The Adventures of Darcey & Watson

There are many times in my life when I think I have learned as much as I can in a certain area, and since God has grown me and healed me, I don’t ever need to come back to that area. Yes, the Lord has healed me, and I’m not saying that His healing wasn’t perfect and what I needed at that time, but there is always room for growth and it’s my own pride to say I don’t need to grow anymore in that area.

Recently I have started a Bible Study called The Hem of His Garment, and have also started reading the Bondage Breaker with Tim. Before starting these I was a little weary because I know the Lord has healed me from my past and I’m moving forward in my relationship with Him because of it. I was under the impression that since I know the Lord has healed me, I’m invincible (in a sense) to what may come up regarding my past. But that was my pride speaking, and a lie from the enemy in his attempt to keep me from seeking the Lord continuously in that area of my life and continuously taking each thought captive that I may stay in the light and not stray from the Truth I believe.

So far in the study I have learned about the wrong and right guilt and shame, about righteous and unrighteous anger, and more about Jesus’ anguish on the cross as He willingly laid down His life for me.

I always find it interesting how the Lord speaks into my life. I’m not sure if it’s because I have a thick skull to get through, or if it’s just His way of solidifying a certain message, but He always relates everything in my life to what He is showing me. So, I am learning about all these things at the same time, going through trials that relate to the things I’m learning, and then reading about the life of Jesus and how much He loves me, all at the same time. I guess that learning things in threes to make it permanent really is valid!

Anyways, that is where I am right now and I’m sure the Lord has more for me to learn through these studies. Please pray for my heart to be open and soft to His molding and teaching. Also that I will have patience with myself as I am a slow learner sometimes. Thank you all for your prayers!

Source: Haven’t I Already Learned That God?

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35

Love for one another. It sounds like an easy task, especially if you are in a good mood, the person you are with doesn’t annoy you, and things are going as planned. However, we are not always in the best of moods, maybe the person you are with rubs you the wrong way, and the circumstances you find yourself in may be chaotic. How do you love someone then?

Lately I’ve been learning how to love people when I don’t feel like it, or would rather be alone. See, Christ asks us to sacrifice ourselves, and serve others in His name. If I am loving others with HIS love, then He will continue to replenish it, and as I continue to pursue Him, His love will automatically flow to others.

Love is not a feeling that comes and goes, it is a way of life, a choice. I certainly don’t “feel” like loving my enemies, but the Lord says to do so. It isn’t easy, but it is a commitment. It’s a full time job to love others, finding ways to serve them, listening when they

need an ear, not avoiding them when you want alone time.

It is a hard lesson to learn, but I’m finding that when I choose to allow the Lord to love others through me, even when I don’t feel like it, it’s rewarding to see the other person smile. Sometimes they won’t even know it’s you that wrote that note, that you did the dishes because you know it’s less stressful for that person to live in a clean apartment. But really, we don’t perform acts of love for ourselves to get praise, we do it so that the Lord can love others and receive all the glory.

Anyways, thank you for listening. I am still in the process of learning this lesson, and am finding that unity between the Body of Christ is much more appealing than the separation that occurs from unbroken people.

Please pray for me that I don’t let my own selfishness get in the way of loving my brothers and sisters, my family, friends, and those around me. I will be praying for you too.

Source: Love One Another – John 13:35

So, I’ve heard this I don’t know how many times, that your vertical relationship with the Lord is more important than your horizontal relationships with those around you. Which makes perfect sense! However this last time I heard it mentioned something clicked.

I had a vivid image in my mind of an arrow going upward as I continue to pursue the Lord. And I realized that the higher I go up in that relationship with the Lord, the farther out I can reach those around me as His Spirit flows out of my life.

Think about throwing a ball from a tall building. You can throw it further out the higher you go. So the more I build my relationship with the Lord, the more people He can impact through me!

So yes, my vertical relationship with the Lord is waaay more important, and He can reach so many more people the more I get to know Him.

Praise God for that.

Source: Vertical Relationships

“In a world that’s still trembling in the wake of the fall, our hearts are desperate for hope.
They’re hungry for freedom.
They’re longing for redemption.
And here’s the good news.
In Christ, we have all three.” – Tenth Avenue North

So, recently I’ve enjoyed listening to Tenth Avenue North a whole bunch. I love their heart to proclaim Christ through their music. Relating to me, and so many others because of how deep and real their songs are. For me, it’s been a healing time with the Lord, and He has used those songs to speak to me in countless ways.

