Challenges and Strengths

Steadfast …

Life is about choices and also how we deal with those choices. Are you able to forgive yourself for choices you made that weren’t necessarily good ones? Are you able to forgive others for choices they have made that may have hurt you? Do you understand the choices people make are a direct result of where they are on their spiritual journey and often nothing to do with you at all? We cannot own other people’s choices or behaviors. If we do, then we will end up feeling unworthy or hurt because they aren’t treating us the same way we treat them. It’s not that they aren’t capable of treating us with the same respect, Love and kindness it’s just they don’t yet fully know how to do that. What’s the best way for them to learn? By seeing a visual, a true living example of that respect, Love and kindness. Your Heart then shines as a bright Light in a dark land. A Light they will be drawn to when life hits them hard and when they are lost. How you live speaks volumes and penetrates depths that the human voice could never reach. When you are able to stand strong in who God has made you to be including the Love, Kindness, and Respect no matter what or who you face, you have become steadfast. How often do you take the form or shape shift into the hearts around you instead of remaining in the Heart He has made you to be? Once the world can no longer get you to change colors like a chameleon (i.e. taking the color of each heart that crosses your path), you then have become complete in Him. Remain in Him and He will remain in you, don’t change colors to match the world around you instead paint the world around you with the color He has made you to be.

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Susie …

Someone had forwarded me this story some time back and it came on my Heart to share it with you today :) It touches my Heart every time I read it and reminds me just how important it is that we are here for each other.

Come with me to a third grade classroom….. There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives. The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, ‘Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.’ He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, ‘Thank you, God! Thank you, God!’ Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie. She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. “You’ve done enough, you klutz!” Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Susie whispers back, “I wet my pants once too.”

- Author Unknown

Life happens. We are not alone. We all just need our Susie. We face the trials we do so we learn compassion and empathy. It gives us the strength to step in and help because we’ve been there. We can then become the Susie in someone’s Life. God works thru each of our Hearts so we can help each other. There is nothing stronger than a Heart who has walked the shoes before you … those are the Hearts that God sends in to defend. Thank you to all of you who have ever been the Susie in someone’s Life. Who is the Susie in your Life?

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie L. Peters

A Few Good Men …

A Few Good Men. We are in the strongest battle of good against evil this world has ever seen. Many leaders are out there arming up their soldiers for battle with the focus being on the big picture, the war that needs to be won. They study their enemy. They strategize tactics necessary to claim Victory. They go thru rigorous and strenuous physical conditioning to ensure each and every soldier has the physical endurance and strength before facing combat. They don’t yet understand that the key to Victory starts within the soldier’s Heart.

I really enjoyed the movie Captain America because they chose a man based on his Heart and not his physical attributes. This is the key the world is too easily looking past. A man with the right Heart, can face anything, can endure anything, and will always overcome his enemy. It’s a secret weapon needed to put the evil down once and for all in this world. For when a man can overcome good against evil within his very own Heart, then he has persevered, endured the impossible, fought the biggest Beast and won! That is when all honor and glory is bestowed upon him because then he has proven worthy of the call. He walks this earth in Honor, Integrity, Valor and Dignity. These are the men we need protecting, defending and overcoming this world. Many are called, few are chosen. We need a few Good Men, are you one?

The strength needed to overcome is held within the Heart, not the muscles.

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Shake the dirt off!

Have you ever walked into a room and someone is so full of energy, life, kindness and joy that you are instantly drawn to them? Somehow it just makes you feel better being in the same room as them. Be that person!

I know the world tries to get you down but continue to fight thru it. Refuse to stay in the dark pit especially when the world tries to make you feel you’re not worth the effort. Shake the dirt off and rise above it! You ARE worth it and the world needs you in it!

This story was pressing on my Heart to share in the message today:

The Farmer’s Donkey: A Fable for Our Time

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn’t worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, when the donkey realized what was happening he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. (Shifting)

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone’s amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Every adversity can be turned into a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.

What happens to you isn’t nearly as important as how you react to it.

