation went into my sleep.  God gave me a dream – a very vivid one:

I was in a city, in the lowlands with a group of people.  I looked to the mountains and along this ridge that was shaped high on either side, but downward, like a bowl, in the middle.  I could see momentum building, like water in a bowl being sloshed back and forth, building until it would spill over.  Everyone around me panicked as the water sloshed over the ridge, flowing in great waves toward the lowlands, to flood it.  The people all rushed to get to the higher ground.  I found myself in a huddle, this group of panicked people, seemingly leaderless, arguing amongst each other as to where to go and how to get there.  I noticed that I was irritated with them for being clueless, but flowed with the group.  Water was rushing around taking people out as we scrambled for higher ground, going through wreckage, around freaking out people not a part of our group, going through wrecked buildings in order to get higher, on wrecked streets, dodging cars, etc.  At one time we all got into this huge RV, crowded in, one person driving frantically, trying to dodge all the wreckage; then we wrecked the RV, going into a ditch we couldn’t get out.  Everyone fled out of the RV, again as a panicked huddle, trying to get to higher ground.  By this time, this guy and his wife connected to me, as I tried to get away from the huddle, trying to find my own path way, at the same time I was very irritated with the group and at these two people trying to attach to me.  His wife was swept away and he just looked at me and said, “thats ok, I didn’t like her anyway, I like you better, I’m just going to stick with you.”  That made me even more irritated as I tried to find away to get away from all those people.  Chaos was all about and I found this house I went into, that was dark, cluttered with damage, and like a maze, I had to make my way through, with this guy trailing me.  I finally lost the other people, that seemed to be holding me back.  It took quite a bit of time to find my way through this dark house, but at the other end, I saw like a patio, sliding glass door that went out onto a landing or a porch right beside a rushing river.  I got out and started going upward and somehow lost the guy.  I was glad and kept going upward.  I got to a ‘diaper house’ – that the only way I could describe it, a business that sold diapers.  I wandered in there and found William.  I was more irritated with him for being missing all this time, rather that glad to see him, even though at the same time I was glad to see him.  We wandered around in this store for a few minutes and found a corner that had backpacks and strollers filled with sleeping bags.  I made a beeline for them and told William to grab that large sleeping bag out of the stroller and take the child-sized one out of the backpack and replace it with the larger one, while at the same time I grabbed another backpack already filled with a large sleeping bag.  I looked to my left, where a blond-haired lady was standing over a cash register, taking care of the accounts.  She, in a distracted way, looked at me and said to take whatever we needed, pointed to a wooded area and said we needed to go camp in there tonight, and she went back to her accounts.  I sensed that she was an angel.  I also sensed that she was taking care of the accounts, because like during disasters, this place would be raided and stripped clean when darkness came.  After I was done with putting on the backpack, I turned behind me and found a fully-stocked kitchen.  I went in to get a set of silverware and some canned food for both William and I, but was distracted because I kept thinking and wanting to grab the other things I thought we would need, like a pot, bagged food, etc., but William yelled at me to hurry up, that we needed to get going.  So we only left with the backpacks, silverware, can opener, and canned food – “not enough”, I thought to myself, “but it will have to do.  God will provide the rest.”  We headed to the wooded area and I looked up behind it – there stood in great height, a huge, craggy mountain peak I knew we had to climb.  I then woke up.


I got up early this morning and started to read the Word, I was in the book of Genesis, reading about Abraham, when William came in.  He said that God spoke to him again last night, he told me what it was and then we listened to a talk-radio show with an interview discussing the prophecies with and by Mark Taylor.  He got to a certain spot in the interview and what he spoke caused me to remember the dream I had just had.  I described it to William, who gave me the interpretation:

