Many good marriages slip into crisis because we don’t or won’t believe how much work it takes to keep relationships healthy and thriving. It’s just like when you stop investing in the house you are living in. It easily falls into disrepair.

Think back to when you first started to pursue your wife. It required commitment, hard work and imagination. If winning her required that back then, why does it surprise us when neglect hurts our relationship after we walk down the aisle? She wouldn’t have married you if you took her for granted. Why risk everything now?

There are many good strategies if you want to restore your marriage. We suggest these 10 strategies to help solve your marriage relationship problems.

1. Pray for and with your spouse. Chances are you launched your marriage with both promises and prayers. Pray for your spouse, and ask for guidance as you pledge to make the kind of effort that simply won’t float without turning to God every day. Praying with her is especially important.

2. Surround yourselves with people in healthy relationships. Some of those negative patterns may have involved friends. Surround yourself with people who value marriage and there’s widespread support for making yours work.

3. Choose to love. Love may have come easy when it was brand new. Love is as much a choice as it is an emotion. [Tweet This] Choice is an act of maturity and it has a much better track record than emotion left to make its way on its own.

4. Make your spouse’s happiness is more important than your own. Putting our spouse first nurtures trust, gratitude, generosity and affection. It can also lead to physical intimacy.

5. Put the relationship ahead of everything, including your children. It’s unfortunate, but time has a way of eating away at our priorities. “You’re the most important thing in my life” gives way to “my work … the family business … the children … my aging parents … even golf, football or drinking.” Marriages don’t work well when our partner plays second fiddle to anything—even the children. It’s a fact: The happiest kids are those with parents who love one another best.

6. Start over from scratch. Ask her out. Make sure you remember why you did the first time and build from there. When did you last talk for hours, hold hands at a movie or give her a kiss when she wasn’t expecting it? Get silly about one another. If you don’t feel like it, do it anyway—then you’ll remember why.

7. Stop taking one another for granted. Say “thank you” for that cup of coffee. Celebrate obscure anniversaries. Tell her how much it means to you that she cooks a great meal. Notice the haircut. Ask her out. Clean her car. Pay attention to the little things and act like someone who values the relationship.

8. Get counseling. You say you can’t afford it? Believe us, it’s cheaper than divorce. Most counseling simply involves a few sessions to get the communication flowing again. For guys, a willingness to talk in that context sends a huge positive message to your spouse.

9. Follow the counseling with an action plan. Just like a personal fitness program, counseling comes with homework and an action plan. Draw up the plan, ask friends you trust to help hold you accountable, then follow through. When both spouses take responsibility, anything is possible.

10. Change the patterns. Do you always come home angry? Then stop the car a block away and pray about it first or do whatever else it takes to change your attitude. Does she always nag you when you leave dirty clothes on the floor? Try getting changed in a different room and initiate a new reflex. Do you always fight about discipline? Try agreeing with her decisions and supporting her 100 percent—you may find the kids act better because you’re not fighting.

You’ve heard the old joke:

Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do that …”

Doctor: “Well, don’t do that anymore!”

For the original article, visit .

After I wrote “What Eve Believed,” I was intrigued by others who made wrong choices about food in the Bible. Why did they make the wrong choice?

For instance, the Esau Bible story in Genesis 25:29-34 is another great warning about how not to respond to eating temptations. You can learn from other biblical stories so you can make the right choices and achieve better weight loss results.

Who was Esau? He was Abraham’s grandson, Isaac’s son and Jacob’s fraternal twin brother. Esau’s food problem happened when he was caught in a vulnerable moment.

But he wouldn’t have made the wrong choice if he valued what he had from the beginning.

Here’s the story:

“Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field and he was famished. So Esau said to Jacob, ‘Please feed me some of that red stew, for I am famished.’ Therefore his name was called Edom. Then Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘Look, I am about to die; of what use is the birthright to me?’ Then Jacob said, ‘Swear to me this day.’ So he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. Then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Gen. 25:29-34).

Let’s examine Esau’s descent:

• He was tired and hungry.
• He minimized his future blessing.
• He magnified his current condition.
• He decided that satisfying his flesh now was more important than receiving a natural and spiritual blessing later.

A common saying is that you shouldn’t make important decisions when you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired. In Esau’s case, he was both tired and hungry.

Jacob, his brother, took advantage of Esau’s weakness. He asked for Esau’s birthright.

What was the birthright? In the Israelite law (written later in the Scriptures), the firstborn son’s birthright was to receive a double portion of what His father had. Even though they were twins, Esau was the firstborn. Isaac had received Abraham’s blessing and Esau was next in line.

