Santa and Little Sarah

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Santa and Little Sarah (a true story)

Santa and Little Sarah

Santa and Little Sarah

Christmastime in prison – Bev Moss, Reno, Oklahoma

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Christmas in prison – Bev Moss,  Reno, Oklahoma

Christmastime in prison – Bev Moss,  Reno, Oklahoma

 

 

Christmastime in prison – Bev Moss, Reno, Oklahoma

God"s Guest List: Chapter 3

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God’s Guest List: Chapter 3 with Georgia Mae

 

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

When I gave birth to my second child, Jenny, I shared a room in the hospital with another mom. What a bonding time – we both had our new babies at the same time. She and her husband were young, just as Wayne and I were – really young. They had lived in the drug world before coming to personal faith in Jesus. They experienced a significant transformation, and he had gone into the ministry. Wayne and I were brand-new questions. After we checked out of the hospital, we continued our friendship. As we were exploring this new faith as young Christians, they were there to encourage us. What good times we had together! But as often happens in the overwhelming lives of young families, when they moved away, we lost touch with them. We’ve never reconnected, but I often think of this couple when people talk about friends for a season. God had these people on my guest list for a time when I needed a friend who can help me grow in my fledgling faith.

FRIENDS FOR A SEASON

That friend was like Marilyn Kimmel. I met Marilyn when Wayne and I moved into our new neighborhood. My life was never the same again. As a young wife and mother, she had decided our neighborhood would be her ministry. She walked down the street with the Bible in her hand and silently prayed, claiming each house for God. What a bold claim of faith. How grateful I am that she prayed over my house. It was through Marilyn that I met the Lord, when she invited me to attend Bible Study Fellowship. When and I already have Jody and Jenny when we moved into that neighborhood, but soon Ted arrived, followed by Dale 2 years later. It wasn’t long until we were bursting at the seams of that little house. We moved away, and although Marilyn and I kept in touch, our busy lives made it difficult.

God’s Guest List: Chapter 3 with Georgia Mae

God"s Guest List: Chapter 3

Joyce Meyer on Finding Total Restoration in Christ - Georgia Mossholder

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Joyce Meyer on Finding Total Restoration in Christ – Georgia Mossholder

You too can find joy and restoration in Christ.

God is in the business of restoration, and as believers in Christ,

He wants to make us whole in every area of our lives. This

process transforms us into the new creation that 2 Corinthians

5:17 describes as “(a new creature altogether); old things

[previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away … .”

I remember when I desperately needed to recover from the

abuse in my past. I had thought that when I was old enough to

leave home, I would leave the pain behind, but the problem was

in my soul—my thinking and emotions. I needed healing and

restoration so I wouldn’t continue to be poisoned by things that

had happened to me all those years growing up.

I came to this realization after a woman came to speak at our

church and shared her testimony of how she had been abused

and God had healed her. My husband, Dave, bought her book for

me, and when I started to read it, it was so painful that I threw it

across the room and refused to pick it up. But then I clearly

heard the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, “It’s time, Joyce.” God

had a much better life for me than what I had known up to that

point, and He wanted to restore my soul so I could experience it.

Double for Your Trouble

Isaiah 61:7 says, “Instead of your shame you shall have double

honor; and instead of humiliation they shall rejoice over their

portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess a double

portion; everlasting joy shall be theirs.”

This Scripture shows us that God can completely restore us—no

matter what we’ve done or been through. And He wants to bring

us to a position that’s better than we would have been in if we

had never gone through the messes in our lives. He wants to give

us double for our trouble!

Notice the phrase “instead of your former shame.” Do you know

what it’s like to have shame in your life? I had a shame-based

nature for many years because of the abuse I experienced from

my father. It made me feel like something must be wrong with

me for him to do the things he had done to me.

But the first thing Jesus gives us through our relationship with

Him is righteousness, or right standing with God (2 Cor. 5:21).

It’s so important for us to get this, because the enemy wants us

to think about everything that’s wrong with us so we’ll focus on

our faults. And when we do this, it just gives our problems more

strength over us.

We need to learn how to “walk in the Spirit, and you shall not

fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). This is what it means

to be transformed into the image of Christ. And while it’s not an

easy process, we can do it with God’s help.

The Process of Restoration

Think about it like this: When a person restores a used-up, beat-

up piece of furniture, the first thing they do is strip off the old

layers of paint or varnish. We all have things that need to be

stripped away in our lives. Maybe it’s old attitudes and mindsets

that don’t line up with the way God thinks and acts, or unhealthy

relationships that are holding you back from God’s purpose and

plans for you.

Whatever it is, you can pray: “Lord, strip me of everything that’s

not good for me, and everything that’s hindering my walk with

You. Do what You need to do to get it out of my life.”

Sanding is another step in the process. Is there anyone in your

life whose personality just grates on you? They’re like sandpaper,

and God uses them to get the rough edges off us so the good

things He has put in us can be developed and demonstrated in

the way we live. And after the sanding, there is sealing. For us,

that means we’re sealed with the Holy Spirit, “sealed for the day

of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30).

