12.14.2012 Seymour to See More!

I said good-bye to Alabama on 12.12.12 and started my journey back towards KC and the International House of Prayer. My plans were do travel up through KY and visit with friends and then land in Seymour, Indiana for a couple of nights in a little retreat cabin that a precious couple opened to me before heading west to KC. I was minding my own business yesterday when I literally walked into an encounter with the Lord that just broke me. Have you ever had God invite you to draw closer to Him? Needless to say, I have stayed one more day here in Seymour so I can 'see more' of what He desires to show me. Can we truly wrap our heads around this....that the God of the universe desires to fellowship with us, share His heart and actually sets us up for encounters so that we can walk forward in strength and wholeness? Oh the love of God....what a mystery to me.

The past few weeks have been jammed pack with trying to get things together to plug back into the missions base and make all my connections in the southeast region prior to loading up. It was so good to have had the opportunity to actually get over to the Atlanta area and see some of my oldest friends. What treasures they are to me. There was the bonus of getting to connect with my cousin Maria and to see my great aunt Jeanie once again.

Then there were the good-byes. My heart broke again to leave Mac and Sophie behind. That was not a good evening. My eyes were swollen for 2 days! I so appreciate their foster mom, Kay, who has done a great job of not only caring for them but loving them too. That helps ease the heart ache. It was also hard to leave my church home but I am blessed to know that I don't go alone to KC. It was such a blessing and strength to me to be prayed over and sent out to what God is calling me to do. To my friends in the north Alabama area, thank you for your love, care, provision, prayer and support the past 7 months. I have been blown away the past couple of days reflecting on what God has done in and through you all. You guys....rock! I am finding I am at a loss for words here.

KC Friday....or bust! Grace to each of you in this busy holiday season :)

His,
Heather

"....I have never been happier!"

Psalm 92:2 "To declare Your lovingingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night."


This is the view from my dear friends home, Phil and Becky Butler. Oh to have the opportunity to watch Him paint the sky on a daily basis....glorious, right? I have been blessed by so many of my friends here in Alabama who have opened their homes, hearts and lives to me over the past months. I am a blessed woman and I serve a faithful God!

Something that came across my path over the past month or so was an article about a man named Rick Rescola. You may have heard of him. He has been termed the 'prophet' because he was convinced for years that the World Trade Center would be the target of terrorists, even prior to the first bombing of the parking garage in 1993. Though he and a Vietnam vet buddy of his had approached the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey about his concerns, he was always instructed to only focus on the evacuation/safety of the floors of the company he worked for. Rick remained undaunted and remained vigilant with regard to the security of not only of his firm but the Towers safety through the years. Despite the flack he would catch for disrupting business days, Rick insisted that the employees of his company practice their evacuation drills. All 22 floors would practice exiting down the stairs, 2 at a time, twice a year.

The morning of 9/11 Rick disobeyed the general call that went out at 8:46 a.m. to not evacuate. He immediately sent his 22 floors of employees into their drill. Rick would occasionally call his Vietnam friend, Dan Hill, to get news updates as he continued to direct folks with his bullhorn. Dan reported that Rick was "calm, collected and never raising his voice...." And then Dan heard him break into song, something that had been his trait during the war that bolstered and calmed his fellow soldiers. It was reported that Rick also made a call to his wife, and this is what caught my spirit. Rick told his wife, "If something should happen to me, I want you to know that I have never been happier." Needless to say, Rick never made it out of the building himself. He was last seen on the 10th floor heading upstairs.

So what could make Rick, in such a dire situation, be able to exclaim that he couldn't be happier? How puzzling is that until you begin to see the glory in it. This man knew that there was great need to prepare for this danger for more than a decade prior to the event. With that knowledge, he applied diligence...over the long haul. How many people in the Bible did God inform of coming events and then it took decades for those events to actually happen? What if Noah had decided he would just wait it out 50 or 60 years before he completed the ark....because after all...what rain? And when the day of terror arrived, where was Rick? Right where he had prepared his heart and those under his care to be....steady, unmovable and with contentment and dare I say joy? My heart took courage. And because Rick was in his God ordained place on 9/11, having fully prepared and walking in the confidence that only 'prepared' can bring, Rick was responsible for over 2,500 people walking out of the South Tower alive that day! Wow! This is absolutely stunning.

