Conception and Birth in a Blended Family

As I prepared the topics for the Trauma bonds list in the Journey to Maturity material, I was faced with a curious question; is there conception and birth of step children in a blended family?

I truly believe there are spiritual conceptions and births in every blended family just as there is physical conception and birth of every biological child in a family.  I can’t give you line and verse on this, but I do believe it is true.

Conception in a blended family happens when the step parent first hears of the existence of that child. Birth occurs when that child becomes a regular part of the blended parent’s life, this often happen before a marriage occurs, which is why so many parents naturally shelter their children from those they are dating. Bonding for children comes so much easier then for adults, because they do not have the negative bonding experiences and so they are much more willing and the need to bond is so much stronger the younger the child is.

So what happens if children and parents in a blended family don’t completely bond or don’t bond at all? There is trauma, and further trauma occurs should the marriage ends, spiritual death happen when bonded children and blended parents aren’t allowed to have further contact. Sometimes such a death is necessary and in such case the feelings and emotions should be allowed to be expressed in a positive manner which promotes healing.

May all of you who are a member of a blended family rejoice in the conception and birth of your spiritual families!

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

Equip: find the next installment of Journey to Maturity: breaking trauma bonds and Check out our monthly memory verse as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry;  come support the work of Complete Joy at a local craft fair.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Trinity of Trauma

 As we continue this month’s journey to maturity we turn out eyes on breaking trauma and the vicious cycle that these bonds create.   

            Fear, trauma and shame create a trinity of trauma. This trinity is like an orange with its peel, pulp and seeds. Each part of the orange is necessary and has a purpose, just as with fear, trauma and shame. Each emotion has an important purpose and is necessary to our lives. But when it is infected with inappropriate bondage then it becomes as rancid and an orange that we must get rid of it.

            If we catch it early then we can cut the infected part out, but often with an orange the pulp has been ruined and all is lost and must be thrown away.

            We have to realize what is keeping these inappropriate bonds together is the events which have damaged our lives. Trauma bonds are created by insignificant events such as a parent who missed a birthday because of work, or they can be created by a major event such as injury from a car accident.

            Last month we worked through fear bonds, peeling the fear off and removing the bonds exposes the next layer, trauma. Exposing trauma and the bonds it creates can be a time intensive process, so if you need to take it slow or even talk with someone about your experience, take the time, because we need to remove these bonds, while for others, you make realize you have worked through the trauma and this process will be a simple one but don’t overlook the need to do this comprehensive bondage cleansing.

If there is agreement in your spirit to remove these bonds then check out our Equip page and began working through these Fear and Trauma Bond lists with us.

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

Equip: find the next installment of Journey to Maturity: breaking trauma bonds and Check out our monthly memory verse as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; here you can see and purchase fun jewelry and accessories while supporting the ministry of Complete Joy.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Who is your God and Why?

How do you answer this question: who is your God and why?

My God is the father of Jesus Christ, who created the universe, every planet and every star in existence and everyone and every thing on them; this is simple answer to who is my God. The simple answer to why is because I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ who saved me from my sin, because while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. To see more of what I was saved from please visit my blog called about Halloween on October 31, 2007.

This takes us deeper to who is Jesus, he was more then a man who 2000+ years, walked upon the earth and died upon a cross. There is something supernatural about this man, who was resurrected and seen walking upon the earth after his death. Not a normal occurrence. It is one thing to believe in reincarnation, (which I don’t) but true power is in the resurrection, which came through Christ who rose from the dead. Not a zombie, not a vampire or a werewolf.

He was a man who was without sin, unlike you and me, for he could control his humanness and did not have a sinful action throughout his life. I know some have said he was just a man with sinful desires. Yes, he had temptations, but he was able to keep them all in check, as seen when the devil himself tempted him as he returned from the desert, where God prepared him for his public ministry.

What was also amazing about Jesus was his desire to send a comforter to be with us, who we call the Holy Spirit, filling us with the presence of God and teaching us how to be men and women of integrity. With the Holy Spirit we can truly become world changers as Jesus was, and still is today.

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

Equip page: find the second installment of Journey to Maturity, Breaking Trauma Bonds.

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; here you can see and purchase fun jewelry and accessories while supporting the ministry of Complete Joy.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

 

Faith’s New Expression

Have you ever questioned if God really exists? I believe the answer is yes, God does exist. In this day and age we are often bombarded by others with this question, but what happens when we as Christians are in such turmoil that we question even this most basic of principles. Each of us have to struggle through these basic questions from time to time as God calls our faith to grow, so choose to embrace the question and the accompanying challenge.

I have been struggling through this question recently, and knowing the bible and having the relationship with God I have had in the past, I was not immune.

The farther we get away from our times with our God the closer we come to leaving him and our faith behind. Over the last several weeks I have become overwhelmed with responsibilities and life’s daily grind, and I have allowed my faith  to slip, complicating this was my diving head long into a life without fear, never realizing that so much of my faith hinged on combating the fears which drove my life. I would get up every morning at 4am to pray, so I could make it through the day, never realizing how much fear played into my relationship with God.

