Happy Birthday Elijah

Today is Elijah Pierce’s very first birthday. Today we celebrate a day that over a year ago for a time, we were not sure would arrive. 23 weeks into the pregnancy I had been at a revival meeting. It was the last night, and I was feeling extra weary. The special speaker was up doing the alter call and praying for people… when she came up to me and prayed over my womb. She spoke life and wholeness and she commanded that this baby be born perfectly healthy. I thought it to be a bit strange, but I did not worry as I knew that God gave this child to me. Easy to not worry when you are unaware of what was going wrong. That night, when we went home (the speakers were our friends so they were staying with us) I went to the bathroom where I discovered a significant amount of blood. In a bit of a panic then, I called for my husband to hurry to me. Calm and collected as always he comes back to see what was wrong, and seeing the blood we both knew then I had to hurry to the hospital. Thankfully it was only 5 minutes away. Laying in the emergency room, the Dr attempted an internal exam, but was unable to as there was so much blood. He hooked me up to an IV, without too much explanation. The blood was literally pouring out; it felt almost like my water had broken. I prayed to God and I begged Him to not allow this child to die. I knew Elijah was a promise and I wasn’t willing to let go. The Dr took my husband aside and informed him that they had done an emergency contact on my OB, but the odds are they would be rolling me into surgery to remove the baby from my womb, otherwise not only the baby would lose his life but I could lose mine as well. I was not willing to even consider that option. How could I allow them to do that, and then I pleaded with God to not force me into a decision like that. When I stopped for a moment and tried to calm down as I knew being upset wasn’t helping anything, God got a word in edgewise. He told me to hand my promise over to Him, and let Him take care of it… and take care of me. He would determine the outcome and my heart was at peace. Whatever the outcome was I knew that God had control. I was still very scared, and yet I had that peace that passes all understanding in my heart.



Turns out I had a fairly large blood clot that was forming between my uterus and the placenta. They had called it placenta abruptia, and were convinced that I could possibly bleed to death. My OB was very calm... he admitted me to the hospital for over night observation. He didn’t want to just to take action without seeing if it could correct itself. I bled through the night, but not as bad as a few hours prior. In the middle of the night when all was quiet I knew it would be ok, God brought back to remembrance the prayer during the revival meeting. He knew this was going to happen, God is never surprised. He knew it was going to happen, and the speaker, my friend, was obedient to pray what God put into her spirit to pray. Me and my child were going to be fine.



They had done an emergency ultrasound upon arrival in the emergency. They said there was an abnormality there and they were almost certain it was abruptia. But over night in the hospital the bleeding slowed down and just about stopped. Elijah’s heart beat ( to their surprise) was normal the entire time. He didn’t seem to be stressed during this situation. Which you know had to be God! But the following morning I was sent home with explicit instructions for strict bed rest. Only get up for the bathroom if I absolutely had to go.. and some natural laxatives so I wouldn’t strain ANYTHING ( I know that seems like a TMI, but it’s to explain how much I needed to be absolutely still ). And this bed rest.. was laying down on my sides, sitting was not an option. The ultra sound a few days later.. no more abnormality. And you know how Dr’s are .. when trying to explain things away… they said they must have been mistaken on the abruptia… but neither could they explain where the blood came from, why so much, why Eli’s heart rate was normal….. I knew. I knew God was taking care of everything. I was on bed rest as a precaution for 8 weeks. About 4 of those weeks was laying down.. the rest was sitting and laying down .. and after that basically I could walk to destinations where I would need to rest and take it easy.



Then on February 15th, my son was born. Very healthy. He was 8 lbs and 5 oz. I don’t remember his height at the moment… but he was definitely healthy.



Elijah’s first year was a year of challenges, and triumphs. He is our joy, he is our heart.



We are thankful for the testimony that God has provided through this amazing little boy. We look forward to the rest of his life, so see what God has for him as his life unfolds. Happy Birthday my son, we love you!

