Tag Archives: Kate Montaung

Today, everything is FREE!

Free is good. Free is always good!

I remember several years ago (can you say Vintage ’80’s?!) my sister-in-law, Sue, (who has written for us here, here and here!) won a contest at a local grocery store. She had so many minutes, (seemed like it was three), to fill her grocery cart with as much merchandise as she possibly could. If she could cram it in there and get back to the checkout in the limited amount of time then she could keep everything she had managed to squeeze in.

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Oh my, I was there that day. People were cheering her on and hollering out what to buy or what to put back. The store was not a mega supermarket; it was a small grocery chain at the time, which also meant it wasn’t a Walmart SuperCenter or a Super Target, only normal grocery items. They actually stopped everything in the store, no one was allowed to shop and no one was working; all eyes were on Sue and what she could get for FREE.

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Pack it in she did! She was smart and had thought ahead, or maybe her husband had thought for her, but she went for the high value items: Huge roasts, steaks and chops, mega-size laundry detergents and softeners (did you see the Top Job floor cleaner?), and some frozen foods. She sure didn’t waste her time on the little and insignificant things that you can buy every day, she went for things she wouldn’t normally grab or for those that were considered special for certain occasions.

What about you? Do you come in expecting to pay, over and over again, for something Jesus already gave His life for?

Friends, He paid the ultimate price and now Jesus welcomes us to come in, grab a cart and fill it up with everything He has to offer: Peace, joy in the Holy Ghost, comfort, righteousness, eternal life and so much more! He invites us to be free from anxiety, worry, fear, nervousness, dread, burdens, questions, distractions, weights and anything else that keeps us from getting rest and enjoying the life and freedom He has promised us.

We can have every,  single promise that is in His book directed to us. He holds nothing back!

Or maybe our lack of belief that He will do what He said he will do!  We end up paying for our mistakes, sometimes more than once. That is not freedom, friends.

“In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.” Psalm 118:5.

What kind of price are you willing to continue paying for yourself or your family when you could be FREE?

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14.

Imagine living as though every day,  you got up, grabbed your cart and said, “What do you have for me today, God? Fill up my heart with all of You and your attributes that I might go out and share it with others.”

Picture Sue in that grocery store loading up on all the good things of God instead of groceries! Then, go, fill up your cart in the morning and distribute it all day long. Go to bed, get up and repeat!

Free

Today, everything is FREE…

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The-Daniel-Fast-A-DevotionalWe can’t just wait until the New Year rolls around to fast. Especially with the state that the world is in and all that is coming upon us, we must fast and pray more now than ever before! The Daniel Fast Devotional will help you with ANY FAST. 21 days of devotions (recipes if you are doing the Daniel Fast) and three days of preparation before you begin any fast. Get your Kindle copy or paperback today! 

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I’ll see you in my complicated migraine dreams…

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The #FiveMinuteFriday prompt is the word Dream. We are to write five minutes, no editing, worrying or self-analyzing. Just write for the love of the written word. You can read other great takes on this week’s prompt here.

Go!

I have complicated/complex migraines. Not that I am bragging by any stretch of the imagination. For twenty years or more I suffered from regular migraines; the hide your face under a pillow, plug your ears from any noise, cry and pray it would go away soon migraine. Anyone who suffers with these debilitating headaches has my heartfelt sympathy and compassion. I have felt your pain.

But for some reason known only to God Almighty, I, thankfully, no longer have those types of headaches. I have what I call the crazy migraine. The Sweetheart will definitely agree with me.

Complicated migraines can, at times, mimic a stroke in their symptoms. For instance, you can become weak on one side, your speech will slur or you might not make any sense at all. Some are very scary, others are quite mild. Some also have throbbing headaches, others just a mild one. I don’t have a lot of pain, usually a dull headache in the back of my head with extreme numbness and tingling in my head, down my side, leg and into my feet where it feels like lightning bolts are scampering to be the first in line to zap the life out of me. I become extremely dizzy and disoriented to the point of knocking over furniture; I am a threat to myself to be sure.

Mine are just weird.

The fun part begins when I fall asleep. I might have just drifted off when The Sweetheart says I then start hollering crazy things such as, “Help me, help me, please come help me!” But it is a mumbled mess because my speech is slurred and I am half-asleep. What I am experiencing on the other end is a dream. It is almost always the same type of dream, I am trying to wake up or trying to get away from something and I am yelling for my Doogalas to come and rescue me but it feels like I have cotton in my mouth and can’t get it out. Or, worse yet, I am running in slow motion (picture your favorite cartoon character) and my words come out very slow and with extreme effort, as if we have slowed down a record from 78 rpm to 45. I just can’t get my feet and legs to cooperate. And he doesn’t come to rescue me. (There might be hidden explanations here, hmmm?)

This last one was supposedly my most entertaining yet. I started crying and saying, “I want to go with you; I want to go with you!” The Sweetheart is trying to wake me up and when I do finally come around, I fall right back asleep and ten minutes later it starts all over again with “help me, help me!” Once again, being the gallant rescuer that he is, I am gently awakened and brought back to reality for a short few moments before we repeat the process all over again for a third time.

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We all have them, some good, some not so good, some just plain confusing and exhausting. When I was little, I shared a room and a double bed with my sister who was two years older. My parents have told us many stories of the two of us talking in our sleep.

And make sense?! We did. Gotta admit that is very strange and I don’t tell too many people. They might think we were weird or something. (smile)

So what are your dreams?

Do you feel like you are past the age of seeing dreams fulfilled? I will be 54 years old in about three weeks and I haven’t seen all of my dreams come to pass but I sure have seen many of them. I wanted a family, I wanted The Sweetheart, I wanted all of us to serve God together. I wanted a home that everyone could come back to. If you know me, you know I do not have that last part. My family is scattered and I don’t even own a home any longer because of our traveling for Revival By Design and our overseas work. We are scattered because of ministry; I will not complain!

Then there are the things I never dreamed I would see or do such as traveling the world to help new works become established, teaching and training leaders sometimes even with an interpreter. Who knew? Maybe we don’t dream big enough, maybe we should aim higher and just see what God will do.

Maybe, just maybe, God would hear our cry and answer our prayers, fulfilling our dreams!

Praying today my dreams would become more Kingdom focused, with or without migraines. Praying for you, wherever you are, that you would dream big, as the song says, “That’s the Lord’s desire for you….” And one day our dreams, our ultimate dream of living eternally with the Savior, will become reality. We will all be gathered around the throne and we won’t have to worry about whether we are going to be rescued. Jesus has already accomplished the work. It is finished.

I’ll see you in my dreams…

Stop.

 

Sharing with Grace and Truth