Tuesday, February 24, 2009

47 comments:

Lisa said...

Ah yes this is so so true! The things lost are just a shadow to all the wonderful things gained! I wouldn't trade the adventure for anything in the world.

River said...

Yes Yes and Amen
Most of the things I have lost turned out to reveal hidden treasures. Some things I have gained prove to be a challenge in my life but all in all it's been a wild ride and I look forward to the new adventures of life.

JB said...

Gain and loss are words to describe a perception of natural senses.

Everything needed to be complete is here all the time.

A sense of instability is based on the perception of too much loss or gain where the sense of stability is percieved when things appear to be in a correct ballance.

A change in time, space or circumstance causes what was once thought to be correct to now be out of ballance. This leads some to adapt a philosophy that everything is just as it should be in the moment of our existence . There is peace in that but it alone will not encourage progress toward world peace, just personal peace within for the moment.

However a practice of finding personal peace is essential to transferring peace outward to others.

So there must be a finding of personal peace and then a transferral of that to others if there will be peace on earth. What ever we encounter that causes a disturbance in our personal peace should be resolved within our own person or self before we react toward the change that has caused that disturbance.

Breath deeply and smile, everything is good and everything we need is here.

Son of Zadok said...

Hey everyone.

Missed the blog these past days. My PC is trying to give up the ghost after many years of faithful service. After a few reformats, it's still periodically restarting for no reason. I think it's time to upgrade.
Trying to catch up on your postings today though. And you'd think after not being on here this week I'd have a lot to say, but I really don't.
I kind of feel like that bare tree out in the desert lately. But I have faith that all these things are working together for my benefit. The light shines forth onto the path before me. I need not take long wandering in the wood.

Truly every experience and shade of life is not like the breaking of a glorious dawn. If darkness encompass me, if the night comes, I know that my Redeemer lives. Surely everything that rises up against me is falling away, revealing that which is truly within. And when, in grace and loveliness, that which is hidden is revealed, what a great celebration of life we should partake of. Even so, come now Lord Jesus.

Anonymous said...

At first, I looked at the photo and thought "I DO NOT LIKE THAT"...but continued to gaze at it and felt it was just because it's exactly what's going on in my being today. I realized very quickly, that it's the "after", the ending of something I see there, but the "what's coming" next will be a more calming and beautiful picture. God is perfecting it all for me right now, in HIS time.

I choose to REJOICE !

Peace,
Northern Light

The King's Cup said...

You can trust ME says, The Lord! Completely Trust ME! I know the end from the beginning and I always go ahead of you clearing the path and making a way! When I take something from your hand it is only because I have something so much better to place in it. If your heart grows weary I will carry you close to MY HEART that you might know that even in your greatest weakness I AM your GREATEST STRENGTH and I will never leave you or forsake you! I love you so deeply!
ABBA-FATHER

We lose ourselves to gain HIM! We gain more of HIM to give to others!

I would not trade the sweetness of the knowledge of His Love that I have gained through what the world calls loss. Nor would I trade the treasure of being able to pour oil into the broken hearts of others because Father in His Great Wisdom gave me that which my heart desired more than what my lips requested. There is no God like our God and to HIM we give our praise!

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of seasonal patterns...we lose winter to gain spring, and with each season we both lose and gain.

In each season there is something we long for and miss that was in one of the others...but we have to wait for the loss of this one to gain that one again.

That favorite blanket in the winter, or coat or skis have to be somewhat lost in storage to make way for the warmer weather and spring/summer clothes and iced tea/lemonade.

Anonymous said...

Bishop, speaking of adventures...I look to hear more of the adventurous tale of the GOSPEL album that Jared and his band recorded during their 10-day stay over in Berlin.

The article I read says they were listening to a lot of gospel music out on the road...that's pretty neat how that came together.

Either way, I'm glad that your son came back from the tour safely, and I've prayed for God to bless and water all the seed that has been planted into the bands' hearts recently.

God bless you, look forward to seeing you.

