Testimony Tuesday: Freedom From Addiction

“Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:4‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Hopefully this testimony will be cut and dry just like my husband’s deliverance.

Nearly ten years ago, when Carlos was in his 18th season of professional baseball, he was set-free from the addiction of alcoholism. 

Even before he signed as an amateur free agent in 1991, college life had already opened the door to drinking. First socially then used as an outlet to help him relax, drinking beer seemed like no big deal and was just another part of the game. 

It wasn’t long, however, before the repercussions of a former messy divorce, the pressure of performing in the big leagues, the stress of tireless travel and making the transition from “change-up king” to “coach” made way for alcohol to become his source of coping. 

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Testimony Tuesday: I AM Willing

“I AM the Lord your Healer.” -Exodus 15:26

Don’t ever underestimate the power of a testimony. Not only do they give glory to God by revealing His goodness, they release hope and belief for the favor and love of a Father to breakthrough in your life beyond all you can ask or think. 

I have been wanting to share this particular testimony publicly for years. There are a few that know the story well. And I believe I can speak for each of us when I say that what took place in the year of 2015, was a complete game changer in our lives.

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Testimony Tuesday: Restoration

I know the power of a testimony. I have been changed by many and have changed my mind about God (being renewed in my mind about His never-changing goodness) in hundreds. I, myself, have too many testimonies to share. The more you see who He really is (Perfect Love), the more you experience His miracles; His very life.

Testimonies reveal the love and goodness of a Father who lives to bless you, so you can know Him more. It’s why He sent His Son. He wants you to encounter Him. Revelations 12:11 says we overcome the devil’s accusations by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

Every Tuesday, I’ll be sharing a new testimony that I pray will transform your heart and mind, increasing your capacity to believe He is better than you ever imagined. Today’s testimony may be simple. But Jesus is not only powerful, He is practical. He cares about every single detail of your life. 

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Abide

“Live in Me. Make your home in Me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with Me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:4-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

So, let’s be real. Do you ever feel like God is constantly asking of you? Do you feel as if He is looking over your shoulder expecting your best performance? 

Do you feel as though your life is a roller coaster of feeling loved one minute and feeling like you have to go out and be the world’s Savior the next? Does guilt weigh down the scales over grace? Do you wake up day after day feeling as if you have to do “for” Him or strive for moral excellency? 

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Thirty Plus

If you’ve been trusting God for your breakthrough but haven’t seen the full manifestation of it yet, don’t give up hope! 

Instead, choose to give thanks and celebrate even the smallest progress (30%). Because like the seed sown on good soil, all you need to do is keep hearing His Word of grace and love toward you. Keep believing His promise is a finished work and keep receiving His gift of righteousness and unearned favor especially when you feel you least deserve it. 

And Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Beloved, don’t try to have big faith. Don’t put your faith in your faith. Faith is a Person. It’s all about Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith. He is all you need. 

He believes perfectly for you, on your behalf, even when you’re struggling with doubt. Simply rest in His Faith by trusting in His unfailing love. 

Don’t let worry choke the flow. Don’t let the lies take root. Feed on the Word of Truth that point you all to your Savior and the glory of your identity in Him!

And like that seed planted in good ground (that’s you, co-buried and co-resurrected in Christ), you will move from a 30 percent breakthrough of blessings to 60, then 100 TIMES what was sown in your heart! 

“And other seed fell into good soil, and as the plants grew and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times [as much as had been sown].” Mark 4:8 AMP

Remember, the farmer did the sowing. The farmer is your Father! He’s got you and He knows what He is doing. See your Daddy God’s heart for you and see your harvest grow! You’ll reap exceedingly beyond what you hoped for. 

That’s grace. 

Let Him do the doing. And you simply surrender to be His.

Resting In His Love,

Annalee Reyes

Release The Weight of Worry

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

We all worry at times. But being in a perpetual state of worry or anxiety is unbelief. 

We stress because we don’t believe  our Savior finished the work of becoming our sin and making us righteous in Him. We panic because we have forgotten our Prince of Peace paid for our promises. We fret because we take thought of our troubles, instead of taking them captive and bringing them to the obedience of Christ on the cross (2 Corinthians 10:3-5), where they were made extinct!

Beloved, when you are in unrest (striving inwardly) it’s as if God rests. But when you, who are seated in Christ (far above all principality and power), take up your position of rest, He works. When you let go, His grace flows. 

When you carry the load of your burdens and cares, you are in essence saying that the work of redemption is not complete. 

But Jesus, The Lover of your soul, is saying to you, “Unload your concerns on Me by being real with Me. Release the weight of that which I bore. All you need and desire is found in Me. Let not your heart be troubled by simply trusting in My perfect love for you.”

So here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Resting In His Love,

Annalee Reyes

I Am No Victim: A New Year’s Decree

At the beginning of 2018, I wrote a blog called “Eagle Vision” based on a Word the Lord gave me that tied in with the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl. Ultimately, it was a call to the believer to see the way He sees because that’s where you’re seated. 

And what usually happens when the Lord brings you into a greater place of increase and intimacy? The enemy shoots his fiery darts there. He tries to thwart what God has already released into your life. He tries to steal, destroy and distract.

Yet, when your trust is in the One Who gives you life abundant, nothing can stop your Father’s BIG BEAUTIFUL plans for your life. And nothing or no one can separate you from His love. 

But what the enemy loves to do is get you to doubt…doubt God’s heart for you, doubt His love for you and doubt your identity in Him.