The Lord’s blessings upon Abraham were to:

• Make him a great nation
• Make his name great
• Make him a blessing
• Bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him
• Bless all the families of the earth through him

So Jacob was asking Esau to trade all of those permanent blessings in exchange for a temporary bowl of stew. I say temporary because food:

• Gives your tongue a taste
• Fills your stomach, taking away hunger feelings
• Goes through your digestive system so nutrients are extracted for the body’s use
• Exits your body when the non-useful matter is eliminated as feces

When you weigh the end results of food against the end results of the birthright, what was most important and lasting? The birthright, of course.

What was Esau left with? The food would be eliminated eventually, leaving him hungry again, and his birthright would be gone.

Esau probably never took the time to think about his birthright and the benefits of it. He probably never saw himself taking possession of it. He likely never considered what possessing the birthright would ultimately mean for his family’s future.

Instead, Esau played a mental trick on himself because he was only thinking about satisfying his own flesh at the moment. He minimized the importance of the birthright by saying that the birthright did not matter because he was going to die.

Now, was Esau really going to die if he didn’t eat that bowl of stew right then? No. Esau was strong and healthy enough to have been working in the field moments before. So he couldn’t have been about to die, could he?

Instead of taking Jacob’s bad trade, Esau probably could have:

• Eaten a piece of fruit or a vegetable to get some quick nourishment
• Made his own stew
• Asked someone else to make him something to eat

He had alternatives. Since other people lived with them, including their mother and father, none of them would have let him starve to death.

So Esau told himself a lie because he valued pleasures he could get now (the stew) above pleasure he could get later (the blessing). If he had valued his blessing, Esau would not have given it away so easily and cheaply. What Esau did is called ”delay discounting’ in modern terms.

Researchers once did a study of people who overeat regularly versus people exercise self-control with food. They found only one difference to separate the two groups:

The overeating people diminished the benefits of waiting on future benefits, like Esau. In contrast, the people who exercised self-control valued future benefits above temporary gain.

When it comes to health and weight loss, here are some future benefits that may await you. God’s will for you is stated in 3 John 1:2: “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, even as your soul is well.”

These benefits are included in your health birthright:

• Boosted energy
• Increased confidence
• Improved quality of sleep
• Greater mental focus
• Enhanced shape and muscle tone
• Increased muscle strength
• Improved flexibility
• Better mood control
• Added glow to your skin
• Enhanced balance and coordination
• Improved endurance
• Reduced depression
• Increased ability to handle stress
• Improved circulation
• Clearer skin
• Freer breathing
• Increased optimism about life
• Amplified desire to tackle other life goals

Take a moment to consider if you are making an “Esau” mistake:

• Are you trading your health birthright in exchange for poor food choices?

How often do you think about your health birthright and the benefits of it? Do you often imagine the feelings you would have when you take possession of it? Do you consider what possessing the health birthright would ultimately mean for your family’s future?

If not, take a few moments to do that every day. This will help you make wiser choices when the enemy offers you a bad trade.

Imagine possessing your health birthright fully. What will you be able to do, have and share? See it and feel it in your body! If you can’t see it, then ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes so that you may see.

Ask the Lord for wisdom as to what you can do to make wiser choices in your health. Then listen for the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. When He tells you to do something that will change your health for the better, do it immediately.

The more you ignore the Holy Spirit’s effort to help, the harder it will be for you to hear Him later.

But when you cooperate with Him, your whole life will start to change for the better. You will be blessed and take full possession of your health birthright.

Remember, this Earth is ultimately not our home. All who name the name of Christ has an assignment from Jesus: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature'” (Mark 16:15).

Whether you are a formal minister or not, you have a responsibility to share the Good News with those God has brought into your life. People pay far more attention to what you do than what you say.

May our choices be wise ones to accurately reflect the wisdom of our God!

Are you ready to take full possession of your health birthright? Check out the Take Back Your Temple program to learn how you can release excess weight and feel better than ever before.

Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kimberly Taylor can testify of God’s healing power to end binge eating. She is an author and the creator of the Christian weight loss website . Visit today for inspirational health and weight-loss tips.

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This is a tale of two ex-wives. Both are Christians. If you had to be one, which would you rather be?

Bee’s husband of two years left her for another woman. When she asked why, he told her he had never loved her and that his new girlfriend was the love of his life. Bee was boiling mad when within a week she got an invitation to the wedding. She went anyway, but with her own agenda.

