The blog has been been moved here to my new website. Click the link to see all the great new changes to everything.
Thank you for all your support and God bless!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A Season of Change
"A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew"
And a time to sew"
- Ecclesiastes 3:6-7
-----
I am in a season of change. My website will very soon look completely different, and this blog will be integrated into that site. I'm beginning to remember why I don't like change! Migrating all the poetry is a big job.
I am not posting any poems on Twitter or Facebook this week. I want to get the migration done as quickly as possible and I have company coming in this weekend which is when I usually do all the scheduling for posts.
Hopefully by this time next week, I'll have a new site for you to see! God bless!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Matthew 6:25-34
This section of the Sermon on the Mount has been on my mind and heart for several weeks now. Our family is in a season of struggles right now and God is teaching us to trust Him for everything we need. This is a huge stumbling block for me since I want to be in control of as many things as is possible. I like plans and schedules and definitive answers. Waiting is not my strong suit.
I haven't written a poem from this verse yet, but I am fairly sure that will happen soon. I am starting to think that the reason I haven't been able to take any of my older ideas and flesh them out is because I'm in a different place now. I have different emotions, different situations, and a different perspective. Now that's not to say I won't ever use them, just probably not right now.
I have been working this weekend on my new website, mostly a lot of data entry. It's going to be more work than either I or my webmaster thought, but it should be done soon. It's going to take some getting used to, but I have high hopes!
I am beefing up my Twitter postings to seven a day, seven days a week. I think that trying to reach as many people at as many different times as possible is an important thing. As vile as Twitter can be at times, it can be turned into a powerful tool for the Kingdom too. Keep your eyes open for all those posts!
On Tuesday, March 1st, I saw a Twitter post that there was an urgent message being presented to the IHOP staff, family and students. We were a little worried so we tuned into the live web feed and wow ... we were rocked. Here is an edited version. To get the full message, you can go here to the archive on www.ihop.org and scroll down to March 1, 2 PM. The message begins at about 1:23:00. Then you will need to click on March 1, 4 PM to access the second hour.
John Mulinde is from Uganda and he brings a powerful message from his past. It will bring new insight into many Scriptures and change your view of your life radically.
Well I am off to add more content to my new website. I pray blessings over you and that God would meet you in every moment of each day!
I haven't written a poem from this verse yet, but I am fairly sure that will happen soon. I am starting to think that the reason I haven't been able to take any of my older ideas and flesh them out is because I'm in a different place now. I have different emotions, different situations, and a different perspective. Now that's not to say I won't ever use them, just probably not right now.
I have been working this weekend on my new website, mostly a lot of data entry. It's going to be more work than either I or my webmaster thought, but it should be done soon. It's going to take some getting used to, but I have high hopes!
I am beefing up my Twitter postings to seven a day, seven days a week. I think that trying to reach as many people at as many different times as possible is an important thing. As vile as Twitter can be at times, it can be turned into a powerful tool for the Kingdom too. Keep your eyes open for all those posts!
On Tuesday, March 1st, I saw a Twitter post that there was an urgent message being presented to the IHOP staff, family and students. We were a little worried so we tuned into the live web feed and wow ... we were rocked. Here is an edited version. To get the full message, you can go here to the archive on www.ihop.org and scroll down to March 1, 2 PM. The message begins at about 1:23:00. Then you will need to click on March 1, 4 PM to access the second hour.
John Mulinde is from Uganda and he brings a powerful message from his past. It will bring new insight into many Scriptures and change your view of your life radically.
Well I am off to add more content to my new website. I pray blessings over you and that God would meet you in every moment of each day!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Unrelenting
I posted a new poem last week called "Unrelenting" which was born out of the song "You Won't Relent" by Misty Edwards from IHOP-KC. You can see a video of it performed live here on YouTube. It's also on her album, Relentless, available in a number of places. The verse that some of lyrics come from is Song of Solomon 8:6.