Anonymous said...

This should be posted in the prayer room, but the door seems to be "locked" to me for posting there today......well, I have a "key to this room that works all the time"...so this is for you Lisa!


Lisa,
I am in such agreement that GOD show the doctor what HE has in store for Zac, and knowing that he will perfect it all for HIS glory, as he created Zac for a special purpose. You say Zac is your hero, know that YOU are a hero to many and to be blessed beyond. (you probably do not feel it or like to be told it)but it is so. Zac is right where he was meant to be and you are so loved and blessed, it's evident in your every word when you speak (write..ha) of your child (ren).

I will hold this up in prayer until you tell of the resolution. I am totally supportive in love and prayer for you all. Agreement abounds ~

Peace,
Northern Light

Donald said...

It is statements like that that really get me into the deep thinking mode.
I don't guess we will ever know, or at least not in this lifetime, what the total consequences of our choices really are.
For instance, by choosing option A over option B, we may actually experience certain consequences associated with the chosen option that would have been impossible to achieve or experience with the other option. But there are probably, or at least possibly, other consequences that result from that action that we will never be made aware.
And, the known consequences as well as the unknown consequences may be either positive or negative. Or, they may be perceived as either positive or negative.
We have probably all heard about how we should be thankful for having a flat tire because that could have prevented us from being in harm's way farther down the road.
Who knows? It could have been nothing but a flat tire. Then how many of us have heard about someone who had pulled over to change a flat tire only to have someone veer off the highway and hit them with their vehicle. Whereas a flat tire may have been one's salvation, it was another's undoing.
And by giving up certain things I guess we never really fully know what we lost because those things that we supposedly lost were never allowed to be realized in the first place.
Sometimes when I look at one of my kids I have to wonder what person was not allowed to ever be born because I broke up with some other girl years ago. If I had not broken up with that other girl, we would have probably had children together but since that did not materialize did I prevent some person from coming into existence that should have had the opportunity of life?
I don't know. I just get to thinking about stuff like that sometimes.
Am I alone, or do others branch off out there like that too?

Donald said...

Northern Light, I'm glad you took that route.
Lisa, I tried to leave my agreement on the other site also, but was unable to do that.
But, yes, I am also in agreement with you for Zac.

peacemaker said...

Admission into time and space requires a belief in limits: a belief that both time and space are real; that you can therefore have and have-not; that love can be lost or found; and that you are what your physical senses show you and no more.

These illusions immediately lead you to believe that you are incomplete. Yet, far from indicating you are flawed, they reveal your brilliance by filling you with desire, igniting your emotions, fueling your passions, and catapulting you out into the world where journeys are begun, connections are made, and dreams come true... only to be replaced by new dreams as your divine sense of incompleteness persists.

This is by design. Feeling incomplete does not make you so. It's how legends are born, giants are made, and history is written. It's why you're here. For just a short time escape your true identity as you live with an unquenchable thirst that will lead into adventures of possibility, discovery, and a realization that love is all there is.

Here’s to Now,
PM

Anonymous said...

Hi guys...also tried to leave a prayer request but wanted to say...may you all be blessed this day...just read the prayers. Rosette, mystic, larry, lisa...everyone, thanks also for your agreements. May God's power from His throne overshadow each one as our names are mentioned.

Praise report!!!
Last week Natasha shared with me about a presence at night that always woke her up and was heavy upon her to the point of not breathing or being able to move.
This WAS happening for about 2 1/2 years or whenever we moved into this house.
She saw one night recently that it was a bad spirit at the foot of the bed in the form of an old man and was leaning towards her, reaching down upon her neck/chest.

I said, "ok, we've got to pray NOW, and take authority over this!" I tried to think of how I've heard others pray about these things, so with the help of the Holy Spirit we claimed power and dominion over it and said that it had to leave in the name of Jesus and not return!

2 days later Natasha woke up with that presence again, and simply said, "No, we've already prayed about this, get out of here, in Jesus' name!", and as far as I know, it has not returned. Praise God!
I had never been in a situation like that before but the Holy Spirit helped me to rise to what needed to be done, and I thank Him.

