Light & linger

25/01/2025

Mark Nelson's Near-Death Experience: Journey from Darkness to RedemptionFollow for more NDE's like this!Prepare to be inspired as Mark...

15/01/2025

Run the race with focus and discipline😉👌

One October evening in 1968, a group of die-hard spectators remained in the Olympic stadium in Mexico City, to watch the last finishers of the marathon. An hour before, Mamo Wald of Ethiopia, had won the race. It was now getting cold and dark and the remaining spectators began to leave, when suddenly they heard the sound of sirens and police whistles coming into the stadium.

As they watched in amazement, one last runner made his way onto the track for the last lap of the twenty six mile race. It was John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania. As he ran the four hundred metre circuit, people could see that his leg was bandaged and bleeding. He had fallen and injured himself during the race, but he refused to let it stop him.

Suddenly the people in the stadium rose, some in tears, and applauded without stopping until he crossed the finishing line. As he hobbled away, he was asked why he had not quit since he had no chance of winning a medal. He said: "My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race, they sent me here to finish it."
(The Last African Runner by Bud Greenspan)

Imagine if every Christian was this committed to finishing the race and fulfilling their destiny and the purposes of God for their life.

John Wesley said: "Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin, desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world. I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of satan and build up the kingdom of God on the earth."

God always gives His best for us. He never gives us second best. He never does anything half-heartedly. Thank God, when He gave us Jesus, He didn't tip us. He gave us His best and we should always give Him our best. 🙂🙏

09/01/2025

Good morning to all my followers and everyone in general 😀👋 I wish you all a happy, blessed and prosperous 2025 💯🎉

With that said I am kicking off this year with some thoughts / nuggets about submission to Jesus. After all, the more we submit to Him and are willing to put our lives, plans, resolutions and decisions in His hands, the more we will have peace, success and prosperity 😃👍🤸‍♀️

🔷️ Different people are called to different places. We all have a ministry - right where you are now in your life. You have specific people placed in your life that only you can reach for Christ. Even if you're a cleaner or a stay at home mom or a bricklayer, CEO or a student. Don't underestimate what Jesus can do for you and through you - according to the level that you submit to Him. 😉👌

Think about and if you want to, use the following as affirmations for yourself moving forward into this year 👇👇👇

Portrait of a person of conviction

🔥 I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed
🔥 I have Holy Spirit power
🔥 The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line
🔥 The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus
🔥 I won't look back, let up, slow down, or back away
🔥 My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure
🔥 I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals
🔥 I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded by people
🔥 I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love with patience, live by prayer and labor with power
🔥 My face is set, my gait fast, my goal is heaven
🔥 My Guide is reliable, my mission clear
🔥 I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed
🔥 I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity
🔥 I will not give up, shut up or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ
🔥 I must go till He comes, preach till all know, and work till He stops me
🔥 And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me - my banner will be clear

Jesus says to the lukewarm, "I will vomit you out of My mouth, " ( Rev 3:16). Hold on to your beliefs and finish the race! Be an overcomer, if you're put in prison - start running the place and have revival; if you get kicked out - prosper! "If God is on your side, who can be against you? (Rom 8:31) 💯💪

Have a great day 😃👍

18/10/2024

Hi guys, I hope that all of you are well. As I read the Bible this morning I came across Jeremiah 23:29 - the Amplified Bible says it so beautifully:

"Is not My word like fire (that consumes all that cannot endure the test)?" says the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks in pieces the rock (of most stubborn resistance)?"

So I just want to encourage you this morning. We all are experiencing some sort of difficulty in our lives currently in various degrees. If you've been following the Lord's word and prophets then by now you know that the Lord is shaking everything around us and even in our lives. I am not saying that all the bad stuff that's happening to you are from the Lord - Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. What I am referring to is that you may experience that some things or persons are being removed from your life or perhaps you're not so interested in certain things or hobbies that used to be a priority in your life.