At the reception, Bee brought the bride a drink and asked if she could propose a toast. “All the best to you for as long as you live.” By the end of the night, the bride had collapsed. Within an hour she was dead of a type of tasteless poison Bee had poured in her drink.

Prison of Her Own Choice

Bee knew she would spend the rest of her life in prison, but she didn’t care. She had her revenge. She wanted her ex-husband to be miserable knowing the “love of his life” had died at her hand. But she could never get the actions of her husband or of herself out of her mind. It kept her in constant turmoil.

On the converse, another woman, we’ll call Guivre, faced a similar situation after 10 years of marriage and three children. However, her husband got the other woman pregnant. Guivre and her husband divorced. However, Guivre forgave her ex and made an effort to have a civil relationship for the sake of their children, and their eventual grandchildren. She lived her life in peace.

Guivre understood the Biblical principal of forgiveness and it’s long-term implications: “But if you do not forgive men for their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.”¹

Everyone Needs Forgiveness

You might say, what had Guivre done to be forgiven for? Every person has done something wrong at some point in time.² As humans we are prone to categorize sins, such believing that a little untruth is not as great a sin as murder. However, God says if we are guilty of disobeying one aspect of God’s law, we are as guilty as someone who disobeys all aspects.³

This is the reason God tells us to forgive. He says if we won’t forgive others, He won’t forgive us.¹ I don’t know about you, but I must forgive because I need God’s forgiveness. There are areas of my life where for years I flagrantly sinned by disobeying things I knew God had told me to do. My area of sin had to do with overeating. Yours may be something else. Guivre’s may have been something else. However, we all have things we’ve done against God. It’s the reason we need the Savior.⁴

Once we come to Him and He forgives us, He tells us to go and do the same with others. If we don’t, we will be just like Bee, held in a prison we created ourselves until we forgive.⁵

We always tend to keep something back we think we can’t let go of, such as the pain we feel because of hurts we have endured in our lives. We must surrender everything we are holding back, especially if we think the other person doesn’t deserve your mercy.

Well, neither did we—deserve it, that is. Wrongs are wrong. We may have not done anything wrong in that situation, but we have done something wrong, no matter how small.

Unforgiveness Stops Destiny

The person you won’t forgive because they don’t deserve it is holding you back from your destiny. And it’s not their fault. It’s your fault for not letting go of the hurt. By holding on to the pain, you are paralyzed in your tracks. You will never go forward, you will never get victory until you forgive what the person did.

It was wrong. Yes. This is even more reason to forgive them and move on. Don’t let them define who you are. They are not worth it. By not forgiving them, you are allowing the rest of your life to be defined by them. Every day you are allowing the hurt they caused you to grow bigger and bigger until it overwhelms and suffocates you, keeping you from your God-ordained destiny.

First Step Toward Change

The reality is, forgiving someone is hard. That’s why God is there to help us through it. If Jesus can forgive His crucifiers for killing Him,⁶ surely you can forgive one person in order to step into God’s change process for your life.

Forgiveness is the first step toward transformation. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. I first heard this from Joyce Meyer, though the same thing, substituting “anger” for “unforgiveness,” is attributed to Buddha. Both are true because most of the time it is out of anger that we will not forgive.

Forgiveness Sets You Free

Here’s the bottom line: Forgiveness sets you free from the prison of uselessness you put yourself in. You want destiny? Forgive. You want purpose? Forgive. You want peace? Forgive.

Here’s one simple method I’ve used to forgive. Hold out your hands to God. Symbolically put the person you need to forgive in your hands. Say, “Father God I forgive this person and I hand him or her to you. They are no longer my concern. Father God, what do you give me in exchange?”

Whatever you sense, feel or hear Him say He gives you, write it down. It will be something helpful on your journey. Many times He gives me peace. Sometimes He simply tells me I am His beloved daughter. At times, He has pulled back the veil in order to give me a short glimpse into my future as long as I am walking in total submission to Him.

And that complete surrender thing? That, my friend, is what it’s all about. It’s also the hardest part.

Update

I almost forgot. Here’s an update on our friends. Bee is still in prison and still miserable. Her ex-husband had been married for 20 years, has four children and a thriving business.

Guivre has a great career she loves, travels with friends and enjoys having her children and grandchildren visit often. She never married again. Her ex-husband never married again either. He stayed in all of his children and grandchildren’s lives.

