Jodi

Connie, I will also miss you. I'm glad you are able to hear His voice clearly so that you know what He wants you to do. May He bless you, your prayer time, your preparation, and the new ministry He's leading you into. Thanks for all the sound advice you've shared here! If He allows it, maybe you can check back in later to update us on the new ministry you'll get to do. Or, to let us know how to pray for you during your preparation season when you feel the need for prayer support for a specific challenge He gives. May His Grace be sufficient and even abundant for you and may many be blessed by His ministry though you. Love you, Jodi

I love that He has a plan for us and is willing to guide us into that plan!

Specifics would be great sometimes, I agree! lol Did the age group and social work match what you already thought about yourself or were you surprised?

Justblueskies, what did they tell you was your gifting and what did they say was your calling?

Do we know yet what is happening with Bowe? It's 7 months later, so I'm wondering if he was set free or if anyone knows what's going on with his situation.

Blossom, I am glad you chose to trust people here enough to talk about this. I pray for you that the Holy Spirit will show you how to fight any spirit which would try to draw you into attraction for another woman. God, please give Blossom Your strategy for fending off this spiritual invasion successfully. Strengthen her and arm her with discernment about this particular spirit and its tactics so she can recognize it a mile away. I ask these blessings in Jesus' name, amen.

Thanks for praying for me, Connie. I appreciate it.

I'm not sure, but I think that some of the dreams and circumstances God has given me are related in that they all speak about what I am called to do. At times I am sure what that is and then I wonder if I'm not just interpreting things to suit myself. Some times I'm convinced I'm supposed to do one thing and then I'm convinced that I'm supposed to do another thing. What if I'm supposed to do each of the things I'm thinking of? What if none of them are what he's leading me into and I'm ready to bumble on into it? I'm in my 40's and not wanting to waste time doing my own things anymore. I want to get going on whatever He would have me do. Even if it's a slow process getting there, I just want to be pointed in the direction He'd have me go because I know He will provide for and lead that endeavor. Is there a way to post a set of interrelated dreams and ask for prayer about what God is saying through the dreams? I've posted some of them individually, but maybe taken together they say something more than taken separately. I am seeking His direction for my life and get both excited and confused when I hear from Him. I'm excited because He's actually talking to me (I love the communion of His communication!!!) and confused because I don't understand what He's saying (I don't want to deceive myself about it ???) There is also a dream which feels like a correction message, but it confuses me too. I have prayed and waited for the Lord to reveal these things to me and confirm things. I know that He will reveal and explain when it's time. But I also know that when I'm too close to something, I can get flustered and just not comprehend clearly something that He has made clear if only calmer heads were considering it. My request is for a group of believers to pray over a set of dreams and see if God chooses to give a confirmation and/or correction through what you hear from Him about those dreams. Thanks for any help and advice you can offer. - Jodi

Thanks Linda, Chollette, Connie, and Virtuous. I'm not sure yet if I've been called. I'm asking Him for a definite calling with confirmations since I know He will sometimes do that. I love reading your testimonies. Jodi

What are some of the ways that a Christian discovers her/ his calling? I've read about some pastors who heard God specifically tell them to go into the ministry or to "Feed my sheep" and others who say God specifically told them what He wanted them to spend their lives doing. Is He always specific when He calls you to do something? Or does he sometimes hint at it until you get it? I know we are all called to represent Christ and show the people around us His love. But I am asking about the kind of calling that you focus your time, efforts, and resources on. Thsi isn't a lesson; it's a request for a lesson! Thanks in advance for any insights you can share. Jodi

He laughed, but he still heard the advice because you were faithful to speak it. When his laughing friend isn't there for him and he finds himself alone and lonely, I pray that the Holy Spirit will remind him of your advice and lead him into a loving relationship based on knowing God. Thank you God for Mark's willingness to risk his words being laughed at just so his friend could hear them. Your Word does not come back to You void. I pray that this friend will read and or hear Your Word and it will come alive for him personally. Thank You God that You love this person without fail and more than we can comprehend. Protect him from self-destructive acts and thoughts and show him Your ways. I sak for these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Lord God, I pray in agreement that Bowe be set free from his captors and he return safely home. I ask You to be with him in his distress so strongly that he feels Your presence. Show him how to remain humble so as not to provoke an angry, violent response from his captors. Convict them of the sin of violence and hatred, for their benefit so that they can repent and be forgiven and transformed. Holy Spirit please give them an encounter with You that opens their eyes to Who you are and lead Bowe to minister to them, teaching them to receive salvation and move into transformation. I pray for You to redeem this situation. I ask that You give them courage to leave behind false beliefs and faulty ways and choose You and Your ways instead. Show them how to step into this reality and give them supernatural courage to do so. Please return Bowe to his family and loved ones. I ask for You to intervene in the war and teach people Your kind of peace that lasts. Reveal the value of life to us all and show us a way to create peace where there is war. I ask for this in Jesus' holy and loved name, amen.