My friend, if you're holding fast to the Lord through everything, even when it feels as if your life's upside down, you WILL experience His unexplainable peace through all the turmoil and chaos. He WILL sustain you and keep you in all your ways. Keep your focus on Him not on the world and the news. Do what you have to do, don't be lazy but rest in the finished work of Christ, in the love of the Lord. He will open doors for you that no man or spirit can keep shut. He will break the rocks in your path. Believe it and declare it. Why? Because His word will do it, His word coming out of your mouth.

And stand and keep on standing, believing and declaring until the breakthrough manifest. Be diligent in everything, Jesus is coming soon - not for a defeated and weak bride but a victorious and strong bride. And while we wait for and are excited about His soon coming, let's work, gathering the harvest, taking as many souls with us as possible for the time is short.

May you all have a blessed and prosperous day😀🙌

05/10/2024

Watch "Holy Forever" performed by Jenn Johnson, feat. CeCe Winans live at Worship School '23 in Redding, CAJoin us in the room this July 10-19! Register Now ...

02/10/2024

https://youtu.be/VhdAZ2aQtBk?si=TXsgiU68Q23cnJ7Q

Watch "Holy Forever" performed by Jenn Johnson, feat. CeCe Winans live at Worship School '23 in Redding, CAJoin us in the room this July 10-19! Register Now ...

06/08/2024

ONE LAST CALL!!!! Please listen👇👇👇

🛎 Subscribe to receive weekly messages of hope, encouragement, and prophecy: https://www.youtube.com/?sub_confirmation=1 Hit the 🛎 Notification...

09/07/2024

THE LESSON FROM A DONKEY

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.
The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him.
They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly..
Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well.
He was astonished at what he saw.
With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up
over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a steppingstone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up. 😉👍

16/06/2024

Happy Father's day to all the dads!😀

While searching through all the online Father's day quotes, I came across this one - If Papa can't fix it we're all screwed.

This just sums it all up beautifully. 😉👌

💥Dads, please listen carefully:

I know sometimes you may feel unappreciated, like everyone is just demanding things from you, like you're carrying this enormous burden on your shoulders and nobody cares...🙄

BUT😃☝️

the plain truth is that the people around you (your family, friends, co-workers, employees) DO care. Not everyone expresses gratitude openly and continually BUT believe me, you're holding all of it together and without your leadership and hands on know how🏅👏 they're all screwed - the family, the employees, the business...

Now I also want to remind you that you were NEVER made to carry it all alone. You have a perfect Father that works on your behalf when you rest. 🙏Rest meaning leaning on Him throughout your day, in everything you decide and do, while you work. Resting in the truth of His covenant with you. 💪It's then that He keeps you in perfect peace, no matter what comes your way.😉👌

I will leave you all with this thought - if our Papa in heaven doesn't fix it (whatever it is), we're all screwed...🙂☝️

01/06/2024

Have you noticed the change in the atmosphere lately? 🤔There's a tendency to be negative, complain, fight, pulling other people down and compete all because of the need (want?) for more money. And I am not judging, just stating the facts.

People are struggling due to scarcity of employment, contracts and work in general and stress is an epidemic. This is global guys!🌏

But there is hope. 🙂☝️

2 Kings 4:1-7 tells the story of the widow with her two sons that had nothing left during a famine. She was about to loose her sons as well but the prophet Elisha asked her what did she have in the house. She told him there was only a little olive oil left. He told her to go and borrow all the empty vessels she can find, come back, shut the door and pour from her jar of oil into all the empty vessels. So she did...and the oil kept on coming until all the vessels were full. So then Elisha told her to sell the oil, pay her debt and then she and her sons could live on the rest.

Message for this current time:

1. Get quiet before the Lord and trust Him to direct you.🙏

2. Take stock - what do you have that you can entrust to the Lord to multiply? He is the God of the impossible, He does what we can't. 🙃 What are you good at, your talents, abilities, etc.? What tools do you have physically at home that you can use with these talents to create an income / business for yourself? Write down every thought and possibly.✍️

3. Decide which direction(s) to take - it can be more than one. Several streams of income are wisdom. Then start planning around that. ↕️↔️↩️↪️

4. Shut out negative comments from other people! 🙉Shut out fear, unbelief and cowardness! 😀💪 For with God all things are possible!

5. Take action, focus on the next step, listen to the Spirit's guidance and you will progress, advance and succeed.🏆🎉

Don't give up my friend - you are not a has been, your life isn't over, as long as you're breathing you CAN be prosperous, successful, make a difference and be different than all the negative rest! 😃👍

11/05/2024

Since it's Mother's day tomorrow I thought it appropriate to spend some time on the subject of mothers. Let's face it - every person has a mother, even if it's a stepmother or a dear aunt or another woman that has stepped into your life to fulfill that role.

Some of us don't have children but ... we have pets and yes, we're mothering them! 😅 I'm not going to tell you this looong story about how special your mom is and how much you have to honor and love her. We all know that, even if we get upset with them sometimes, we still know - that's my mom! Don't mess with her, don't complain about her food, if mom's happy then everybody's happy and last but not least ... when I'm broken, hurt, mistreated by the world - that's where I'll be welcome, where I can pour out my heart, receive the love that only a mother can give and receive the knowledge and advice to get back up on my feet and carry on... thanks mom!🥰

So with that said, let's spread the love on Mother's day (and every other day). Relax and enjoy the following sayings which I think sums up life beautifully with mom in general:

The Images of A Mom

4 YEARS OF AGE = My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE = My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE = My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE = Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either!
16 YEARS OF AGE = Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE = That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE = Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE = Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE = Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF GE = Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

04/05/2024

Hi guys, I've not posted for a while but .... I'm back!😀👋 I hope you've all been doing well and have been progressing, not regressing. That's, in fact, the only way to go, forward. 😄

So to kick off my page's new season: firstly the name changed for several personal reasons. For you that's new readers, welcome and I do hope you enjoy the posts and find it insightful, funny, relaxing, meaningful, something to consider or whatever the case may be. This is a page where I want my friends / readers to take a few minutes from your busy schedules, grab a cup of coffee (or tea), sit back, relax and enjoy.

I am planning some more surprises for Light & linger and will keep you guys posted. But for now, let's consider life's imperfections, the world we live in and with what attitude we look at, think about, talk to and treat everything around us.

Embracing Imperfection

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet, all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: 'Baby, I love burned toast.'

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, 'Debbie, your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides, a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!' You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I'm not the best cook or housekeeper.

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of GOD. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal breaker! We could extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a ‘husband-wife’ or ‘parent-child’ or ‘friendship’.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend! 😉👌

08/02/2023

Hi guys,

hoping to bring a little sunshine into your day with this - after all, laughter is the best medicine! Wishing you all a fantastic day - let's focus peeps! 😅

The Accident Report

This is a bricklayer's accident report that was printed in the
newsletter of the English equivalent of the Workers' Compensation
Board. So here, thanks to John Sedgwick, is this Bricklayer's report.

Gentlemen:

I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working
alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my
work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later
were found to weigh 250 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by
hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the
barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 250 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 145 lbs.

Due to my surprise at being je**ed off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now
proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3, accident reporting form.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground - and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 45 lbs.

I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks,
in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories
above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope...

31/01/2023

FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:
________________________________________

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8
________________________________________

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4
________________________________________

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5
________________________________________

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6
________________________________________

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4
________________________________________

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7
________________________________________

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8
________________________________________

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
________________________________________

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
________________________________________

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7
________________________________________

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6
________________________________________

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8
________________________________________

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6
________________________________________

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5
________________________________________

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7
________________________________________

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4
________________________________________

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4
________________________________________

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7
________________________________________

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - a ge 6
________________________________________

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8
________________________________________

And the final one

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'