My next step with God....

Hallelujah statue by Ken Smith currently displayed at the defunct
Spirit of Freedom Garden in Fredericksburg, VA

I am taking my step next with God today. You will learn about it with the following letter, my only request is that each of you pray and follow God's leading.

Hello Family & Friends,

God has provided an opportunity for me this July to attend the She Speaks 2012 conference. This is a conference that focuses on writing & speaking.

The last 6 months have been an unusual time in our lives and I am taking a big step in sending this letter. Without boring you with all the details, just know that during this time God has reinforced in us that He is in control in all circumstances. Furthermore, I am trying my best to be obedient to my Loving Savior; because I have personally seen what disobedience can do.

The conference being at the end of July will have given me plenty of time to recover from my upcoming surgery. I have committed $100.00 to the conference fees. This $100.00 will not cover the complete $650.00 fee (the fee covers conference materials and lodging). The other $550.00 needs to be secured before May 15^th to hold my spot in the conference. I know that nothing is impossible with God.

The remainder of the fees is where God is giving you an opportunity to be a part of this endeavor. You can read my sponsorship letter by following this link.

No money is sent to me. As stated in the sponsorship letter, all monies are sent to Proverbs 31 ministries with the donor designating the funds to Dawn Whitmore.

My one word for 2012, given to me by God, is focus. I am trying to learn what God wants me to focus on. Yes, He wants me to focus on Him. Yet, through this focusing on Him, He is revealing to me many things. I share these in my blog on a regular basis…Dawn’s Dialogue.

My prayer is that each of you will pray and ask God if He wants you to be a part of this ministry opportunity.

In Christ,

Dawn Whitmore

P.S. All donations are tax-deductible. 

You can learn more about the She Speaks conference at their website: 

http://shespeaksconference.com/

Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing...

Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing? Say What?  As always, this blogger has questions? Now, let’s have a story…Who doesn’t love a good story?

There once was a man named Ananias. He and his wife, Sapphira hatched a plan.

“Sapphira dear, let’s sell this piece of our property? But, we will keep a portion of the proceeds hidden for ourselves. I shall take the rest and lay it at the apostle’s feet.”

Sapphira sweetly replies, “Ok Ananias. Whatever you want, my adoring husband?”

Boy, I wouldn’t see it playing out that way in my home. But, that is another story for another day. Here is a little background for you. In Acts 4, people started selling their possessions and laying proceeds at the apostle’s feet. Therefore, this couple decided to do as the others in their community and sell a piece of their property. Yet, they also decided (yes ladies, they decided together) to hold back a portion of the proceeds and to lay the rest at the apostle’s feet.  (Go check the full story out in Acts 5)

Here is where things get interesting:

Upon laying this decided amount at the apostle’s feet,

Peter says, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the land…you have not lied to men but to God?”

After hearing these words, Ananias fell down & died!

His wife, Sapphira comes looking for him (my ESV version says after about 3 hours). 

Here is how it goes down for her:

“And Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much money.”

Sapphira responds, “Yes, for so much.”

But Peter says to her, “How is that you have agreed together (see ladies, TOGETHER) to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

Sapphira stays true to her and Ananias’ plan, the result she’s dead too!

There are so many questions that swirl around in my head upon reading this but I will not bore you with them today. Instead, let’s look at what God gave me during my reading of this portion of scripture:

There are two types of people:

1.    Drop Dead

2.    Proudly Possessing

It never says, how much Ananias & Sapphira conspired to hold back. We need to come to the realization that if we hold anything back, even the tiniest portion it is a bad thing. It didn’t matter if Ananias had held back 1% or 90% the result would have been the same. Why? Because the action of holding back wasn’t their sin, their sin was in thinking they could hide it. Hence, DROP DEAD!

Does this mean we can hold back and it is okay as long as we don’t try to hide it? Uh…. No! 

When we walk around saying, “God knows that I struggle with letting go of my children, husband, insert whatever you fight God over” does not mean that we are okay because we are not being Ananias or Sapphira and attempting to hide it.

This is PROUDLY POSSESSING.  It is like false humility. Neither of them is good for us.

Proudly Possessing keeps God from having full reign in our lives. People who are proudly possessing are some of the same ones who cry that they don’t see God working through them like their friends.

