Pat Layton: Sweet Tea for Surrendered Sisters

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I know that a discussion of "Bayonets" would not be something that you would normally associate with "Sweet Tea".

There is however, a Time for Tea and a Time for Target practice!!

I am in one of those TARGET PRACTICE times.

I shared a few posts back that I have been in a bit of a season of "warfare". I don't mean to spiritualize everything or even focus on my personal challenges. In comparison to some of the battles that some people around me are fighting, mine is a cakewalk.

The "battle" that I have been waging at an advanced level over the past few weeks has taken place in my own skin. Mostly between my ears but often in my mouth!

At the end of last year I began to wonder just how long my season of new ministry surprises was going to last without running into some advanced warfare.

Now do not get me wrong. I believe that Jesus died for our ABUNDANT LIFE!! I am a firm WORD stander and claim all of the promises found within these pages to be 100% accurate, believable and achievable, in THIS Lifetime.

The truth is that we DO HAVE AN ENEMY.

As defeated as he is, he is a pain in our lives!! His entire daily activity revolves around the mission to "STEAL! KILL! DESTROY!!". I am not ignorant of his tactics nor do I let them scare me away from pursuing ALL that God is, says and promises.

I purpose to keep my spiritual muscles strong, to know God's Word AHEAD of the Battle and to have it ready to aim and fire as needed.

There are times, however, when I feel a bit like I have stepped out on a hill in enemy camp and have bullets coming at me from every direction!

This morning, during my prayer walk, I heard God remind me of a Military Command He gave me a few years back.

The order is:

"FIX BAYONETS!!"

A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a knife-, dagger-, sword-, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on, over or underneath the muzzle of a riflebarrel or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear. It is a close quarter battle combat or last-resort weapon.

When I take a "prayer walk" I normally take either my worship ipod, scripture printed out on paper for memorizing or some other tool that will keep my "aim" focused!

Today, I picked up a well worn prayer tool that I have had for many years called "Prayers That Avail Much".

I lifted up my "bayonet" and began to shoot!!

This was my "Personal Confession" (page 29) (personalized version).

Feel free to cut and paste it onto your own prayer walk paper!!

Jesus is Lord over my LIFE, my spirit, soul and body.

He has been made unto me WISDOM (for those many things that seem to be spinning around in my head (should I? shouldn't I??), righteousness (for the constant struggle to do, say and FEEL the right thing), sanctification and redemption!!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I do not want!! (the book deal, the speaking invitation, the relationships that challenge me, the constant approval of others, those jeans to zip!!)

My God supplies all of my needs according to His riches in Glory.

I do not fret or have anxiety about anything (the financial needs of ministry, the challenges being faced my my adult children as they follow God, the condition of our Nation and our World!!)

I am the Body of Christ, I am redeemed (my favorite word) from the curse, because Jesus bore my sickness (and Susan's and Jeanette's and Jim's and the others on my prayer list) and carried our disease in His own body. By His stripes, we are healed. I forbid any sickness or disease to operate in my body. Every organ, every tissue of my body functions in the perfection in which God created it to function. I honor God and bring Him Glory through my body.

I have the mind of Christ and hold the thoughts, feelings ans purposes of His heart!

I am a believer and not a doubter.

Jesus is the AUTHOR and developer of my faith.

The love of God has been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit and His love ABIDES in me richly.

I KEEP MYSELF IN THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT< class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">the wicked one touches me not!

I have a SWORD at his throat!!

I hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. I hear MY FATHERS VOICE!!! the voice of a stranger, I will not follow.

I roll my works upon the LORD, I commit and trust them wholly to Him.

He will cause my thoughts to become agreeable to His will!

Praise His gracious name!!

AMEN!!!!

Bull's Eye!!!

BTW......the winner of my "Surrendered Sister" Newsletter Book Giveaway is....Stephanie at "TRUTHSHARER". Visit her blog today, you will love her in"sight"!!

