In The Meantime - New Release Get Your Copy Today

In The Meantime: When Waiting is Key is a book that came from a single question, I asked the Lord in 2010, "Lord, how long do I have to wait on the promises you have given me?" The answer God gave me is written in these pages. Not only does it talk about the process of waiting it gives you an understanding of why the wait. While this may not be everyone's experience, I assure you that if you have ever waited on the Lord for an answer to your prayer, you will get an understanding from this book.

I struggled with the process of writing this book because it required me to look into my own life and much of this book convicted me because I saw where many times I have let my unbelief and impatience cause me to lose my footing and have to start all over again. When we see how Elijah deals with his “in the meantime” experience it gives us an insight to the character of God.

Week after week, with an unwavering and steadfast spirit, Elijah watched the brook dwindle and finally dry up. Often tempted to stumble in unbelief, he nevertheless refused to allow his circumstances to come between himself and God. Unbelief looks at God through the circumstances, just as we often see the sun dimmed by clouds or smoke. But faith puts God between itself and its circumstances and looks at them through him.

Elijah’s brook dwindled to only a silver thread, which formed pools at the base of the largest rocks. Then the pools evaporated, the birds flew away and the wild animals of the fields and forests no longer came to drink, for the brook became completely dry. And only then, to Elijah’s patient and faithful spirit, did the word of the Lord come and say, “Go at once to Zarephath.” (1 Kings 17:9).

Most of us would have become anxious and tired and would have made other plans long before God spoke. Our singing would have stopped as soon as the stream flowed less musically over its rocky bed. We would have hung our harps on the willows nearby and begun pacing back and forth on the withering grass, worrying about our predicament. And probably, long before the brook actually dried up, we would have devised some plan, asked God to bless it, and headed elsewhere.

God will often extricate us from the mess we have made, because “his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). Yet if we had only been patient and waited to see the unfolding of his plan, we would never have found ourselves in such an impossible maze, seeing no way out. We would also never have had to turn back and retrace our way, with wasted steps and so many tears of shame.

We Need Your Help!

I believe that where God guides, he provides. Yet, just as I learned how to preach, I had to learn how to raise support. The way I have raised support is by fearlessly praying and communicating.

First, I pray to find out what God wants me to do, and then through prayer I apply his promises to those needs. Second, in an honest up-front way, I share with my home church and prayer partners what I intend to do and what I need to get the job done. I have never begged for money. Instead, after praying about my needs, church leaders and supporters usually ask what I need. Sometimes the Lord gives me creative ways to share those needs through communication with my support team.

I must admit it is hard for me to ask for help in this economy because I know there are those that are in need themselves. However, when I do ask it is because I know that God wants to bless those that step out and do support financially as well as prayerfully.

So, here's what is happening in the next few years. I normally do three events through WHOLE Ministries and we reach out to the less fortunate that have suffered abuse and need help coping and getting back to normal. With WHOLE ministries our main focus is the community of unchurched individuals that seek our help. In 2015 we want to raise that three events to six.

Because these are free events, location, food and materials cost us and we provide in a spirit of excellence according to the budget we have. In 2015 we want to do more class room teaching and series so we can truly help them understand god's love and get some practical application experience.

Through Living Above Hurt, we deal with the Church community. again these individuals are lost in the House. they are hurting and need to remember who they are and whose they are. normally we will do four events a year but we want to raise that to six. 

We also want to start a more active online ministry and have an annual retreat that people can come to and truly be delivered and redeemed from their past.

this is not your usual church ministry, we are not afraid to get our hands dirty and to stay in the pit until the one we are working with is able to stand up and move forward.

If you reading this blog, then you have an understanding about ministry and deliverance. You know that sometimes you cant just sing a song and say a prayer. Sometime you have to fight for your life. Sometimes you have to battle demons that don't want you to be free. We are here to help those that want to be helped.

Your donation of $5, $10, $15, $20, or $100, $500 or more can help us reach our goal and continue what we have started and spread it to other communities and cities. This is our prayer.

We need your prayers but we also would appreciate your financial support. Click here to make a donation today. Just so you know, we are praying for anyone that makes any amount donation. We want God to give it back to you 100-fold.

You are no longer Bound!

Pastor Linda Hillman
WHOLE & Living Above Hurt Ministries
Founder

What If... What If... What If... This is a 7 part series - Part 7

What If? What If? Have you ever dealt with the what if questions of life? Entertaining the what ifs in your life is the first step to being overtaken with worry. Worry is taking responsibility for things you were never intended to handle. So it is only befitting that the last part of this series I deal with worry.

Worry is a lack of trust in the Creator of the universe. Worry says that you can handle it when many times you simply  cannot. If you could have control the situation, wouldn't you have done it already? Wouldn't you have had a different outcome? Would you be worrying over the situation. You see the very nature of worrying proves that you are in over your head.

So now you may be worried that you worry too much. You may feel defeated and without hope. Worry may have you depressed and now you are worried about it. Well I have great news for you. You can beat worry at it own game.