Being purified back to His image

Have you ever noticed, that when it's time to deal with a hurt or an issue or something not of God in your life, that it comes consistently bubbling to the surface? I think that for understanding why that happens we can use the old analogy of purifying silver. The metal needs to be heated to extreme temperatures in order to purify the precious metal.... and when you heat the metal to those high temperatures what happens is all the dross, all the impurities come bubbling to the surface where they can be easily skimmed or burned away. Notice that you cannot remove the impurities until they come to the surface. So when say a particular hurt keeps resurfacing and you keep thinking "man I dealt with that already..." maybe take a step back and realize that if it keeps coming to the surface, then it needs to be removed completely from your life.

I think that sometimes, when things come to the surface, we become insecure, ashamed and would rather hide the impurities then deal with them... but we need to understand that it's a good thing when they surface, because then you can remove them from your life completely!

I looked up what exactly the process of purifying sliver was... and on several places I came across a story of a woman who was at a bible study and thy read the verse in Malachi:

Malachi 3:3 (New International Version) He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,

The story goes on to say that one woman pondered about this process and wondered about it's relation to what God was trying to say. So she set up an appointment with a silversmith, to watch him purify silver. What happened was he held the silver right in the middle of a very hot fire. He watched it carefully as the impurities came to the surface and burned away. The lady asked him why didn't he just put it in the fire and walk away... and his answer was because he had to keep watch on the silver, when it was done he would remove it from the fire because if it stayed in the fire longer then it needed to, it could be 'injured' or 'ruined'. How did he know when the silver was done? He would see the reflection of his image.

Now I don't know who originally wrote the story, but it has such an incredible truth to it! Yes we are 'put into the fire' to be purified... and sometimes the testings and the trials get hotter then we could have imagined... BUT.... God doesn't just leave us in the fire... He is there the entire time, watching, waiting.. to bring us out of the fire when we are finished... when He can see the reflection of His image!

I shared this little story with my husband... and he brought up a good point also. When Adam and Eve were created... they were created in God's image.... sin entered into the picture and all the impurities that came with it... and God could no longer see his reflection. So when God purifies you, removes the sin, the hurt the bondage in your life He is bringing you back to your original intended state... to be the reflection of His image.

When something keeps coming to the surface, it would be a good time to consider if God is preparing you to remove it from your life. Don't be afraid of being judged by it... it can only hurt you if you hold on to it. Rather then hiding it, and thus holding on to it ...say " OK God, I see this impurity and I give it to you to remove it from my life.. let it be burned away with the rest of my impurities" And how exciting to realize that when something does come to the surface it means that God is preparing to remove it from your life and once it's been removed... it's GONE!

Right now, for me, fear of rejection has been bubbling to the surface.. and it's been doing so frequently. (I'll blog about that later on). It's been bubbling to the surface and as it burns away... I feel it's sting from time to time as it's being removed from my life. Let me tell you... I have awesome friends, loved ones and even church members who have been soothing and encouraging while I go through this process. They've helped me to see that it's come to the surface and that it's being removed.... and that's its ok, I will come out ok. And then I read that story.. the part that God doesn't just leave you in the fire, but watches you the whole time is so encouraging.

As I go through the fire and this impurity bubbles to the surface and burns away I will praise His name. No need to fight the process or be afraid, for in the end I will be better, and I will reflect more of His image! I would like to encourage those of you going through a refining process... it's ok when these things surface... as long as you don't embrace them and hold on to them. Let God remove them once and for all!

~Kizzie~

Promise Keeper

A few weeks ago, God shared a dream with me, to encourage my heart and remind me that He is taking care of me; that He hasn’t forgotten about the promises He has made, and that He made those promises so that I could live life to its fullest… He sent Jesus so that we could have life and have it more abundantly!

I will share the dream with you, to share the encouragement and to remind you that God remembers the promises that He has made in your life, and to assure you that He really is the Promise Keeper.

I think that sometimes we have a hard time standing on God’s promises because of other promises that have been broken, or empty ones that have been made. These broken or empty promises haven’t been from God, but from fellow believers, family members, friends, loved ones. One thing that we do need to keep in mind is that when you or I make a promise, it’s usually based on what we know, what we perceive to be happening or what will happen, but we can not be for certain. For example I can promise to take my daughter to the park tomorrow… I perceive that tomorrow’s weather will be favorable for that promise, but if it rains then my promise ends up being broken. But God is all-knowing, he is omniscient and omnipresent. He knows your past, he knows your present and He can see into your future. He knows your heart, and He knows the hearts of those around you and of those who will come into and out of your life. When He makes a promise He can do so, knowing the right time and place to fulfill that promise and He can make it with certainty.

