Did You Ask

Did you ask the Lord for patience?

Did you plead for it in prayer?

But when tribulation tried you,

Did you think He didn’t care?

Oh, my child, He heard and answered,

Answered full your earnest cry:

“Tribulation worketh patience!”

Now you know the reason why.

Did you ask Him for submission?

Did you ask for it in prayer?

But when suffering came upon you,

Did you think it wasn’t fair?

Ah, my dear, He heard and answered,

Though not how you wished, ‘tis clear;

For we only learn submission

By the things we suffer here.

‘Twas unselfishness you wanted?

Did you plead for it in prayer?

But the sacrifice He asked for,

Did it seem too great to bear?

Ah, He cared, He heard and answered,

Answered full your heart-felt prayer;

For we learn to be unselfish,

By the sacrifice we bear.

Did you ask the Lord for victory?

Well, He took you at your word!

Tho’ when the battle raged around you,

You wondered if He’d heard.

Ah, my child, He heard and answered,

And He gave you your request:

For how can you win a victory

If you never face a test?

Did you ask to be made humble?

Not to have self-righteous pride?

But then wonder when He published

All your failings far and wide?

Well, my child, that was His answer

To your prayer of desperation:

The surest way to be made humble,

Is to bear humiliation.

Judge not God with mortal’s judgement,

When your prayers are answered so;

For the truest paths for Christians,

Often lead through vales of woe.

And the answers that He gives you,

Will be truly good and fair:

Though you may not understand them

Till you view from over there!

–Josephine Hope Westervelt

Poem from Streams In The Desert 2 Devotional by JH Westervelt

~XXOO Michelle

Whatever things you ask for in prayer …

Believe!

“For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.”“Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others].- Mark 11:24 – 25 AMP

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The Real Mr. Clean

As many start and continue the clean up processes of their homes and businesses after Hurricane Harvey remember… 

The greatest dissolving agent on the market is still at work! 
                 The Real Mr. Clean! 

dissolving agent – a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances; “the solvent does not change its state in forming a solution” dissolvent, dissolver, resolvent, solvent. … medium – an intervening substance through which something is achieved; “the dissolving medium is called a solvent”

Water is a versatile solving agent. 

ver·sa·tile -adjective:able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities.synonyms:adaptable, flexible, all-around, multifaceted, multitalented, resourceful; More

Lord- You are the best dissolving agent and solvent I know. Christ; the Living Water; the all powerful and versatile solving agent that is multifaceted, multitalented, resourceful and MORE 

Intervene 

Cleanse and restore us…

Dissolve…..
Hearts of hate

Minds of lies

Governments of greed

Selfishness of people

Warped perceptions

Division 

Racism

Judgement

Evil

Oppression

Sickness

Poverty

Corruption

Laziness

Immortality 

Hopelessness

Grief

Doubt 

Fear

Trauma

Depression 

Addiction

Failure

Lack 

Weakness 

Curses 

Confusion 

Despair 

Disappointments 

Brokenness 

Rejection 

Rebellion 

Worry 

        And MORE 

Then I will sprinkle pure water on you and make you pure. I will wash away all your filth, the filth from those nasty idols, and I will make you pure. I will also put a new spirit in you to change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart. I will put my Spirit inside you and change you so that you will obey my laws. You will carefully obey my commands. ~ Ezekiel 36:25-27 

I firmly believe there is a purpose in every ounce of pain. Out of every mess is a message. From every test is a beautifully woven testimony. 

                    ~XXOO Michelle Bollom 
                 www.restoredministries.org

Everyone Becomes A Poet

Love poetry? prophecy? 

You will love Poetically Prophetic

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We have become His poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny He has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it! – Ephesians 2:10 The Passion Translation 

 