Author Unknown

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Peace …

Face your giants. What is it that keeps you up at night that presses on your Heart robbing you of Peace? God searches our Hearts at night and surfaces things that need to be dealt with. Is it fear? anxiety? guilt? I had a friend ask me if at night I ever had a thought come in that instantly made me feel sick, sweat and worry. I said, “Years ago I did but not any more. Now I lie my head down at night and have Peace.” I learned that often what kept me up was mistakes I had made and was still making. One by one I dealt with each of them. First I had to believe that God forgave me when I cried out devastated at what I had done. I then had to learn to forgive myself. I began to receive Peace but it wasn’t yet complete. My Heart continued to remind me of those things until I faced the giant. I had to deal with it and I didn’t want to. It would hurt those I cared about. It made me sick to my stomach thinking about the mistakes I had made. I was ashamed. Couldn’t I just keep this between God and me? I wrestled with God on this one for awhile but my Heart was speaking loudly (shouting actually) in order to have Peace I had to deal with this. I no longer wanted to look over my shoulder afraid of the dust balls coming to life that I kept trying to sweep under the rug. It was clear, not only did I have to forever change my ways but I had to face this if I wanted full Peace. It was one of the hardest things in my journey but my Heart was relentless. God reminded me He was by my side and would go before me but I had to listen to what He was speaking in my Heart. I had to do things His way. It was time to change my ways and right what I had done wrong even at the risk of losing everything. I had to own up to my mistakes and make amends. I had to make things right to the best of my ability. I had to confess to those I hurt. I had to face my giants. God gave me the strength to do it and when I didn’t know if I had the strength He said, “Let those without sin throw the first stone.” When God is for you, who can be against you? He became my strength and was that rock in my hand that I threw to take down the giant. It wasn’t easy but I did it and it freed me of what was holding me in bondage for too long.

I knew to keep this Peace He had now given me that I could not go back into the life I had left. And if I wandered off path, He would make me go thru these same steps again (just like any other loving Father would do). The thought of having to go thru those steps again (facing God and others with what I did wrong) gave me the strength to walk the straight path forever. God was holding me accountable and that is what that Heart conviction is all about. He taught me through this not only just how deep His Love is even when we completely mess up but that the only way for me to have Peace was to walk in His ways. I had to Live it. I truly had to Live what I believed and it changed my Life forever.

I want to encourage you to face your giants. Let God be the rock in your hand and watch the Giants fall.

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)  

Ammie

Stop and get filled up!

I see many running around completely depleted. They just don’t know how much longer they can keep going at this pace but they don’t see any way out. They feel frustrated, stressed and ready to burst. They continue to look at all of the things they need to get done but don’t have the time or energy to do them all. They are crying out for help and don’t understand why God is not helping them. My first question is, “When was the last time you took some quiet time spiritually? I mean one on one time to shut the mind down and connect with God.” Almost without fail the answer is, “I cannot even remember the last time.” Just as you must eat and drink to survive, the same holds true for your spirit. You have to nourish your spirit or it is like trying to run a car designed to run on fuel but you refuse to ever stop and fuel it. How long do you think that car is going to run? You have to take time to get filled up. It is the most important thing so out of anything you are doing this is something that you cannot take the attitude of “well, I’ll do that once things calm down.” The storm will not calm down unless you allow God to calm it for you. Step back, take quiet time to shut the mind down and let your Heart connect to God. Listen to what He needs you to do and how you are to do it. It is where all of the answers you have been asking are going to be.

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Learning to Walk …

Forgive. We go thru lessons in life to learn and to grow so we can find our way back to who we were made to be from the beginning. When a baby is learning to walk, he stumbles and some times falls but his parents are there to help him stand back up, to hold his hands and to cheer him on until he can walk on his own. The baby doesn’t look at how many times he has fallen or stumbled. He doesn’t give up and sit there all discouraged and depressed. He just wants to walk and to get to the loving arms of his parents who are cheering him on, that is where his focus is. God does the same for us so if you have stumbled or even tripped and fell, look straight ahead to see the arms open wide and hear the Voice cheering you on. Pick yourself up, make things right that you did wrong and take the right steps going forward.

Forgive yourself and forgive others. Understand that although you may already be walking some are just learning to walk. In our spiritual journey, it has nothing to do with age and everything to do with Heart so don’t judge someone because you feel they should know better. They may just be finding their way to Life and learning what is important. Open your arms wide, cheer them on and Love them. They will walk some day it just takes Love and patience. It’s not the mistakes but what we do with them that counts.