Unlike our promises, God’s is valuable. My grandfather used to tell me that when He was growing up you could take a person at their word. You could be assured that they would do what they said they would do or give their best effort to make their words into reality. Today, you can not be as easily assured that someone will keep their promise. Don’t get me wrong... there are still good people out there who do keep their word, but I’m sure we can all agree that we have been burned enough to not be willing to bank on it. Promises today just are not valued as they once were, and it makes it all the more difficult for us to accept a promise or believe in it, even when it is made by God.

To us the definition of promise is this: as a noun 1. a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified. A legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act. 2. Reasons to expect something: ground for expectation of success, improvement or excellence (as a verb) to pledge to do, bring about or provide.

Like I mentioned, we have been let down by those promises. In the scriptural sense of the term though, a promise is something different, it takes on a whole new meaning. It is a declaration or assurance of the divine will, in which God signifies what particular blessings or good things he will freely bestow, as well as the evils which he will remove. Promise when it’s God, is His spoken Word. We know that when God speaks, things happen. God spoke us into existence! So when God speaks a promise, you can be well assured that it’s going to happen. Promise, when it’s coming from God is pure truth, is complete Faith, is absolutely perfect and will NOT fail. When God speaks a promise, He’s not saying He will get to it if things are favorable or if He feels like it, He is not saying that if it happens it happens if it doesn’t it doesn’t; He is saying he WILL do, fulfill or perform it. Promise you see, when it’s form God, is prophecy.

God says in His Word: 2 Cor 1:20-22 for no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken to us by the Glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what has come. NIV

There are two very cool things about this verse that I have picked out. First, we all know what yes means. But the word Amen in there… that Is a powerful word. Amen is also confirming the truth, but it goes beyond that. It is being faithful and assurance faithfulness. It is saying “so be it”. The Word ‘amen’ is an amazing word. It was transliterated directly from Hebrew into Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages. Directly translated means that it didn’t have a word substituted that was close enough.. it was a direct translation. It has been called the best known word in the human speech. Amen is directly related to the Hebrew word for “believe” (amam), or faithful…. And because of that it became to mean “sure” or “truly”, and expression of absolute trust and confidence. So when God is saying that His promises are “yes” and “amen”, He is telling us that you can absolutely trust Him that it WILL happen, make no mistake about it.

The second thing that I picked out in these verses is found in verse 22. He set his seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit. Say I go to a dealership, and I find a car that I want to have. In order to buy that car and be assured I will get that car I need to put a deposit down or at least sign loan papers... guaranteeing that dealership that I intend on buying that car. I can’t just say ”hey I like that car and I’m going to buy it” Unless you signed the papers or put a deposit, if someone else comes along you’ve lost that car. God is telling us in the 22 verse that He has signed the papers, made the deposit, sealed the deal. What He says He will do He will do and He has gave us a unconditional guarantee.

James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows NIV

This is another reason why we can depend on God’s Word to be True, accurate and dependable. He doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday as He is today and as He will always be. If He kept his Word in the past, He will keep it today and He will always keep His promises.

Ok… now we know that God is a man of His word, that He made assurances, that He made guarantees and to boost our faith He made a deposit and He sealed the deal. Get this… He goes EVEN FURTHER to prove that What He says He will do. God’s promises are not only prophecy, not only words but they are a covenant. They are a binding agreement that there is no back door, no loop holes, and the deal was sealed with blood. God sent his son to DIE, just to keep a promise. God promised us eternal life, He made a covenant with us and he sealed it with Jesus’ blood. Jesus had to die to keep a promise!

Heb 9:15-18

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. 16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. NIV

Now, if that doesn’t make Him worthy of trusting to keep His word, the in I really don’t know what will. God made a promise to me, to you, that we would have eternal life. He didn’t have to keep that promise, but he loved you and me enough to die in order to keep his promise. That just ‘wows’ me.