After all this, the furniture must be dusted and polished from time

to time. I feel like God is always polishing my life in some area.

Our walk with Christ is a lifelong journey that brings us closer to

Him and makes us more like Him. That’s why we should be

thankful when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, or the mistakes

we make; it’s how He’s polishing us to help us stay in God’s will

for our lives.

Wherever you are in the restoration process, I want to encourage

you to set your mind today that God is healing you, and stay

focused on following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Trust God

to lead you in the way that’s right for you, bringing you to

wholeness in Christ in every area of your life.

Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and

founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored 100

books, including Battlefield of the Mind, The Mind Connection

and Get Your Hopes Up! (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying

Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of

stations worldwide. For more information,

visitwww.joycemeyer.org.

Joyce Meyer on Finding Total Restoration in Christ – Georgia Mossholder

Joyce Meyer on Finding Total Restoration in Christ - Georgia Mossholder

Sheila Walsh Interview on her ministry and depression - read by Georgia Mossholder

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Sheila Walsh Interview on her ministry and depression

 

By Dan Wooding, Special to ASSIST News Service

LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS – October 21, 2015) – For many,

Sheila Walsh’s life epitomizes success. Coming originally from

Scotland, as a talented singer, Sheila had her own television

show on BBC TV in London, and then after moving to the States,

she became the co-host with Pat Roberson of the 700 Club, while

at weekends, Sheila would have sold-out concerts across the

country.

Besides that, she is a powerful Bible teacher and best-selling

author with over 5 million books sold. And her international

ministry has reached more than 5.5 million women by combining

honesty, vulnerability, and humor with the transforming power of

God’s Word.

But, despite all of that success, Sheila, who now lives in Texas,

has had to deal with mental health issues, and after speaking

recently about her own battle with mental health at Rick and Kay

Warren’s recent Gathering on Mental Health and the Church

(October 8-9) at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California,

she bravely shared with me in an interview about her own story.

I began by asking Sheila why she had spoken at the conference,

and she replied, “There are two reasons. One is because I

personally suffer from that problem. I was diagnosed with severe

clinical depression about 23 years ago and I think I struggled with

it long before I was ever diagnosed. I was prescribed medication

all those years ago and I still take it to this day. I take that little

pill every morning with a prayer of thanksgiving that God has

provided help in this world for us who need it.

“And I know that there’s help available for people, but over the

last 20 years, traveling around the States with Women of Faith

and talking to other women. the very moment that I say from the

stage that I suffer with depression and I take medication, it’s like

it unlocks a key into other women’s lives and they’re they’ll come

up and say this is the first time I’ve ever told anyone about this.

“The second reason is that I have such a profound love and

respect for Kay and for Rick Warren. I remember when the

tragedy happened in their family (when their son, Matthew shot

himself), I remember literally falling to my knees and sobbing

because I knew that their son had struggled for some time. But

the way that they have turned what was a devastating tragedy

into an offering is really breathtaking to watch. Rather than allow

that to let them sink, they determined that they will raise others

up.

I have known Sheila Walsh now for about 40 years, and have

learned that she does not pull her punches when talking about

her own struggles, which she said, began as a child.

“I was born in a small town on the west coast of Scotland and I

was really blessed to have a mom and dad who just didn’t go to

church, but they really loved Jesus,” she stated in my interview

for my Front Page Radio show. “My dad was kind of my hero and

was very funny and had a beautiful singing voice. He was just a

great adventurer. I was a tomboy so I just adored my dad.

“But then my father had a massive brain aneurism one night

which really affected his personality. He was paralyzed down one

side, he lost the power of speech, and was never able to talk

again. But as his illness progressed the blood clot in his brain

began to move and press on an area that affected his personality.

So he just became a stranger in our home and ultimately a

violent stranger.

“And the last day I ever saw my father alive was turning just in

time to see that he was about to bring his cane down on my skull.

I was 5 years old at the time, my sister was seven and my

brother was two. It was a life altering moment, because my mom

immediately called 999 (in the UK, 911 here) and so my father

was carried out of the house that day by four men to our local

asylum and I lived with such shame thinking that I had destroyed

my family.”

She went on to say, “My father committed suicide after he had

escaped from the hospital and drowned himself in the local river.

And I believed that I’d taken my mom’s husband away I’d had

taken my sister and my brother’s father away. And I thought a

lifetime will never be enough to pay for this.”

So, although it was nothing to do with Sheila, she admitted that

she took this terrible burden onto her young shoulders.

“Children,” she said, do that. Like if there’s divorce in the family

or sexual abuse, children are the best recorders of information

but they’re the poorest interpreters of that information. Children

always think, ‘I did something. This is my fault.’

“So often, we think it’s a lack of faith and if only I had more faith

— and Christians will often rub salt in our wounds by saying, ‘I

can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ You say

that to someone who just broke their leg and they’re lying on the

ground and you say to them, ‘Why don’t you get up and skip.’ it’s

ridiculous. Instead of using Scripture as the healing balm, often

we use it to punish people.

“So I would simply say, ‘it’s not your fault’ and ‘there’s help

available.’ In fact, there’s wonderful help available.”