Anonymous said...

I lost my home in Douglasville but gained all of you!

I lost a lot of religious burden/junk and certain pleasures of sin, BUT like Paul proclaim..."I count it all but dung as compared to the excellency of knowing Christ!"

Christ lost his life but gained all the more glory and all of us sons and daughters!

Lisa said...

Thanks NL and Donald for finding a way to respond to me. I also had a heck of a time getting to post on the other site. I can't wait for the good report to come for Zac and am thankful for you all who hold me up in prayer. NL how far up into Mi are you? I'm 30 min from the In Mi line.

Anonymous said...

I must rejoice because I am in the Christ; I am an eternal being who is complete and fulfilled. The percieved loss of a thing is not possible in eternity. There is truly a freedom in the eternal where whatever is "mine" is "ours" and "yours" and "theirs" and in that no thing is lost, it always belongs to us whether one chooses to posses(sp?)it or not eternally it is always ours.


wordver:etersal = eternal salvation

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Hey people...I don't know what's going on with the other blogspot blogs (AW4W, NOW MINISTRIES,
where2or3rgathered)...I can't post on them, either, without going into the dashboard...I'll try to find out what is the dealio...

SOZ, everyone's been asking where you've been...

Karl, you know more about it than I do...I didn't even know Jared was back in the country...maybe I should call him...

Anonymous said...

Bishop,
Read about it in the Arts and Leisure section front page from Sunday Feb. 22.
The article says they'll be playing the Variety Playhouse Friday night.

Anonymous said...

This is something I tried to post on Now Ministries blog:

Bishop,
Thank you for the blessing...I definitely need it and receive it!

Two ministries that I'm speaking and praying over are what I'm hoping to do with baking(biscotti/bread so far) and furthering ministry through music and sharing that out in public.

Also how to get my own writings/thoughts/lessons together to share one day in a booklet.

I'm trying to make peace with the dance or balance of looking for work and all of these other thoughts and goals that need their time, too.

Thank you for the reminders to be in the flow, hear the voice of God yet think for yourself, WRITING down your ideas (which is helping me greatly).

As I have prayed for dreams...guess what? I've been getting them. Interesting that one I had last week had a bit of confirmation through a Nesquick chocolate commercial. The rabbit was sitting cross-legged like in meditation and it said "Find Your Happy Place"...and in my dream I was cross-legged, Larry Usher laying a hand on my head in prayer and I had some kind of very liquid, chocolate-like substance that I was squeezing through a baster or something.

I felt like I was at a spa of some kind.
My first thoughts are that the spa is my soul and my happy place is that place in Him in me, that rest.

I definitely want to be out of the box and seek to find those places where I need to be out.

By the way...cool word ver Centurion.

Mine is: restona
"rest on a HAPPY PLACE"

Anonymous said...

Centurion...God truly gives us ALL things.

word ver: gishur

the water GUSHING from heaven above in and through us...each one of us an erupting geyser from the well below.

Anonymous said...

Peace and strength to you Lisa and Zac and family. We, too, speak some good reports in Jesus' name.

word ver: reerew
"my thoughts are rewrite or redo". May some things be rewritten or redone wherever needed for Zac.

Anonymous said...

So true, to lose is to gain. What I thought I had lost only turned out to be my gain. When i got it it was so much better. Took me years to learn this but now i can speak life into others because I've changed my thinking.

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was going over and an injustice that was done to her and I was able to talk with here about not rehashing that thing in here head but to look at what good came of it because that happen. She began to recount all the good things that had come her way since that time and said to me thanks for showing me how to feel better about that incident. I just smiled and thought about the teachings of my Bishop.

Anonymous said...

Bishop,
good news...Natasha today just accepted to teach Spanish/Latin in two of the mornings at Eastminster Private School beginning in August in exchange for Zachary being able to go there tuition free at least this coming year.
Praise God!