If God is speaking to you about your health being a major roadblock to His plans and purposes for your life, run, don’t walk, and sign up today for Sweet Change Weight Loss Coaching and Accountability Group. It is my heart’s desire to help you get free of the bondage of extreme weight. No hype here. Just truth. I can tell you unequivocally this is one time I do know what I’m talking about. You know if I am speaking to you. Here’s the link: .

¹Matthew 6:15

²Romans 3:23

³James 2:10-13

⁴Romans 6:23

⁵ Matthew 18:21-35, especially verses 34-35

⁶Luke 23:34

We war with the prophetic words that are sent from heaven. These words cut through the atmosphere! The words from the Lord reform the earthly blueprint that our enemy is developing to conform us to his will (Rom. 12:1-2).

These words transform our mind to think like God. These words reveal the will of God for our lives!

Here is a word that came forth in June:

“Stretch out your hand, for there is a new cord of measurement that I am putting in your hand. You have measured one way the boundaries for your life, but now I’m measuring another way. I am giving you an enlarged, elongated cord that will set a new course for the direction that I have for you.

“Many of you have had words from years ago, and you saw that word come to be, but it took ages and ages and ages. This is the day that I am speeding up My anointing and My agreement between heaven and Earth. There’s an anointing of the ages coming down; an anointing of the ages.

“As the Ancient of Days, I am releasing wisdom and understanding over My people. The prophetic movement and the healing movement are about to join hands in a way that this Earth has never seen.

“I am giving you a new portion of strength and boldness for this hour. I have laid it before you, so step, step, step into the boldness, into My strength and into the timing. In stepping in, you will see doors open that have been closed to you for years. I am the One going before you to open the doors. Be bold and strong, for I have called you into this season to rise up as warriors in My kingdom.

“I am putting a cord in your hand—even like those who have been snakes around you. Like Moses, you will now reach down and pick it up, and it will become your new rod of authority which will stretch beyond what you’ve known.”

Diversify and Multiply!

Three weeks ago when the Lord said, “Gold,” I shared to watch the gold market carefully. The Lord is now showing me something new that was coming in waves, and how this is our time to diversify and multiply. This is a key time to listen very carefully, and to move beyond standard routines or expectations so that you can hear what He’s saying this very week.

“Those who are willing to listen in a new way will begin to understand why He is directing you the way He’s directing you, and how He is setting the course for what He’s calling you to do. To diversify is to change something so that it is multifaceted and what you have been doing is different and composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities! Diversity balances! To multiply is to increase greatly in number.

“There is a portal that’s coming down on your path this week. This portal is in front of you, and if you’re not seeing with the eyes of faith, then you are going to miss it. This is a season to not hesitate. Even as I am calling you to diversify and multiply, if you hesitate you’ll miss your moment. Even in investments—if I tell you to invest in something new, you’d better jump in and not miss your moment. I will keep you from losing what you would have lost if you’d waited one moment too long.

“Make sure you don’t take your old into the new. Let Me navigate through you when you get in that new place. Let Me teach you how to move with Me in precision. Do not take the old with you into the new, for I will use you to unravel, decode, and move a system out of its place. Don’t take the old into the new with you, apart from Me.

“My glory is moving in a multifaceted and multicolored way, so train and ask Me to train your eyes to begin to see the multi-facets of glory as it begins to move.”

We say, “Father, that where our eyes have been trained to see one way, that You are now aligning our eyes and You are aligning our senses to the multifaceted glory of who You are.”

“Do not look at what I called you to see as the world sees it! A jawbone is not just a jawbone! A slingshot is not just a slingshot! A rock is not just a rock in this season! I have opened up a portal over you to see into a diverse spiritual realm. There is nothing you’re not going to be able to hear or see, if you want to hear and see. I’ll remove the ceiling and I’ll cause that which has held you in the past to be dealt with, so you can take off in the future.” {eoa}

(Prophetic words by: Jessica Rana, Chuck Pierce, Marty Cassady, Raymond Banks, Janice Swinney, Melinda Richardson, Tobias Lyons, Melinda Richardson, Robyn Vincent, Michelle Hadley, Kerry Hansher, Keith Pierce, Rebekah Faubion)

Charles D. “Chuck” Pierce is the author of Interpreting the Times Redeeming the Time and Time to Defeat the Devil.

God’s people, who are called by His name, have humbled themselves and prayed, sought His face and turned from their wicked ways—and, little by little, God is making good on His 2 Chronicles 7:14 promise to forgive our sin and heal our land.

Indeed, after decades of fervent prayer, identificational repentance and prophetic intercession, revival fire is breaking out in American cities. Some are marked by glory. Others are marked by salvations. Still others are marked by miracles—but all of them are flowing from the river of God.