Please let me know (if you have not already) if would like to get my next newsletter!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Those Wonderful Weekends!

We have just slipped through yet another fly by weekend.

I have long ago given up trying to figure out where the moments go or how I might somehow capture them in my mind for retrieval when I have time to really savor them.

The best that I can hope is that somehow they will be recorded somewhere on my MacBook.

I take billions of pictures of every little thing as if by cramming precious time onto a tiny disk, I might somehow keep it in my possession.

This weekend had some of those moments.

Saturday morning at 6am started us off with our ministry "Walk for Life" captured here at "Billy's Captures" by our awesome ministry friend and REAL photographer, Billy Waller.

Billy is computer brainy enough to even share the precious story shared by a ministry client. She came oh so close to making a memory that would take a lifetime to forget. Instead, she made a choice that will take a lifetime to thank God for. I invite you to listen. You will be touched as we all were.

Honey and I spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out and ended the day sitting in rockers...........

watching cardinals and doing nothing!!

After church on Sunday my wonderful man made the spontaneous offer to to take drive to the beach.

"Spontaneous" is not an everyday word for my Honey. I did not give him time to think about it too much before I had two beach towels, two books and two bottled waters in the car....

And of course, my camera, just so I would not forget a moment.....

"I pick up my sisal bag. The sand sifts softly under my feet.....

..........The time for reflection is almost over."

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"Gift From The Sea"

An answer to the conflicts in our lives

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Privilege, Power and Promise of Prayer

Thursday, May 7th, is the National Day of Prayer.

The theme for this years is "Prayer....America's Hope".

I have been praying about prayer for a few months now.

I was invited to be the keynote speaker for our local participation in the National Day of Prayer here in Tampa. It is an incredible honor for me to be asked to serve in such a precious position.

I can easily recall days about 15 or so years ago when I was invited to be a small part of the COMMITTEE that put this event together. We would pray and seek God for His program plan, then we would search high and low across the Nation to find just the right keynote speaker for our event.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined myself in that position.

I served on the committee to bring the likes of Janet Parshall, Cal Thomas, Anne Graham Lotz and others to Tampa. I have watched as each one has shared with our auditorium filled house, how God had changed their lives through prayer.

After about 5 or 6 years of serving, my own ministry demands pulled me off the committee but I have continued to be a part of the audience for the past 16 years!

When I was invited to be the keynote for this year, I was speechless, shocked even.

When I think of how God has changed my life since those days THROUGH PRAYER, I am overwhelmed by His goodness.

I am humbled by His Grace and Mercy.

I am excited by His promises.

I am committed to His instructions.

I am submitted to His direction.

I am surrendered to His service.

The scripture verse that has been chosen by Shirley Dobson and the National day of Prayer Committee is

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33:22.

I am a simple woman who has chosen to place all of my hope in God.

He is a Sovereign God who has chosen to rest His unfailing love upon me.

Can you relate?

I would love to hear how Prayer has changed YOUR life!!!

Within a few days of my being invited, God gave me the story He wants me to share.

I am trusting His anointing and His desire to FILL THE HOUSE with HOPE.

I am trusting Him to bless HIS us with His love and His house filling presence.

Will you join me.....better yet, join Shirley and Beth and Tony and many other National leaders, as we corporately reach our hands and hearts and hopes towards heaven?

Will you partner in this National event so that together we can storm the gates of Hell??

The National website has a 7 part prayer guide that I have copied off and placed at my Prayer Chair as a prayer guide for the coming weeks. Maybe forever.

The Tampa 17th Annual First Ladies Prayer Brunch will actually be held on Friday May 8th at the Tampa Convention Center. It begins at 11am and is to end promptly at 1pm!!

I have been given my orders for timeliness and timely I will be!!!

You can Register on the website. Fill a table will you? Let's pray together!!

On Thursday, I will be on my knees.