You defeat worry by redirecting your concerns to Someone who can actually do something about your situation. In this case to Someone who can actually take away the pain of your past hurts, habits and hang ups. It does not mean that you do not take responsibility for the things you are supposed to handle; it just means that you know when to stop and let God begin.

Read Proverbs 12:25 to understand how to do just that.

I hope you enjoyed this series. Look for more to come.


You are Bound No More.

Healing The Hurts

• Emotional Abuse
• Christian wounds
• Hurt in the church
• Domestic Violence
• Harboring negative feelings
• Holding grudges. It hurts ourselves more than others

Someone once said that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping that it will hurt the other person. But yet many of us do it and cant see that we are really killing ourselves.

You can choose to hurt or Heal

You can choose your happiness or sadness in life. One way to do this when you choose whether to continue to nurse a hurt you have received in life, or to heal yourself and you relationship with the person that hurt you.

In reaction to our emotional hurts we often erect protective structures to avoid dealing with them or allowing anyone to touch them. Over time these structures become comfortable. Before we cna heal the hurt, these structures must be acknowledged and dealt with. this will often mean honestly facing our pain and anger and resentment choosing to forgive, YES forgive those who have wounded us instead of resenting them, and determining to risk opening our hearts to others again. It also generally involves a slow and difficult process not a quick fix. Like peeling an onion, it usually happens one tearful layer at a time.

Definition

A wounded heart occurs when someone or something brings hurt to your emotions. "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they fo down into the innermost parts of the belly." Proverbs 26:22.

Sources of Hurts

1. Result of Offense brought to us from others People say things or do things to hurt us. Prov 18:8
2. Result from our won sinful behavior. Not all hurts come from without. sometimes they can be the enemy within. Prov 17:19, Psalms 25:18 II Sam 24:10
3. Result from a calamity where one is overcome by the experience. Job 3:25-26
4. Result from the sins of forefathers (ancestors) Exodus 34:6-7
5. Result from drug and alcohol use. Proverbs 23:29-35
6. results from occult involvement Leviticus 20:6

God's Provision

1. God cares about your broken heart. Ps 34:18, 51:17
2. God healed David's heart and He will also heal yours. Ps 147:3, Heb 13:8
3. Jesus was sent to heal the broken hearted. Luke 4:18
4. Jesus, Himself, suffered all the hurts that one could suffer. Isa 53:1-12, John 1:11. Luke 22:57, 23:35-37, Matthew 27:46
5. Through the suffering of Jesus, God has provided the healing for your hurts. Isa 53:5
6. It is God's desire to heal your hurts. I Peter 5:7
7. God must have control of your whole heart before He can heal it. Jeremiah 29:13, Rev 3:20

Steps of Preparation

1. You must give your heart to Jesus letting Him become your lord. Roman 10:9, Phil 2:9-10
2. If you have offended someone else, then you must confess your offense and ask them to forgive you. Matthew 5:23-24, I Peter 3:16
3. You must forgive (RELEASE) the person who has hurt you. Matt 6:12, 14-15
4. You must put their judgement into God's hands and then ask God to forgive them for their offense toward you. Luke 23:24, Acts 7:60
5. You must yield your rights to God (possessions, respect, honor, family, expectations). Matt 19:21, I Peter 5:5-6, Luke 18:20, Mark 8:34-37, Psa 119:165

WARNING: A wounded heat that does not receive healing is an open door for evil spirits. Esp 4:26-27, I Peter 5:8, Genesis 4:4-7, Matt 18:21-35

How to Receive Healing

1. Make a list of your hurts (begin with the greatest list)
2. Ask God to cleanse your heart of all wrong attitudes (anger, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, lust, hate, revenge). Isa 1:18, 51:10, I John 1:9
3. Picture your experience ob being hurt in your mind
4. Now picture Jesus suffering the same hurt for you and overcoming it by his own death and resurrection. I Peter 2:24
5. Next picture in your mind the resurrected Jesus offering healing to you. Luke 4:18-19
6. In faith ASK God to heal your heart in the name of Jesus. Ezekiel 36:26, John 16:23.

As God heals your hurts, He will also give you a tender heart that will be sensitive to the hurts of others. Ezekiel 36:26, II Cor 5:18, Mark 5:19

Remember: God can change that which was meant for evil into good. Genesis 50:20, Duet 23:5 Romans 8:28, I Peter 5:8-10 and II Cor 1:6

You are Bound No More. 


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2011 Living Above Hurt Ministries
(209) 565-4055 
Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

Don't Look Back This is a 7 part series - Part 6

Imagine this.

The smoke is billowing out the windows, the embers are raining down, and your lungs are on fire with the fullness of hot air. Your home burned down to the ground around you. You’ve escaped, but barely. You managed to get out alive, and not only that, your family is safe, too.