Now the tricky thing about promises sometimes is waiting for them to come to fruition. I know that I have a hard time, sometimes, waiting for it to happen. I like things to happen right now, my way my time.

Isa 55:8-9

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts ,neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV

God knows the right time and place, sometimes it is better for us to know the promise and wit for it to pass then have it right when He speaks it. Being in the ministry it would be fantastic to see our church bursting at the seams… full of people… and we will get there but what good would it do people or me and my husband if it were to happen immediately without us learning anything of what it takes to be in ministry?

Let me share the dream with you and then finish up.

I saw this incredibly beautiful butterfly. It was a large butterfly; it had to be the biggest butterfly I have ever seen. And it was beautiful! I believe it was a monarch butterfly ( to describe it's shape) it had black edges and it's body was that rich blue color. It had intricate markings on its wings... you just knew that God the Father had taken time with this butterfly. I could see that He took care of every detail of this butterfly, right down to the smallest detail. When it fluttered around you just knew it was good and I felt happy.

Then, like in the movies that started out present day but slide back to years previous ... I saw this butterfly's cocoon. It was very sturdy.. and I knew that it held that beautiful butterfly. As I watched in my sleep, this cocoon was placed into some hands. The receiver was so excited.... but then they held on to it... tighter and tighter because they were getting anxious to see the butterfly emerge. I could sense that they should have just protected the cocoon and know that in time it would produce the butterfly.. but instead they held so tightly to it that they started to pressure the cocoon.... and after a while they became impatient with it and tried to pry it open... and eventually my heart was sad because in the end there would be no butterfly because they did not allow for the right timing or the right conditions for that butterfly to emerge. They destroyed something that was going to be beautiful.

I wondered about this dream for a bit, but then I got the interpretation right away. The Cocoon is a promise from God... the promise of something beautiful to come into your life. And the promise is taken care of right down to the last intricate detail... but there is a time and a place for the fruition of the promise to emerge. Just like the hands in my dream that got tired of waiting for the butterfly to emerge... we can get tired of waiting for the Promises of God to come to pass. We can get anxious about seeing our promise come that we put pressure on the promise ( for example we start to get anxious of I know I was promised but what if.. ) and then sometimes we try to make it come to pass ourselves. Maybe if I pray harder... maybe if I did good deeds.... maybe if I saw this person.... maybe if I did this, maybe if I work harder...... we try to pry our promise cocoon open. I don't believe in formulas to get things to happen. "If I read 'x number' times per day and pray 'x number' times I will get my promise. I also believe though that faith without works is dead... so you can't just hold tight to the promise either. What I DO believe is that you need to seek direction on how to proceed. Let God instruct you on the right timing. Don't be anxious about it but walk and move forward in it as he directs.

And you know what happens? We can damage our promise. We can actually cause it so that the promise may have to be delayed and we get it much later then we could have if only we had allowed for the perfect timing. And what's scary is we can even kill the promise if we are not careful.

The Bible talks about a time for everything in Ecclesiastes. There is a time and a purpose for everything under Heaven.

God is a God of His Word. What He says He will do… we can make it easier and wait on Him for instructions or for Him to bring it to pass. We can block, damage or delay a promise by forcing it to go our way. Look at Adam and Eve… they already walked with God… but when they were disobedient and ate of the fruit of that tree.. they pushed it to go their way… God still fulfilled His promise though… He just had to go about it another way.

When I read about the promises to abraham I have to laugh... he was promised to be the father of nations... you and I today know that the promise was fulfilled, but do you think Abraham could see it when He only had Isaac... and even then He was asked to sacrifice Isaac! He was asked to give back his promise to God! OK oK .. that's a whole other rabbit I will resist chasing ROFL... but the bottom line is that when God promises it, He will be faithful to fulfill it. We just need to stand on His word and believe it... I think that if you're looking for proof in the pudding... there is lot's of it to behold.

What has God promised you? Thank Him for speaking it, because you now know that because He spoke it... it will happen... how awesome is that! Stand firm on the word and be confident that it will come in the right timing, even when you can not see the wisdom in the timing in this moment. Know that God loves you enough... that He sent His only Son to die to keep a promise of eternal life. In keeping that promise you know He will keep all others. There is value to His promises, because He values the one He makes those promises to.