The water represents the move of the Holy Spirit at this coming hour.  The valley is the place God’s people have settled in mediocrity of religion.  The Spirit is trying to get them on higher ground (Eph. 2:6).  As God brings revival and change to the church, people panic due to traditions they cling to.  Sometimes, it can be frustrating, as Christ was (Matt. 8:10, 26,16:8, Mark 4:40, etc.)due to lack of faith to God’s Word.    The huddle of people represented the state of the current church, adrift, in fear without true and Spirit-led leadership. The RV represents God’s people climbing on board a ministry, not knowing where it is going or following men rather than His Holy Spirit.  And sometimes, people fall away as the Spirit calls for them to give their lives away.  But beware of the motives as to why people follow after you.  Sometimes the people God gives us to minister to, we would rather He not give us.  The house represents the dark maze of lies that come from even fellowships and the evil one that keeps us locked in, and the ability to see the light and get to the river of life flowing from the Spirit.  The man and woman represents those who fall away and those who get lost in the maze of ‘church’, the maze of denominalization and doctrine.   The patio represents a place of rest in the light of God, where the river flows.  Then you begin to go up into higher ground which is the presence of God.  The diaper house represents the gospel given to the lost child called by God.  It is there doing God’s will, doing His kingdom work where God really provides: faith, love, wisdom, worldly needs, etc.  Unfortunately, fellowships are mostly clubhouses of saints waiting to slide into heaven with cost; they are broken up into denominations, divided, with people looking for human, soulish food.  The format of the proper fellowship should be:  a class for growth, real food, not just milk, followed by a sermon that manifests the power of God, a service full of healings and wonders (Mark 16:17, 20) William being there represents the place where I met him witnessing in the streets years ago.  At that time, I was frustrated as to why it took so long to find him and to finally get the simplicity of what Christianity really is.  Note, I was exchanging child-like Christian understanding for maturity, only when serving God.  The blond is an angel who is keeping the accounts, keeps the record of the Book of Remembrance.   While doing God’s will, he will keep you and guide you to safe pastures, the trees and shelter/shadow of the Almighty.  The camp is where we rest in His presence, where we stay in the simplicity of what the Gospel represents.  We stay under the wings of the Almighty, to fall at His feet in awe and reverence.   We know with all assurance He will get us to the high places in His power.  The kitchen represents the supplies, spiritually and physical, that God will give as needed (Matt. 6:30, 7:7), never wait until you have what you think you need before serving God, just GO! (Matt. 6:33).  The can opener represents the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Once you get on the right track of doing His will, God will take you to higher ground (hinds feed in high places (2nd Sam.22:34), to the very heavens where God awaits for us – home!




Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Spiritual growth

Wow, so much has happened, especially spiritually.   We’ve heard some prophecies for 2018 and they’re amazing!  Mel Bond – the 2018 Angel prophecy and one by Kent Christmas, plus others:

In other words, it’s going to be a great year (next few years or so) for God’s people.  Also, William was reading yesterday and God gave him a special Word for us personally:  we are coming up on our 6th anniversary, and God said that we will be greatly blessed financially to do His work and to prepare for what’s coming.  We are (according to Jewish understanding) in the 50th Jubilee year – not just a normal Jubilee (every 50 years) for the 50th of the 50, a special year of deliverance.   We’ve already believed and have seen for years, that God is bringing the greatest revival of all times, the greatest harvest and this confirms it, in that we’ve been raised up as leaders for this time - Lev. 25:20-21:  “You may ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?’  I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.”  God is going to prosper us in such a way that we will be sustained and will be able to help who knows how many others.

Also, Jer. 1:12, Eph. 1:9, 3:4, 5:17 (the Word of God is the Will of God), 1 John 5:14-15 (the word confidence –  supernatural, great exploits, extra ordinary grip on faith, God hears us thus we have confidence that He will do what He says he will do), plus the sermon we heard Sunday at a new church we checked out in Myrtle Point: New Beginnings, based on Eph 1:8, Matt. 12 – vs 12-37 Pharisees of that day are the same (spirit) as in today’s denominations – if only God’s people would all come together, our cities would  be won, but we stand in judgment of one another, separate ourselves into denominations and are ineffective (a house divided).  vs 46- 50 We have left all to serve Jesus, even our own families (Mark 10:29-30).
Sunset Bay

Also, we’ve been listening to Zev Porat from Messiah of Israel Ministries (What did Yeshua (Jesus) write on the ground - Hebraic roots teaching by Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj1lgia5M9A) and one thing that really struck me was (and I’ve wondered over the years what it was Jesus wrote) what Jesus wrote on the ground when the woman was brought to Him (John 7:37-38, John 8:3, 5) – this took place the day after He declares Himself Messiah, rivers of Living Water, then the day after the feast of Tabernacles the woman is brought to Him.  He based His argument on Lev. 20:10 where both parties needed to be there, not just the woman (thus they were wrong from the get go), Deut. 19:16-18 (where they were bearing false witness – they were trying to set Jesus up, but Jesus knew the Word, as did they), but the clincher was Jeremiah 17:13-14 where if we are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and are saved, those who are lost are written in the earth – they were ultimately rejecting Jesus’ claim to be Messiah, that we was the spring of living water – their sins were written in the dust , the sin of turning away from the truth!  Thus, since they were full of sin, they had to turn and walk away, dropping their stones, for they knew that with what judgment they would met out, they would have to suffer!  Great teaching.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