On Friday, I will gather with my city and with my brothers and sisters In Christ and PRAY!!

Will you join us???

BTW....I will keep the contest going for the secret book, which is not much a secret anymore, just check out the comments for last post. until the weekend!

Remember, to enter you must request the "Surrendered Sisters Newsletter" by email.

If you want to continue to receive the letter you can subscribe at the bottom on your own.

No Pressure!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

I'm Just Tickled Pink!!

The goods are ready for delivery!!

First I have, not one but two....wonderful books that I promised in my "Promises" post a few days back, ready to mail off to one lucky lady!

Thank you sisters for your sweet friend words and even better, for sharing a few Promises from God's Word, that are filling you up. I was blessed by each one.

I consider it such an honor to have you visit "Sweet Tea". We are all busy and there are lots of awesome blogs out there for you to visit and take time to comment on.

The trouble for me was, when I had my G's here this weekend, I forgot to have them do the honors of drawing the lucky winner. I know there are more savvy/techie ways to do a drawing but I don't know them so picking a name out of a bowl is my best plan.

Remember the last time??

Well, I am no dummy!! This time I used an unbreakable dish but I really wanted to do this today and my only convenient helper was my adorable doggie Lucy!!

I set her up to go digging for a treat and hopefully lick a name out along the way. Silly, I know.

You can guess how that went. Treat gone, names slimy!!

It was not a perfect process to say the least. I finally gave up and picked a folded paper for myself. You just can't get good help these days!!!

Anyway.....Congratulations PINK!!! You are the winner! Lucky for you, you do not have to touch the paper with your name on it.....Just email me your mailing address sweet sister!

Thanks again ladies. I will be making a visit to your Blog-homes as the week goes on.

On top of that, I am thrilled to have my very first "Surrendered Sisters" E-Letter released today!! It is especially fun since it was designed just for me by my firstborn son.

Those of you who have gotten it, I hope that you enjoyed it a tiny bit as much as Tim and I enjoyed working on it together.

My mailing list started at 600 so if you have not gotten it in your email box, you are NOT on the list!

If you are not and you want to be, please email me and I will forward it along!

The newsletter has all the details of my next GREAT BOOK GIVEAWAY.

I highlight, sticky note and photo copy pages of lots of books but I ripped pages out of this book to take shopping with me!!

If you want to be the next doggy drool covered winner of a "Sweet Tea"/"Surrendered Sisters" giveaway......say so below!!

If you have read the "Surrendered Sisters" and can tell me the name of the book in the "Sweet Tea" comments section, I will drop your name into my next bowl 2x's!!

You lucky dog you!

Blessings,

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Smell This!!

I just had to reward myself!!

Today I wrote 3500 words for (I am such a genius writer that I could not figure out if this word should be "in" "on" or "for") my new book.

If you are a writer of any kind you know that is a really good days work. If you are not, trust me, it is really good!

I have a couple of writing projects that, no matter how I plan, have continued to fall to the bottom of my "To-Do" list.

So, I decided to reward myself for my productive day with some picture taking in my garden followed by a neighborhood bike ride.

It was so beautiful out! The air was rich with sweet spring smells.

Like this:

Lavender (with a Bubble Bee to boot!)

And this....

Gardenia---they are everywhere. There are 2 bushes around our front porch rocking chairs that are ready to pop! I can not wait to sit there with some Sweet Tea and a good book!.

Can you smell them???

How about this........

Honeysuckle!! It is wrapped all around the palm trees in my back yard!

and last but not least, this!

OK, this purple stuff doesn't have a smell but I had to show off how I nabbed this butterfly!!

All in my yard!!

Then, over the handlebars of my bike, I saw this........

and this.....

and finally this.......

time to go home.

I ended my Sweet Smelling Day with this in my kitchen!

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. ¹⁵For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

I have been thinking allot about that Sweet Smell!!

I have 2 Surprises coming over the next few days.