What exquisite mercy. You were scooped up out of the most dire circumstances and protected. You were saved. But, your pictures, your memories, your things. They are all still inside that blaze. You know you ought to be thankful you got out with your life. Yet, so much of your story is in those four walls, with those things.

You would never go back in, right? Not into a burning building, certainly. But, what if you stole just a quick glance? Here is a warning from Jesus about quick glances back to hopeless situations, “Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32)

Who was Lot’s wife?

In Genesis 19, we learn about Sodom. We are told that a pair of immoral cities (Sodom and Gomorrah) are set to be destroyed because of their utter wickedness. A man named Lot, his two daughters, and his wife will be spared. They are able to quickly gather themselves and flee their home with two angels by their side. The angels make it clear that Lot’s family must hurry and that they are being spared a certain death.

“And as they brought them out, one (angel) said, ‘Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” (Genesis 19:17).

In a moment of either worldliness or humanness, Lot’s wife quickly steals a disobedient glance back at her homeland. We’re not sure if she was contemplating returning to her sinful past or if she was simply longing for her home, but what we do know is that she wasn’t putting faith in what she’d been told. She’d been told by two angels of the Lord that she’d been spared, and therefore must leave and not look back.

Because of that quick act of disobedience and distrust, she’s turned into a pillar of salt.

Such instant punishment for such a seemingly small abuse. But, she’d already been pardoned once. How often do we want to return to the mire of our sin, even though we’ve already been saved? How often do we doubt the goodness of God and His promises? How often do we want to do it our own way, certain that we know what is good for us?

After warning us to remember Lot’s wife, Jesus goes on to say, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”

I cannot add a breath to my own life. I’m utterly incapable of sustaining myself. What I know is this: As a follower of Christ, I have been spared and been given a great mercy. So, in an act that sometimes feels like the death of me, I must believe in His goodness, and that what He's saved me for is so much greater than what He's saved me from.

You are Bound No More. 

Leah: From Unloved to Beloved

What woman hasn’t felt like Leah at least one day in her life?

Who hasn’t had the best friend that became homecoming queen? Who hasn’t sighed when she looked in the mirror, desperately trying to camouflage her flaws? Who hasn’t had that moment, perhaps after hanging the eighth bridesmaid’s dress in her closet, that the only way she could possibly get a man to marry her would be if he were tricked?

Rachel, Leah’s sister, was the head-turner of the sisters—Rachel’s name meaning “ewe” and Leah’s, the far less complimentary “cow.” Rachel was the one whom Jacob merely had to lay eyes on and he didn’t care how long it took—he had to make Rachel his wife. Leah, whether by guise of night or veil, then gets thrown into the bride role at the last minute, in her father’s hope that he could marry her off. Somehow.

Jacob rejects Leah.

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, saw behind Leah’s tender eyes and discerned her heart.Leah may not have been “lovely in form,” but she was exactly what God was looking for through whom to establish the house of David and the lineage of Christ.

Leah recognized her children as blessings directly from the Lord, and despite the pain of rejection and her unquenchable desire to be loved by her husband, she praised Him. (Genesis 29:35)

We’ve all been Leah, with the desire to be loved. We’ve all had to swallow the realization that, not only will other people fall short of our expectations, but we’ll fall short of theirs. We’ve all had to make the decision that even if we don’t get our storybook ending and we don’t get to be the beautiful princess adored by the prince, God is still so, so good and we will praise Him.

We may not ever be homecoming queen. What physically greets us in the mirror each day may not be what others define as “beautiful.” We may not ever get married or experience the type of romantic love we’ve dreamed of (or been told to dream of) since we were little girls.

But I promise you this, ladies—in God’s eyes, we’re all stunning beauties. He wants us to forget what the world thinks is beautiful and remember the beauty He created in each of us. He wants us to desire His admiring glances above anyone else’s.

The truth is, we may never get our prince, but we all get our Prince. Yes, even us Leahs.

You are Bound No More.

Spiritual Health: Meditating on God’s Word This is a 7 part series - Part 5

Studying scripture is fundamental to our spiritual health. The Bible is God’s Word and His instructions to us. The Holy Spirit illuminates scripture for us. In scripture, we are taught about God’s character and reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past. We are instructed on how to live holy lives of love, and we are convicted of our shortcomings.

I have personally struggled with consistent Bible study. My life seems to get too busy, and I honestly sometimes just blow it off because I’m running around “doing things for God.” And during the seasons when I am lazy and neglect time in God’s Word, I realize how simple it is to justify sin in my life. I lose focus on truth.

During the times when we faithfully meditate on God’s Word, it’s amazing how scripture overflows from our minds and is applied constantly throughout our day.

We’re always meditating on something, whether it is scripture, a blog, or a conversation we’re mulling over. The key is to shift our focus to scripture and truth as we go about our day. Try keeping God’s Word on your mind for a day and watch how your perspective changes.

What are three scriptures you can meditate on today, or this week? What do you expect God to do when you turn your focus to Him during your day?

You are Bound No More.