So what is the take away from this story? We know that the end of the Bible is true and that Jesus really is coming back. The Bible talks of many dire circumstances that will be on the earth as this age comes to it's culmination and Jesus establishes His government/kingdom on the earth. What is our heart and position to be during this time? Oh dear friends, what opportunity we have before us! If we will dig into the Word of God, settle the issues in our hearts and allow Him to fill and prepare us, we too, like Rick can be found in the right places, at the right times full of His grace, peace and knowledge that can bring light, salvation and safety to thousands! I love this! May we take heed to Rick Rescola's example and pay attention to the warnings we have of trouble in the days ahead and apply diligence in this day of preparation....and we too will see and be a part of the glory of God being seen in the earth!

My time here in Alabama has been such a sweet season of fellowship and blessed with friendship. As I continue to develop the team of partners I will need in order to continue as a full time intercessory missionary at IHOP-KC...for the long haul, I am beginning to set my sights on heading out of Alabama sometime in November. I am eager to get established in what He has for me! I will keep you posted. Know that each of you add so much to my life and I am so grateful for brothers and sisters who are striving after His kingdom, the knowledge of God and to see His purposes established in the earth. Much love.....

08.21.2011 Desire!

Greetings all,

Here we are looking at wrapping up August....how did this happen? I must say I have always loved the sound of September 1st, as Autumn is my favorite season, but the weeks have really been rolling by the past few months! After transitioning out of the disaster relief efforts here in north Alabama, I turned my focus to my original purpose for returning to this region, which is developing my partners team for my return to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. It as been such a blessing to have the time and opportunity to re-connect with so many folks from so many different seasons of my life from the past 28 years! There is just something to having longevity in history with people that is priceless and to have opportunity to see/hear the paths that have been taken over the years and to hear of the Lords faithfulness in the midst of the joys and tears/heartaches. For those of you I have had the chance to catch a little time with....thank you for sharing your lives and heart with me! It has been a precious time. For those I haven't seen yet....let's work on making that happen!

God has certainly had His own agenda with my time in Alabama. There have been opportunities and connections that I would not have thought up myself or could have made happen. During the past year I began hearing in my time before the Lord, "The burden of the word of the Lord.", and it would just slay my heart, though I had no revelation of why. While in my internship, this phrase began to be prophesied over me by our leadership. Again, it would hit me with such weightiness that I would just weep my face off. I became comfortable with the thought that I would carry His word and have opportunity to share it in the days ahead....like over a kitchen table, one on one or perhaps a few women at a time. What I was not comfortable with were the 3 pulpits I have stood behind or the youth camp I spoke at during my time here in Alabama! Didn't see this coming and not sure what God has in mind for the days ahead. What I have become keenly aware of is that I need more of Him, more of His word written on my heart and to take every opportunity for preparation seriously. I believe that is a word for all of us. The days are upon us when the darkness is rapidly going to grow darker and those of us that carry His light need to be strengthened and ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. It will not just be the men and women we typically think of being in the pulpit that will be sought out for answers to what is happening in the earth. If you have His light within you, you are going to be sought out! Let's gear up.

I have been taken with the thought of 'desire' the past few months, specifically from John 17:24-26. I was reminded of these verses in a sermon again Friday night and it brought this to the forefront again. In this passage we have Jesus in the upper room with His disciples the night He was betrayed. After they had eaten, had communion and Jesus had spoken with His disciples, He then went into prayer with His Father. We have 26 verses of a glimpse into the relationship shared by the Father and the Son! It's pretty stunning actually. In verse 24, we hear the Son of the Living God tell the Father, "I desire....". What? The Son of God has a desire? What could He be wanting, longing for, looking toward that He already did not have? The desire Jesus expressed that night was that we would be with Him where He was, that we would see His glory and then in verse 26 He says He has made the Father's name known to us....in order for the love that the Father has loved Jesus with would be in us. Jesus' desire was that we would be loved by the Father in the same way that the Father loves the Son. Wow. WOW!! Just a little something to think on in the days ahead. Oh that He would grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation to even being to grasp the true invitation we have been given. This whole Christianity thing goes so far beyond being forgiven of our sins and getting a free pass to heaven guys. We have been sought after, purchased by the blood of the Lamb in order to join in the relationship that is shared between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Talk about 'hooked up'! May we all have the grace to press in....today. "You can't go deep on the run.", as stated by Mike Bickle. It takes time; hours and hours over years and years to go deep in the Word and into your relationship with God. This is my intent!