New Year - 2018

We spent a very relaxing Christmas break (we kept the store closed so we could rest).  We took down the Christmas decorations by January 1st and changed over the windows.   We got new artwork in (sent home some of the old), and William finished making the sign for above the door.
Our storefront


On January 10th, I spoke at the Coquille Rotery meeting on homelessness.   I thought it went real well;  however, only 1 person came up to talk with me afterward and only 2 people put their name on my list of people who want to help next time we go out to feed/minister to them.  I spoke first, then I showed our ministry PowerPoint (also found on YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o0xRqrAwLQ).  I also handed out a 3 page paper of a powerful prayer I found online, along with some basic facts, as well as what they can do to help:

Pray for those who are homeless:
  • Men, women, and children
         --fastest rising populous are the elderly and children         --statistics differ from state to state, but the average states that:
         --20% are the drug/alcohol afflicted, choose to be homeless, scam the populous, and cause     
            the ‘bad’ stigma to be on all homeless
         --80% are those who didn’t choose to be homeless and don’t, for the most part, cause trouble
  • Safety and legal issues regarding where they sleep:
         --In the city/suburbs: under bridges, on park benches, in doorways, bus stations, in cardboard   
            boxes on sidewalks, along bike/park paths, etc.
         --In rural areas: hidden in the trees/forests, in the parks
         --City/state/federal parks allow up to 10-14 day stays at prices ranging from $10-$20 a day
         --Bike/hiker parks allow for 3 days at $3-$5 a day
         --Sleeping in cars/vans/RV’s
         --Not allowed by law in cars/vans in most cities
         --None are allowed to park on city streets
         --Limited places to park, like Walmart, allow for free, limited stay
         --“couch-hoppers”, those who have limited stay from family/friends
         --Missions: most city missions are dirty, bug infested, limited beds
                  -Usually ‘men’ (leaving out men who have children) only or ‘women/children’ only   
                   (even more limited in number), families have to spit apart
         --Churches: very few open their doors to the homeless; and those that do, offer showers,
            laundry facilities, meals, etc., but are harassed by government officials and local businesses
         --Half-way houses/homeless programs cater to drug, alcohol, abuse recovery only, leaving  
            out the ‘clean’ clients (of which 70-80% of the homeless are)
  • For those who find shelter at night, have to wander during the days with limited places to go
         --Families broken when they can no longer pay the rent, many having no family or friends to   
           take them in or help when times ($$) gets tough
         --The emotional/mental strain on those who lose everything (possessions, family, friends)  
             they’ve gained in life – they lose a sense of who they are/were
         --Fear and hopelessness takes over
         --Believe that society has failed them, the so-called societal safety-nets are not there for them
         --Ostracized from society – are today’s lepers (lack of understanding, education, and
            compassion from the ‘normal’ society)

Anyone can become homeless with just one change in finances, fire/weather related events, domestic unrest, etc.  Those who have warm homes, daily meals, and a comfortable bed need to guard themselves from becoming complacent, forgetful, and hard-hearted due to lack of education/understanding.  The homeless need compassion, justice, and empowerment from those who are Christ’s disciples with words of encouragement and be given hope through word and deed.  They need to see the Peace of Christ in and on us.  Just find one person a day to encourage and help.  Even just having a bottle of water, a sandwich, a baggie with basic needs (snacks, socks, toothbrush/paste, soap, etc.) would be a great help.  Then pray with them.  There are over 600 verses in the bible dealing with the poor and how they are close to God’s heart.

http://www.kingdombuilders.com/mobile-prayer/2014/11/a-prayer-for-the-homeless/
Psalm 126, Matthew 25:34-40, Psalm 19:1-2,7-10, Isaiah 59:1, Psalm 139:1-2, Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 26:11, Isaiah 58:7,10-11, Job 1:10, Isaiah 43:19, Matthew 9:38, Matthew 6:13, Psalm 89:8, Psalm 89:7, Amos 9:6, Job 36:5

Righteous Father, we thank You for being a God of grace and mercy.  Thank You for knowing each homeless person and family intimately. Thank You for being their protection, shelter, hope and help. The heavens proclaim Your Glory, Lord.  The skies display Your craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak; night after night You are made known.  Father, Your instructions are perfect, reviving the soul.  Your decrees are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Your commandments are right, bringing joy to the heart.  Your commands are clear, giving insight for living.  Reverencing You is pure, lasting forever.  Your laws are true; each one is fair.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.  They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.   