Just Breathe My Dear

I see your smile slowly fading

And the twinkle in your eyes growing dim

You carry the weight of the world

And every one else’s burdens

While stuffing your hurts and desires 

to the bottom of the pile

Made to feel unworthy by past mistakes

That others throw in your face

How long How long you cry

Till you can be free of the angst

The sadness you push down sometimes so far 

You don’t even know what it is for anymore

You perform and perfect all that is around you 

Hoping that will make things easier to bear

Or just to be appeasing to the eyes 

or not add to the stress

The stress held down by the bites on your lips

The quiver if started may not be able to quit

The flowing of tears held back by a unbreakable dam for far too long

Breaking free like a release of pressure 

long over due is your dream 

Tears cleansing and flowing can only make 

You feel better for a moment 

Then you compose and carry on 

Keeping guard of your heart 

And continue carrying all those things you shouldn’t 

You find yourself stuck between the life you thought and the life you now live

Wondering ….
Am I worthy of being loved just the way I am

Faults and flaws all beautifully broken open 

On display without need for hiding anymore

If I am truly forgiven and free 

Why do I live like I am still imprisoned  

Your heart aching and longing 

for something more

Something easy and comfortable and not 

this egg shell walking dance you perform 

Moment after moment 

Day after day

Week after week

Month after month

Year after year

Grasping at the why’s….

Why do I allow them to make me feel less than 

That I don’t deserve respect and honor

That I am here as a stomping mat to

step all over 

Why do I stuff it all down till I blow 

Why do they fling these dings at my already worn out armor

Why do I keep these calluses formed on the edges of my heart from every hurtful word slung my way

Dreaming of wants …..

I want to look in the mirror and see joy and light 

I want a purpose and freedom

I want to see laugh lines instead of these 

tear stained crevices 

I want to feel love and care and comfort

wrapped tightly around me

I want this lonely silence to be filled with praise and thankfulness instead of dread and regret

I don’t know what or how but I need…

           Something More….

I need a move from something so much 

more powerful than I

I need a Savior that can rescue me

I need a hope and a future 

I need a peace that surpasses all understanding

I need for someone to come and speak truth to my soul to replace all these lies 

I don’t even know how to invite You in

I barely have the strength to keep breathing….
Then as His still small voice pierces my darkness and fills my lungs with air 

I hear “Just Breathe My Dear”
simply inhale 

And say 

I need ….You Jesus 

as you breathe in …. 
Then as you slowly exhale 

breathe out ….

You are Enough 

As you continue do that over and over 

Remember

                  My Beloved ….. 
I hear your cries

I hear your wants

I hear your wondering and your whys 

I hear you…..

You are 

enough 

worthy

free

forgiven

loved

redeemed

Keep breathing Me in …. 

Moment by moment 

Day by day

Week by week

Month by month 

Year by year 

I am here. I am always here. 

I am just a breath away

           Just Breathe My Dear 

         ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom 

          http://www.restoredministries.org

          http://www.poeticallyprophetic.com

2 3 4 Get Ready For More

          

This morning I awoke at 2:34 am and I heard the Lord say…. 234 Get ready for more.

I got excited because I have been getting a whisper from the Lord for months now with the word “Windfall“.   

wind·fall

ˈwin(d)fôl/

noun

    * a piece of unexpected good fortune, typically one that involves receiving a large amount of money.”windfall profits”

    * synonyms:

    * bonanza, jackpot, pennies from heaven, stroke/piece of luck, godsend, manna from heaven

As I looked up the definition these 2 synonyms are what caught my attention.

           godsend, manna from heaven. 

So I asked the Lord to unpack this MORE; and Windfall for me….
I was taken to Deuteronomy 11. 
 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. ~ Deuteronomy 11:13-15

 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. ~ Deuteronomy 11:26-28
                    Bingo! Jackpot!
                    The godsend

god·send

ˈɡädˌsend/

noun

1. a very helpful or valuable event, person, or thing.

2. synonyms:

3. boon, blessing, bonus, plus, benefit, advantage, help, aid, asset; More
Did you catch that right there in the synonyms? -MORE 

The benefit, bonus, advantage, help and MORE is in the godsend, God himself and also His Angels He has put on assignment for you. 

The manna from heaven (miraculous provision from God) that’s our windfall. 

The building up for us to receiving more, the key that unlocks the more, the open heaven that makes way for the windfall is in our obedience to God and His Word. 
We build upon each right choice, each moment of uncomfortable obedience we tackle, that is what makes room for more and opens up the blessings of the Lord, our manna from heaven, our windfalls to fall down. 

Where there once was / God now supplies:

Lack / Abundance

Division / Divine Connections

Weakness / Strength

Curses / Blessings 

Fear / Courage

Grief / Hope

Confusion / Clarity

Despair / New Resolve

Disappointments / Determination

Sickness / Health 

Brokenness / Wholeness

Rejection / Protection

Rebellion / Obedience

Worry / Peace 

        2…3..4… Get ready for more! 
        ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom 

           

Mundane

Mundane 
I keep hearing this word! 

