Think

Do you ever ask yourself the question, "What am I thinking about today?" Sometimes I'll go days without taking inventory of my thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10:5 reminds us to tear down, destroy, demolish, annihilate, do whatever it takes to get rid of the negative thoughts that we let bombard our mind and pull us away from God's truth.

What we think on had a direct connection to what we begin to believe. What we believe is directly related to how we live our life. If you are struggling, pay attention today to what your mind is dwelling on. Grab those negative and fearful thoughts, tell them they are lies and ask God to help you to believe His truth. Sometimes we just have to give those negative issues and thoughts in our life over to God and ask for His help. It's amazing to me how many times I forget to do that!

The more we do this, the stronger we become. When I'm discouraged I try to remind myself that Christ has given me everything I need for life and Godliness! I CAN DO THIS THING!

So can you.

xoxo

Happy Anniversary!

16 years ago today I married the best thing that ever happened to me: my husband, Casey Henagan! Honestly, I don't think there is a person on this planet who could love me, put up with my stubbornness, and value me like he does. I thought I made a good decision 16 yrs. ago but it has turned out to be a great one. He makes me laugh, sometimes hysterically. He makes me mad, and it's then he calls me "Joe Joe the Little Indian Boy" (yeah, you have to be in our home to understand that one!). And his kind acts of love touch my heart like no-one ever has been able to.

At the end of the day I know he's got my back. He will defend me until the end. We have too much history and weathered to great of a storm together. Sometimes he's like the sun and I'm like the moon. We couldn't see things more opposite. I can be an up and down, quick tempered person. He's as steady as the day is long- God certainly knows how to match people!! I just want to publicly recognize him today and say thank you for being my biggest cheerleader. Thank you for loving me, imperfections and all- God knows I've got many! My earnest prayer is that God would reward you openly in Heaven for all the faithfulness you have had here on earth!

Love you,
Stacy

Keys of Success

I may not be on Jay Leno tonight but that doesn't mean I don't live a successful life. In fact, I believe my life is successful (and you can too) by God's standards: being rooted and producing fruit. Now, I still have a ways to go, some personal victories to win and more God wants me to accomplish, but I know I am where I am supposed to be.

I find very often people who are wandering around this planet. Some of them don't even realize it. But when it comes down to it they have no roots grounding them. It's like living on the earth without gravity. The only thing you can do is float!

The best thing I could have done in my life was to get grounded and rooted in my local church. I am not exaggerating that statement.

It. Changed. My. Life.

Looking back on nearly 34 years of being a church goer here are some things it taught me that I consider PRICELESS. For me, I don't think I could have learned them anywhere else.

-I learned to love people.
Raised an only child I have a tendency to sink into my own little world. The church helped me look past my four walls and reach out to people.

-I learned integrity.
I was committed to a church that is now over 40 yrs. old and has never once had a scandal, a split, or moral failure by the pastor. In these days, that's a miracle!! Honestly though, I watched my pastor walk upright and I was challenge to do the same. He handled the finances with integrity, was a stickler about being pure and honest, and was committed to excellence. Even at a young age I noticed.

-I learned how to lead.
This changed the course of my life, literally. I became a life group leader, never thought I could, but a confidence began to form in me. I couldn't believe that God would want to use me. I didn't know I had anything to offer.

-I learned simple things like how to entertain.
Raised by a single mom on a fixed income we didn't have the luxury of entertaining guests in our home and the idea seemed foreign to me. Through leading life groups I learned how to open my home to others. After I got married it was one of my greatest pleasures.

-I learned how to be faithful.
Sounds easy but when things get uncomfortable, when you get overlooked for the job or when you simply don't agree with decisions being made (not unethical decisions of course), you are challenged to say, "Forget it, I'm outta here!" However, God always challenged me to stay. And wow, am I glad I did. I learned too much to even write. Looking back I realized that God was trying to mature me.

-I learned that when you are rooted God illuminates your path.
I have had those "in the right place at the right time" experiences. But really, it was God saying, "You're in line with where I want you. You've been rooted so now you're ready for the next step." I'm married to my husband, have my 3 children, living in the city I am, and pastor Keypoint Church today ALL because of being rooted. One step led to the next over the years.

I want to implore you to do yourself a huge honor and get rooted wherever God wants you. Once, I was thinking about doing something else with my life and I saw a rock in a garden that said, "Stay rooted and grow." God used that rock to remind me of this simple principle. IF I had gone the way I thought I wanted to go, I would never have made it to NWA. In fact, there are a lot of things I would have never made it to. I believe one of the reasons people consistently struggle in life is because they haven't taken advantage of what the church can offer and rooted themselves. In 17 years of ministry I've noticed that strong marriages and healthy lives are produces from rooting yourself instead of letting gravity float you along.