Glorious Father, we confess that Your arm is not too weak to save the homeless, neither is Your ear deaf to hear their calls.  Lord, You know each of them and call them by name.  You know everything about them, when they sit down and when they stand up. You know their thoughts even when they are far away. We rejoice Mighty King, because You said You will never fail nor abandon them.  Lord, You said that the poor will always be among us, but You also mandated that we take care of them.  You said that we are to share our food with the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and give clothes to those who need them and to not hide from our relatives who need our help.  We declare that, as a Church Family, we will commit to feeding the hungry and helping those who are in trouble.  Lord, then You will guide us continually, give us water when we are dry and restore our strength. 

Holy Spirit, we ask that You would be a wall of protection and deliverance around the homeless daily. Watch over them while they sleep and protect them from violence, abuse, and theft. Lord, many of them have jobs, but cannot afford housing. We ask that You make a pathway through the wilderness and make a pathway in this wasteland of their lives and lead them to affordable housing so that they can have a safe, warm place to call home.  We cry out on behalf of the children whose families are living on the streets.  Lord, help them to overcome their bleak beginnings and show them how precious they are in Your sight. Help them to focus and study so that they will excel in school. Encourage them when other children say mean things about them because of their circumstances.  Holy Spirit, change the hearts of the leaders of our country who continue to ignore the plight of the homeless, yet they pursue greed and avarice. Lord, for those who are homeless because of an addiction or mental illness, please help them to find the help they need so that they can get their lives back in order and begin to rebuild. Holy Spirit, please send more laborers into the vineyard.  Father, bless our Pastors and each member of our Global/Local Missions and Outreach ministries as they serve those in need.  Please continue to empower and provide for our Church Family financially so that we have the resources to battle this cultural atrocity.

Merciful Father, forgive those homeless persons whose poor decisions have led to their current situation.  Forgive those who are homeless due to drugs, alcohol, gambling, addictions, or poor work habits. Forgive those people who would seek to take advantage of the homeless.  Forgive those who look down upon the homeless.  Forgive those of us who have resources to give to the homeless but refuse to give.  Forgive those agencies who claim to be advocates for the homeless, but misappropriate the resources.  Forgive our nation for creating systems that produce a homeless population. Lord, forgive me for (list any sins that you have committed). Holy Spirit, remind the homeless of those they need to forgive and help them to be quick to forgive.  As for me, Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance those I need to forgive. (Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to show you names or faces of people that you may need to forgive.  As He shows you, say aloud, “I forgive name of person(s).” Now, trust the Lord to heal any wounds in your soul caused by unforgiveness.)  Holy Spirit, help the homeless to not yield to temptation; but deliver them from the evil one.

O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, where is there anyone as mighty as You?  You are entirely faithful. You are far more awesome than all who surround Your throne.  Your home reaches up to the heavens, while its foundation is on the earth. You draw water up from the oceans and pour it down as rain on the land. The Lord is Your Name!  You are mighty, but You do not despise anyone! You are mighty in both power and understanding.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


Lower Sign

William and I had a powerful time in the Lord today AND we had an awesome vision – the both of us at the same time, a shared vision as we were praying.  The last time William and I had this experience was when we were in Colorado right before we got our ministry house there.  While we were praying together, this is the vision we saw:  

there was this river of water in front of our building, leading to a large waterfall and we were standing below, looking up at it.  It slowed down to a trickle and almost stopped.  We noticed activity above and saw 3 dark, shadow figures (backside only) hold 3 large, flat rocks, pushing large rocks and boulders into the river, creating a dam in order to stop the flow.  As we continued praying, they let go of the rocks, freaked out when we spoke Jesus’ name, and fled out the front of our building and down the street, out of town.  We saw these rocks and boulders start to crumble and fall away, while a great flow of water rushed through, pushing them like they were nothing, rolling away, some down the waterfall, all to disappear.  The blockage was gone.  We felt a release and saw the waterfall flow freely.  While we were watching, it divided into two large waterfalls.
Silver Falls

We looked at each other in amazement and started talking about what we were seeing.  God gave William the interpretation:

Since people were speaking to us this past month about “watch out for January, the money will stop flowing in”, we started to worry too much about finances, thus taking on doubt (thus the demons blocking the flow).  The 3 dark figures represented the spirits of doubt, fear, and lack.    They were trying to stop what God was trying to do in here by us speaking of lack.  As we prayed, God released the waters, scattered the enemy and their plots, releasing a double-flow into our ministry.  We won’t see it right away, but it is coming.  We are to walk in faith, believing what God said at the beginning, that He started this business and that He will provide all that we need, an abundance – double portion.  A double-portion means:  Deut. 21:17 (the right of Christ (right-hand) is ours!), 2nd Kings 2:9.  God blessed the earth – we have a double-portion of what is here – we believe without seeing (Heb. 11:1) what He is doing in our lives.  Is. 61:6-8.


William standing under Silver Falls