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Do your part, have a Good Heart …

After the kids left for school a day last week, while sitting at my desk, I cried many tears for the Hearts filling this land who are getting rejected and bullied. I prayed from deep in my soul for each Heart who has been rejected, condemned, ridiculed or bullied by someone in this world. I prayed for protection of these precious souls asking God not to allow any more harm to come upon them and to change the hearts of those bringing the harm. We need protectors of the weak to fill this land. I cried out for those who don’t know how to cry out themselves who need someone to step in, to intercede, on their behalf. I cried out for the world. 

What happened later that day was amazing. God reminded me again of how important it is we understand that He works thru the Hearts of people to accomplish His works. When Samantha got home from school she came into my office. She said, “Mom, something happened today that was sad but good.” I said, “What happened honey?” She said, “You know my friend who lives down the street that I haven’t played with in awhile?” I said, “Yes.” I could see the little Angel’s face. She is a precious girl with a Heart of gold! She is really tiny for her age, like a delicate china doll. She said, “There was a group of kids in the back of the bus that were bullying her. They made her cry really bad and they wouldn’t stop. They kept making her cry more and more. So I turned around and told them they need to leave her alone. Well, they wouldn’t listen so I told the bus driver. And Mom, I didn’t stop there, I told my teacher too and she is going to ensure it is reported. I told my friend that I would sit with her on the bus every day for the next week to ensure she is okay and want to make time to go down and play with her too.” I got tears in my eyes. I said, “Samantha, I am so proud of you. We need people to step in and stand up for those the world pushes around and bullies. Just today Mommy’s Heart was crying out for this. People need to know what they are doing is wrong and it has to stop.” I gave her a big hug and was so thankful for answered prayers knowing what Samantha did will forever impact that precious girl’s Heart because she knows someone cares for her enough to defend her.

That same day, I received a call in the morning from someone whose child was getting bullied at school so much in fact that during their first family counseling session, the child broke down in tears and admitted that they were planning to commit suicide. I cried tears of thankfulness that God had set this appointment up at the perfect time to protect and save this child’s Life. I then cried tears for that precious child and what they have gone thru because of how others have treated them.

We have all heard “though shall not murder” but people tend to think of it only in the physical sense not realizing they are killing the spirits of those all around them by how they treat others thru their actions and words. Be mindful of your actions and words towards others. Your words bring Life or death, choose Life. If we all Love others as we Love ourselves then none of this bad stuff would be happening in the world. It is time for it to stop. You can do your part by having a good Heart.

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Get rid of the garbage …

I saw a vision of garbage piled all over the place like a garbage dump. It almost filled each room of the house. It looked like very few things ever made it to the garbage and out the door. That garbage tends to fill the mind. It not only stinks but it makes it so no one wants to come visit and it leaves little room for anything else. When I think of garbage I think of empty containers, rotten food, etc. So when the world serves you rotten food are you holding onto that and letting it stink up your house or are you getting rid of it? When you drink a container of orange juice to bring you nourishment and much needed vitamins, are you thankful for the nourishment or are you clinging to the container in which it came? What I mean is maybe someone came into your life to touch your Heart so you felt alive, so you felt love but you started focusing on the container instead of being thankful for the nourishment the orange juice brought.

Put the rotten food in the garbage and please quit focusing on the containers that carried the much needed nourishment for your soul. Orange juice is orange juice no matter what container holds it, you know what I mean?

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie

Climbing the Ladder …

I saw a vision of a ladder extending up to Heaven and on it was someone trying to climb it but they had everything but the kitchen sink tied to their back. I saw bag after bag, I saw gold, I saw picture frames … all kinds of stuff. The load was so heavy they climbed two steps and the steps were about ready to give under their feet from the weight. They could no longer handle the heavy load so they climbed back down and sat discouraged with their head down. They had not even considered taking all of the stuff off of their back so they could climb right up the ladder. I thought, “Why are you discouraged? Take the stuff off and climb up.” What in the world are you clinging to that is holding you back from climbing that ladder and going straight up to the top? Cling to nothing in this world, it truly is meaningless. All in this world is nothing compared to what is waiting for you. You can climb up and bring it down because it is yours to claim but you have to be willing to leave things behind to get there. Don’t get discouraged, put the things down you have been holding on to and get climbing up that ladder would ya?

Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)

Ammie