A poem for the one who tends to God's daughters Holly’s Garden He calls me the gardener
I tend to His gardens He’s trained me to care and to nurture To bring life to His prized roses They’ve been dead‐like and dormant During the cold season of winter A sight of disarray at first Because they’ve been neglected Lifeless and parched, I get busy to work I prune and feed and weed To bring the flowers back to life He’s given me the tools I need I’m sure to add the miracle‐grow The essential element of Love I place them in the light of the Son Add the vital water of the Spirit These are the key elements I must use To seeing His gardens flourish At times my job can be hard Sometimes downright painful I must dig out the bitter roots Put to death the pestilence Get rid of the things that deter And keep the rose from brilliance I care that each one grow ‘n mature Open into full blossom To release her beautiful fragrance And bring glory to her Maker This is her destiny you know Beauty instead of ashes  Written by a woman from our Adopting Daughters program. After falling into deep sin for so long, the Prodigal Daughter comes back to her Father, her first love. She starts opening her heart to Him again. Time and time again, she has fallen. But as she continues to come to the Father, asking him to help her to stand on her feet again, He comes. He always comes. Never rejecting her. When she comes with her whole heart, He comes with his understanding and answers her. He takes her by the hand, showing her His deep compassion and love toward her. You see, when she fell into deep sin, she did not know how to come back to her Father. She felt so far away. She was dying. Her spirit was dying, as she was drifting, farther and farther away from the Father. Her heart wasn't as soft as before. She was not as sensitive as she once was. The cares of this world started to overtake her. Fear started to overwhelm her; much deeper than before. She was engaged to someone who didn't know the Father's love. She stayed because he always pleased her sexual desires. His kind, seductive words would take hold of her and keep her. She no longer could hear her Father speak. She felt trapped in a cage. She could not understand why she was with this person. Every time she thought about leaving, he'd come with his sweet, enticing words and lead her into the bedroom and she'd stay. She felt so torn. She was dying inside as she gave into lust. She felt like this was all that she was worth. She felt like a disappointment to God; that He'd never take her back this time. It's over. There's no way after how deeply she'd fallen, that He would ever take her back. She felt worthless. Undeserving of her Father's love. BUT JESUS DIED FOR HER! HE GAVE HIS BLOOD FOR HER! AND THERE WAS NO WAY HE WAS GOING TO GIVE UP ON HER! A simple cry, "Jesus, help me!" And He came. He came. And she stood to her feet again. He left the 99 for her. The reason why she fell so deeply into sexual sin is because she came to realize that she was sexually abused as a little girl. When she found this out, she ran far away from God. She didn't feel worthy of His love. And now, coming back to her Father, she heard Him say to her, "Ok, My precious daughter, you have to let me heal you, so you can continue to walk freely in My Spirit and to help others." As she stepped forward to let the Father heal her, she felt seduction and lust weaken their hold on her. She started to feel deeper convictions when enticed by these foul spirits. She no longer wanted to give into her sexual desires, because she desired to go deeper in her relationship with Jesus, her Bridegroom. But, even after all this, she fell one more time. This last time was different. She didn't enjoy it like all the other times. She felt like Jesus, her husband, was right there in the room watching. She ran to the shower to make herself clean again. Filled with remorse, she ran to Jesus. She cried out to Him with a broken heart, "Oh Jesus, forgive me! Forgive me! I'm sorry I fell into sexual sin again! I feel so convicted. I feel like I just cheated on my husband. My heart feels like it's bleeding." She screamed, "Forgive me Jesus!" over and over. And then suddenly, she heard, "I FORGIVE YOU." She didn't expect to hear those words. But she felt them take deep root in her heart, and this filled her with renewed confidence, that she could remain faithful to love Him above anyone and anything else in this world. "So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." Luke 15:20  Image via Pixabay cc "Then He asked them, "Why are you terrified?" Do you not yet have faith?"Mark 4:40 Five Facts about Fear 1. Fear is a "Goliath"−an enemy that we need to go after and defeat, just like David in 1 Samuel 17:41-52 . 2. "Do not be afraid" is a command that is found 365 times in the Bible. 3. Fear is actually faith in the wrong god. 4. Fear is the opposite of trusting and putting our faith in God. 5. Fear is a spirit that seeks to paralyze us in order to keep us from following Jesus wholeheartedly and from walking in our destiny. "Five Stones" to Defeat Fear 1. Abide in the secret place. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1 2. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When Peter's eyes were fixed on Jesus, he wasn't afraid to step out of the boat and walk on the sea. Matthew 14:29 3. Wield the Sword of the Spirit. Speak to Fear using God's words..."God is my refuge and my fortress and I put my trust in Him." Psalm 91:2 4. Remember that God is always with us. God is "a very present help in time of need." Psalm 46:1 5. Nail Fear to the cross of Jesus Christ. "He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:14 "Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" 1 Corinthians 15:57
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