What does my faith and my relationship with God look like on the other side of fear? I can’t really explain freedom, because it is so abstract, but the reality is I don’t have to fight through the fears in my life to get to God and now there is such an amazing freedom, where liberty abounds in my relationship with God to the point that I was brought face to face with the question is there really a God, and do I still need him?

Transitions are amazingly profound as they are challenging. Who would have ever thought having freedom from all my fears would bring on a crisis of faith, yet if I thought about it, I would have realized it was coming, because how I relate to the world and my God has changed. The only thing I truly fear now is God. It is not a traditional fear that controls me, but a reverence, respect and awe for the one who created the world.  

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; here you can see and purchase fun jewelry and accessories while supporting the ministry of Complete Joy.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Fearing All Creation

            I have been working through my own personal journey to maturity and I am seeing an amazing change in myself. I feel like this is a discovery I need to share with the world and so I have chosen to begin sharing it with you.

 

 

            I don’t know if you have any lingering fears, I would never have guessed that I had two big ones. The first was a fear of strangers, not big surprise given my past where stranger were never a positive influence, but the impact of that fear did surprise me. 

 

            Also, I broke my fear bond with all of God’s creation and found for the first time, I don’t wake up in the middle of the night in fear, and  I can go over to church when no one is there without a care in the world. My life drastically changed because  I broke these two fears!

 

            Just these two fears stuffed my ability to walk in joy. I never understood what the real problem was, for example, I thought I was being careful as I walked outside alone at night, but now I know I was walking in fear. I rejoice these days, for I am refreshed as I walk  in the cool night air no matter where I am, even if I am alone. Removing this one fear has allowed me to  relax and feel secure no matter what  situation I find myself in. 

 

            For years I had thought all my fears had to do with some specific event in my past, so always looked there, now I know with all of the trauma I had,  I became afraid of all of God’s creation. Have you ever said or heard someone say “they are afraid of their own shadow”, I am now convinced this is evidence of a fear of God’s creation.

 

            My hope and prayer for those reading this blog entry is, for you to allow the Lord to remove all your fears. If you find you have this fear of God’s creation or other fear bonds, please check out my equip page for more information on ridding yourself of all fear bonds.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; please check out our specific pages, for the latest creations.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Fear VS Faith

In October a group of intercessors began a three month “Journey to Maturity”. It began with breaking fear bonds replacing them with bonds of faith in and love of God.

 

            What does it mean to replace bonds of fear with bonds of faith in and the love of God? This is the question we want to answer today. Walking in fear leads to focusing on protecting ourselves from our fears rather then walking in the freedom of God’s love.

 

            Letting go of our fear bonds allows us to see life from God’s perspective changing our identity. Faith is a power weapon against fear and the perfect love of God (we are told in 1 John 4:18) drives out fear, because there is no fear in the perfect love of God, so when we walk with these bonds of faith in God and bonds of God’s love firmly in place our identity is impacted and we are energized, and motivated in ways that make us a world changer, as was our savior, Jesus Christ.

 

            Christ is our example of what it is to walk with bonds of faith and bonds of love firmly in place as he faced God’s will for his life, giving him the ability to becoming the world changer he still is today. Take a moment to reflect on John 14:12 (printed below) in the face of this truth and you will see you can and will be a world changer if you have these bonds of faith and bonds of love firmly in place.

 

John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

 

To see more about Fear Bonds and “Journey to Maturity” visit our equip page.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; just listed are several watches, please check them out.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Journey to Maturity

Has God ever given you a prayer assignment? In October a group of intercessors began a three month “Journey to Maturity”. In October we are breaking fear bonds replacing them with bonds of faith in and love of God. God designed fear as protective mechanism, so when we hold on to inappropriate fears they become physical, emotional and spiritual hindrances.

 

          Paul talks about putting away childish ways (I Cor 13:11), so this month we are putting away our inappropriate fears. Fears when they become inappropriate take on a life of there own becoming areas of bondage, or what we call fear bonds. For more information on this topic please visit the equip page of this blog.

 

          So how do we rid ourselves of those fear bonds? It begins by identifying them. We are using a simple list and as an intercessor from Idaho put it, I think you have my number, because God is addressing and removing her fear.

 

          Yes, we need to address the issues surrounding the fear, and sometimes the issues have long since been dealt with, but the bondage still remains; in my life I have found fear bonds with my dad, who died over 5 years ago, which were affecting my relationship with God. After breaking fear bonds with God and then several days later with my father, those fear bonds were completely destroyed, now I have greater freedom and a deeper peace, because the love of God is my connection to every areas of my life.

 

Breaking the bond is a simple process The process:

1. Begin by praising God and walking into his presence.
2. Confess anything that is between you and the Lord.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth.
4. Then pray this prayer.

 

            In the name of Jesus Christ I come before you Father and I agree with you in revealing all fear bonds having to do with (insert the day’s topic). (give yourself a moment to hear from the Lord.)