Anonymous said...

just a cool word ver: habit

...and with that I have got to go back to the house. I've really enjoyed spending some time here today...a favorite habit. God continue blessing you all until next time.

Son of Zadok said...

Thanks for saying that Bishop. I appreciate the family bond here and desire to always be a part somehow.

Also speaking of Jared. The bands new album is getting a lot of postive press on the internets. Pitchfork gave them a solid write up and review, stating that the band's music is standing up quite well for itself. They say their newest effort, 200 Million Thousand, has a chance of being a breakthrough album for the band. I will remember them in my prayers, that in all things the Spirit will continue to apprehend them; that they gain favor with both God and with man.

Larry Usher said...

I was climbing down the mountain today and saw a lady without a left arm. The Lord said, "It's not what you don't have that defines you, it's what you have and what you do with it."

It is not what we have lost, what we have left behind, but a glorious thankfulness for being allowed in the game in the first place, even though in so many ways none of us is qualified to "play".

Bro Lar

Larry Usher said...

Donald,

Yah, I will get to thinking cause and effect a lot. I find it is titillating but an exausting goose chase which never comes to resolution. I try to avoid going down those trails and instead keeping in mind my steps are ordered and enjoy the moment.
These mental games can be the curse of the "active mind"...always trying to figure something out!

Lar

Anonymous said...

To me, the focal point in the pic appears to spotlight only what's evident at surface level. What I like about it, is how it reminds me of Isaiah 53:2.

Larry Usher said...

Great post PM! The Orchestrator enjoys tuning up and squeezing every ounce of talent out of His instruments!

Word ver: TUBMISI- "You get in that Tub Missy!

Larry Usher said...

Good news Karl! Tell Natasha and Zachary I said hello!

Lar

Larry Usher said...

I like the Variety Playhouse- nice intimate venue. Saw Joe Satriani and Mountain there several months ago.

Pic from that show

Word ver: CUSNEDIP, Howcome that guy always spittin'? 'Cus'n 'e dip'n that howcome!

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Hey bloggers, I think the blogspot problem is fixed...would someone please try to post something on
AW4W or Now Ministries to check it out from another computer...thanks!

tracy said...

I choose to rejoice. I choose to see my loss as my gain. In everything I have lost I have most definitely gained a greater love for my family and friends, a greater respect for money. I know that I control things and things don't control me. I see every business, every home and every individual as an opportunity to pray grace and favor. Life is goooooood, if you choose to see it that way. And thanks Elle-read your comment- new job 40+ hours a week/David averages 60 to 70, taking care of a special needs child two teenagers, my parents...I still choose to see it as all good! Love my job, Bailey is a trip, the teenagers still love to be with us and my parents...well that is just for another day....HA! Really thankful for it ALL! Love ya'll!

River said...

Bishop AW4W is working.

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Yeah, I saw that River...thanks...

Hey Tracy...good to see you here...

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

How about the other two?

tracy said...

Good to be here Bishop...and the rest of the Blogs look great.

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Thanks, Trace...

And thanks for testing the other sites, Donald...glad everything is working again...

peacemaker said...

Tracy,
There is so much I could write in response to your post, but let me just say this: Reading it made me feel as if I had recieved a long awaited healing in my own body.
Thank You

Much Love,
PM

Linda Luke said...

(Smile) I love your dream Karl Cobos!!!

Perspective is everything and is the lens we look thru! Believe that He works it all (imperfections and all)for our good!...so "it's all good!"

Word vers are fascinating~my brain just isn't created to produce them. It's a gift that I enjoy pondering 'how did they do it?'

I'm seeing good and wonderful things!!!


~peace

Anonymous said...

It is not what we have lost, what we have left behind, but a glorious thankfulness for being allowed in the game in the first place, even though in so many ways none of us is qualified to "play".

LARRY U!!!---an ON time word for the Courters!!