You know when a word hits and just keeps bouncing and boomeranging around until it lands….

Well that is what has happened with Mundane.  
The quick definition is-

Mundane: Common, ordinary, lacking excitement or interest, dull

I was asking the Lord what He was trying to show me with this word… 

Today I got this phrase upon waking ….

My Messages & Miracles Come in the Mundane 

I knew Daddy was Downloading to me but I had not stopped long enough to do the full unpacking. 
A new friend shared on Facebook tonight that

David found his destiny while searching for his dad’s lost donkeys. 

She even mentioned that word…

           Mundane 

So I want to encourage you all as you pack those lunches, wipe those counters, wash those dishes, fold those mountains of clothes, care for your children or parents or spouses or whatever it is you find yourself to be stuck in over and over like the movie GroundHog Day… 

          

             Don’t despise the mundane. 
Mundane is where God is conditioning you.  

Mundane is where God is preparing you.

Mundane is where God is building you.

Mundane is where God is growing you. 

Mundane is where God is refining you.

Mundane is where God is restoring you.
Every day, every moment, every second of the common, ordinary and even dull duties- those mundane moments are what is birthing God’s messages and miracles.  
I love this great quote:

“The glory of tomorrow is rooted in the drudgery of today. 
Many people want the glory without the cross, and the shining light without the burning fire, but crucifixion comes before coronation.”~ Streams In The Desert 

So don’t throw away your confidence—it brings a great reward. 

You need to endure so that you can receive the promises after you do God’s will. ~ Hebrews 10:36-37 

My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved. ~Hebrews 10:39 VOICE 
                   ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom 
                     restoredministries.org

A Set-Apart Season

Some choose it 

Some resist it 

Some make the best of it!

God has been speaking to me lately about A “Set-Apart Season”.

As I kept seeing and hearing that word I felt like I was somehow missing God’s Divine Download on this subject and wondering why He spoke the words – …some choose it, some resist it, some make the best of it. 

I began seeking Him deeper and got a vision of Butterflies. 

My daughter likes to plant milkweed plants and that attracts the caterpillars and they eat it up and store it and she plucks them fat little wormy guys up and sets them apart in her aquariums for them to do their magic. 

But despite the gold spun threaded cocoons and the beautiful butterfly emerging in brilliant colors – the vision that God kept taking me to was the time I witnessed the beautiful butterflies hatching or transforming and it was not a very pretty sight.  

They actually bleed- as they are thrusting in the cocoon to come out and the cocoon is pretty wrecked when all done but that butterfly finally emerges -but it’s wings are still wet and must dry before it can began to fly. 

So it just flaps its wings over and over – 

kind of a mundane boring motion but it can’t be rushed, they must be dry in order to fly. 

So forgive me as I am trying to relay this Divine Download to you on day 4 of suffering from a head cold and bronchitis… 

Try to follow me here…..
Let us go to simple definitions- that is usually how God helps me unpack….

Many view “Set Apart” negatively as being isolated, detached, secluded, or alone.

In Christian circles that term “Set Apart” means to usually go deeper with God to get clarity or direction.

The basic definition is:

Set Apart – set someone or something apart to make different and special.

In Jeremiah 1:5 we read that God meant “Set Apart” as chosen, handpicked, special, with a purpose.

“Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I made you a prophet to the nations.” 

So why was God saying to me…

Some choose it 

Some resist it 

Some make the best of it?

Why the butterfly vision? 

Let’s look at the many definitions to Set:
Set=to adjust

Set=to restore to a proper and normal state when dislocated or broken

Set=to concentrate on a purpose or goal 

Set=to cause to sit (wait) 
Bingo! 

Some of us do choose a “Set-Apart Season”.  

We need a time of waiting on God, to give us clear direction. Sometimes it’s a time to remove the distractions of the world so we can be restored to our proper and normal state when broken or slightly dislocated.

Many of us resist a Set-Apart Season and are not too happy when we are forced into it by sickness, circumstances, divorce or even death.  

I was forced into a “Set-Apart Season” by my husband’s recent surgery. This week I was further thrust into a “Set-Apart Season” by being sick.  

Was I making the best of it? 

 No- sadly I was not.