God loves us. God loves us passionately. God wants us, all of us. And He will ask us relentlessly to give Him everything in our lives. But He will never force anything. He will never stop pursuing us as His children, but He will never force us to love Him.
One of my favorite VeggieTales quotes is from "A Snoodle's Tale". The "Creator" is asked by the little Snoodle why he doesn't just make the other Snoodles love him. And the man replies, "A gift that's demanded is no gift at all." It makes me cry every time. If God wanted everyone to love Him, He could force us to do that. But He wants us to make that choice. He gave us freewill and gave up the chance for universal admiration when He did that. However, He will never stop trying to woo us to love Him.
My family and I would appreciate your prayers. We have all been sick with colds and such, and our son had another seizure this past week. We need healing!
I am still working on my book, with formatting well on its way. I am very pleased with the way it is coming together. I hope that poems, but more importantly the testimony, will bless a lot of women who have been through some of the same things I have.
If you have a prayer request, feel free to leave a comment, contact me on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an e-mail here. Have blessed week and may God watch over you all!
God loves us. God loves us passionately. God wants us, all of us. And He will ask us relentlessly to give Him everything in our lives. But He will never force anything. He will never stop pursuing us as His children, but He will never force us to love Him.
One of my favorite VeggieTales quotes is from "A Snoodle's Tale". The "Creator" is asked by the little Snoodle why he doesn't just make the other Snoodles love him. And the man replies, "A gift that's demanded is no gift at all." It makes me cry every time. If God wanted everyone to love Him, He could force us to do that. But He wants us to make that choice. He gave us freewill and gave up the chance for universal admiration when He did that. However, He will never stop trying to woo us to love Him.
My family and I would appreciate your prayers. We have all been sick with colds and such, and our son had another seizure this past week. We need healing!
I am still working on my book, with formatting well on its way. I am very pleased with the way it is coming together. I hope that poems, but more importantly the testimony, will bless a lot of women who have been through some of the same things I have.
If you have a prayer request, feel free to leave a comment, contact me on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an e-mail here. Have blessed week and may God watch over you all!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Fork in the Road
I've been a poet for a large chunk of my life now. I've always loved reading and so reading poetry came naturally. For the last two years, it's been my clear calling from the Lord.
It seems however that I've reached a bit of a fork in that road now. I'd been wondering why the poetry had not been flowing like before. I chalked it up to the winter weather like last year and waited for the sun to come out again. But in the last week God has made it apparent that the reason the poetry isn't flowing is because that's not what he wants me to be writing at the moment.
Now, don't worry, I'm not abandoning the poetry. I still have a ton of ideas and desire to create poetry for God. Right now though, He's got me writing music. Well, lyrics anyway. My husband is handling the music side of things, which makes for an amazing partnership. Here is our first effort together that he posted on YouTube. I've added his channel to the YouTube sidebar to the left where you can see the videos as he posts them. Some of his music, which I highly recommend, is on there as well.
So for the time being that is where my concentration will be. I'm hoping that as the creativity flows for the music, I'll be able to get some poetry in as well, but we'll see. Thanks for sticking with me and I'll keep you up to date on everything. The book is still in the pipeline as is a brand new website. It's an exciting time!
Have a great week and may God's blessings rain down on you!
It seems however that I've reached a bit of a fork in that road now. I'd been wondering why the poetry had not been flowing like before. I chalked it up to the winter weather like last year and waited for the sun to come out again. But in the last week God has made it apparent that the reason the poetry isn't flowing is because that's not what he wants me to be writing at the moment.
Now, don't worry, I'm not abandoning the poetry. I still have a ton of ideas and desire to create poetry for God. Right now though, He's got me writing music. Well, lyrics anyway. My husband is handling the music side of things, which makes for an amazing partnership. Here is our first effort together that he posted on YouTube. I've added his channel to the YouTube sidebar to the left where you can see the videos as he posts them. Some of his music, which I highly recommend, is on there as well.