Anyways, since I’m enjoying their music so much, I decided to dig a bit deeper into their music and read bios and watch videos and of course pre-order their newest CD. As I was watching their videos, one video blog stood out to me: God is Not an Elephant.

As I was listening to this and agreeing with what was being said about God forgetting our sins, as far as the east is from the west, I couldn’t stop thinking about my dad. My dad is in jail for something he did that hurt my family and left many emotional scars in our lives. Now, I have forgiven him 100%, and I love him because he is my dad. I’ve wanted to tell him this for a while, but haven’t had the opportunity until recently. I prayed over, and wrote him a letter, and in this letter I let him know just how God has been using this whole situation for good (just like Romans 8:28 says, “all things”). Now, I’m not going to go into detail about my dad, but I had to give you readers this background information so that you will know where I am coming from with what I will say next.

A quick summary of the video blog is that “God is not an elephant” meaning that He doesn’t live up to what the saying says “an elephant never forgets”. Because God forgets our sins. We are bought and paid for in Christ. His blood washes us white as snow. And the video said that since God forgives and forgets our sins, we should forgive and forget the sins of others towards us.

For a really long time I have wanted to let my dad know that I forgive him, and I want to show him in a practical way that God loves him. I know there are consequences for sin, and that we are supposed to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, but we are also not supposed to live by the world’s standards. Like one of my leaders said once “live so that even your Christian friends think you’re crazy” meaning, follow the Lord even if others don’t understand and think you’re stupid for doing so. Obedience and submission to the Lord is better than not.

That being said, I feel like the Lord wants me to let him into my life once he is out of prison. I totally understand everyone else’s feelings towards him, and how they don’t want him in their lives, but for me I don’t want to be an elephant. Now, of course I would wait until he came to me and asked for forgiveness, and more importantly had gone to the Lord and repented of this sin. However, once he does that I will welcome him with open arms (almost like the prodigal son type story, where I’m waiting for him to come out of brokenness and surrender, and then embrace him with open arms back into my life with a feast. Except, he isn’t my son, he’s my dad). Isn’t he a child of God and brother in the Lord? Why shouldn’t I treat him as such?

Sin is sin. Yes this was a pretty big sin, but still…a sin is a sin. God forgives and forgets, so I should too. He is my dad no matter what happens. He knows the Truth, but he messed up. It would be like if someone lied to me, and then asked for forgiveness, I would TOTALLY forgive them without a second of hesitation. How would it be true forgiveness though if I didn’t trust them after that? Wouldn’t that not be real forgiveness? Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).

I want to do this because I love my dad. I’ve already forgiven him, and I want him to know Christ like I do. To know the depth of Christ’s forgiveness and love for him. I’m praying for him everyday, and I really miss him. This past Father’s Day was hard. I’m also praying that he reads my letter that I sent to him, and that the Lord speaks to his heart through it.

I don’t want to live a life of fear of what “could” happen if I forgive him and in turn start a relationship with him, growing in the Lord as father and daughter. I can understand the fear that others have about me opening up too much of my life to him, especially if one day I have children, but I am trusting God to orchestrate it all. There is still healing to be done, but I serve a God that is without a doubt capable of mending this relationship and transforming my dad’s heart.

Just like in Hosea where he married a harlot. She was SO unfaithful to him, yet he loved her with the love of the Lord and never divorced her when times got hard. God used that as an example of how He loves us despite our failures and falling away at times. He’s always there to pick us up again and restore us unto Himself.

Think of how cool it would be if at the end of the day, my dad and I could once again be praising God together. My desire is that He will get all the glory from this whole situation, despite what happens. But I’m praying that one day… my dad and I will have a father/daughter relationship like it should have been. Together as heirs of the ONE and TRUE Living God.

Anyways, thank you for reading this blog post. This is where my heart is currently. I would love to hear what your thoughts are on the matter, and if  you have any amazing stories of how God mended relationships through true forgiveness in His Spirit.

