Put on

I want to begin today with asking you what do you put on everyday?  We (girls) put on a lot of things every morning with the process of preparing for the day.  We put on our makeup, clothes, shoes, jewelry, deodorant ~ well you get it.  We put a lot of things on our very being to get out in the world for the day.  To face the day we make sure we remember certain things, if we forget certain ones people might avoid us!  Forget that deodorant and people will avoid you.  Forget the makeup and only those that truly love you will still hang around ~ anyway...  We are sure to put on things that we believe in our soul help us survive the world we move around daily in.

Today, I've been looking at a word from Colossians 3 that I love!  Two words just jumped off the page at me and it was the words found in verse 10.  

Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  We must daily choose to put on the new things that Christ teaches us just like we do our deodorant or our jewelry.  Oh we still have our salvation, but to truly live in freedom daily we must choose to put on the new self!  The new self that Christ teaches us all about such as compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  

It took on a whole new meaning to me this morning about putting on our new selves with the rest of our daily wardrobe.  We forget that deodorant and well nobody wants to hang with us and the same is true of forgetting to put on our new self.  We need to choose daily to put on our new self along with our outfit for the day.  Ladies, I know how important it is for all of us with the right outfit and fitting right and feeling good all day by wearing the right thing the same is true with putting on our new self.  If we forget and don't wear the new self our whole day is just wrong.  It's like wearing the shoe that doesn't fit right, it hurts!  In our souls we are just off and the day is ruined and we move further away from being who we are suppose to be.  Oh, we haven't lost our salvation, but we sure aren't dancing in our freedom with Christ!

Today, put on your new self!  Dance with the LORD and live in freedom wearing all that we are meant to be...

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

More, More, More

The picture above a little blurred, but you are able to see our beautiful girl, Sadie hanging out the window anticipating a branch or limb in the road above.  She loves to try and grab anything that gets in her way.  She absolutely loves to ride in Colorado and explore.  Every evening I ask her Sadie are you ready to go riding and she is standing at the back door jumping and going in circles.  Excitement is the only way to describe how she acts.  I love watching her.  She simply can't get enough!

Well, that is me.  I can't get enough of Jesus and I only want to share, share, share, and share some more!  I look a lot like Sadie, but I don't want to turn people off so I try not to jump up and down on them and turn in circles for fear they will think I need special meds or something.  It's so true though!  I only want everyone to desire more and more and be sure that I've done my part whatever that might be to give it to them or to provide an opportunity for God to show up!  It's exciting getting to see Him work and I hang out the window just like Sadie for the opportunity to be a part of God's Work!

Don't miss out on special times with Jesus!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

She even instructs me which fun path we might try each evening!  We even went on 4 wheel drive roads just the two of us and it's exciting watching moose, deer, and elk explore looking for their evening meals!  Again, are you excited for more of Jesus?  You don't have to jump and down like Sadie, but we should have a different look about us that others desire and want for themselves!

Where are you

Always, always I get chill bumps when I know without a doubt "THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE" sees little old me!  Many of you know that this week I stepped away from everyday life running to and fro being about the busy work of the Journey of Sisters Ministry to alone time with God and my hubby.  Well, we arrived to our restful spot in the world and Kenny had work to be done, so truly it's been alone time with God.  

I have been quiet and rested..  Truly rested.  I haven't picked up books like normal.  I haven't picked up the phone like normal to check in.  I've sat on the back porch and looked at God's creation, I've gotten in the jeep and traveled down the road to watch the animals that He designed and I've been quiet.  I've not talked.  I've not studied.  I've just been in His Presence and Wow I feel refreshed!

I finally picked up my Bible and study books and the first words were "Where are you" from the story in Genesis 3 that God spoke to Adam and Eve.  As if God doesn't know where they are, but I felt He was speaking them to me.  Saying Debbie where have you been, where are you now, where are you going to be?  I prayed, I listened, and I know that I am with Him.  I am wrapped in His arms and that it is words that I needed.  I needed Him.  

I fail so desperately in the real world seeking approval from those that surround me.  I want to fix the problem whatever that might be and I can't.  I accept it.  I am just Debbie and I might offer an opinion and I can be Jesus arms and love and be your friend, but I cannot fix anything.  Also, nobody can fix my issues and I must go to the One who is able to take care of all of this and more and honestly that is not the ones that surround me in daily in everyday life - nope it is God alone!