So for the time being that is where my concentration will be. I'm hoping that as the creativity flows for the music, I'll be able to get some poetry in as well, but we'll see. Thanks for sticking with me and I'll keep you up to date on everything. The book is still in the pipeline as is a brand new website. It's an exciting time!
Have a great week and may God's blessings rain down on you!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Icy Reception
Oh ... my ... goodness. What an insane week!
The last ten days or so have some of the most chaotic I've ever had. Financial stuff, house guest, family discontent, friends in crisis ... oh my. Now I sit in a house covered with ice and a huge tree limb out my back door. Don't believe me? Here's the proof.
We're not sure how long we'll have power once the 30+ MPH winds kick up either. So it's been an exciting day!
However, through it all, God has always come through for us. I've been working really hard on trusting God, no matter how bad things look, and it's brought a lot of peace to me. He has been good, even when we don't understand exactly why He's doing something.
Progress on the book continues and a revamp of my website should begin soon. My webmaster wants something more aesthetically pleasing and user friendly, so that's in the plans. I'm really looking forward to it.
Well I pray that you all are warm and safe. May His blessings rain down on you, even if some snow does too. God bless!
The last ten days or so have some of the most chaotic I've ever had. Financial stuff, house guest, family discontent, friends in crisis ... oh my. Now I sit in a house covered with ice and a huge tree limb out my back door. Don't believe me? Here's the proof.
We're not sure how long we'll have power once the 30+ MPH winds kick up either. So it's been an exciting day!
However, through it all, God has always come through for us. I've been working really hard on trusting God, no matter how bad things look, and it's brought a lot of peace to me. He has been good, even when we don't understand exactly why He's doing something.
Progress on the book continues and a revamp of my website should begin soon. My webmaster wants something more aesthetically pleasing and user friendly, so that's in the plans. I'm really looking forward to it.
Well I pray that you all are warm and safe. May His blessings rain down on you, even if some snow does too. God bless!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Unrest
I wrote two weeks ago that my world had been shaken a little bit. Apparently that was just the beginning of the shaking!
On the 11th, my husband fell in the snow taking out the trash and, unbeknownst to us for two days, broke his leg. He got a cast on the 13th and I began to baby him. However, that night as I came downstairs to go to bed, I missed the last step, and broke my toe! So I spent some time in the emergency room, got taped up and picked up some medicine on the way home.
That has obviously slowed me down, which is why I took last week off of blog, Twitter and Facebook. I figured we'd heal for a week and everything would be fine. Not exactly.
Our local IHOP (International House of Prayer) is having an internship for college students this semester. Three young men have signed up, only one of which has a place to live right now. They have left Indiana State and put everything in God's hands for the next several months.
Last week, we found out that if one of them did not move out of his dorm on Friday he wouldn't get a refund for the classes he dropped. Larry and I knew what we had to do, so the kids cleaned out their playroom and got it ready for this young man. In just the few days he's been here, our family has basically adopted him and he fits right in. This week we found out that another intern is on his way back down here and needs a place to stay, so we're scrambling now to find beds for these guys and get ready for another guest!
We also found out in the past couple days that a couple who are good friends of ours are going through some terrible turmoil. We have been in prayer for them, ready to support them whenever we can.
As if that's not enough, our family is in a bit of financial difficulty as well. My husband is self-employed and work has been slow lately. We're surviving, but that's about it right now.
But, it will all be okay. A friend prayed over us on Saturday, highlighting some Scriptures about God's promises. I don't know what it's going to look like, and I certainly don't always stay calm about it, but He will come through if we just trust him.
My book is coming along really well. Our first edit is almost done and I'm really liking what I see. There will be four sections of testimony from my life and whole bunch of my poetry inbetween them. It will be somewhere around 100 pages, and has a great cover designed by my husband. I'm praying it can make an impact on a lot of people.