#1) Tomorrow I release my brand new "Surrendered Sister" Eletter. My son Tim designed it and it is AWESOME! Let me know if you want to see it!

#2) I will have my drawing for the FREE BOOKS from last post!!

You still have a chance to share your Promise!!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Promises, Promises, Promises

Our family was blessed with an amazing Easter weekend. We all gathered at a cottage on the water. My Mom, as the family Matriarch, said the word, and it was done!

My Mom and I have the very rare blessing of having all of our children living very close together.

I have 3 sisters who have a total of 22 family members (as best I can count) and Honey and I have a family of 12! We all live in the Tampa Bay area within minutes of one another.

We all had a blast and went home very FULL. I brought 9 pounds of snow crab and the food just went on from there. It was a day long graze!!

I was thinking on it this morning in my quite time and praising God for family and the precious season of blessing that we are experiencing.

As I praised and thanked Him, I heard Him say...."I promised you!"

I immediately flipped my Bible open to Psalm 103.

I have this one plastered on my bathroom mirror so that I read it daily and claim its promises:

Psalm 103 (New International Version)
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

It is so important for us to KNOW what God's Word says. What His promises are!

Things have not always been hunky-dory in our family. We are not always having fun or celebrating, but one thing that I ALWAYS DO is KNOW what God says about anything we are experiencing.

If there is sickness, I search God's promises and speak them out.
If there is strife, I search God's promises and hold them in my heart.
If there is financial need, I know what God says about His provision.
If there is an issue in relationships, I seek God for truth and direction.

I know what God's promises are and I know HOW to speak them.

Regardless of my circumstances I know that God's Word is true and will accomplish ALL that He says it will as long as I live my live according to His WORD.

If you have received the Lord Jesus into your heart.

If you have acknowledged His death on the Cross and His Resurrection power.

If you have professed your need for a Saviour and claimed Him as your Lord, YOU HAVE PROMISES!!!!!

The question is DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE???

I found Psalm 103 a long, long time ago.

When God said "I promised you" to me in my prayer chair this morning, I knew exactly what He meant!!

Do you know God's Promises??

If You will share a promise that you are holding onto today, I will drop your name into a drawing for one of these two books about the promises of God:

God does not break His promises.

Friday, April 10, 2009

I Serve a Risen Saviour!!!

It is GOOD FRIDAY!!!

I made a promise on my last post.

I promised to show you what I see from my prayer chair every year about this time.

Look REALLY Close!!

John 10:10 (New International Version)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Titus 3:5 & 6

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.[a]
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

......and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! (Luke 1:47)

Abundant Blessings!!!

Happy Easter!

A Surrendered Sister...

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Blessings!!

I start pretty much every morning, when I am in town, sitting in my prayer chair (the green one on the right by the window). One of my favorite things about my home is that it is full of light. I have lots of windows so usually, when I come in my living room in the morning, the light is pouring into the room. Especially now, in the Spring time. It just makes me smile.

When I sit in my prayer chair, I am very real with God. I bring my good-bad and ugly to Him. I share my struggles and my praises. I lay my requests before Him and I pour out my thanks for all that He is and for the life He is walking me through. I shared a few days back about a personal struggle that I recently brought to God and how He turned my heart from ME to HIM!

My ultimate desire for my journey with God is ALL OF HIM and NONE of me!

This morning in my prayer time, I prayed the "BE Attitudes" found in Matthew Chapter 5!

My NIV Study Bible tells me that "the word "Blessed" means more than happy because happy is an emotion often dependent upon OUTWARD circumstances. "Blessed" in The "Sermon on the Mount" refers to the ULTIMATE WELL BEING and distinctive Spiritual Joy of those who share in the Salvation of the Kingdom of God". I LOVE that!