The most common question I am being asked these days is, "When are you going back to Kansas City?". That time frame is open-ended still. I am about half-way to my goal for monthly support and want to be fully funded before I return to KC in order to give God my time in a full time manner for the long haul. Though my soul is anxious to get this labor done and to return to IHOP-KC, I am finding my spirit man is peaceful with the knowledge that I am right on His time table. Almost weekly He has had divine appointments and opportunities to speak words of life into lives/situations that have been pretty unique for me to have been here to see/hear. In the midst of everything, He has been faithful to continue to add partners to my team, for which I have been so encouraged and blessed. I have a sharp partners team thus far!

It is Sunday morning...time to get ready to go to the house of the Lord! Blessings and grace to you all. Thank you for your friendship, love, encouragement, support and prayers. You all are true treasures in my life!

06.13.2011 Glory in the Land...

Ezekiel 26:20 "...I shall establish glory in the land of the living."

May 6th I traveled from KC back to Scottsboro, AL to put my hand to the relief efforts after the storms/tornados of April 27th. What came to mind this morning as I was considering these past 5 weeks was that I have actually watched God's glory being established, not only in this region as His body has come together to help their neighbors, but also within the individual lives as I have watched men and women, young and old (er!) giving everything they had through days of heavy labor. I have seen His glory in the eyes and faces of those directly impacted with loss of everything they owned and for some even the loss of family members....and yet I hear trust and faith in God. What days we are living in! His glory will be seen in the land, which includes the earthen vessels, as the Bible calls us human beings.

It has been my privilege to work with my home church, the Rock Family Worship Center Scottsboro up 'on the mountain' in the Pisgah area these past weeks. Initially they were set up on a FEMA/Red Cross base feeding the community and volunteers 3 meals a day in a mobile kitchen. I believe when I arrived they were feeding between 600-700 a day. As the utilities were slowly restored the number began to decrease dramatically and the kitchen was then moved to a Christian campground and began feeding teams of volunteers that are coming to help with the clean-up and rebuilding phase of this relief effort. The Rock has also established a second Manna House up on the mountain, which is an ongoing food distribution ministry the church has already been doing in Scottsboro for the past couple of years. The mountain Manna House is also supplying cleaning products, baby items and basic household/kitchen needs for those starting over. As people are getting into their new FEMA trailors or housing, we are able to deliver 'start up kits' to help them get back on their feet. Of course there is ongoing manual clean up and rebuilding that will go on for many months to come. The Rock is organizing the volunteers for our county and connecting work crews with those needing the assistance. It has been so awesome to see and get to participate in these efforts!

The stories of courage, faith and the saving hand of God on peoples lives has been nothing less than amazing and glorious. I have had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends....some that go as far back as 35 years, as people from all over the United States have been in contact wondering how they could be of help. I have had a chance to meet face to face some that I had only communicated with in previous years per emails. And then I have had the blessing of meeting many new folks who are displaying the love of Christ to those in need.

I heard a little twist on Matthew 5:16 this past week that I think so applies to this blog. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." We often hear the argument that 'we are saved by grace; not by works'. Well, this Matthew verse actually indicates that our good works are not unto salvation but unto the glory of the Father! Let this encourage all of you wherever your at and whatever is at your hand to do....it is glory unto the Father!

This week, I will be transitioning from a disaster relief focus to working on my partnership development for returning to IHOP-KC sometime in August. The adventure continues! Blessings and grace to you all.

05.04.2001 What a Difference a Day Can Make!

Greetings! It is my hope and trust that this finds you all well...and I mean that with all sincerity. This past week has seen such devastation, injury and loss of life in Alabama, as well as other southern states....and what a difference a day can make. North Alabama has been 'home' to me for over 20 years and it has been nothing less than heart breaking to see the pictures/videos and hear the stories coming out of that region these days.