So, given everything that's going on I would really appreciate your prayers. God is all powerful and all things are possible through Him.
Have a great week and God bless!
On the 11th, my husband fell in the snow taking out the trash and, unbeknownst to us for two days, broke his leg. He got a cast on the 13th and I began to baby him. However, that night as I came downstairs to go to bed, I missed the last step, and broke my toe! So I spent some time in the emergency room, got taped up and picked up some medicine on the way home.
That has obviously slowed me down, which is why I took last week off of blog, Twitter and Facebook. I figured we'd heal for a week and everything would be fine. Not exactly.
Our local IHOP (International House of Prayer) is having an internship for college students this semester. Three young men have signed up, only one of which has a place to live right now. They have left Indiana State and put everything in God's hands for the next several months.
Last week, we found out that if one of them did not move out of his dorm on Friday he wouldn't get a refund for the classes he dropped. Larry and I knew what we had to do, so the kids cleaned out their playroom and got it ready for this young man. In just the few days he's been here, our family has basically adopted him and he fits right in. This week we found out that another intern is on his way back down here and needs a place to stay, so we're scrambling now to find beds for these guys and get ready for another guest!
We also found out in the past couple days that a couple who are good friends of ours are going through some terrible turmoil. We have been in prayer for them, ready to support them whenever we can.
As if that's not enough, our family is in a bit of financial difficulty as well. My husband is self-employed and work has been slow lately. We're surviving, but that's about it right now.
But, it will all be okay. A friend prayed over us on Saturday, highlighting some Scriptures about God's promises. I don't know what it's going to look like, and I certainly don't always stay calm about it, but He will come through if we just trust him.
My book is coming along really well. Our first edit is almost done and I'm really liking what I see. There will be four sections of testimony from my life and whole bunch of my poetry inbetween them. It will be somewhere around 100 pages, and has a great cover designed by my husband. I'm praying it can make an impact on a lot of people.
So, given everything that's going on I would really appreciate your prayers. God is all powerful and all things are possible through Him.
Have a great week and God bless!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Word of Mouth
I pray that your week, and year, is starting off as well as possible!
I have a new poem up this week called "Word of Mouth". Passing things by word of mouth has often been thought of as one of the best advertising tools, and I would agree. I would also say though that word of mouth can be a dangerous weapon when used to spread gossip and rumors. We live in a digital age where everyone can know peoples' "business" in an instant through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Add in a vindictive spirit and trouble begins.
I've also noticed that in general we're all becoming more flippant with words and insults towards others. It's not uncommon to hear kids cursing at their parents, and vice versa, in Wal-Mart these days. Respect for others is a slowly decaying idea. We as Christians need to take that back and lead by example, showing Christ's love by taming the tongue.
The past couple days have been ones of turmoil for me that's been brewing for several weeks I guess. My sense of who I am in God, where my heart is, and how I've actually been living are being deeply shaken. A new year is bringing new revelation of where I should be, and I am struggling with giving it ALL to Him. Complete surrender is what He asks, and He will settle for no less. I would appreciate your prayers as I stumble through this new section of the path God has for me.
I posted on Twitter and Facebook on New Year's Day that I was working on a major project for the poetry, so I thought I'd let you in on the secret a bit. I'm not certain of a date, but within the next couple months I will be releasing a book! It will include a selection of my poetry from the past two years, as well as some of my testimony. I wanted to tell some of my story, the amazing journey I've been on for 32 years and how Christ has lifted me out of the miry clay. You'll get to see how some of the poems were born out of that and find out more about my background. So keep your eyes open for that announcement!
I would be happy to pray for anyone who is in need. Please let me know how I can pray for you at anytime! You can send me an e-mail at holli@holliswank.com, contact me on Twitter, or on Facebook. You can also leave a comment here on the blog.
Have a wonderful week and may God bless each and every one of you!