One of the most dramatic turning points in Sheila’s life was the

day that she walked off the set of the 700 Club and admitted

herself into a psychiatric hospital for treatment. So, I asked her

what had led up to it?

So what led up to you walking out one day and going to the

psychiatric hospital?

“A lot of things led up to it,” she said. “There are signs where

you’re just slowly disappearing a little more every day, but it

literally during one morning’s show that I had a guest and I asked

her the first question and before she answered, she said, ‘You sit

here every day asking us questions, but I would like to know how

are you doing?’ She meant it kindly, but I wasn’t expecting it and

there was a look in her eyes of true compassion and so I started

to cry.

“It was live on television and the studio audience and crew didn’t

know what to do. Eventually they ran through to a commercial

break and I took my mic off and went to my dressing room and I

called a friend of mine, Dr. Henry Cloud, and I said, ‘Henry, I

think I’m losing my mind.’ And he asked me some questions and

then he said, ‘No, you’re not, but you need some help and you

need it quickly.” So by the next day I was in the psych hospital.”

Even that wasn’t without humor as Sheila told me.

“That first morning, when I showed up with in the patients

lounge, it was one of those moments when you walk into a room

and everyone’s talking and suddenly they stop and stare at you.

And one guy said to me, ‘Are you Sheila Walsh? I said that I was

and he then said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And I said, ‘I’m a

patient.’ and he answered, ‘Yeah. Right!” So I said, “Do you think

I’m here to do a documentary in my bathrobe?’ Then he said this

line that really impacted me. He said, ‘Look, I don’t mean to be

rude, but we watch you every morning and you’re supposed to be

helping us.’ And it was actually a very freeing moment where you

fall off the shelf and you just become one of those who are

broken. It was the beginning of what I call the ‘companionship of

brokenness.’ Where you’re not the one with all the answers, but

you begin to walk beside people.”

After completing her treatment, Sheila moved for a while to

Southern California, and I was able to persuade her to “get back

on the horse” and do a series of concerts for ASSIST, where she

would tell her story, sing many of her songs, and then pray for

people in the audience who were feeling suicidal. It was quite

amazing to see how so many broken people were ministered to

by someone who had been broken herself.

“There were a lot of people at that time who wanted to help me

put my career and ministry back together, but I didn’t want to do

that,” she said. “I was really ministered to by that verse that

talks about unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it produces

no fruit,’ and I wanted to let go of everything and really that’s

why I decided to go to seminary. I just want to study God’s word

and start at the beginning the foundations of our faith. I had no

idea I would ever stand on a stage again. That was just

something that God had prepared.”

Sheila enrolled in Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena,

California, where she did a Masters in Theology.

“I remember at my very first class, the professor, Nate Feldman,

was just the loveliest man,” said Sheila. “He did his doctorate

degree at Edinburgh University and the class was about early

church history. One of the things about depression is that it

affects your memory and I thought I wondered if I’d be able to do

this. I sat in the very back of the classroom with a yellow legal

pad and a pencil and I remember he stood up at the front and he

said. ‘This is our story so let’s start at the beginning.” And I just

wept. It was so incredibly moving.

“I used to study scripture and listen to messages through the

window of my pain and I always thought, ‘Well, that applies to

you but it doesn’t apply to me.’ But when you’ve been reduced to

nothing and in that moment discover how loved you are by God,

it was like hearing everything for the first time. I had very little,

but I felt as if I had everything.”

Sheila has since married Barry, who she met while in Southern

California, and they have son called Christian, and now she is

able to minister again, she said that she particularly aims her

message at people who are feeling depressed and, even suicidal.

“Most people think that it’s just them who have these feelings,”

she said. “They think that no one thinks ‘what I think’ and ‘no one

feels the way that I feel,’ and so I have to set aside a little time

every day to answer the private Facebook messages that I get

from every single weekend’s event and there are so many. At last

conference that I was at in Dallas, a woman came up to me and

said, ‘You won’t remember me, but I came years ago and I

intended to take my life. I had the medication in my purse, but I

just wanted to give God one last chance. She said after she had

listened to my message and heard where I’d been and where God

had taken me, she said, ‘I went to the bathroom in the arena and

I flushed the medicine down the toilet.’ And she talked about how

her life is now so rich and so beautiful.”

Now Sheila is launching a new ministry called Braveheart

Sisterhood (Braveheartsisterhood.com) for women.

“God is raising up a ragtag army of women all around the world,”

she explained. “I’ve been in Russia, Ukraine, London, and

Australia. It’s not a generational thing, it’s not a denominational,

it’s a remnant thing. There’s a remnant of women who

understand that something bigger is going on.”

If you would like to hear the entire radio interview, with lots more

information in it, just go

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 74, is an award-winning

author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria

of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern

California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been

married for more than 52 years. They have two sons,

Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the

UK. Dan is the founder and international director of ASSIST

(Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST

News Service (ANS). He is also the author of some 45

books and has a radio show and two television programs

all based out of Orange County, California.

Sheila Walsh Interview on her ministry and depression

Sheila Walsh Interview on her ministry and depression - read by Georgia Mossholder