My father started a company 40 years ago coming from Kansas to Atlanta as an entreprenuer walking in faith. God has been faithful and so GOOD to not only our family, my husband - who worked there for over 25 years but to countless others who either worked there or along side in the business world...so many relationships--- It's closing this week. My dad's words - "It's been a wild ride and I would do it all again!"=We were blessed when we went in and we are blessed coming out. Jeff has been released to his destiny--
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. We choose to rejoice!

Word ver: easup!

Erik said...

Regret is a waste of my time. Learning from the past is fun, producing grimaces in me at times (some times more than other times) . I don’t regret the grimacing, it just makes the learning more poignant.

Rejoicing is where it is at! Rejoicing in the paths I could have taken and the ones I did, and the ones I do. Whatever is truly lost, was not all that desired in the first place. Generally, lost is not truly lost, but is transformed into what is truly desired. Water into ice, ice into vapor, vapor into water. Vapor lost, water gained, etc.

Mindshift – Education is the patriotic duty of every American.

Larry Usher said...

P. Nancy- At the beginning of The Lion King Sega game, one of the characters simply says, "It starts." Just like the "commencement" after school has ended...another adventure begins! Something inside me is screaming Yeeeessss!!! for you both and the whole family!
The nostrils of God are smelling the sweet odor of the saints praying for you. If I may brag on you guys- You are one of the sweetest, humblest, most genuine couples I have known and I consider myself vastly increased by my association with you! You're the best!

Love y'all!

Larry

Larry Usher said...

Great word Erik!

"...whatever is truly lost, was not all that desired in the first place. Generally, lost is not truly lost, but is transformed into what is truly desired."

...that's the beauty of Eternity...lost is not truly lost! God is not only the God of a second chance but the God of eternal "chances"! Never ceases to make intercession for us!
Hear those hoof beats sounding behind you? That's the sound of the Spirit of Goodness, Mercy and Grace tracking you down! Yee haaa!!!

Word ver AMESSESE- A mess is nothing more than "Meaningful Education Spirit Sourced!"

Good night all,

Larry

tracy said...

P Nancy-praying for your family and you will be just fine....promise. Greater things are yet to be done!

Anonymous said...

Dear Pastor Jimmy,

Fritz and Me want to extend our Regrets and our Sympathy to you and your family, in your times of grief.

We hope this prayer brings strength and comfort to you and also to your family.

Precious Father,
Precious Lord Jesus,
Wonderful Holy Spirit,
O Precious All in All,
for those who are grieving…
Comfort them now.
Be with them now.
Soothe the terrible hurt.
Give hope for a new tomorrow in your heaven.
Give a clear vision of your heaven.
For those who are grieving…
Bring joy where there is despair.
Dash anger to pieces.
Bring companionship where there is no other person.
Bring a sense of normalcy in the abnormal.
Bring fullness where there is emptiness.
Bring sunshine where there is only rain.
For those who are grieving…
Bring your mighty hand down and touch the hurting heart and mend the broken life.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
I love you, O Lord.
I adore you, Precious One.
All these things I humbly pray.
In the name of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit who lives within me and touches me, Amen.

May He do the same for you and your family.
God bless you all.

Fritz and Kettly

Anonymous said...

Dear Bishop,

Thank you, so much for the Word tonight. When I hear you said tonight: the life-skills lesson is about Decision Making. I was choked, but not surprised because I realized for quit sometimes now that we are walking in the spirit, and somehow our spirit are connected. Because, on my offering envelope I just finish writing a thank you note to the Lord for giving us (Fritz and Me) Wisdom to help us make the right Decision towards something that we are on the verge of purchased.
When you said go back “DO A REALITY CHEK,” picture what the outcome of those alternatives will look like. Well, I am happy to say we go back and we do a good reality check toward our Decision; and realize indeed we have made the right Decision with the gift of Wisdom God has giving to us.

Since, Fritz and I did go back to the Decision we previously made and DO A REALITY CHECK we are sticking with it and we’ll go further with it.

Thank you for you’re obedient to the Holy Spirit. And May God blesses you now and always
Peace and Love,
Kettly