God has GREAT things for you. Success is in your future if only you let your roots sink deep into the soil of a great local church and watch the tender shoots that will begin to spring forth in your life. Eventually those shoots will turn into sturdy oaks. The kind mentioned in Isaiah 61.

I honestly say that one of the keys to success is being rooted and grounded- you're poised for growth!

I love you with all my heart!

Stacy :)

Once Again

"Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again." Ezekiel 37:9

For sure one of my favorite passages of the Bible. God has encouraged and challenged me with it on numerous occasions. Insert it into your life:

God is saying: Speak! But before you speak you must first BELIEVE! Be convinced of the revelation I put in your heart long ago. Don't allow it to leave you no matter how hard life has tried to steal it away. Stir it up again! Realize that your enemy would like nothing more than to steal your passion and zeal for life, for Me, for the purposes I've put in your heart. Look at your dead circumstances and prophesy to them. TELL THEM what I have said. Let the breath of your mouth mix with the wind. It won't come back void! It will go and do what you've sent it to do. Tell your dreams to live again."

If you've lost your faith, been disappointed, become cynical and frustrated, realize that no one can fix that but you and the Lord. Believe once again. Trust again. Have faith again.

Speak once again.

The Beauty of Innocence

Have you ever taken a good look at Barbie? Darn it, she might be near perfect! Seriously, WHO looks like her? In real life I think her waist would be about as big as my thigh! Ridiculous! You don't have to be 6' tall with loooong legs and shiny blonde hair to be beautiful! Despite what our culture says. Really, no matter how tall you are, no matter what color your hair and eyes, and no matter what size the tag on your bra reads there is ONE thing that makes us all absolutely, drop dead gorgeous: and that is INNOCENCE. That's why children are so beautiful. They haven't had near as much time to be polluted by this world.

Daniel 6:21 "I've been found innocent before God". What an incredible thing to be able to say. God looks deep into our hearts, past our exterior. He's searching to find a heart that strives to be innocent before Him. A heart without malice, back biting, gossip, jealousy.... oh you know the things we are all tempted with. As we aim to rid ourselves of this vile stuff we become more and more and more beautiful. Stunning, in fact.

So the next time you look into the mirror take a moment and look past that exquisite face of yours and check out your heart. Let the beauty that lies within it shine back.

What a View!

Doesn't this view just look serene? If only I could wake up to it every morning! I think this is what my slice of Heaven will be like. :)

This picture was taken on a recent trip with my mom. It was so nice. Especially the morning I went out to the beach early with my Ipod and Bible. I had one of those moments where God and his enormous love felt overwhelming. One of the lines in the song I was listening to mentioned not fearing the mountains before you. It was like God was painting a word picture (literally) for me as I glanced to my right and stared at those gorgeous mountains in front of me.

What was so amazing was that instead of these mountains looking scary, they were a picture of beauty. Maybe that's what God is trying to tell us. When we focus on Him we might begin to see the things standing before us that just won't budge, that are soooo stubburn, and sometimes look really frightening~ as beautiful. Because they draw us closer to Him. Because they become our "miracle". Because when we extract the fear we see them as an opportunity just waiting to happen. I'm not quite sure. All I know is that while sitting in a lounge chair on the sand in Mexico God blessed me with a little moment that I won't forget.

So.... we can't have Mexico every day. But I have the picture that reminds me that those mountains are stunning!

Love,

Stacy

Your Assignment. Your Calling. Stay There.

I love the One Year Bible! God never fails to speak to me through it no matter what is on my mind that day. What I read today was particularly great:

The Old Testament talked all about Nehemiah starting to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Such an incredible story. Nehemiah, along with help from many others, really did an incredible work for God's people.

In the New Testament one really great scripture stood out to me. I Corinthians 7:17 "Each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned him and to which God has called him."

Apply that to Nehemiah. Just think if he would have jumped ship before he had a chance to rebuild the walls. What if a year or so before he decided he didn't like being the king's cupbearer so he quit, got another job or moved away? OR what if while rebuilding the walls (which was his assignment from God) he decided it was just to darn hard! Too much opposition! Too much pressure! Too much inconvenience!

I love that Nehemiah didn't run out on God's plan. Because of his faithfulness to complete the job and stay in the place of life that the Lord assigned and called him to countless people were blessed. And I believe Nehemiah lived with a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment that can't be gotten when you run to the other side of the fence because it looks greener.

Apply that to you. You may not think your "place" in life is glamorous- sometimes I certainly don't think mine is!! You may not think it's important. But sometimes the best thing to do is water the grass you stand on and watch God make it the most green, plush garden around!

I'm convinced that standing in the will of God will bring more blessing in my life than standing anywhere else.

Love,
Stacy