I'm glad you trusted us enough to talk openly. God does love you and so do we as His people. I have heard a little bit about spirits which occultic people use to draw people to them. Is it possible that the woman who seems to pull your attention to her is using an evil spirit to attract/ lure you? I don't know much about this, but I think that if I mention it maybe someone else who has more information about it might be able to teach you how to defend yourself against it. Praying for God to reveal such a spirit so you recognise it might be a place to start. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to reject such a spirit in Jesus' name. I hope this helps.

I am not sure if I really have tongues or not. When I try to speak tongues, it somes out sounding halting and I don't get many words. But when I sing tongues, I usually sing the same sounds I've made before with an occassional new "word" here and there. Is it normal to repeat yourself a lot? Is it normal to not be able to speak the tongue, but be able to sing it? I have never felt the tongue "rise up in me" like I'm bursting to say or sing it. I just try to sing in tongues in the hopes that it might really be a praise to God in a heavenly language. But sometimes I wonder if I am just making it up and singing nothing real in amybody's language. On the other hand, I once was singing in English a song of praise I'd made up. I went to sleep that night and woke up the next morning singing the same song, but with the word "ich the nae" in place of "dwell within." It sounded Greek to me, so I looked using a translator and found that ich = I, the = God, and nae = with, so "I God with" for "dwell within." i know this is really the Holy Spirit because I didn't know this Greek to be able to make it up. Jodi

Hi, Iamfree. I hope things are going better. I didn't see this post until today. Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I understand about unfair administrators and sometimes parents and unruly student behaviors. Sometimes the deck is stacked against you. I believe that you give your best to your students even in the face of circumstances that work against you. I taught inner city public schools and had a love/dislike relationship with it. I loved the teaching and the kids. I disliked dealing with unreasonable, demanding parents and some of my administrators were anti-teacher in their attitudes. (I had one principal who was the most amazing administrator ever. Her bottom line was always "What is best for the kids?" and she actually had a clue about what would be best!!!) Some good news - you are a child of God and He will provide you with other options! Consider the two sets of ideas that follow. First imagine this - There are no obstacles and nothing is impossible. Now: What do you most want to do? Brainstorm and jot down ideas as they come to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you with His ideas too. What training or experiences would you need to begin in this field? Where can you get this training? Look online to find out or interview (phone) someone who is in that field. If you trimmed your spending as much as you can, how much income would you need? (I don't need to know this, but you should have a ballpark idea.) What kind of temporary job could provide at least that much income while you pursue your new deam? Would your retirement (after 20 years teaching) cover your expenses? It would at least partially cover them, which means the temporary job could be one that pays less. Do you want to get training during the summer months ot retire and go after the new thing? Second, a teacher is more qualified than others to pursue certain jobs/ careers. Here are a few ideas: write & publish children's literature write & publish lesson collections, thematic units, how-to tips for new teachers, etc. write & publish any type of writing Remember all of those teaching materials you made because you couldn't find what you needed to teach with? Submit those ideas to the companies who sell teaching materials. Work for a textbook publisher to promote their materials to districts. Work for an educational program to demonstrate to districts (ie The Write Group) Design your own set of lessons and build a program which classroom teachers could implement. Then promote adoption of your program by offering demonstration lessons (charge for these). You would get to teach but require the teacher to remain in the room to observe and handle disciplinary issues. Get trained as a librarian and work in a public library rather than in a school library. You could freelance as a writer or materials developer and take a non-stressful job. That way you have a steady paycheck with occasional extra money whenever you sell a manuscript or product idea. Another option might be to send your resume to districts known to have fewer disciplinary problems and wait to resign until after you've been hired elsewhere. I pray that this offers you hope for making a change. Jodi