Think of it:
Blessed to be pour in spirit
Blessed to mourn
Blessed to be meek
Blessed to be hungry and thirsty
Blessed to be merciful
Blessed to be pure in heart
Blessed to be peacemakers
Blessed to be persecuted
Blessed to be insulted.....

It makes me think about how I often close my notes, letters and cards with the word "Blessings".
Mmmm....in this particular scripture "Blessed" is not exactly what I have in mind when I pray that over my friends.

Not exactly the "Blessings" we all think of first....but then again...God says in Isaiah 55:8

"My thoughts are not your thoughts and My ways are not your ways".

He often does things very differently than how WE think He will or should.

The First Shall be Last, right?

How about you? Are you being "Blessed" in any of these particular ways right now???

Selah,
Pat

ps...come back Friday to see what I see OUTSIDE my prayer chair window that ONLY SHOWS UP THIS EASTER WEEK!!!!!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Fully Loaded!!!

Sometimes we just have to STUFF ourselves!

I recently had a cupcake baking day with my youngest G-Girl. She LOVED every minute of it as you can see.

When I have my grand kids for a day or a spend-the-night, I set myself aside to give them my undivided attention. I prepare my home for their pleasure. I pull out the toys, the dress up boxes, the goodies and the snacks. I take them to the movies, shopping and have even gone surfing at the mall with the big boys!

(Truth be told, THEY surf, I take pictures through the glass!)

I sometimes have surprises hidden away to bring out at a special moment that I know will bless them the most.

God does the same thing for us, only so much better.

When we put ourselves aside, just to be with Him, we get His undivided attention. Of course Gods' attention span has no boundaries but I'm just sayin', He meets us when we press in for His attention. He prepares surprises for our arrival. He presents unexpected moments that will literally change our lives.

HE FILLS US UP!!!

God will meet us whenever, where ever we are when we turn our attention to Him but sometimes, for me, it takes getting out of my everyday space, getting away from the things that demand my attention and my energy---like laundry, cellphones and computers, to name a few.

Sometimes, I have to retreat!

I can not begin to count the number of retreats and conferences I have attended over my 25 years of walking with God. They always fill me with new understanding, deeper passion, greater freedom, renewed hope, sometimes just a pure WORD or answer from God that I have been seeking.

For about 5 years I attended an ANNUAL prayer retreat/conference in the Ozark Mountains with a dear friend that literally changed my life. I still think on the teaching that I received during that season and continue to live truth that God revealed to me in that place. I recall prayers that were answered and God assignments that were clarified or renewed for me during those meetings.

Lifeway Woman's Ministries has created many events for women in particular that offer a time for you to be set apart. A time of worship and training. A time for prayer and restoration. A time for laughter and tears.

I am writing to personally invite you to one that I have the privilege of being a part of:

"Women Reaching Women Fully Loaded" brings all of the elements of a true Spiritual Retreat together just for you!! Fully Loaded begins on Thursday night and ends on Friday afternoon. After a short break, we all head over to a larger venue to hear one of the most beloved and anointed Bible teachers of our generation, BETH MOORE at Living Proof Live!!

I am still walking in a Word that Beth delivered in the Spring of 2007!!! "Apprehend that for which you have been Apprehended!!"

These two power packed events prove to be a weekend to remember and I promise will leave you FULLY LOADED!!

I would love to have you in my workshop at the next Fully Loaded in California.

Hey, I am flying in from Florida so I know you can get there if you start planning now!! Airplane deals are good!!

As a matter of fact, if you live anywhere near me and want to create a CARAVAN TO CALIFORNIA!! you just let me know!

I am so honored to be teaching at Fully Loaded on "Ministry to Women in Crisis" along with a workshop titled "The Mission Field of Abortion".

God has given me such a fun way to talk about crisis (only He could do that!) that I meet women everywhere I go who have taken my workshop and still carry the evidence to show me!

TO TOP IT OFF!!!!
I am going to be doing a SURRENDERING THE SECRET CERTIFICATION TRAINING ON MONDAY JUNE 29th In Modesta, California.
Contact me for details on that!!