Source: I Don’t Want to Be an Elephant

This post will take a bit of a deeper, more personal look into what the Lord has been teaching me and showing me as of late. If I can find the words to express it. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.
Abba Father, the Comforter, the Creator of everything, my God, and my Savior. The past few months have been quite an interesting adventure, with the notorious highs and lows that are usually involved. However, something I never expected happened. As is often the case, the Lord has different plans than me, and if I’m patient enough to wait on Him and be content on where He takes me, then I will see that all the trials I go through were well worth it. Just like Romans 8:28 promises.
For those of you who know my past, you know it has been rather rough, yet through it all God has proved His overwhelming love for me time and time again. Without Him, I truly would be destroyed by the enemy, but in Christ, there is victory! That being said, I have had my share of struggles, and even though I know they are all lies of the enemy, for years I have entertained those lies until they became “truths” I believed in my heart. These lies have plagued my heart and my mind for many years, and even though I knew they were lies and I the Truth of God’s promises, it was really hard to let it all go and trust the Lord.
That being said, here is just one story of how God has been ridding my heart and mind of these lies: (note: I am not trying to brag through this story, I am only trying to share with you what God revealed to me.)
I have always had issues with my self image, thinking I am ugly, no one would ever think I’m pretty, and if they say so, then they only said that because they are trying to be nice. I would
read Psalm 139:14 “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” That whole chapter would bring me comfort for a short time, but I never truly believed it and tucked in my heart as Truth.
Now, God has been working on my heart ever so gently, and I have been gaining self confidence and am beginning to view myself the way He created me. He has given me friends who compliment me a lot (it’s really hard to accept compliments when you don’t believe they are true…). Then one day, after I got a little frustrated with a few of my friends for complimenting me so much, I was a little convicted and God told me to write apology letters to them, and to thank them for their encouragement. This was before a Tuesday night prayer meeting, and when I got home from that I was really tired (like most nights), so I got ready for bed.
As I was getting ready for bed I heard clearly “Alley, you’re beautiful”. God told me I was beautiful?! I guess I can’t argue with Him, so I said thanks and then went to bed. The next morning, however, He said it again. “Alley, you’re beautiful.” This time I believed it in my heart. God made me, if He says I’m beautiful, then I must be in His eyes, and His opinion is all that matters. That day I dressed up just for him.
This story is only one of the many that has been happening lately in my life. God has been restoring my heart, and my mind so much in the past few months that honestly, I’m not even close to the same person as I was before. I’m closer to the Lord in our ever growing and deepening relationship, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyways, thanks for reading this semi-different, more deep and personal newsletter. I’d love to hear your stories of God’s restoration in your lives! Just post them below in a comment, or send them to me in a message or email.

Source: God Restores and is Healing

Dear brothers and sisters,

Something has been tugging on my heart for a long while, and I feel that I should share it with you all. See, I believe and have a relationship with the one God who loves, heals, and delivers. Through my walk with Him, I have gone through valleys, and mountains, but in all of it I can see His faithfulness, and He has never once failed me. He is the only One on whom I can depend in any circumstance, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love the Lord.
The Lord has been with me through rain and shine, and has never left my side. Yes there have been times when I have been so focused on myself that I couldn’t feel Him with me, but in faith I pressed on and sure enough, once I refocused on Him, our relationship dove deeper than before. God is love…and because He is love, this means that He fits the description of what love is from 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always persevered. Love never fails.” (NIV)
Now, you may be wondering, “what about that has been tugging on your heart?” Well, I’m glad you asked! For one, I may have discovered this life-changing (not to be cliché) relationship, but SO many others have rejected it. Now, I’m not writing this newsletter story to condemn any of you, or to make you feel guilty, but what would I be if I didn’t share this with you? It would be like eating your favorite dessert in front of you, and not offering you any of it. Or if you had cancer, and I had the cure, but was selfish and kept it for myself instead of helping you. That would be wrong wouldn’t it?
So what brought on this topic, at this time, after so many previous newsletters that I’ve written? Recently I have had the opportunity to share my faith with my friend back in Pennsylvania (I’ll name him Freddy) who was/is going through a rather difficult time. See, he is looking for love, for someone to be there for him, and since there seemed to be no one who fit that idea, he wanted to end hislife.ThiswasthefirsttimethatIhadeverbeenthrough something quite as life/death as this. But you see, God used me and another friend here at GFA to reach out to Freddy and because Freddy finally listened, he is still alive today. No, he didn’t accept the love of Jesus who is right there waiting for Freddy to open his heart to it, but I do believe that he is close.
Much like with Freddy, I want to share with anyone who will listen of the hope found in Jesus, and the love that He offers. Just looking back on my life and all that the Lord has brought me through, I honestly wouldn’t be alive right now if it weren’t for Him stepping in and guiding me through the darkness. Instead of trying to convince you of this truth, dear friends and family, I encourage you to take a look back at your life. Look at what you have gone through, what are the things that the Lord has brought you through?
Anyway, I am praying for you all. I pray for those who do have a relationship with the Lord, that they will dare to dive deeper than ever before into His nature and His presence. Oh how we should study and get to know those that we love, and even more so the Lord who loves us even when we don’t deserve it. I also pray for those of you who do not know the Lord. That your hearts will one day be softened and your eyes opened to the glory that is God. Embrace His love, because it is so great, that He sacrificed EVERYTHING just to give you the opportunity to live and commune with Him.
Love, Alley Wessner