The enemy wants you in unbelief. God wants you in faith (believing in His grace). The enemy wants you stressed. But Jesus says, “My Shalom Peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled.” (John 14:27)

This past year for me personally was a roller coaster of emotions set on the backdrop of some pretty big promises from my Papa. I felt like I was in a whirlwind of every feeling possible but only because I am in a whirlwind of a new movement in my Father’s heart.

There were tough times (tears shed), strained circumstances, painful disappointments and callings that moved me out of my comfort zone.

But through it all, God, my Father, Savior and Lover of my Soul was doing more internally than meets the eye. “He can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”‭‭(Ephesians‬ ‭3:20 MSG‬‬)

Bottom line, the enemy wants you to be a victim with dubiety. But in Christ, you are a victor with Vision (Jesus is our vision. We are transformed by beholding Him; enjoying Him. See Jesus in the Word instead of striving in works).

God wants you to know that even when you’re pushed down and hard-pressed on every side, you’re held by the Prince of Peace; encompassed by the King of Kindness.

He’s not discouraged or surprised by your process. You shouldn’t be either. He’s preparing you in it; growing you in believing that He loves you perfectly in the midst of it. His grace is sufficient for you. His power made perfect in your weakness.

(Ps. “process” is just another word for your journey with Jesus; your walk, friendship and growing intimacy with Him. He is always with you and will never relax His tender yet powerful hold on you. Think relationship, not religion).

The following song “I Am No Victim” by Kristene DiMarco was released in September of 2017 and was my preparation song for what I would face in 2018. And while this year (on our Gregorian calendar) is coming to an end, our Good God lives outside of time and His goodness has no end. That means there is no end to all He will do in your life. 

As a matter of fact, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the End…which means you can trust Him to have the first and final say-so in your circumstances and life. Not man. Not the devil (a created, defeated foe). God (Creator) has no equal.

And while He gives us time and seasons, He only adds and enlarges, grace upon grace. When you trust Him, He will not only bring restoration in place of all you’ve lost, He works every hard thing you’ve endured, every attack on your life, every mistake you’ve made, out for good, good, good.

Beloved, if it was a hard year, if you think you’ve blown it, or that you screwed up God’s best for you, I’ve got (GOOD) news for you. You and I aren’t that good. He’s bigger. And He never stops doing the impossible for you who simply believe. All because Jesus did it all for you before the creation of the world. 

No matter what comes your way in 2019, keep your focus on Jesus, Grace Himself. Come to Him. Lean on, be confident and trust in Him alone. Say “yes” and “Amen” to all His promises and let the Faithful One bring them to pass while you remain at rest.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, in Him, “greater things have yet to come…”

“Because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭TPT‬‬.

“I am no victim, I live with a vision.
I’m covered by the force of love
Covered in my Savior’s blood.
I am no orphan, I’m not a poor man.
The kingdom’s now become my own.
And with the King I’ve found a home.

He’s not just reviving
Not simply restoring
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things have yet to come

He is my Father, I do not wonder
If His plans for me are good,
If He’ll come through like He should.
‘Cause He is provision and enough wisdom
To usher in my brightest days
To turn my mourning into praise.

I am who He says I am.
He is who He says He is.
I’m defined by all His promises
Shaped by every word He says
Oh I am who He says I am
He is who He says He is
I’m defined by all His promises
Shaped by every word He says”

– Kristene DiMarco, “I Am No Victim” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OjxwryxSrIY  

Blessing your New Year!

Resting In His Love,

Annalee Reyes

God Does Not Have A Naughty List

Beloved, God does not have a naughty list. Unlike the religious image of Santa (man’s erroneous image of God), who seems to always be analyzing behavior, Abba (Father Christmas Himself) is not finding fault with you. He is never withholding gifts from you and He is never keeping a record of wrongs. 

Because on that cross, Jesus, the law giver became the law fulfiller thus becoming your naughty list (and mine) so He could give you an endless and eternal supply of His unearned, unmerited, undeserved favor. 

Yes, on that cross, He took your entire lifetime of sin upon His body so that you, who believe, could take His everlasting gift of righteousness and scandalous grace.

Religion which comes from the law, points man to man and reveals what man is not. God, who took on man’s condition to redeem him from it, points to Jesus and reveals to you who you are in Him; His beloved, accepted, spotless child and heir of His Kingdom. 

And this for one reason only: relationship. A real relationship with your Rescuer; the One who is not policing your life but is pursuing it, saving it, fathering it, loving it, caring for it.

“God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Do my children believe in Santa Clause? You bet. But have we ever told them he is checking their behavior to determine whether or not they would receive gifts? Never.

Do we have an Elf-On-The-Shelf? Of course! But both Santa and elves, just like Jesus, are enjoying our children and delighting in them daily simply because they are God’s masterpiece.

So instead of trying to motivate your children unto better behavior using fear, remember your Papa is pleased with you and is telling you, “Fear not!” 

Your Lord is never lording over you with control. And He is not after behavior modification. He is always after heart transformation…which is always a result of believing that He loves you radically and unconditionally as you are and not as you think you should be!

We as parents love to encourage our children to “Believe” for Christmas. But let’s make sure we are believing ourselves that, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Because it’s with the precious blood of Jesus, you’ve been penned in permanently on the everlasting “nice” list!

Merry Christmas Be-Loved!

Resting In His Love,

Annalee Reyes