As I finished up my Intro to IHOP internship, made my trip to see my mom and visited Alabama, I finally landed back in KC on Monday, April 25, late in the night after driving for several hours through tornado warnings! Tuesday I began my class here at IHOP, which is not mandatory for staff but would be helpful. Wednesday, the world changed in my home state and for my friends and church family. I have spent much of my time from last Wednesday actually working on disaster relief communications, as most of the region was without power until Sunday/Monday....my little laptop and cell phone became communication central, of sorts. As that immediate need lightened, I realized my heart was in Alabama with this disaster relief effort.

Part of what the Lord has clarified to me regarding my calling during the past 7 months was that what has been established in my life through my social work, nursing and over 30 years of ministry training/labor has equipped me to minister to people....spirit, soul and body...in the midst of the 'birth pains' as described in the book of Matthew 24:6-8

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but
the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

I had specifically communicated this to a friend here at IHOP the morning of the 27th, the day of the tornados....and before nightfall crisis and sorrows had fallen on the place I have called home.

This has caused me to have to seek the Lord's face as to where I am suppose to be in this little season. I was scheduled to head back to Alabama the last week of May to actually be about the business required for me to be sustained as a missionary here at IHOP-KC. That plan has not changed but I can not make sense of staying here for the 4 week interim for a 1 1/2 hour class on Tuesdays that is not mandatory when I could be of use actually walking out the answer to my own prayers for Alabama and my home church! And so after seeking counsel and setting this all before the Lord, I am making plans to head back to Alabama, hopefully by Friday morning, if I can get all the loose ends pulled together. I will share more of what the Lord has actually laid on my heart when I can get my feet on the ground and can learn what the real situation is looking like for folks there. I totally ask for your prayers!

Will update when I arrive in Alabama. The above photo is of the Rock Family Worship Center feeding people in a K Mart parking lot in Scottsboro. That first evening they feed about 500. Friday they fed somewhere near 4500! The work load is massive. If any of you would be interested in getting your hands dirty and loving on some hurting hearts, let me know. If your churches or organizations are looking for places to give into the relief efforts, I know the Rock is in an area that is not being reached by many of the other relief efforts....I can get you some info. Blessings and grace to you and your families as always. Love you guys!

Heather

04.09.2011 Consider

Job 37:14 "...stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." As we wrapped up this Intro to IHOP internship last Sunday, it set me in the place of 'considering' this week. As I have looked back over my journey this past 6 months or so, I am so struck with God's great mercy, tenderness and willingness to hold the human heart in all of our weakness and brokenness....and transform it, somehow. Who can change a heart? Can you change your heart? I sure have tried on many occasions and in different circumstances to shift my own heart...and have failed miserably! And yet God can take the same heart and bring it into union and unity with His own. Wow.

As I look back I can remember so many specific encounters that God had lined up just for me. Like the night I had a specific question in my heart...a wrestle that I was desperate for Him to speak to me about. I wrestled through the service, prepared to leave as soon as the altar call was given....just ready to get out of there. (Have you ever been there before?!) As we stood and I bowed my head for the prayer where I could slip out I heard Mike Bickle ask his friend Kent to come to the platform. I had never heard of 'Kent' so I looked up and 'Kent' had taken his place at the keyboard. That was puzzling until he opened his mouth and I realized it was Kent Henry. I just started weeping at how wondrous God is to answer our questions! For those of you who don't know, Kent was a forerunner in 'new song' or prophetic songs and has a special place in my own walk with the Lord. God could not have come up with a more specific answer than that for the question in my heart that night. Receiving impartation from Kent Henry was not too shabby!

There was the day I was on a prophetic ministry team and had a word for a young woman. All I kept hearing was, 'There's no place like home.' When I shared it, she started weeping. When we finished up, she was standing there telling me she was from N. Ireland and had been so homesick. I asked what town and when she told me I asked her is she knew a girl there. She lit up like a lightbulb and told me they were best of friends. Another young man who we had prophesied over with her...whom neither of them knew each other...when he heard where she was from piped up and said he had been to the house of prayer in her little hometown and started rattling off people he knew. And then one of my fellow interns who had been on the prophecy team with me reached into his pocket and pulled out a pound...said he had brought it back from N. Ireland a couple of years ago and for some reason had put it in his pocket a couple of days prior...so he gave it to this young woman. What a great Creator God we have....all that to touch this young woman's heart and bring her courage!