The story of Eve this week showed me that I am so much like Eve.  Go ahead read the story and see if you don't see a little bit of yourself in her too.  If not, good for you but if so take hope in knowing that God loves us in spite of ourselves!  Eve listened to that little seed of doubt that the serpent fed her and all of us are still paying for it with our own sins daily.  Yes, we are quick to want to point our fingers at Eve and say if I were Eve - well if you were Eve or I was Eve more than likely we would have done the exact same thing!  We listen to the doubts the serpent feeds us and we believe him just like Eve!

In my dream last night God gave me words from Isaiah 40 and they are a beautiful reminder of who God truly is ~ Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

God reminded me before I begin the journey home tomorrow to look to Him in my everyday world just like do here in my resting place!  He reminded me that if He knows the names of over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way alone and that He sat them in place He will take care of little old Debbie if she will just allow Him the opportunity!  I get busy and allow the devil to feed doubt into my being, so God reminded me on this trip that just like He made the clothing to cover Adam and Eve He also made the covering for me!  Jesus died for me and as much as I wanted to return with humor this morning the truth of what Christ did for me had to be written about and that once again I must be real with my own failings in the hope of someone else being healed through my own shortcomings!

Tomorrow I head south refreshed and renewed in the LORD and ready to do His Work.  Ready to proceed where He leads and reminded to Look to Him for the guidance!

I love you LORD!

Grace, Grace, Grace ~ thank you LORD!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

God is love...

    Our cultures are so different that we can't even comprehend how blessed we are to freely worship Jesus!  I've been reading two books that have really opened my eyes to a world that truthfully I just can't grasp one is entitled "In the Land of Blue Burquas" and the other is "The Road of Lost Innocence" and let me tell you they are eye openers.

Women sharing truth if we want to read it.  Harsh truth that all of us would sometimes rather just close our eyes to the fact it exist.  The first is about a woman that went to Afghanistan to give to the women there and what she discovered.  One thing that broke my heart is never have they heard God described as loving the word they use is kind.  I can't imagine not realizing just how much God loves us.  Absolutely never is the word love used associated with God at all...Let that soak in for a moment.  If you don't know that God loves you, imagine the emptiness!

Next, is the harsh reality of a woman in Cambodia that was sold into the sex slave industry and her life story of emptiness.  Filled with tragedy, but she was very strong and courageous.  I am not quite half way through the book, because I just can't read it very much at a time.  The awful things that were done to her and the things she witnessed are terrible.  I want to stop reading, but know that I must finish it.  I must allow God to show me the things we need to work to change, the prayers that we might lift that would help these special women.

Today, pray that women will realize that indeed God does love each and every one of us!!!!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Only yesterday...

It seems like yesterday.  The phone rang Deb it's time and I jumped into my car to share the most beautiful experience of my first nephew coming into this world. Pam allowed me the gift of sharing in the experience of the boys coming into this world with Ken and her.  A gift that is treasured by couples and yet they loved me enough to share it with me.  A present that thank you will never express my gratitude.  Many of you know that I am not able to have children, but yet I do.  I did not feel the wiggles inside me or have the late night experiences of crying needing to be fed or just held, but I had all the good times!  I didn't get some of the hard stuff, because I'm the aunt of  the kids or  DeDe as they all call me. I get the fun stuff!  I get some of the confidential information and the words of warning  -  DeDe if you tell I'll have to get rid of you information that sometimes I would rather not know...but I love my babies.  Okay they aren't babies anymore, but as I told Vaughn just last week I don't care when you are sixty and I'm ....well you don't need to know that part you will still be our baby as will Kyle, Blake, Samantha, Sara, Sadie, and Holt...

I realized last night that even the kids are struggling with our first one graduating.  Samantha wrote this on facebook to her cousin ...

Man it seems like just yesterday we were little kids playing around even though we didn't see each other much! It's crazy that time has passed by so fast now ur a senior and going off to college! Ur the best cousin that anyone could ever have besides the times u pick on me bt I don't care! The night of ur graduation I'm going to burst in to tears and cry my eyes out! Bt I just want to tell u I love you and have a fantastic time at college! — with Vaughn Shapen and Debbie Covington.