 

          I come before you and agree that your perfect love casts out all fear and so I break off all fear bonds I have with (insert the day’s topic). If there are any specific things God is calling you to pray, remember to do that.

 

         Father, I cut the fruit and effects of this fear bond upon my life and in there place I place bonds of love and the faith to receive your love. Now take time to praise the Lord for what He has done.

 

To see October’s “Journey to Maturity” information with the fear bond information including the list of fear bonds please visit our equip page.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; just listed are several watches, please check them out.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Equipped for Peace

We have been looking at the attributes of our God of Peace through a PEACE acrostic. Last time we looked at the crushing effect our God of peace has over the enemy today will be looking at how God equips us to have peace as we finish the final E in the acrostic of PEACE.

 

E quip

HEB 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

            The first in this equipping us for peace is the truth of the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sin. God calls Jesus “the great Shepherd” for he laid down his life for his sheep. If we allow this truth go deep into us we are forever equipped to receive peace from our God of Peace!

 

            As Jesus comes into our lives he establishes “everything good for doing his will,” as the Holy Spirit begins pouring into our lives, “working in us what is pleasing to him,” our God of Peace. This includes peace!

 

Have you ever thought about how much it pleases our God when we embrace his peace, the peace that passes all understanding? When we do not embrace God’s peace then we are rejecting the peace that passes all understanding that He intends to equip us with. Remember only God can truly equip you with the peace of God, which happens as we embrace Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to pour into our spirit through divine revelation.

 

            Thank you for spending this time being equipped with the peace that passes all understanding from our God of Peace.

 

To our God of Peace be the Glory for ever and ever, Amen

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry;  New pieces are being posted today, please check out Man’s will and this piece called God’s will on our necklace page.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Peace is God’s battle!

We have been looking at the attributes of our God of Peace through a PEACE acrostic. Last time we looked at how to “accept” peace from our God of Peace and today we will be looking at the crushing effect our God of peace has over the enemy. 

C rush

RO 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

 

What does it mean that our God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet? If we begin by reading this passage just 3 verses earlier we will see that Paul was talking to the obedient church about “those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.” It is at the end of this discourse that we see Paul write Romans 16:20.

 

Satan breaks God’s peace by causing or bringing division and by putting obstacles in our way, yet if we allow God to, He will soon crush Satan under your feet. Remember Paul was speaking to the post resurrection church, Christ had destroyed the devil’s work of sin and death, 1 John 3:8 but our struggle with division and obstacles remain with us still.

 

How long will we continue to fight with Satan for our peace rather then looking to our God of peace and allowing him to crush Satan under our feet?

 

We often think of this crushing of Satan in the framework of Revelations and end times, here in Romans I believe God is speaking to the present church then and to us the present church now, so I encourage you to allow God to crush Satan under your feet in ever corner and hidden struggle in your life, restoring your peace. I know your life will never be the same, mine isn’t, for as I turn my eyes to him, he makes even the darkest of hours (for an example, visit Sept 8, 2009, How to Handle an Anxious night), where division and obstacles are in my way into moments of his greatest glory, because He crushed Satan under my feet and in return I received God’s peace.

 

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus be with you. See you next time as we explore how our God of Peace equips us.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; here you can see and purchase fun jewelry and accessories while supporting the ministry of Complete Joy.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

 

 

Accepting God’s Peace

 

 

We have been looking at the attributes of our God of Peace through a PEACE acrostic. Last time we looked at how having the peace of our God of Peace can encourage us, if we choose to and so today we look at how to “accept” peace from our God of Peace. 

 

A ccept

PHP 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

If you have been reading along with me since this acrostic of peace was first published you will see I have changed the word acquire to the word accept, because as I began seeking the Lord I realized the peace of God is something we accept and it isn’t something we have to acquire, thus the change.

 

When the apostle Paul speaks of “putting into practice what you have learned, received, or heard from him, or seen in him,” that process begins by first accepting what you have learned, received, or heard as truth. This is the hidden lesson of this Philippians passage. The only way we can truly put something into practice begins by accepting it and then allowing it to go deeper to become part of our belief system.

 

Putting this into practice, we have learned that our God of Peace is willing and able to give us His peace, now we must understand our choices keep us from having peace in any situation. The battle to accept the peace of God is rooted in our will, because we have to give up control of the situation we face and realize we can not acquire peace by getting what we want, instead we must look to God, and let go to accept his peace and rest.  Romans 8:31 reminds us “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

 

Far too often we want the pain to end, and think peace will come when we have finished the battle, not understanding if we stop and focus on our God of Peace we would have peace right where we are (check out my blog Stopped Dead in My Tracks part 1, dated September 12, if you would like an example).

 

I rejoice that no matter what is going on, God is willing and able to give me peace and all I have to do is to remember to focus on Him and accept His peace.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred          

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

Intercessors Heart; find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

 

Joy Jewelry; here you can see and purchase fun jewelry and accessories while supporting the ministry of Complete Joy.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.