You have plenty of time to plan so join us will you??!!

I am planning a special BLOG FRIEND SURPRISE for those of you who let me know that you will be there.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Lets' talk about Judas.....

God is always bringing fresh life to His Word. It is in fact, "alive" isn't it??!!

Full of new life.

Full of new truth.

As I have been considering this precious Easter season and reading the scriptures that take us step by step, moment by moment through the last days of the life of Jesus, I have yet again been struck with a fresh revelation.

There have been a few very memorable times over the past 25 years when Easter has taken on a new level of meaning for me. Times when God has used my life circumstances to help me get a little more clarity of what He actually endured during His last days on earth.

One year, my oldest son was involved in a diving accident just a few weeks before Easter, that left him with his neck broken in 2 places. It is an amazing story that I love to tell because of how God revealed Himself to our entire family in such a graphic and miraculous way. My son was completely healed but his treatment required that he be placed in "Halo" Traction. If you have never seen this process, it involves having 4 screws drilled into your scull with a contraption that reminds me of a tomato stake from a garden. The frame keeps your head fixed in a straight position so that your spine will heal from being broken.

I remember writing a poem that year expressing my fresh understanding of how our Father God must have felt to see nails driven into the palms and feet of His Beloved Son.

What LOVE can compare?

In recent days as I have contemplated this kind of love and I have fixed my heart again on the last days of the life of our Lord, God has given me yet another personal look at the sacrifice of Jesus.

I have experienced what I perceive to be a heartbreaking betrayal.

We have all experienced it.

We have all dealt it out.

I am fully aware of the variety of explanations and perspectives that any situation like this carries. I know that everyone has an opinion and a justification and even a finger to point. This is not about that.

I do not care about any of that. All I care about is that someone I thought was a friend, someone I have WANTED as a friend, betrayed me, from MY perspective.

My heart was broken.

As I cried out to God about my sadness, He reminded me of Judas. He reminded me of how Jesus responded to His betrayal.

Now I am not saying that these two situations are ANYTHING alike. I am just sharing what I learned afresh and how JESUS is teaching me to respond when I think I have been betrayed.

Read about it in:

Matt 26:20-25

Mark 14:17-21

Luke 22:21-23

John 13:21-32

Again, I want to be perfectly clear that I am not even beginning to compare my situation with what Jesus experienced.

Jesus was sinless, I am not.

Jesus was selfless, I am not.

Jesus responded perfectly the first time, I did not.

I am just sharing how God used this story to remind me about how I am to behave and how I am to respond when I feel I have been betrayed. My prayer is that it helps someone out there to get through if you are feeling betrayed, or if you have betrayed someone who has considered you a friend.

Here was Jesus, breaking bread, sharing His last meal with someone that He knew would betray Him, someone He considered a friend, someone He chose to draw into His inner circle, His most private moments, His weakest hour. There is so much there that it makes my head spin and makes me hungry for the Word to penetrate my every fiber. It makes me hungry to understand more, to live more, to reflect more of His love!

It also made me wonder about Judas. What leads a person to betrayal of a friend--

Jealousy?

A desire to be someone?

A diving force to do something they want to do?

Have something they yearn to have?

Fear?

Selfish ambition?

Ignorance?

Greed?

At my last retreat, we looked at a "Wrong Place Checklist". All of those things were on it.

Another point that God showed me in this study is that in the end, Judas hanged himself.

I do not want to "hang myself", do you?

In any case, Jesus simply acknowledged the betrayal and moved on with His mission, the call on His life.

He moved towards MORE SURRENDER and what would be His greatest hour!!!

Help me my Saviour, SURRENDER ALL.

Even my need to be loved, my need for loyalty from the "Inner Circle" you have placed around me, my need for understanding, my need for acknowledgement.

Oh God, Your Grace is Enough!!