I don't care who we are we struggle with change in our journeys and the words from Ecclesiastes 3 come to my mind right now almost daily...There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...I've always wondered what got into Solomon with the whole book of Ecclesiastes, but I'm beginning to get it more with age.  We realize that indeed there is a time for everything for each of us to experience.  God's timing is so unique and special for each of us and we need to embrace every detail - even when it hurts!  The special times in our nephews and nieces journeys (or your kids) sometimes hurts, because we realize our time is not their time - just like God's timing with us.  His timing is not ours!  We each have our special unique time given to us by God to share with us and to share with Him uniquely made for each of us.

What I was reading Samantha's words to Vaughn I remembered  a special little league ballgame sitting in the bleachers with Vaughn, Kyle, and Samantha after the game where they were laughing, giggling, and having the time of their lives sharing it with their DeDe.  I never went anywhere without my camera during those days and the photos were lost in the fire, but the memory is stored right there in my head like it was yesterday.  Three little precious gifts from God with their blond hair and smiles shining for the whole world to watch as they shared a special moment of laughter and fun at the ball field and yesterday sitting at the banquet honoring Vaughn's baseball team we were still together laughing, hair a little darker for some of us, a little less hair for others, but we were still together laughing and giggling about the fun times.  I sat right there with them once again watching a special moment in our journey pass, but indeed the words came to mind that there is a time for everything...

I love each of you and words simply cannot tell you how much!

Sweet blessings,

DeDe

Smash, Cut to pieces, what do we need to get rid of?

I read the story of the young King Josiah this weekend.  Do you know he came into the position of king at the age of 8?  Yes, eight.  What were you doing at 8?  Perhaps playing piano, brownies, playing t-ball, dancing, baton, the list goes on and on and I am willing to guess known of us were named King or Queen.  Anybody?

Imagine, one day in the little prince's playroom the leaders of the kingdom came and put a crown on your head and suddenly you were no longer allowed into the playroom with other children.  No suddenly you were in the throne room with a lot of boring adults that thought they knew everything!  Yes think of the little guys around you about the age of 8, well any of them sound like King Josiah?  I imagine not.

In 2 Chronicles 34, we read the words that he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right and to the left.  Imagine an 8 year old, but better yet imagine an adult!  Yes doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD and nothing or no one surrounding him influenced his walk!  Could we say the same?

I love this story!  His father did what was evil even worse than his grandfather before him and yet this little guy did what was right in the eyes of the LORD!  Yes, even with evil surrounding him ~ he did what was right!  We maybe surrounded by evil, but we are still able to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.  Listen to Him, read His Word and see where He leads you!  Listen to Him and follow His directions.  Let's learn from the little guy found in 2 Chronicles that rid the area surrounding him with evil.  Yes, purged it from the land!  

Indeed, we can learn from the little guys in our world!  We never know who God is using that is in the playrooms or the boardrooms ~ be open with ears to hear and eyes to see!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

What do we miss?

Today, I was reading the passage from Mark 9 about Jesus going up on the mountain and taking with him Peter, James and John.  What a special moment to witness it was!  

Peter is so excited like any of us would have been and he wanted to mark the moment for his memory or mark the spot so that it would never be forgotten.  So he opens his mouth and ask why don't we build three shelters. The Word goes on to tell us that he didn't really know what to say, so knowing Peter like we do from the Word he speaks what comes to his mind without any thought.  How often do we do the same?  First thought out it comes and the moment it's out we want to hit rewind right back into our mouths and back to our mind?  Well, I admit I do this quite frequently!

I love Peter because I see myself in him.  I relate to him.  I blunder, but I love the LORD and so did Peter!  How many of you are with me?  We love the LORD, but we sometimes get in the way?

Truthfully, I think Peter realized how special this moment was and he wanted to mark it down forever!  You know that moment that you know God speaks to you and you write it in your journal or in your blog?  It is committing it to your memory through keeping note of it.  Or perhaps Peter wanted to stay on in the midst of this mountaintop experience forever?  Ever wanted to just stay right there on the mountain never to return to the valley even though we know that is where the fruit is made?

What are we missing because we either forget to mark the experience or because we hang to long on the mountain resting in the afterglow?  

Read Mark 9 and see what God speaks to you.

Again, perhaps the LORD is telling me to think before I speak...but then again the LORD wants our relationship with Him and He wants truth from us.  So, perhaps even if the truth isn't pretty He wants us to speak it and allow Him the opportunity to spend time with Him to clean us up ~ just like He did Peter!  