So, we have come back to our original question:

Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing?

***All pictures on this blog unless otherwise stated belong to Dew Photography***

Linen Clothes & Naked Men...(originally posted on Biotikos Blog by Dawn Whitmore)....

“And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” Mark 14:51-52 ESV

The past week, I have been reading through the Gospel accounts leading up to Jesus’ betrayal, death & resurrection. While reading Mark 14, the above verse jumped off the page at me. Yet, it wasn’t the man running away naked that got my attention. No, it was the “linen cloth” part of the verse, which caught my eye.

Upon reading it, my  mind instantly thought of the linen cloths that Peter found when he went to the empty tomb. Upon reading Mark 15:46, we see Joseph of Arimathea buying fine linen (cloth) to wrap Jesus’ body in before placing Him in the tomb.

 Further in Mark, it is interesting that Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James) & Salome encounter a young man dressed in a white robe at the empty tomb.

What does all this mean? Possibly, no more than I am an eccentric person. One whose mind wanders while reading the scriptures or could it be God revealing more? At times it seems, I always end up with so many questions while reading Scripture.

Does this happen when you read the Scripture or is just me?

Stop by one of my social sites and let me know:

FB: Dawn Whitmore

FB Page: dawnwhitmorespeaks

Twitter: @DawnWhitmore

Look forward to hearing from you!

Blogging, blogging, and more blogging...

I have been following Twitter (http://twitter.com/DawnWhitmore) and am amazed at the bloggers on Twitter. There are some people that have a new blog at least three-four times a week (some even more). It astounds me that the ideas keep flowing for these bloggers. It makes my goal of getting a new blog for Dawn’s Dialogue out once a week and a another out for The Five C blog once a month seem puny.

These people have full-time jobs and still get so much writing done.  Plus, they are able to post on all of their social media sites too. It would behoove me to figure out their secret. Of course, trying to understand and learn about focus is what I have been concentrating on this past week. Which some of you may remember is my one word (www.myoneword.org) for 2012 mentioned in my last blog.

Therefore, even though I am definitely not in the league of my Twitter peers...with God’s leading and encouragement the blogs will continue to come. 

Happy New Year....

What does one do when they are facing the end of a year? Some make resolutions such as:

• Weight Loss
• Organizing their home, family, etc...
• Financial promises
• Quit Smoking

Some are even "spiritual":

• Reading the bible in a year
• Having a quiet time each day
• Praying for one hour each day
• Going to church
• Etc, etc, etc....

We get the 'gist of resolution making. However, how many ever follow through with these resolutions? Not many....there was even a cartoon that said, "What are resolutions?" The response, "A to-do list for the first week of January!" That is typically how long resolutions last, the first week of January if they make it that long. What is it about a New Year and wanting to start fresh? No answers here....

So, instead of a bunch of resolutions that we will not stick with. This blog is going to share a website that gives an alternative (http://myoneword.org) "My One Word". My One Word's website describes how we each make resolutions we never keep, but they go a step further and help us do something different. Go to http://myoneword.org/choose) to see how to determine a word for yourself.

As for me, I am still pondering and praying about two different words. God hasn't revealed to me which of these two words is my word for 2012 quite yet. I am praying that by the end of the first week of 2012, He will show me my word.

A few people, in my social media sphere, have been doing this for a few years and it has been interesting and at times entertaining to watch them grow with their "word".

Share your word and as soon as mine is clarified I will share mine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Storm Preparation....

As everyone was preparing for the storm called Hurricane Earl last week it made me think. It made me wonder how much preparation goes into the storms of our lives. How much time do we spend with the Father and in His Word?

There is one thing that is crucial to remember...just like with actual hurricanes no matter how much we prepare they will come soon or later. Yet, the difference is the damage the hurricane can wreck on the area. Just think of seeing the people putting plywood boards on their windows and those who don't...depending on the severity of the wind the plywood can be the determining factor of whether the windows break.

We are studying Jonah in our Sunday Morning Bible Study class. We saw the great fish is not the only thing that God created during this story. In the beginning, He created the wind for the storm that resulted in Jonah being thrown overboard.

Are you prepared for the storm?

Check out Jonah through www.blueletterbible.com.