I have a new poem up this week called "Word of Mouth". Passing things by word of mouth has often been thought of as one of the best advertising tools, and I would agree. I would also say though that word of mouth can be a dangerous weapon when used to spread gossip and rumors. We live in a digital age where everyone can know peoples' "business" in an instant through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Add in a vindictive spirit and trouble begins.
I've also noticed that in general we're all becoming more flippant with words and insults towards others. It's not uncommon to hear kids cursing at their parents, and vice versa, in Wal-Mart these days. Respect for others is a slowly decaying idea. We as Christians need to take that back and lead by example, showing Christ's love by taming the tongue.
The past couple days have been ones of turmoil for me that's been brewing for several weeks I guess. My sense of who I am in God, where my heart is, and how I've actually been living are being deeply shaken. A new year is bringing new revelation of where I should be, and I am struggling with giving it ALL to Him. Complete surrender is what He asks, and He will settle for no less. I would appreciate your prayers as I stumble through this new section of the path God has for me.
I posted on Twitter and Facebook on New Year's Day that I was working on a major project for the poetry, so I thought I'd let you in on the secret a bit. I'm not certain of a date, but within the next couple months I will be releasing a book! It will include a selection of my poetry from the past two years, as well as some of my testimony. I wanted to tell some of my story, the amazing journey I've been on for 32 years and how Christ has lifted me out of the miry clay. You'll get to see how some of the poems were born out of that and find out more about my background. So keep your eyes open for that announcement!
I would be happy to pray for anyone who is in need. Please let me know how I can pray for you at anytime! You can send me an e-mail at holli@holliswank.com, contact me on Twitter, or on Facebook. You can also leave a comment here on the blog.
Have a wonderful week and may God bless each and every one of you!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year!
Well, 2011 is here, like it or not! Quite a bit has happened in the past few weeks to be sure.
Christmas was amazing as we'd hoped it would be. Friends and family filled our home with love, and gifts of course. The most wonderful part of the day was when Larry and three of our friends sat in our living/school room and played music. Erin even joined in on wooden spoons for a while. The sense of fellowship and love embodied the Christmas spirit completely for us.
Starting the 28th, IHOP (prayer not pancakes) began their major conference, onething. They stream the entire thing for free so from Tuesday afternoon through Friday night that consumed much of our time. We heard some really excellent messages, some absolutely amazing worship, and were able to download the notes and MP3 recordings of everything. We're looking forward to going back and listening to the things we didn't catch and pouring over the notes to go deeper into the ideas.
New Years Eve was very fun, consisting of watching the webstream of onething, rocking out with the worship music, and praying fervently for healing for my husband. It was amazing to ring in the new year watching somewhere around 25,000 young adults worship the Lord and pray for each other. There is hope in those kids.
I hope that you were blessed by this holiday season, and if you have any prayer requests, feel free to get in touch with me. Here's to a new year in the Lord and being days closer to His return!
Christmas was amazing as we'd hoped it would be. Friends and family filled our home with love, and gifts of course. The most wonderful part of the day was when Larry and three of our friends sat in our living/school room and played music. Erin even joined in on wooden spoons for a while. The sense of fellowship and love embodied the Christmas spirit completely for us.
Starting the 28th, IHOP (prayer not pancakes) began their major conference, onething. They stream the entire thing for free so from Tuesday afternoon through Friday night that consumed much of our time. We heard some really excellent messages, some absolutely amazing worship, and were able to download the notes and MP3 recordings of everything. We're looking forward to going back and listening to the things we didn't catch and pouring over the notes to go deeper into the ideas.
New Years Eve was very fun, consisting of watching the webstream of onething, rocking out with the worship music, and praying fervently for healing for my husband. It was amazing to ring in the new year watching somewhere around 25,000 young adults worship the Lord and pray for each other. There is hope in those kids.
I hope that you were blessed by this holiday season, and if you have any prayer requests, feel free to get in touch with me. Here's to a new year in the Lord and being days closer to His return!
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