So spend time with the LORD!  Don't miss out on the mountaintop experience or the valley because He will show up in both places!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Pray, Pray, Pray

Do you ever feel lead to write something, but thing this is so awful no one will finish reading it?  Not necessarily how badly written it might be, but that these things I am about to share with you are actually happening?  We must open our eyes to the things that are happening around the world and in our own backyards ( so to speak)  Yes, it happens right here in Shreveport/Bossier.  I know not to the degree that is it in other parts of the world, but it is happening.

I apologize before hand and if you can’t finish reading at least begin to pray for the children that are being sold daily into a life that no one should ever have to endure!  Please follow the link to the NY Times article that I am posting about the situation right here in America. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/opinion/kristof-not-quite-a-teen-yet-sold-for-sex.html  Also, please read more articles by Nicholas Kristof, a man that is trying to raise awareness world wide about this terrible situation!

I am going to introduce you to a few stories that are hard to believe, but are true.  The first is a young girl arrives at the brothel in Cambodia, Taiwan, India, and more countries after having been sold by her family for various reasons among them they simply needed the money to purchase food, medicine, or a karaoke machine.  Yes, a karaoke machine.  This young mom lived near the Manila airport with many children and although they were poor they had food, but she wanted a karaoke machine which cost several hundred dollars.  So the mom sold her oldest daughters ages 10 and 12 to various men to acquire the money to make the purchase.  Eventually these two young girls were taken from their own mother and placed in a shelter. 

Another story is about some young girls that found a woman in the middle of the road who appeared to be ill.  The woman appearing to appreciate their help offered them cookies.  The cookies were drugged the girls passed out.  The woman hired a taxi to take them to a brothel that she tried to arrange their sale.  These girls were blessed because the taxi driver realized what was happening and rushed the girls safely home.  A lot of girls are not so fortunate.

Another young girl was smuggled across the border from Vietnam and sold into the life at the age of 14.  She is a virgin and her asking price is $500, after that the price goes down to $10, another week it will drop to $5, eventually $2 to $3.  Servicing up to 10 to 12 men in one night.  Perhaps none of them wearing condoms meaning the rise of young women being infected with diseases.  The girls are becoming younger and younger so that it is less likely they will be infected and give these men anything!  Yes, these young girls are never allowed to be little girls.  One young girl stated how could she be made at her mother for selling her after all she was sick and needed the medicine.  It is hard for all of us to comprehend, but we must!  WE have to help!

You ask why I am sharing this information with you perhaps – well to open eyes!  To raise awareness and ask you to pray for these young women!  We are all able to pray right here for someone to cross their path and change the route that becomes their fate of a brothel.  Yes, we can pray for more taxi drivers to be aware and return the girls back home.  We might ask that someone realize and rescue them away from this awful life.  We just need to pray that someone will rescue the girls and take them to one of the different homes that have been setup to educate them, to love on them with the love of Christ, to give them hope and a whole new world.  ALL of us must begin to pray and share with friends this awful situation that is happening everywhere!

Another way that you might help is go their websites read about the different ministries and share with people in your part of the world!  Some of them include the Princess Home, Rabah Bazaar and these are just two of them!  So many trying to help these women.  We offer the jewelry in the Journey of Sisters Ministry office on Line Avenue and we can help right here by purchasing this jewelry, but we don’t care if you buy it from us!  All I am asking is that you become aware and do your part however you want to help!  Begin this morning by lifting up someone to cross the path of a young girl that is about to be taken by the evil way and return her to safety!  We don’t have to know their name God already does!

Shopping times today are from one until seven tonight at 6030 Line Avenue, Suite 340!  Share with your friends!  Hope to see you!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Smile and make everyone wonder what you've been up to...

Have you ever noticed when you smile at someone for no reason that they look at you sometimes like what did you do?  Or what do I have on my front teeth that they are smiling at?  Did I drop my lunch on the front of my shirt?  

Today, try smiling at everyone that passes by you and see if your day doesn't go a whole lot better!  It does I promise.  It even seems that you walk a little higher and with a little extra bounce in your step.  

A simple smile might be the only kindness shown to someone that crosses your path today.  When we remember to smile in kindness, God smiles.  He wants us to be His hands, His arms, His legs in this world so smiling would be what He would do along with perhaps an encouraging word!

Keep smiling,

Debbie