Source: Don’t Hesitate to Share Christ

Actually, He’s got my everything. My hands as He leads me day to day, my heart as He is all I want, my thoughts because I give them all to Him, my praise because He alone is worthy.

Recently I heard a message from Auntie Gisela. She is K.P. Yohannan’s wife, and every third thursday of the month we have a GFA ladies meeting where she will share a message with us. This month’s title was “The Gospel is Good News”. It’s good news for all who receive it. Even though times will get tough, God can handle it and will dust us off again. Nothing is too impossible for God.

God knows. So why worry? I’ve struggled with depression for a very long time, and until just recently, I had a hard time combating it and refocusing on the Lord. It finally clicked during ladies meeting, that whatever I entertain in my thoughts, or in my heart will bear fruit. So if I dwell on those thoughts and feelings of depression, it will bear fruit and make me useless in reaching the lost in Asia. So in order to protect my call, I need to not think on those things. Just like in Philippians 4, where Paul says “whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] just, whatever things [are] pure, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are] of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.” (NKJV)
So if I immediately combat all those negative thoughts that I am worth nothing, that God doesn’t care about my desires, that there’s no point in me doing what I do because it’s all worthless, with the TRUTH that the Lord clearly lays out in His word for me, for this exact purpose, then I don’t have to worry about depression.
Yes, it is hard to do. It’s so easy to entertain those thoughts. But I will NOT allow the enemy to get a foothold on my any longer. God loves me, He sent His Son to DIE for me, He rose again conquering death so that I may have a chance to live forever in His presence, and He is continuing to renew and transform me into His image. Who can be depressed when they can understand and grasp the depth of God’s unfailing love for them?
There is joy in the Lord. A Joy that will never fail. A Joy fed from His Spirit living in me. Even in times of trial and darkness, His joy is there to shine through me. And I’m happy about that. I am content in the Lord.

Anyway… that was my quick update of where my thoughts are at the moment. Hope it was a blessing to you! Remember that God knows what’s best for you. He knew it before you were born, and He knows how best to fulfill His plan in your life. So trust Him, and don’t worry.

Source: God’s Got my Back

I had an “aha moment” just now as I was listening to my current favorite song “How He Loves” by John Mark Mcmillan, while chatting with a friend of mine about how we are trusting God for the future instead of us trying to manipulate circumstances so they work out how we want them, instead of how God wants them.

This is what I sent him:

it’s crazy that EVERYTHING in our lives was planned out to perfection before we were even born.
that God planned what we would learn, how we would learn it, and when would learn to apply it.
meaning that everything that happened before we learned the truth, before it finally “clicked” was His plan as well. That those experiences are what brought us to the realization of His Truth in this very moment.
Just like everything we are learning now is for preparation for what’s in store for us in the future.
everything is timed perfectly
so perfectly in fact that we often times miss it
we miss what He is doing and has done until He points it out to us.
and it’s all so that we can know how much He loves us. All so that we can then turn and give glory to Him for working the good in our lives amidst all the bad that we perceived as bad, which was actually for out ultimate good.