Then there were just ministry times where I just had to step back within myself and marvel at God and what He has allowed me to participate with Him in. This place is always brimming with people from all over the world. I have had to sit back and laugh at times to realize I am not only prophesying...but I am prophesying to the nations....sometimes having to prophesy through interpreters. What?! I don't think I would have thought that one up in a million years for myself to be honest! There was one afternoon in a span of maybe an hour and a half where I had the privilege to prophesy over 2 from Germany, 1 from Switzerland, 2 from Egypt and another from Korea. You just got to love this!

And then there have been my fellow interns. What an honor this has been. I wonder all the time..."Who are you...really?!" There is my friend Sharon who has loved Israel forever, been there like 17 times as a volunteer, has authored books, and as a widow decided this was how she wanted to spend the rest of her days. There is Gloria who is from Korea and has been a missionary all of her life....we still have not figured out who all Gloria is. There is always something coming up and you just wonder who and what she has been doing around here! There is Bryan who went and served in the IDF in Israel, Brad who is just a solid mid-western young man who ran his grandfathers farm when he was no longer able to....as a teenager! Or Sara who landed on the streets as a teenager in NY but made her way to TV-land but now loves the Lord with all she is. And there is Elizabeth...Teacher as I call her. The woman is one administrative genius. I am convinced she could run the Pentagon. Or Won and Kay....who sold their booming business in LA...he is an eye surgeon, one of the best in LA...and taught YWAM DTS for years there but came to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of His love for them. Or Christian who has yet to turn 30, who left Yale where he was pursuing his masters to come sit in the prayer room for 6 months. Come to find out this guy is stinking anointed and gifted. Last week he did a 7 minute spot of a play he had written a number of years ago...straight scripture. Unbelievably powerful. In the past week, God has opened the door to a man who has offered to put this play on Broadway. Christian will be working on that in between writing a play for our Exodus Cry, which deals with human trafficking, that will be taken to college campus' all over the states and going to Israel for a couple of months to be a part of a 'class' where he will have an audience with Benjamin Netanyahu! Who are these people? There are so many who are so special. I will have to share stories sometime!

I could go on, but you may already be in a coma! Thank you for all your prayers and love....I know I would not be standing here if it had not been for all of you guys. And yes, the picture says it all. After 2 weeks, 5 visits to 2 different courthouses and the help of some folks back in Alabama...I am an actual resident of MO now. The plate number cracked me up. I will let you hear it for yourselves! You all have been such a part of all that I have benefited from, grown in and been able to put my hand to! Love you all....

03.27.2011 The Finish Line!

We can see the finish line! A week from today and this Intro to IHOP internship will be a wrap. It is hard to know how to feel about that, actually! There is such gratitude for the heart exchange and encounters I have had with the Lord, for the new friendships with men and women with like hearts/minds that challenge me to go higher into my own consecration and holiness and to have become so keenly aware of purpose. The other side of the coin is that wow, this season is ending and that always involves shifts/changes and who knows what things will really look like a few months from now? No matter what, it is a comfort to know that I, like you, are in the palm of His hand. I have seen repeatedly the past 6 months that His leadership is perfect and His heart and intent for me is good!

The picture above is of my sweet friend Michelle who married her love Whitney several years ago. She just posted this picture and I had to grab it for this blog because it is truly a 'picture' of my call. Though I was not an actual bridesmaid at her wedding, I did have the privilege to pray with Michelle right before her wedding ceremony....praying into her marriage, her role as a bride/wife. As I finish up this internship and step into the next season, I know I am to help prepare the Bride of the Lamb....Jesus! The church is to be one who has made herself ready, prepared in her character...without spot, wrinkle, holy and blameless. We are living in the time of great adventure!

I will be doing some traveling around for a short season before jumping back into my place here at IHOP-KC. I look forward to getting to see many of your faces and share more of what all God has done and is doing with my life and to have the opportunity to catch up with your lives. Thank you for all the love, prayers, encouragement and support....this has certainly been a joint effort! May you all know His favor and grace in greater measures for the day/season we are in.

Love you all much,

Heather