It brought up how selfish I can be when having to care and wait and serve someone else 24/7. 
It brought up how much I complain about my pain and sickness instead of focusing on God’s promises. 
It had me resentful that I had to sit and wait and let my children serve me and not get my house cleaned up and organized for upcoming company. 

So back to the Download….

We can choose a “Set-Apart Season”, we can resist the “Set-Apart Season” that feels forced upon us, or we can make the best of the “Set-Apart Season” and wait and sit with God and allow Him to adjust and restore us. 

Think about what could be a “Set-Apart Season” in your life and if you will choose it, resist it or embrace it to allow God to make the best out of you through it. 
And now back to the butterfly- 

Don’t try to rush the process.  
We must feed on the Word, (like the milkweed) to prepare ourselves for the “Set-Apart Season”

We must trust God in the weaving of our cocoons but don’t get so comfortable with them that we resist the coming out part. Some butterflies die in the cocoon state and never emerge transformed. 

We will have to endure the thrashing and transformation process. Yes, we will bleed some. That is what it takes to forms us and restores us.

And we must not forget to wait and sit to dry our wings fully before we emerge and are able to fly again. 

How will you spend your “Set-Apart Season”? 
             ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom 

A Call To Valor

God is calling His women and men to Valor!

No longer are we to shrink back in fear or feel inadequate to lead the charge in battling the darkness that is erupting all around us. 

You do not have to be skilled in battle if you are trained in the things of God. 

We must know His promises (The Word) to combat the enemy’s lies.

We must agree believe and confess the word of God over our lives, circumstances and every situation that arises. 

Do not any longer sit on the sidelines wringing your hands in worry or lie awake at night reasoning, paralyzed in what you can do. 

You have been Called To Valor! 

God needs mighty Generals to lead His armies that are vigilant and courageous to use and display His power and fire to burn up all evil assignments. 

His warriors are trained to combat fear and tormenting spirits with praise, prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s time to take back our homes, our health, our communities, our churches, our workplaces from anything not of God. 

We must be as undaunted as David was when he faced Goliath. 

He didn’t care how big Goliath was- he was confident and unwavering in how big his God is.

A stone and a sling will slay any giant when you have the power of Christ working in you.

We must tap in to God’s power inside us and remove anything that hinders us from operating fully in the Spirit. We must no longer be held captive by our flesh or fear.

It is time to train in the things of God and to courageously flood the earth with the Light and Power of God. 

 You have been Called To Valor!             

                                                                                                   ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom
God recently gave me this prophetic word that I believe is a word for so many.  Please pray for me as I am working on all the details God has downloaded for a book.  Be Blessed! 

Keep Digging Your Well

We want instant water.  No work involved.   

We want drive through breakthroughs. Instant weight loss. Instant satisfaction. Instant success. Instant gratification. Instant growth and maturity.
      We want it all-

           Now Now Now!

But just like in the old days – to get to that refreshing, cleansing, healing water you had to have a reliable container free from holes and defects. You needed a strong sturdy rope without any worn or frayed spots. You needed to lower the bucket and rope down into the deep well and fetch that water and pull it back up with strong and steady arms.

Then and only then was the water retrieved and able to be received.

You may have had to spend years digging the well and laying every brick yourself, before you could taste that very first drink.

That first taste will be a little more refreshing, sweeter, and colder because you did the preparations first. You did all the ground work. You were faithful to inspect and correct the little things that would aid in being successful in fetching that water. Your sweat and tears dug every shovel full of dry hard dirt and laid every brick.

Why did you do it?

 

So not only you could have access to the Water
you so desperately needed to quench your thirst; but so that many many more can come drink from the well you built.  

Don’t despise the work needed to be done or the time it may take to finally be able to fetch the water that will quench your thirst.  

 Keep digging, keep laying, keep preparing.

                        Others need you!
They need the Living Water that only your well can provide.

~ XXOO Michelle Bollom

 

Surrendered Moments

Are you drowning in a massive “To-Do” list? 

Are you finding yourself tired and worn out with not enough hours in the day? 

Has your mind been wracked with fear and worry? 

God will give you the grace and strength you need for each moment surrendered unto Him. 

Stop fighting the currents and working against the tides. Surrender each moment of doubt, worry, fear, and control to God, and allow Him to carry you safely where He needs you to go.        

        Things are never forced with God.  

               ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom 
I give the moments of my life over to You, Eternal One. Rescue me….~Psalm 31:15 The VOICE