Isn’t that crazy? God is so good. Anyway… that was my Aha moment.

Here’s also that song that I mentioned above. I recorded it for ya. Sorry the quality isn’t that great…

Source: God’s Timing is Perfect

So I just recently had a revelation. An “ah-ha!” moment, I would normally say. You know the verse Philippians 4:4 where Paul writes “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say rejoice!”

Gospel for Asia is an organization born from prayer. Literally, it started as a tuesday night prayer meeting in our founders house, and still to this day, we are a living breathing organism grounded in the greatest weapon given to Believers in Christ. Prayer. We have Monday, Thursday, and Friday morning prayer before we go to our battle stations, we have Tuesday night prayer every week, we have a Friday night all night prayer on the first Friday of every month, as departments we have prayer once, twice, or even three times a week, and of course there is personal prayer time. I’m not saying this to brag or anything, but just to make a point.  With our lives grounded in prayer, you can bet that we see the effects of those prayer requests every day, sometimes immediately after we’ve prayed. I don’t know about you, but for me, this is a cause to rejoice.

Some of the answers to prayer may include, healing for brothers and sisters, whole villages coming to know the Lord through the various ministries we have on the field, people in the west faithfully giving more than they have in excess to further God’s work, etc. Aren’t these amazing things?! But what about those prayer requests that we don’t get the result we had been hoping for? Say, we pray for healing for a brother in Asia who was brutally beaten for professing Christ Our Savior, we pray and we pray and we pray, but then that brother goes to be with the Lord. How is that a good thing for the family that he left behind, or for the believers he was discipling in a distant village, or even for those who persecuted him? Doesn’t Paul say Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS?

Is the word “always” subjected to only the happy answers to prayer? Shouldn’t we also rejoice in the answers to prayer that aren’t as happy? Praise the Lord that brother is no longer suffering, but he is forever in the eternal presence of our Lord Jesus! Praise the Lord I didn’t get the raise in my paycheck, because HE knows what I need more than I could ever imagine!  Praise the Lord for _______ (you fill in the blank).

Often times working in ministry I will get caught up in the numbers of the results. No matter how hard I try not to focus on the numbers, it seems to always creep into mind. Recently we have been praying for year-end giving via the web. We’re praying for a “million dollar” day. Which would be AMAZING, but what happens if we don’t reach that? Or if the numbers go down? Will we still be praising the Lord for the lives transformed by the gifts given by those who were perhaps sacrificing the comforts offered in America, what someone might call the “widow’s mite”? I want to say I would rejoice in this situation. I want to say I would rejoice in every situation, whether it be death, or new life, or sickness, or health. I will definitely be praying for the Lord to make this transformation in my heart and mind.

But then I find it hard to rejoice in death when often times it’s a death of someone who hasn’t yet come to know the Savior, the Comforter, my Father in Heaven. How can I rejoice? They are headed to the worst possible suffering one could ever endure, and not just for a day, but for eternity in Hell!  But then I remind myself of Romans 8:28 “ALL THINGS work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” If ALL THINGS work for the good of those who love God, then I have to trust that the Lord has it all under control.

If you would like to do something to make an impact on these lost and dying souls, share the love of Christ with someone who hasn’t heard before. Well you’re in luck. It just so happens that we are in the last two months of the year 2011. Meaning, it is time to start thinking about Christmas gifts. Praying for the loved ones that will be joining you on both Thanksgiving and Christmas, that they will come to know the Lord. But what about those that we are praying for in Asia? You know…the ones I talked about earlier, the ones who are in need of healing, the ones who are being persecuted daily just because they were born as a Dalit, the broken, the blind, the lame.  Remember them?  Make it your prayer request that they would come to know the Lord. Believe Him for that. He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). And if you would like to give a life-altering gift this year, I know the perfect place to do so. www.forgottenchristmas.org. Don’t just give because you feel bad for them, give because you love God and love those who He created. Love them as you would your own son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, etc.

I am praying for each of you. I may not know your name, or what you look like, but I do know that God loves you more than you could ever fathom. And I pray that if you know Him, that you would grow in Him. If you don’t know Him, I pray that you will come to know and love Him just as He knows and loves you (even before you were born!).

God Bless,

Alley/Alex/Owley

Source: Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS