tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53151648971503349562024-02-06T19:00:47.123-08:00Bonnie~Personality on PurposeBonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-84287425635134093902015-01-01T20:46:00.001-08:002015-01-01T20:46:58.871-08:00The Bigger Picture; A New Years Resolve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 24px;">Isaiah 61:1-3</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"The Spirit<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18845A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18845A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> of the Sovereign <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18845B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18845B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> is on me</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">because the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> has anointed<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18845C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18845C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> me</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">to proclaim good news<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18845D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18845D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> to the poor.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">He has sent me to bind up<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18845F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18845F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> the brokenhearted,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">to proclaim freedom<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18845G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18845G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> for the captives</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">and release from darkness for the prisoners,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">and the day of vengeance<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18846J" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18846J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> of our God,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">to comfort<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18846K" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18846K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> all who mourn,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">and provide for those who grieve in Zion—</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">to bestow on them a crown<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18847M" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18847M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> of beauty</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">instead of ashes,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">the oil<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18847O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18847O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> of joy</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-61-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">instead of mourning</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">and a garment of praise</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">instead of a spirit of despair.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">They will be called oaks of righteousness,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">a planting<sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18847Q" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18847Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup> of the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">for the display of his splendor."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 7px; line-height: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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Today I put pen to paper. The old fashioned way....the way that allows my heart to speak through the illustration of cursive writing and scratched out sentences. And as I do, the picture being painted mirrors the story of the year gone bye.<br />
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With the beauty of the connecting letters, I see how one leads to another and soon their togetherness has kept them going until a thought is complete or a sentence finished. That is precisely the way we make it through life, isn't it? One step leads to another and another, and soon we have walked a path that has lead us to where we are. And in the ugliness of the mess ups and the scratched out mistakes we see the beauty of the moments.</div>
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There have been moments in the past year that have been created by love and laughter, by trial and struggle, by support and friendship, by fear and uncertainty, all woven together to bring me to this day. Often times on the first day of the new year I declare that the year ahead will be better than the one before, but in looking back through the glass of time, today I see things differently and I am looking ahead through a different lens. <br />
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While there were roads I would have rather not had to travel these last months...there are far more I am happy I have. This year I have seen the Goodness of God abound above the circumstances of life. I have been witness to His Character of Light, in Him whom is no darkness. I have been subject to His Grace and the Empowerment that it brings. I have been humbled by His Mercy, and the Favor and Blessings that flow from it. I am standing because His Love surrounded me.<br />
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The Sovereignty of God says that He has my life, your life, everything under His control. He is the beginning and the end, There is nothing too difficult for Him, He is above and before all things, He knows all things, He created all things and holds them together. Today, I am choosing to focus more on the bigger picture than the scratches and mess ups on the path to getting there. The beauty of the outcome depends upon the lessons learned between the connecting of the letters. Today, I am declaring that this year be marked by things of ETERNAL VALUE, and influence for the Kingdom...things that bring Him Glory and bring more to Salvation. After all....that truly is the Biggest Picture being painted....</div>
Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-82021830898222006812014-07-10T15:19:00.000-07:002014-07-10T15:19:30.457-07:00To Be Honest...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember the night I decided to jump 19 months ago. None of it made any sense to me as I drove in a sort of panic, listening to the words of my friend on the other end of the phone trying to calm me down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew I was listening to God, but I was still completely scared to death of the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just a few days before Christmas, 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>I remember thinking that I had certainly been through much more difficult things, and that since I clearly heard the Lord tell me it was ok to concede, things would be better than ever before in just a short time, because He was directing the leap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, God knew I was trusting Him with everything, so things could not possibly get that bad.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>I remember the first few months believing for every lead that came across the line….believing each one was deliverance from the trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An opportunity would come, only to be ridden out like a cresting wave, soon crashing when the shore line was just in reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would go to bed at night in anticipation of what the next morning would hold, grasping to the verse in Lamentations with all my might “…His Mercies are New Every Morning…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon, I realized this was not going to be the joyful ride I had anticipated a Faith jump would be.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>I remember fighting with everything I had, to hold on to the dream I had in my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I slowly released the grip on what I thought my life was going to be, I began to lose my purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say things out loud like, “I know God is in this”, and “He has provided”, and I meant it with every ounce of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I celebrated in the small things God was doing, all while feeling like I had been robbed of the blessed life I had finally been living.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>Whoever says that being obedient to God is easy in this world we live in is absolutely crazy. In fact, It is down right hard. But God never promised us it would be easy, in fact, in the book of John, we are clearly told that in this world we WILL have trouble, and we are also clearly told to not have fear, because HE has overcome the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a revelation, He has ALREADY OVERCOME.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am guilty of having fear and worry on many days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have complained way more in the last 6 months than I have in years, and I have wavered in my faith more in the last 2 months than ever before in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting honest before the Lord and those I trust has been quite literally, life saving to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is the reason I am writing today….because it is time...To Be Honest.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Growing up in a Christian family, I was taught all of the things about God that I have written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My life from a very early age was not easy, and I learned very soon that depending on Christ was the only way to make it through the evil things of this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have way too many life experiences that should have destroyed me...there but by the Grace of God go I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere in the cloud of this journey, amid all the scripture I was reading and the prayers I was praying, my stability began to shift, and my footing slipped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My focus was not to overcome, but to merely survive, and I forgot that I was a victor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lost my spirit and my smile, my drive and my purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I began living on auto-pilot and not caring about what was going on around me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not writing a pity me story today, I am writing an “I have been there” testimony to encourage anyone and everyone who has gotten caught up in the circumstances of life, to shine the light on the dark places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The enemy is a liar and he comes to steal, kill and destroy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His goal is to take us all out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will not stop raging war against the Spirit of the living God until He feels he has won that battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often times, we do not even realize he is the one at work until it is too late….I am writing to tell you it is never too late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can never outrun the long arm of the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no darkness of this world that can stand in the Light of His presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we accept Christ as our Savior, we have IN US, the power of the Holy Spirit, active and ready to overcome all the powers of this evil world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><strong>I am an overcomer. You are an overcomer. Christ lives IN us, and His power is strong in our weakness. Live on purpose today. Live intentionally. Love on purpose today. Love intentionally. Your co-worker may be consumed by darkness you do not understand. Your closest friend may be slipping away into cruise control. Your spouse, your children, may be secretly battling something they thought they could handle, only to have found themselves more vulnerable in the war. Share your story, be honest, take off the mask and spread hope for the world around you. </strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am by far not perfect, and I stumble as much as anyone, but I refuse to stay down, as prey for the enemy. I declare a stance...to be Set Apart....to Set a Standard of the Power of God at work in my life. Join Me.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It is time....To Be Honest...</span></strong></span></span></div>
Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-48386756664101334232014-06-07T20:42:00.001-07:002014-06-07T20:42:41.689-07:00I Have Seen Him<b><i>Then John gave the testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is God's Chosen One." John 1:32-34</i></b><br />
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<i>There are mornings when I read my Bible that I hear God's voice so clearly speaking to me. Tuesday was one of those mornings. My mind was spinning a bit, thinking about my day ahead, going over and over in my mind the conversations I was about to have with some of the most precious people I have ever known, and how it would be received. I was emotional to say the least. As I sat down, coffee in one hand, the Bible app in the other, I began to pray that I could calm down and just think of the words that God would best have me say. As I read through the first chapter of John, these verses struck me...And I knew that God was confirming, once again, that I was walking where He was leading. </i><br />
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<i>There are so many circumstances in our lives where we are met with a cross road, and sometimes, making the decision of which direction to take can be almost impossible. As I walked through the last couple of weeks, I have had such mixed emotions and thoughts, often wondering if I was doing the right thing. With all of my heart, I knew that logically, it made such great sense, but I have learned not to follow my brain and my emotions on things, but to challenge them with the litmus test of God's truth and the words He speaks. Sometimes, I will admit, my choices have not always been the right ones, and as I have gotten older, I have realized that living for myself is a demise, and living for Christ is the reward. All I want to do is what God has planned to further his message through me.</i><br />
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<i>The decisions we have made as a family over the last 18 months has not been received well by everyone. Some of the dearest people to us do not understand why we have chosen the path we have. It does not make sense to them, and I understand, they love us, and they want the best for us. What I have said since day one is that we are following God's desire for us. We have not understood every obstacle in the course, but with everything that I am, I have trusted that God has already gone before us. This does not mean I have had 100% perfect days, I have not, ask my friends who have listened to me countless hours, they will tell you that I have gotten weary and wanted to retreat, but I have made it through every one of those days because of God, and His mercy and grace when I want to scream that I HATE THIS! All I want to do is exemplify Christ to those we love.</i><br />
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<i>The words of John, "...I did not know him,....I have seen and I testify that this is God's Chosen One." He had faith in the words he had been told, and when he saw Jesus, he told everyone who He was, the Messiah. Can you imagine the excitement John felt when He saw the fulfillment and the confirmation that the one who He served was standing right in front of him? That is how I feel. As I walk into this next chapter of my life, I want everyone to know that I recognize God, the one I have had faith in, the one I have trusted, the one I have clung to. He has fulfilled His promises to us that He would never leave us or forsake us, and that His plans for us were for our good and not our harm. He has been Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, and Jehovah Shalom, our Prince of Peace. He has been our Strong Tower and our Hiding Place, our Comforter and our Deliverer. He has been our Faithful guide, and our loving Father. He has held us in His hand and kept the enemy from plucking us. He has been all of those things and so much more. All I want to do is bring the Glory back to Him, so that His gospel reaches beyond me.</i><br />
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<i>I have seen Him and I testify that this is God's Chosen One.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-48256981963880167242014-03-09T15:54:00.002-07:002014-03-09T15:54:25.357-07:00When It's Too Big<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give to you. Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it." Jonah 3:2-3</span></i></b><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have probably said it more than 1000 times in the last year, both out loud and silently. It comes out in many different ways, but the meaning behind it is always the same; This Is Too Big.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is one thing to hear the voice of God, it is quite another to obey it. Jonah heard God's voice and he completely disobeyed and went the other way. This got him in a huge bit of trouble with the people doing life with him, and ultimately, he ended up in the belly of a whale crying out to God to deliver him. What did God do? He heard Jonah's cry, rescued him from the belly of the whale and sent him back on that same assignment to Nineveh. Nineveh, a city so big it took three days to go through. Ever been in an assignment from God that felt like it was too big? </span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I look around at where God has placed me, I often feel like it's too big. I have a go to statement for days when I feel particularly too small for the assignment, "This is a big girl's job...I'm not a big girl." It is always on those days when I have to step out of my comfort zone and do something required of the task, something that is going to make me stretch a little farther than I feel is comfortable. I spend way too long in my little pity-party, saying things like, "God, this is not what I thought it was going to look like" or "God, can you just help me out here and make this path straight so I don't have to do so much moving?" and even, "God, this is not fair, this is not what I signed up for"....Yep, I say that sometimes. </span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over the last several weeks, God has been revealing His reply to those statements. Very clearly, in many different venues, God has spoken "You were born for this" to my spirit. And with those words, I have been reminded that I did not "sign up" for anything, I was CREATED by DESIGN to do exactly what it is He has me doing in this moment. It may not be comfortable, but it probably is not comfortable for the first sprout of a seed to pop it's head out of the soil. It may make me hurt just a little bit, but it does hurt when we're stretching to the place we are growing into. It may make me cry out for help, but that is exactly what He is there for, to direct my sight back to His purpose for all of it. Right in the middle of me expressing "THIS IS TOO BIG!!!" He answers, "YOU'RE RIGHT!!! IT'S TOO BIG FOR YOU, THAT IS WHY YOU MUST DEPEND ON ME!" </span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have not yet arrived at the place where I can say, "I've got this", and I am beginning to think that is exactly where God wants me. Too many times I have grown so comfortable that I have gone on auto-pilot, allowing myself to navigate; I am convinced God does not ever want me to get to that place again in the calling He has on my life. </span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are you facing that shouts "THIS IS TOO BIG"? Perhaps it's time to hand the wheel back over to the one who created you...for such a time as this......</span></i>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-87342389461683915552013-12-31T14:45:00.004-08:002013-12-31T14:45:54.826-08:00Goodbye~"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19</i></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The year 2013 has found its way to the top of the list of years I am happy to say goodbye to. There are so many reasons, none that are worthy of putting into written words, but never the less, reasons that justify its placement there. It has been a difficult year for us, and yet, I am completely reminded also of the beauty it has brought to my life. Whatever I write will not be expression enough of the gratitude I have to God for smiling on me and my family this year, it is a simple attempt to share the faithfulness of He who began a good work....</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I have watched my children grow through adversity. So many times, through so many things, I have wondered how they would cope, how they would rise above the seemingly unfair situations that they were forced to be in the middle of. And time after time, I have observed them turning to their faith in Jesus. Michaela quietly writes a memory verse on the board in her room....Josiah verbally seeks answers to "why" God allows things. They truly do inspire me to do this right, to exemplify, even in the weak moments, that God is always actively at work around us and through us. My kids, they have truly been the Joy of my heart, in 2013.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I have been blessed with a job that has challenged me and chiseled me. The strategic moves of God I may never understand, but I take comfort in believing it is all for His glory. Being involved in ministry has not looked the way I thought it would look. In fact, it is absolutely the opposite. In that, I have learned so much about myself, the people I work with, the lives we are chosen to touch, and the God who's sovereignty reigns in it all. Working in a 'Life Center' has brought me to my knees; It has also often made me want to put on my running shoes and flee. My job, it has been one of the scariest and best things that has happened to me, in 2013.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I have been given the gift of True Friendship. A quote by Paul Tripp sticks in my mind as I try to define what this has looked like... "True Friendship calls you out of the darkness of personal privacy into the loving candor of mutual concern. It moves you from being a sealed envelope to being an open letter." I have been the recipient of exactly this from the girls who walk beside me. Never once have I felt like whatever was going on in my head would not be heard by them, and not just heard, but felt. In God's very awesome way, He has given to me friendships that are so different, and yet, so exactly the same; bringing perspective filled with love in the midst of chaos. My Best Friends, they have been one of the most valuable gifts I could ever receive, in 2013.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I have been touched by the love of my family. Though far away and defined differently than it had been in years past, I have felt the support and care from all those who love us and call us "theirs". They may not clearly understand why we have such crazy faith in God, they may not always agree with how we may be doing certain things, but that has not stopped them from being there for us, helping us, praying for us, and loving us. My Ohio family, they have demonstrated their love, in 2013.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>And so, with so much Thankfulness and Praise to God for His provision, graciousness, and love, I say goodbye to 2013. Goodbye to the struggle, goodbye to the scary, goodbye to the uncertainty. And I say Hello to 2014. Hello to the struggle, hello to the scary, hello to the uncertainty....because in it, lies the Greatest Gifts God could ever give...Roadways in the wilderness and Springs in the desert....</i></span>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-90916127807862803622013-12-28T21:58:00.003-08:002013-12-28T22:24:25.831-08:00Here I am. Send Me.<i><b>Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am. Send me." Isaiah 6:8</b></i><br />
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<i>I grew up in a little country Baptist church. From the time I was a very little girl, I sang, and in the 4th grade, I had my first solo. I still remember that song, every single word; </i><br />
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<i><b>" Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
<i><b> I will serve you faithfully, Here am I Lord, send me.</b></i><br />
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<i><b> Lord I give my life to you, take control each day, </b></i><br />
<i><b>I will follow anywhere, near or far away. </b></i><br />
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<b><i>Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me.</i><i> </i></b><br />
<i><b>I will serve you faithfully, Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
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<i><b>Lord I want your perfect will, be my faithful guide, </b></i><br />
<i><b>I will never be afraid, you are close beside. </b></i><br />
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<i><b>Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
<i><b>I will serve you faithfully, Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
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<i><b>Let me see my mission field, all around each day. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Fill my heart with Jesus' love. Use me Lord, I pray. </b></i><br />
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<i><b>Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
<i><b>I will serve you faithfully, Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me. </b></i><br />
<i><b>I will serve you faithfully, Here am I Lord, send me."</b></i><br />
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<i>There is always a song in my head..but the song began in my heart. God used music to imprint His will on my life; the words above are the first to ever touch so deep that they became a part of me. And tonight, I am not just reminded of this song, but of the faithfulness of God. </i><br />
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<i>I did not fully understand at 10 years old how God would craft the calling He had destined for me...but today, I see it full well. I am ever willing to do my part to bring Him glory by walking in that plan He had for me...long before I ever noticed His light in the very dark places. In the words of my dear friend, "If I went through it all just to help one, it was worth it." </i><br />
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<i><b>I will follow anywhere, near or far away.</b></i><br />
<i><b>I will never be afraid, you are close beside.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Fill my heart with Jesus' love. Use me Lord, I pray.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Here am I Lord, send me.</b></i>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-81759785576767549762013-10-22T21:13:00.000-07:002013-10-25T13:17:10.729-07:00The Sound<b><i>"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7</i></b><br />
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<i>It was too dark to see it, but I could hear it. Its rhythm was calming, its presence called for quiet. As I closed my eyes, I knew God was saying it once again, and this time, I was listening. I awoke many times, but never without gently being lulled backed to sleep by the sound. The waves crashed and receded, and as they did, I heard Him speak...peace.</i><br />
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<i>I wrestled with the sound of peace because peace has no sound. Within the chaos of life, there seemed no place for silence, no room for nothing. Circumstances built chaos, and chaos produced confusion. In the midst of confusion, finding my footing seemed the best way to overcome, and victory always seemed to come quicker with a loud battle cry. The warrior I had become was not of kindness and gentleness, but of quick tongue and brassy edges. And yet....He was calling me to peace....</i><br />
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<i>In John 14, Jesus is comforting his disciples after telling them of his immanent death; in verse 27 he says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid." This is the kind of peace that God wants us to have. In the face of uncertain circumstances, He offers to us something the world cannot give. The world can give us chaos, confusion and instability, but it cannot give to us the peace that transcends our own understanding...but Jesus can. </i><br />
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<i>The sound of the Ocean became something more to me... it has been written on my heart in a new way, straight from Heaven. It's view is magical, it's world a mystery, and it's sound...it's sound is peace. When I wrestle with falling back to brassy, may I remember the music of the waves dancing to a rhythm written by God...calling me back to being still....calling me back to peace.</i>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-31465534337009706022013-08-25T19:43:00.001-07:002013-08-25T19:43:29.843-07:00Valley of Purpose<i><b>"The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and sat me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry." Ezekiel 37:1-2</b></i><br />
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<b><i>So here you stand, in the middle of the valley looking around at a place that is dead and hopeless. The smell startles you, a familiar stench, and yet foreign. Your memory jogs and suddenly you realize you have been here before. It has been a long time, so many things have changed, and yet, the valley is so very much the same. </i></b><br />
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<b><i>Your head is hanging low as you try to recall how you got here. One wrong turn there, not listening close enough here; on and on you go for what seems like several minutes as you trace the steps to this very point. Every mistake you have made is blazing in your ears, you cannot see past the regret of doing it wrong; and yet, in the midst of the chaos going on in your mind, you hear His voice. It is a calm voice, calling you gently back, speaking words of Life and Truth, reminding you that you are His and He is here; even in the valley.</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Today I read Ezekiel 37 verse one and had a sudden jolt in my spirit. In Ezekiel's vision, he clearly says The hand of the Lord was on him, and HE (the Spirit of the Lord) brought him down into the valley. What? God brought him down into this valley? WOAH!!! You mean, it wasn't because of the wrong turns, the misplaced steps, the huge mistakes he made? It was GOD?? And wait a minute...God brought Ezekiel down to the valley to use him? To empower him to speak life and breath into dry bones? The chapter goes onto explain the vision in greater detail, that God was preparing Ezekiel to go speak that same LIFE into the people of Israel. </i></b><br />
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<b><i>God has us right where we are for a purpose. It may seem like a valley to us, it may have all the familiar sights and smells of a place of darkness, but today let me challenge you as I have been challenged; to change the lens that we look through. Instead of being blinded by the darkness, choose to see that glimmer of light. Instead of being sucked into the despair, reach for the joy. Instead of giving in to the death, stand up and fight for Life. Allow your perspective to be filtered through the eyes of Jesus. Allow his grace to sustain you as you walk, and his mercy to catch you when you fall. His plan for your life, for the lives of the ones you love, is nothing short of amazing. Be the agent of hope, and speak LIFE INTO DRY BONES!</i></b>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-89927393145188607482013-08-12T09:26:00.001-07:002013-08-12T09:26:15.255-07:00Perfectly Placed<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><strong><em>"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" Isaiah 55:8-9</em></strong></span><br />
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><em>Like almost every morning, I scanned through my e-mails. Because I had none showing up in my "VIP" list, (my way of filtering my favorites), I knew nothing was of immediate importance or worth. As I scrolled through, I stopped on a devotional. If the opening scripture does not speak to me quickly in a moment like this, before my morning coffee has taken on it's full effect, I click delete before I even think about it. This morning, I continued reading....</em></span><br />
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><em>Even now, two hours later I can not remember what the content of that email was, but I do know that with that opening verse, God spoke swiftly to a part of me that was searching for stillness amongst the clatter of the things going through my mind. Finding sleep last night was difficult as I played out every scenario and situation I am currently involved with. With quite a bit of anxiety, I tossed and turned; with every turn a different topic came to my mind and I was sucked back into trying to "figure it all out." I did not find a peaceful state to sleep last night, and my dreams continued the craziness in my head. It was with that opening scripture that God jolted my attention; I was trying to figure it all out instead of trusting Him.</em></span><br />
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><em>I am guilty of feeling it is my responsibility to make things run smooth in all aspects of life. It is part of the "people pleaser" in me that is still in recovery. I get so caught up in things that I feel are injustices, that I take on this persona of a warrior going after the kill, and if I am not careful and very purposeful in my approach, I begin to take over where only God is suppose to be in control. I heard God say to me in the midst of my morning fog, "I am not your team mate, I am your leader, Bonnie. Give me back the control and rest. I have you placed where I want you, allow me to guide you." </em></span><br />
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><em>Today, rest in the sovereignty of the Almighty, that He has you <strong>PERFECTLY PLACED</strong> right where He wants you. Give Him back the control and allow Him to guide you in the purpose that He is working through you. Jim Elliot, the missionary martyr once said, "Where ever you are, be all there", don't just be there, be ALL there. Be ALL that mom that God wants you to be. Be ALL that wife that God wants you to be. Be ALL that leader God wants you to be; and be ALL that friend that God wants you to be. Remember, His thoughts are not ours, His ways are HIGHER~ If God has you in this moment, in that relationship, in that circumstance, it is for a reason. Trust Him, and give Him back His proper place...the lead....</em></span>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-63207031445337454582013-06-12T11:40:00.001-07:002013-06-12T11:40:30.329-07:00Let's Walk<em><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Proverbs 13:20 "He who walks with the wise grows wise..."</span></strong></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recently, my friend and I decided that as often as needed, we would remind each other that the most important things to get caught up in are those things that have an eternal value. The words, "And remember, don't get caught up in that, it's not of eternal value" have become a normal part of our conversation...Why? Because almost daily, at least one of us needs a trusted verbal reminder that what we "feel" is not always the best way to determine what we set our passions to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have witnessed over the last couple of weeks, an intensity in situations around me. Some of those situations are of eternal value and deserve the fight, but some are merely a ploy by the enemy to distract me from the things that are most important. Satan is sneaky and deceptive, but he is not smart; I do not do life alone, and if I am weak in my defenses on a given day, you can be sure my friends are on guard. Sometimes, it might just be a single sentence from my mouth that hints to the battle I am having, and because I am <em><strong>walking</strong></em> with women who seek after God, He works in and through them to stand along side of me. Some days, it's a silent listening ear, and some days, it's a text in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, because quite frankly, I need someone I trust to raise their voice at me to get my mind back on the things of significance and not stupidity; and sometimes, I need someone to tell me to STAND and FIGHT for injustice and FLEX MY MUSCLES!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am reminded of the friendship of Jonathan and David. Jonathan loved David so much, that when he saw the enemy ready to take David out, he protected him and told David of the plot his father had to kill him. Isn't this the way we should be with our friends? So aware of what is going on in their lives, that we too recognize the enemy and quickly bring warning of an incoming attack? And then I think of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth would not listen to the pleas of Naomi to leave her in her distress, instead, she committed to stand with her through the pain. Isn't this the way we should be with our friends? Heart connected in such a way that we stand with them in their tough stuff, ready to be immovable when their world seems to be spinning?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Living life in community with like-minded, God seeking, Jesus passionate girlfriends is one of the greatest blessings God has given to me. As a mentor and leader of women, it makes me smile when I see other ladies around me experiencing the same thing; true friendship. God's design for women is to have relationship with one another in healthy ways, ways that glorify Him, and bring us closer to Him. I can not imagine my life without the ladies who <strong><em>walk</em></strong> on each side of me. God's agenda far outweighs our own insecurities, and trusting that He has the best in mind for me gives me freedom, because I know it is He who has chosen for me, the<strong><em> "Best of the Best."</em></strong> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>True Friendship</em></strong>~</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It speaks <em><strong>Truth</strong></em> and <em><strong>Life</strong></em>~It <strong><em>Protects</em></strong> and <strong><em>Defends</em></strong>~It <strong><em>Sits</em></strong> and<strong><em> Listens</em></strong>~It <strong><em>Stands</em></strong> and <em><strong>Fights</strong></em>.</span> Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-17506633004948578112013-05-15T21:27:00.000-07:002013-05-15T21:27:14.303-07:00Five Reasons My Eyes Will Not Stop Sweating<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>Sometimes, God just wants us to thank him in the middle of our junk</b></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>1.) <b>I have this New Job</b>. It’s called a job because I actually get paid to do it, but it’s so much more than that, it is a mission and a purpose. Every day I wake up different than the day before. The magnitude of the responsibility is so beyond my own capabilities. Standing in the trenches is the place I most want to be. And so, my eyes sweat in surrender to the only one who can do it through me. <b>Philippians 4:13</b></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span><span>2.)<span> </span></span></span><b>I have an Amazing Husband</b>.<span> </span>I think about his sacrifice for our family, and I am so proud to be his wife.<span> </span>When days get long and I am emotional and exhausted, I remember that we are in this together and that God gave me the best team-mate. His life exemplifies the true transforming power of Jesus Christ. And so, my eyes sweat in gratitude to the one who brought me to him. <b>1 Chronicles 16:34</b></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span><span>3.)<span> </span></span></span><b>I have two Beautiful Children.</b> My kids simply rock.<span> </span>There could never be two more different flowers from the same garden. I look at them and wonder what I ever did to deserve such precious people of my own. They make me laugh and stir my heart in ways I never knew possible. They make me proud every single day for simply being who God created them to be. And so, my eyes sweat in thanksgiving to the one who blessed me with them. <span> <b> </b></span><b>1 Samuel 1:27</b></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span><span>4.)<span> </span></span></span><b>I have an Awesome Church</b>.<span> </span>The heartbeat of the local body I call family, is the heartbeat of Jesus.<span> </span>Transparency and authenticity leaks from everywhere.<span> </span>Joy fills every room because true love resides there.<span> </span>It is a place passionate about the things of God and the desire to see each life touched and restored in a supernatural way.<span> </span>And so, my eyes sweat in love for the one who brought me here. <b>1 Corinthians 11:1</b></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>5.)<b><span> </span>I have True Friends</b>. I use to think I knew what friendship was, but I didn’t. God has so delicately placed amazing women in my life who see me better than my best and call me higher than my highest. True friendship is without expectation and judgment. It is viewed with eyes that see into the heart. It is knowing your place without question, and trusting without hesitation. It is listening and being heard. It is comfort, it is strength, it is bold, it is gentle, it is kind, and it is love. And so, my eyes sweat from a heart filled with joy for undeserved favor, to the one who gave them to me. <b>Ecclesiastes 4:9-12</b></i></span></div>
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Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-580775400665564452013-02-19T20:27:00.000-08:002013-02-19T20:28:04.764-08:00Crazy Faith<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Romans 4:20-21 "No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised."</span></em></strong></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><i>I am, by nature or nurture, a tad bit crazy; my personality and unique look at life has always held a certain element of exaggeration. I will never forget a couple of years ago, a friend and I were on a trolley car in San Francisco; I can't remember at all what I had said to her, but she looked at me so matter-of-factly and said, "You're such an over exaggerator," and then totally cracked up at herself. I did not laugh; in fact, I began that very day to investigate what that description meant, and how I had been labeled as such in her eyes. As I continued the journey to wholeness in Christ, I realized that those words, words she probably forgot in less than 5 seconds, were true words, but they were not necessarily negative words. I am an exaggerator, and I am crazy, but throughout my entire life, I was not using those pieces of my personality for anything except drama, drama, and more drama.</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">When I talk about what God has done in my life, I sound a little crazy, and people think I might just be exaggerating, when in fact, it's all very true. I am different than I once was; Where there use to be hostility, there is peace. Where there use to be fear, there is confidence. Where there use to be uncertainty, there is promise. Where there use to be death, there is life. I do not forget the fragile woman I once was, because she is still a part of who I am. I look at her in the mirror everyday, and although I see her, the reflection is very different. She is still crazy, but she is crazy about the things of God, not the nets cast by this world to entangle her and hold her back.</span></span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">I cannot imagine living any other way than totally sold out for the things of the Kingdom. To go backwards would never be ok, because God is calling me forward. Noah didn't decide to stop following God after God brought him and his family through the Great Flood. Abraham didn't decide to stop following God after God spared his son from sacrifice. Joseph didn't decide to stop following God after he was rescued from the pit. Daniel didn't decide to stop following God after God saved him from the lions; and I will not stop following God after He has healed my body, healed my mind, healed my emotions, healed my heart, and healed my family. </span></span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Call me crazy, but when you call me crazy, pay close attention to the things I am crazy about. I have crazy faith and crazy anticipation of the promises of God. I may not look at life the same way many people do, but I hope I challenge those around me to look past their current situation and see God in the middle of it. I live my life big with an exaggerated personality, but when you see the actions I take that seem exaggerated to you, look closer at the reasons I do them; those reasons are found in the promises already fulfilled by Christ in my life. </span></span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">The kind that does not make sense and makes people wonder, but when fulfilled, brings multitudes into relationship with Jesus.</span></span></i>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-34054038540449628742013-01-18T14:02:00.000-08:002013-01-18T20:03:12.692-08:00Do You Trust Me?<br />
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<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God." Daniel 6:23</span></b></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Imagine being thrown into a den of hungry lions, left there to be devoured, only to be pulled out not only alive, but alive and untouched. Daniel's deliverance from the lions is an amazing example of God following through on His promises. God had promised that He was going to deliver the people of Israel if they obeyed His law. Daniel took God at His word and continued to obey, despite the threats of death on his life. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>As I was recounting this story in scripture, my eyes were halted and focused on verse 10, I could not get past it-<b>"...and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously." </b>So, after Daniel knew his sentence of death had been signed, he continued to obey God, even knowing he was about to stare death in the face. His faith in God superseded his fear of man. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Seems almost impossible to us, doesn't it? To have the faith to stand in the face of certain death. To choose to obey instead of conceding to save one's life. To stand up to the king and say his man made rules do not supersede the law of the Lord. To open the windows and pray confidently to the God who has promised to deliver his people from harm. It can seem impossible to us because many times, we do not take the stance to hear the voice of the Lord, to recognize Him, and take Him at His word. The stance of being on our knees, fully surrendered to His will for our lives.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Why don't we find ourselves in that stance? Is it fear? Is it distrust? Is it being too busy? Is it that we might lose control? I would say yes...to all of those and more. Because we live in a world where authority seems to dictate to us what we do and how we act, we often limit God to those exact permitters, that if He is asking us to obey Him, then we are going to lose our rights and privileges. While I understand where those thoughts come from, it does not give excuse for us to live our life in disobedience, always doing what we feel would be best for us, never consulting the one who actually created us! We have humanized God so much, that we see Him the same way we do our earthly rulers, when all He wants is to GIVE to us our rights and privileges as HEIRS to His Kingdom.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Finding oneself in a modern day lions den can be terrifying. But listening to His voice, with the promise of life on the other side, far outweighs the fear. Not long ago, I heard Him say to me, "Do you trust me?"....Of course I said, "yes"....only to hear Him say, "No, do you TRUST me?" in the calmest and most comforting way. I felt my heart bow before Him with a tender "YES". That is who God is, He is our Confidence in the face of fear; He is our Yes in the middle of no; He is our Strength when we are at our weakest; He is our All when we have nothing.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Do you trust Him?....NO, do you TRUST Him??......</i></span></div>
Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-14885798685422892822012-10-23T17:23:00.001-07:002012-10-23T17:23:14.595-07:00STOP!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;" Acts 16:6-7</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How many times have we felt God leading in a certain area or situation in our lives, only to be stopped dead in our tracks from going forward? What is our reaction when this happens? I would venture to say that more times than not, our gut instinct is to think that we have done something wrong, messing up what it was we "thought" we were suppose to do.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The apostle Paul is a great example of such a thing, EXCEPT, his perception was not marred by the world, but led by the Spirit. In Galatians 1:12, Paul says "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." It is time we as Christians take our eyes off of ourselves, the people around us, our opinions, their critiques, and place ourselves solely in the hands of the Holy Spirit. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When our family of four moved to California, the number one thing I had to do was get us connected and grounded in a good church. In my mind was a lot of "man made" anxiety, thinking and feeling that it was in fact MY JOB to do this. I prayed, I cried, I searched (only for about 3 days, but still...that was an eternity to this PK). Anyway, once God planted us in our local church, I began feeling like I needed to get involved in some sort of ministry, and as a default, I went to what I knew best, singing. Now, I started this totally out of desperation, just wanting to do something I had always done, knowing I would be comfortable behind the microphone (note the word comfortable). I did pray about it, but to say I sought the Lord on it would be lying. Running parallel to this was a Bible Study I had began going to, focusing on Prayer. There were so many things taking place inside of me in the process of that Bible Study, that the voice of the Lord began to become clearer and clearer with every single day. On my last rehearsal before joining the team on a Sunday morning, I sat at the keyboard with our praise and worship pastor going over things when out of NO WHERE, I felt a shift in my spirit, looked at her and said, "STOP!! I CAN'T DO THIS! I DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS MOMENT, ALL I KNOW IS THAT THIS IS NOT WHAT I AM SUPPOSE TO BE DOING". We both laughed at the candidness of the moment, and agreed that God was in that moment, very present. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Within a very short time, my personal praise and worship became much more than I could have ever dreamed. God gives us gifts and talents, but what man does with and to those is so often in contrast to His design. My mentality was "Oh, you were born into <i>THAT</i> family, well, then you have to be on the stage singing". By releasing myself from the pressures of what I <i>thought</i> I should be doing, and focusing on what it was GOD wanted me to do, my life took a major shift; was it comfortable? No; in fact, the journey has been one of the most difficult things I have faced, because in facing myself, I began to be stretched, refined, sharpened, (dulled when needed), BUT all with the affirming voice of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We can do all the planning we want for any amount of time that we want, but if we are seeking after God, and He says "STOP", it may not be because we were doing anything wrong, it may in fact be because He has a Greater picture for us. The Holy Spirit told Paul he was not going into Asia, but within a couple of years, according to Acts 19:10, all those who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God is not ironic. We often label His works manifest as if they are ironic, but nothing about Him is coincidental or unexpected. He knew you from the beginning of time, and He has your story written. He is waiting for you to commit to going longer and deeper in your relationship with Him. He will make the path of your life known to you, In Him, there will be fullness of Joy and Pleasures Forever (Ps.16:11).</span></div>
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Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-8528922897379709612012-08-27T14:26:00.000-07:002012-08-27T14:26:41.167-07:00Peace Be Still<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">"Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj">“Peace, be still!”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">And the wind ceased and there was a great calm." Mark 4:39</span></b></span></i></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> </b><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I use to be the kind of girl that would get anxious and worrisome about the future. I would sit and contemplate my "place" in the world, and wonder how the view I had of myself was going to fit into the plan God had for my life. This seemed for me a legitimate worry, because I was so often caught in the middle of storm after storm after storm. Many times, the only thing I could do was dream about what it "might" look like if God did in fact, decide that enough was enough, and rescue me from the waves. I look back now and see, in every situation, that God was, in fact, rescuing me every single time; and each time, for a completely different reason, and yet, all the same; to show me His power, mercy and grace when I thought for sure nothing or no one could save me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The testimony I carry of the power of God in my life seems, some days, to be left off to the side, a mere "happenstance" and often, so common to me now, that I forget how I have gotten to where I am today. As awful as that sounds, I know that I am not the only one guilty of such a thing. Is it not easier for us to live in the "now" and not focus on the "then"? CERTAINLY!! But over the last several weeks, God has been nudging at my heart, asking me to take Him to deeper places, places that I have guarded very well. Places that have defined who I am.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It is very easy to testify to a miracle God has done that is a physical healing. Once I was healed of MS, I never really looked back. Those few years have no grip on my mind and heart because, at least I believe, it was an affliction of the enemy to wear down my body and it did not work; God won, and quite rapidly might I add. Although those days were dark, I remember very little about it, it was just a "blink" in the entirety of my life. I cannot explain exactly why I feel this way, except to say, that to testify of the healing God has done on the inside of me far outweighs what has happened on the outside.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> A couple of weeks ago, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">I was </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">reminded of who I once was. I was reminded of the Mercy of God, His Tenderness, His Grace, His Love. I once read a quote by Maya Angelou that said: "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." I think the agony may come front the fact that such a story may never be told, and if it is never told, another life may not find Truth and Freedom. My story has nothing to do with other people. While I might have been a victim of things beyond my control, the story that belongs to me is that of the rescuing power of Jesus. A power that overcomes the "effects" of those events. My story does not read like that of some, but I know that it reads like that of many; Caught in the middle of a storm, searching for a savior, anxiously and very fearfully believing that this may be the last breath that you breathe.</span></span></i></span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> No storm is wasted. While the waves may be tossing us and throwing us, the fact that our heads are still above the water is proof enough that God is stronger than our circumstances. The woman I am today is in complete contrast to who I was 20 years ago. The reason is, because God, not a moment too soon and not a minute too late, got up on my behalf and cried to the wind, "...peace be still."</span></span></i></div>
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Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-76894782170040954312012-02-13T12:51:00.000-08:002012-02-17T15:02:18.074-08:00In The Beginning GOD......<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 14px; font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><b><i>"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."<br />-Ephesians 3:20-21</i></b></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">In the past week alone, I have been asked numerous times how exactly we landed ourselves in California. We have often been asked about this, but this weekend, it was becoming quite a topic of almost EVERY social setting we found ourselves in. On Sunday afternoon, I was asked once again....and I laughed inside. It was comical because I had been kinda "stuck" on trying to figure out why God had brought this particular topic up so many times in consecutive days...and Sunday was just a little silent conversation between God and I, Him letting me know, "I hear you, Bonnie!" I smiled on the outside because my heart was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">bustin</span> on the inside. I love how God speaks to each of us with so uniquely within who He created us to be.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">So, I told the sorry, sappy story all starting with, "Well, Mike was a Manager for General Motors for 12 years, and, well, you KNOW what happened to GM!!....." I'm stopping there for a very specific reason; God told me to. After I told our short story that makes everyone feel really bad for us, we went around the room and introduced ourselves to new people. Mike started by saying, "Hi, I'm Mike <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Mahnke</span>, this is my wife Bonnie, and my kids, Michaela and Josiah. People ask us often how we ended up here, and our new answer is just GOD." At that moment, I could not have been more proud of my husband, and yet at the same time, so completely humiliated before my God. The beginning of that conversation between me and God not 10 minutes earlier was finished in that one word; GOD. I left that pizza place different than when I went in. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">I have spent 2 years telling the story of how Mike lost his job, and we were faced with only one choice, to come across the country for a job. I have been very proud of our story, because along the way, there were so many things that God dropped in our lap to let us know that He was all over everything that was going on. These "little" things to so many people proved to us that we were being obedient, even in the midst of extreme pain and disbelief. Do you see how this is going? This is how I have described the hand of God. Do you see what I see? I didn't until Sunday, but it is worth telling everyone about.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">One of my pastors recently said to me, "We only have two choices, we can either hide or we can shine." The conversation was about something completely different, but I'm reminded of it as I think about how we "hide" behind our circumstances in life, blame them on "humanity", and forget to allow the Glory of God to shine through it. It has never been my intent to hide God from what has happened to us over these last two years, and He knows that, but He felt it was time for me to change the story, to remove "us" and start with Him! I love how God reveals things just at the right time for us. I was completely convicted as soon as those words came out of Mike's mouth. I cried out to God in my spirit, acknowledging that I had done exactly what I would never think I could do, minimize God and His authority in our lives to match the society we live in. To make it palatable to people around us, we often start with all the sad, sappy parts of our lives, how we have been down and out and how we "found" God in the middle of it...my how we have lost sight of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">soveirgnty</span> of our God. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Our story starts like this; "Well, you see, God knew long before we were ever created exactly what, when, where, how and why we were going to be in the situations of the last 15 years. God walked right beside us as we trudged through medical diagnosis after medical diagnosis that would ultimately claim the lives of both Mike and I. God carried us through the muck of figuring out how we were going to care for our two beautiful kids, and He guided us as we made difficult decisions that ultimately led to a day almost three years ago that would change our lives forever." </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">I think of the years leading up to that day as a gift from God. I could not have said that in the midst of the pain and trauma, but today, I can see God all over it, so much bigger than the actual circumstances that engulfed us. Being on the other side of miraculous healing gives us such clearer eyes. I'm so not only talking about physical and psychological healing, but of core healing. The kind of healing that causes a person to be responsible for what they have done with the "yuck" of the world. It has truly been the most miraculous healing I have encountered. God knows this, and He celebrates it with me. Manifested healing of the body is miraculous and speaks to the greatness of our God. Manifested healing of the inner man takes that greatness we have received from Him, that is too much for us to even imagine, and places it on the deepest part of the heart. There are really no words to explain it. That is how Amazing His love, grace, and mercy is for us. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Today, I'm reminded of God. A God who is not limited to the 12 foot painting of a long haired <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">shepard</span> holding a lamb that was plastered at the front of my little church growing up; but a God who created the world, a God who has a plan within that creation, a God who created each of us in His image to bring Him glory. It is possible for us to take God out of the box we have put Him in. Give Him glory first. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">In the beginning, GOD! That's simple. My story, Your story, All stories....IN THE BEGINNING, GOD!!!! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-83731575864147206892011-11-09T11:39:00.000-08:002011-11-09T13:09:53.052-08:00Believing and Cobwebs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; font-size:15px;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">"And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord" Luke 1:45</span></b></i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; font-size:15px;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></b></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">I hate cobwebs. Yes, I used the word hate, and I am pretty sure that I mean it. I have spent some of my morning removing them from my 10 foot ceilings. While I was on that ladder, reaching for the one I could barely get to, I heard this verse read on the Christian TV channel. Had anyone been here to see my reaction, I am sure it would have made for great comedy....I nearly fell off the third step!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">As I finished cleaning up those cobwebs, I began to think about all of the things that life throws at us that we do not see coming. Some of the dirt on those webs were big clumps, but most of it was unseen by the naked eye. As I ran the cloth across it, I could see how thick all of those tiny particles became when put together in one place. Oh how this relates to us who have gotten caught up between what the world says we are, and what our God says that we are. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">The angel Gabriel appears to Elizabeth telling not only of her child, but also her cousin Mary's child. When Mary came to her, she exhorted her friend for BELIEVING THAT WHICH GOD HAD SPOKEN OVER HER. How many times have we witnessed a word from God being spoken over us or someone we love only to be gradually overtaken by the small particles of doubt, disbelief and negligence. Can you imagine what would have happened had she focused on the first person that said, "Whatever Mary, you do not even have a husband." Instead, she believed God and found favor in His sight.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">I have heard is said that many believe IN God, but few ever think about BELIEVING God. We believe that there is a God. We believe He is our creator. We believe He is our savior. We believe He is our deliverer. We believe He is our redeemer. BUT, we stop just short of believing He has found any favor in our lives. We look at people around us and are genuinely happy for the blessings God had preformed on their behalf, but because we have collected so much "invisible dirt", our view of our own lives and situations are clouded. We are not so far different than Israel of the Old Testament, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ps</span> 106:12-13 says: "They believed his promises and sang his praise. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel." By allowing the dirt to build up in that one little cobweb, we forget the Glory God has already shown on our behalf, and move forward blinded and crippled by the screaming of the world in front of our face.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">What if we returned our focus to God instead of ourselves. What if we decided we were going to get out of our comfort zone and clean those stinking cobwebs that have taken over quicker than we ever thought they could. What if we opened up our Bible to receive more of Him, not to just "prove" that what we are going through is in there. What if we became open to hear from the Holy Spirit those things which are not so pretty about ourselves in order to clean them out and make us better ministers of His word. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">It takes a lot of hard work to clean cobwebs. I was a little sweaty reaching for the furthest one, and then, just when I thought I had it, I saw one more spec of dirt to be wiped away, calling me back to that uncomfortable position to clean it so well that it did not bother me tomorrow. That is what my heart is stirring over for people in the body of Christ. Taking responsibility for cleaning out the dirt we have allowed to accumulate and bringing us to a position of being able to see the purpose God called us to. Until we are ready to deal with the unseen dust, we are not truly ready to walk fully in our calling.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px;font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">Keep On <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Keepin</span> On!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; font-size:15px;color:#ffffff;">In His Grip!</span></span></div>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-12094770367458075012011-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:002011-11-06T19:49:31.399-08:00This is the Year I was Suppose to Die<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><i>"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result..." Genesis 50:20</i></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>I had a REALLY cool "Candy Apple Red" walker with one of those fancy seats on it that I could use to rest when I was exhausted from walking. It also had this really big basket on the front. In a way, I felt like I was 10 years old again and I had just gotten my first pink dirt bike. See, my mom picked out my bike when I was 10....she also picked out my walker when I was 30. She said, "If you are going to have to have it, it is going to be the prettiest one there is."</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>Over the last couple of months, God has been requiring that I remember where I have been. During worship, I have been reminded of the mountains that were not just <i>moved</i>, but <i>REMOVED.</i> It was as if when I was looking "BACK", I could not really identify with <i>who</i> that girl was. I would remember things as if I were looking at a dream, or reading a novel. Often, it would play back like a movie, with credits being paid to all of those people who had helped me through the roughest points in<i> </i>my life up until this present moment. </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>Today, for the first time in 5 years, I heard the words "Devic's Disease." My heart sank, and yet, at the same time, I felt it leaping. As I listened to the story being told to me, I could hardly keep quiet. She had heard I had MS in the past, and that I did not have it any longer. She wanted to hear about the miracle God had performed on my behalf. The memories came flooding back. I recalled being paralyzed on my right side, I remembered missing my daughter's "debut" as the lead in her 1st grade program. I thought about how, for 3 weeks, I was barely able to get out of bed. I do not remember a lot about those days, but what I do remember is the pain and the absolute feeling of helplessness. On my most desperate night, I laid awake with my tiny kids on either side of me. I cried out to God, "Lord, you know what I have been through in my life. Not once have I walked away from you, not once have I denounced your presence in every situation, and God, I need to know why, why me, why these precious babies, why now?" Some people would say that we really should not ask God why, but I have to tell you, that in that moment, God said, "Wait and See." </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>My dad and I took the trip to The Cleveland Clinic in the Spring of 2006. We walked into the Mellon Center, and were very abruptly faced with MS in many stages. On one side, a young lady walked with a slight limp, and across the room, a man sat paralyzed with a breathing machine attached to his wheelchair. I had been told that more than likely, I had what was known as "Devic's Disease." Devic's affects the spinal cord, therefor, compromising the nervous system, leading to the shut down of involuntary necessities, the most important being that of breathing. Because Devic's attacks the nervous system so aggressively, I was told it was terminal usually within 5 years.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>I pushed that walker to the front of the church. As my church family prayed for me, I continued to cry out to God, asking WHY? My uncle, the pastor of my church, called me to his seat. He said, "Bon, I felt it right there, you were healed." I thanked him ever so sweetly and headed to my seat still having to grip the walker with all my might. On my way out, my uncle again said to me, "Bonnie, listen to me, you were healed!" I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Then why can't I walk, why can't I see, and WHY AM I STILL IN PAIN?" Before I had even gotten out of the church building I had questioned the power of my God.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>It took an entire year to walk out my healing. Very gradually, the pain started to leave, the vision came back, and my balance got better. It was not until I had visited BOTH of my neurologists who came back with "Healing" reports that I totally walked in the healing God had done in my body. Sometimes, healing is an instant revelation and realization, and sometimes, it is a continuous walking out of what God has spoken over your life. I am a firm believer that God heals us in the very best way to show HIM to the world. While I did not understand then, and I certainly do not understand it all now, I do know that what the enemy thought might be the very last thing to make me fall was the VERY thing to catapult me for the cause of Christ. </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>People can speculate, people can judge. When moving from Woodland, I found all of the MRI's I have had done. I thought about pitching them in the attitude of "THAT IS NOT WHO I AM ANYMORE." But, I held onto them. If not for me, possibly for someone else who needs just a little more proof than I do that our God is still in the business of physically healing people given a life sentence.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><b>I realized this afternoon that this is the year I was suppose to die. I realized this afternoon that this is the year in which I have been re-born. God does not waste anything. Everything belongs. </b></span></div>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-60532234050716630242011-10-26T12:54:00.000-07:002011-10-26T15:43:34.135-07:00Shoes and Hearts<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b>"Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united spirit intend on one purpose." Philippians 2:1-2</b></span></i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i>There is very little more damaging to one's future than what they believe of themselves. We often define ourselves by the world's standards, our looks, personality, education, hair, and come on, let's be serious, on the cutest shoes we can find to wow our girlfriends! In a world surrounded by "People Pleasing", we have lost who we have been created by God to be. Viewing ourselves through the eyes of society has become the "norm" , not only for the "world", but for Christians as well.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i>My girlfriend was recently commenting on some things she saw as "strengths" in me. Because she knows this has been a difficult area for me, I laughed at her and said, "Don't COMPLIMENT ME!!" (let's face it, it's hard to take praise a lot of times), she never misses a beat, she looked at me with that half-smirked smile on her face and said, "I am NOT complimenting you, I am encouraging you, there is a difference." I had to digest that for a minute, because I truly did not "get" the difference.....but I do now.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i>A compliment speaks to that which "WE" have control of, our hair, our clothes, and our really sweet red pumps. We all enjoy compliments, it's part of that"People Pleasing" mentality. It means our choices have been accepted by our peers, and that we are being praised for our efforts to "fit in". Compliments are not a bad thing, not at all....my girlfriends have the cutest clothes, the best hair, the prettiest jewelry AND the SWEETEST shoes, they of course know that because I never miss an opportunity to express my "acceptance" of their efforts. Women and Men alike enjoy the accolades of their buddies. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i>Encouragement comes from such a different place. It speaks to the desires of our hearts, who we truly want to be, and who we want people to see us as. When encouragement comes from a friend, it is wrapped in a big beautiful package and delivered with extra care and thought than a mere compliment. It means that in our life they have witnessed the attributes that would draw others to Christ. In our relationships, giving encouragement to someone is the very thing that Paul is talking about in Philippians 2:1. It is an "atta girl" to continue the calling God has placed on your life. It is taking our compliments, and placing them on the heart of the people around us. It is taking great care to edify and exhort those we are doing life with to continue on the road, even if there is persecution and sacrifice. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i>The word Encouragement here means to "exhort, admonish, comfort, summons" it holds in it's context the demand to continue on, even when the road gets tough and the light has dimmed in the distance. It is a very personal way for Christians to take part in each others lives as we together continue on in this life for Christ.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i>Give a compliment when you love her shoes; Give encouragement when you love her heart.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-54510182877170532082011-09-28T11:58:00.000-07:002011-09-28T13:07:53.930-07:00Visual<b><i>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="woj">What do you want me to do for you?”</span> Jesus asked him.</span></span></i></b><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” Mark 10:51</span></span></i></b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">I wanted glasses from very early age. I remember looking at girls with fancy frames and envying the "cuteness" it brought to them. I wanted to "see" what it was like to "see" through those cool little glass lenses, and experience the altered "vision" they would give. In the fifth grade, I FINALLY was able to flunk the vision test and I not only got ONE pair of glasses but TWO!!! How terrific to be able to change my frames with my changing moods!!! I was SO excited!!! But gradually, over a period of time, my dependence on those glasses became more and more, and they went from being a new fashion statement to a necessity to walk the next step. My vision had become dependant upon the very act of putting those glasses on my face....not to ALTAR my vision, but for my vision to be clearer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">How many of us want to "see" the vision without first depending on God to show us what that vision truly is? In our selfish minds, we just want to GET TO THE GOOD stuff promised and forget the journey we must take to get there. We like to blame this on the fast paced, techno world we live in, that we desire instant gratification because we have been warped by the generation we were born into. I would suggest that we are really not too far removed from the first humans created who wanted to "see" the way God did, and caved to the temptation to get there "quicker" by listening to the lies of the enemy. God is calling us to step out of that trap and into a deeper, more fulfilling, God focused walk into the purpose He created us for. Not to ALTAR our vision, but to see HIS vision.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">God is calling us back to FOCUS. It is time to forget about how "cute" we look in the latest frames of the world, and clear our vision by looking on Jesus. There will be days of which our eye sight seems blurry, this is just God reminding us to look through the lens of His glass, and "see" what He has for us in that very moment. On days when we cannot see past the chaos of the day, FOCUS. On days when we have deflected every arrow and are tired, FOCUS. On days when the old wound is opened, FOCUS. On days when we are attacked and are innocent, FOCUS. On days when we react instead of respond, FOCUS. On days when WE are the ones who inflict the hurt, FOCUS.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">God is calling us back to focus on worship. God is calling us back to focus on glory to Him. God is calling us back to focus our relationship with Him. God is calling us back to FOCUS.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Visual", in the way God spoke it to my heart, has everything to do with the future He has called us to. It is going to be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">OK</span>, it is going to be GOOD, but only if we keep our "vision" set THROUGH Him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-2321568002198926742011-06-23T22:54:00.000-07:002011-06-24T00:08:06.990-07:00Jesus With Skin On<strong><em>Titus 2:3-4 "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behaviour......so that they may encourage the young women......."</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>Could someone PLEASE tell me when I went from being part of the SECOND group in theses verses Paul wrote, to the FIRST group!!!??!!! It has been a transition that I really did not see happening. It is said that we are only as old as we feel, and honestly, I feel better than I ever have in my entire life, so that should make me right about 24!! </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I look around me and see young women with so much potential for the Kingdom, yet so much baggage from the world. I know what that looks like, because I use to see that reflection looking back at me everyday. On the outside is a woman with so much anticipation and excitement for life, yet, on the inside, there are places so scarred by human interaction, that it nearly paralyzes her before she steps out the front door. As she attempts to forge forward in life, she tries with every breath in her to push those memories into the deepest part of her gut. If she pushes far enough, they will eventually disappear, and in the next step, she will be able to move on. With every year, it gets harder and harder to push down that memory, that hurt, that abuse, that neglect, that feeling of unworthiness put on her by someone else in her very innocent place of childhood. Instead of doing as she intended by pushing it far from her mind, it begins to take on it's very own corner of her heart. This corner then becomes a place that is so guarded and protected, that it secretly begins to form, in some way, her view of the people and world around her. It cannot be held so tightly without the pressure beginning to seep into the corner next to it, down to the one below, and over into another. Before she is even aware, this place only known to her, has manifest itself into a pattern and character by which she judges every single action she or anyone else does. And without the absolute transparency of another woman becoming "Jesus with Skin On" in her life, she may very well wilt and die before ever given the chance to flourish into who she was created to be.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>If we do this thing right, we have the ability to change a generation of women growing up around us! I am reminded of Ruth and Naomi, the love and devotion Ruth felt towards her mother in law was in reciprocation of the love and wisdom Naomi had poured into Ruth's life. Although Naomi did not understand why Ruth would not leave her, Ruth knew that the gifts Naomi had given to her in those years was so precious because it had prepared her, ultimately, to be the wife of the kinsman redeemer, and in turn for what Naomi had instilled in Ruth, they both were blessed through what God brought to pass in Ruth's life. I am POSITIVE Naomi spoke life into Ruth during her years in her home. Could it be possible that God would use any one of us to be "Naomi" to a "Ruth" in our sphere of influence?</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Sometimes, being on the receiving end gets so comfortable that we may never even imagine that there is another side to this. We are poured into, so that then we may pour into someone else. This is truly how God designed the roll of women in His New Testament church. He longed for the older women to live uprightly so that when they taught the young women, they had examples of others after God's own heart, women of high regard that the young ones could then glean from. It is no different in the modern day church. The Bible is active, therefor, it is speaking to us new everyday, we are being called to rise up as women of God to reset the course of someones life around us. I will not miss His calling.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I am experiencing a new level in my walk with God not only because of the Amazing women God has placed in my life "above" me in age, but also, because He has made it very clear that I too have those younger than me, affectionately referred to as the "young ones" in my life of whom also need mentoring and discipleship. I am blown away at how God has spoken to me in this area, because it is not one I would have chosen on my own. Women's Ministry is just that, "Ministry to Women", and it excites me that God is flaming a fire in the hearts of "young ones" around me. I believe with everything in me, that if we keep focused on Christ, the influence of the group of women around us will explode into manifestations of callings that will far reach beyond our current city!!</em><br /><br /><em>Here Goes God!!</em>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-27012625663999003012011-05-16T10:17:00.000-07:002011-05-17T21:22:19.344-07:00Friendship<strong><em>"Iron <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">sharpens</span> iron; So a man <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">sharpens</span> the countenance of his friend." Proverbs 27:17</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>Women are a complex bunch; I am aware this is not a "revelation", but in this particular stage of my life, it has been a most interesting and amazing discovery. I am humbled at the lessons I have learned over the last several months that have enabled me to embrace the complicated area of women and friendship, and the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">opportunity</span> given to me by God to not have to </em>study<em> it, but to live it and experience it. There is no better teacher than life itself.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The 'mere word "friendship" causes a whirl of emotions in the heart of a woman. From a very early age we are relational with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">each other</span> on a deep and intimate level. Sometimes, saying that word brings a smile to our face, but on other <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">occasions</span>, it causes us to think about times we have been betrayed. Unfortunately, because we are human, we are more than capable of hurting <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">each other</span>, but what I have found is that more often than not, our hurt stems from our own <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">expectations</span> of those we call "friend".</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>What if we, women as a whole, decided to give EVERYTHING to God.......What if we decided that the way WE were doing things was distorted and messed up, and that the only way to be truly free was to completely throw ourselves into the lap of The Almighty. What if we opened ourselves to Christ enough that we trusted Him with it all, our husbands, our kids, our finances, our homes, our jobs......and, our friendships. For me, I never really even THOUGHT about trusting God in friendship...seriously, it was never a big challenge for me to make friends, and I do not say that pridefully, I say it to set up the next point, that in never having to THINK about it, I have never been CHALLENGED to examine the purest form of it. I am not saying I should not have trusted God sooner, I am simply saying that I never had the conviction to, and in that, when God saw that it was time to "clean up" this area of my life, it was NOT an easy and pain free process.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Two months of seclusion is exactly what God had in store for me in this area. I began to look at myself in a different way, wondering, in my own flesh, what exactly it was about me that would attract new friends, what I needed to do to make that connection, where I needed to position myself in order to make "that" friend, who I needed to talk to in order to just......HAVE FRIENDS!!! In the first few weeks of moving to California, it consumed me...all I wanted was to be back in my comfortable place where I had complete acceptance........or at least complete control. I realized very early in, that I was not going to be able to do this on my own, and in focusing on the way God brought us here, He spoke very specifically to my heart that I needed to step aside and give Him the reigns. EASIER SAID THAN DONE for a CONTROL FREAK!!!</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The very first place God began to deal was with the image I had of myself. How in the WORLD could I be a friend to anyone if I did not even really know who I was? The amazing thing that happened is that God knew me, surprising..........no, not at all, but overwhelming to say the least. God knew me, because He formed me. He knew I needed a "fresh approach" to myself and others, and what He started in those weeks of seclusion, He continued to transform in the weeks and months to come by placing very specific and healthy women in my life whom HE had picked out, NOT ME!! The very coolest thing about this is that the deepest friendships I have now, are the ones that held my hand and walked with me THROUGH the roughest part of discovering who God had created me to be. I will honestly tell you, that the Holy Spirit had revealed certain friendships to my heart going in, but I wrestled with it in my human-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">ness</span>, cause I "thought" I needed something different. The friendships that began to be formed those early days were built on NOTHING I had done, NOTHING I had orchestrated, NOTHING I had manipulated, but COMPLETELY and SOLELY on Jesus Christ, and the work He was doing in my life. The very first thing I have in common with EACH of my new friends is that GOD was the beginning. MAYBE, these ladies did not even know going in that such a bond would form, and MAYBE, they too had been praying for healthy and meaningful friendship. What I know is, that God being the beginning, I am more than prompted daily to keep Him at the center. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Never do I want to expect from a friend something she is not able to give. It is essential to know that God made us each VERY different, and in order to love a person completely, I have to just celebrate the woman God made her to be, and rejoice that God DOES make opposites attract in many ways, I believe, to hone us like "iron on iron"! How selfish of us as women to depend on another to fulfill who we are! If we plug into Christ, and are full of His Spirit and drink from His well, then we are not going to thirst for the things our flesh would have us to. How about we throw ourselves into relationship with Christ, and allow His joy to manifest in us, and in turn, bless those around us, and then....then, we too reap the benefit of true friendship.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I have friendships that I have had for over 20 years that now, after this journey, are healthy. I praise God in the fact that He can restore what is broken and make it better than ever, with deeper respect and love for one another. I acknowledge that Christ has brought to me in this new season, friendships that are close, deep, and meaningful, and on a level with Him that is more important than what exactly SHE might be thinking of my shoes!!! I thank Him, that in the process, I have found companionship that is FUN, HILARIOUS, TOTALLY CRACK-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">UPABLE</span>, and yet, a balance, in that, I will NOT <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">hesitate</span> to take the hand of one and bow right then and there to pray with her, to never worry if I need the same, and to know, that when I hear "I am praying for you" from any one of them, I never once question if that is true.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I am thankful today that God has given me clarity in who HE is first and foremost, followed by who I am IN HIM, and how exactly, each of "my girls" play a role in HIS plan for me AND them. I am grateful for the closest one as much as I am for the one that I talk to once every few weeks, because now, I realize God put them each in that position, NOT ME!! </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Whew....I Love You Girls!!</em>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-19388689076485043182011-04-27T23:05:00.000-07:002011-04-27T23:05:02.555-07:00A Call to Anguish - David Wilkerson<iframe height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lGMG_PVaJoI?fs=1" frameborder="0" width="480" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> A true Pillar of Faith. His impact will have Eternal effect!!Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-64258826578781310112011-04-27T22:59:00.000-07:002011-04-27T23:01:30.101-07:00A Call to Anguish - David WilkersonBonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315164897150334956.post-37497920895326139592011-02-05T18:34:00.000-08:002011-02-05T20:00:13.904-08:00Inspiration<em><strong>"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future." Proverbs 31:25</strong></em><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em></em><br /><em>I have honestly never liked the phrase "I want to be the Proverbs 31 Woman". I mean, seriously, what woman do YOU know who can attain ALL of these things?... And even if we try our entire lives, to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">achieve</span> in one area, is to fail miserably in the following. REALLY, not EVERY woman looks good in PURPLE!!!</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Yesterday, I had an epiphany in the dressing room of a fine clothing store. Hilarious as it sounds, it is true. I had grabbed a couple of dresses, some pants, and a couple blouses off of the racks....every one had a number on the tag much smaller than I have ever even THOUGHT of trying on. With each successful round of "fitting" into the garments, the smile on my heart got a little brighter and a little brighter. There were so many things rushing through my mind, that I quickly became a bit overwhelmed with the entire experience. As I looked at the final dress hanging on the hook, I thought to myself, "It has a belt, I would never be able to pull off a dainty little belt like that"....I slipped on the dress without looking in the mirror, fastened the belt at my waste, and slowly turned myself to see the reflection looking back at me. Tears instantly came to my eyes, as, for the first time, I saw in that reflection, the image created in the likeness of my God.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>In saying that, I need to also say that I was not looking at the PHYSICAL image in that mirror. No, for the very first time, I saw myself for who I was as a person, as a woman, as a child of God. I cannot even tell you when that vision of myself became <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">conscrewed</span>, but I have been very aware for a long time that I did not see myself the way my Heavenly Father does. Yesterday, the girl in the mirror smiling back at me was beautiful in a way that I almost did not recognize, shining through the eyes and the smile was a very real sense of Joy. Joy is where the tears came from. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>In those few moments, my mind raced back over the events that have brought me to this point. Very quickly, things from my past that had held me in bondage were brought to mind and released. This was not a process that happened in 5 minutes looking in a dressing room mirror, no, this was the completion of a project God has been working on for many, many months. I realized that the grueling journey of examining who I am, my thought process, my motives, my actions, and putting them in alignment with God, had reached a point in which I could rest in Him and believe that the hardest part had been finished. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I left low self-esteem in that small room...and the feeling of not being worthy of love...I left insecurity and doubt there....along with bitterness and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">unforgiveness</span>....I gained hold of the worth of my womanhood, the trust in my relationships, and the dignity of myself. In all, I left the broken, abandoned, self <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">manipulated</span> girl there...and took with me the confident, healed, untouched woman who is walking taller, and with more strength in the FEAR of her MOST HIGH GOD...with a smile, looking toward the future!</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The latter is the focus of my new found belief in the "Proverbs 31 Woman". If I put one foot in front of the other, without <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">sabotage</span> on my own, and walk humbly in the Fear of the Lord, I will have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">achieved</span> the greatest part of that entire chapter....from this, the rest will fall into place, and that gray dress will look just as stunning as any scarlet or purple!!</em>Bonnie Mahnkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00627817122000880778noreply@blogger.com0