I believe these revivals are not only an answer to prayer—they are just a down payment of what the Holy Spirit wants to do as He fulfills another measure of the Joel 2:28 prophecy charismatics love to declare: “And it will be that, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.”

San Diego’s Fire and Glory Outpouring

The fire and glory in San Diego started during a January 2016 conference. Jerame Nelson hosted Bobby Conner and Joshua Mills at Heart of God Church. Nelson says that from the beginning of the meeting, there was an unusual manifest presence of God in the room.

“Miracles were happening quite easily, and people were really getting touched by God during the worship times,” Nelson says. “The atmosphere of the meetings was electric, and there was such a great hunger in the people attending every single session.”

Nelson reports several cases of stage 4 cancer, birth defects and glaucoma healed. Metal plates and pins surgically inserted into people’s bodies dissolved, deaf ears opened, along with salvations and Holy Spirit baptisms. People are flying into San Diego from Fiji, Hungary, England, Brazil, Mexico and other nations to experience the outpouring.

“I feel there was a literal flash that sparks faith for revival again in America and within the nations,” Mills told me. “People from Seattle came down to the meetings and took that fire back with them. Now they are also stewarding a move of God.”

Fire certainly spreads, especially when there are credible prophetic words that foretold the awakening to fan the flames. About four years ago, James Goll, president of Encounters Network, says he had a prophetic dream about a revival beginning in San Diego, then going to seaports up and down the West Coast.

Later, James says he had other dreams in which he saw that fire spread to Mexico in a crusade-type mode. He says the Lord told him, “Do not call the West Coast the Left Coast, but there will be such a move of My Spirit that it will be the Righteous Coast.”

The West Coast Rumble

James told me he also saw the Lord would give Nelson a spearheading assignment concerning this movement of signs and wonders in which healing and miracles would become “easy.” And he saw other leaders anointed to lead revival in other cities. This awakening has become known as the West Coast Rumble.

“Eventually there will be so many different pockets and centers opening up that it will be impossible to track it all,” James says. “It will not be like the past when there was primarily one location where the nation or the world came. … There would be so many hubs opening up and so many new things happening that this movement will not be one ministry centered, not one city or region centered, not one apostolic center highlighted or one leader centered. But it all begins with someone and somewhere.”

The West Coast Rumble landed at Seattle Revival Center in Newcastle, Washington. At the beginning of 2016, the Lord told Darren Stott, lead pastor of the revival center, it was time for his ministry to live up to its name. He called a retreat among his leaders to press in to what the Lord was saying.

When he returned home on Monday, Stott saw Nelson testifying on Periscope about the miracles at the Fire and Glory Outpouring in San Diego and immediately took a team to Southern California. The next weekend was the Seattle Revival Center’s Declaration conference, which also featured Conner.  

“Bobby Conner grabs the mic and starts tapping it as if somebody was knocking on the door,” Stott told me. “And then he asks, ‘Do you know what this is? I’ll tell you what it is. It’s Jesus knocking on the door, and He wants to know if anyone’s going to let Him in.’ And then he took off prophesying.”

Miracles started manifesting that same afternoon. Stott reports that a woman who had her breast removed in cancer surgery felt it growing back. He admits when the revival broke out, his team was both excited and terrified—they didn’t want to do anything to “mess up” what the Holy Spirit wanted to do.

Ryan LeStrange, president of the New Breed Revival Network, flew out to minister at Seattle Revival Center some weeks later. He told me the level of hunger immediately caught his attention. He describes the atmosphere as pregnant with the prophetic and a rich miracle anointing.

“There were atmospheric miracles of pain, bleeding and joints being healed,” LeStrange reports. “On my last night there, a blind lady came down front with her arm in a sling. I prayed for her and told her to open her eyes. She said she was seeing dimly. We prayed again, and she could see clearly, and she took her arm out of the sling and started moving it.”

Then there’s the young woman who had been bedridden for 10 years who came from Utah. She was lying in the meeting on a cot and rose up and started moving her legs. Other reports from the Seattle Revival Center include people suddenly finding gold crowns in their mouth—there are photos to prove it.

The Appalachian Awakening

Meanwhile, the Appalachian Awakening—as it’s come to be known—is marked by mass salvations, but healings are also breaking out. The revival is burning at the West Virginia-Kentucky border, and the secular media are even taking notice. This revival made the front page of the State Journal with the headline “Revived: Message of hope, tangible help is healing hurting communities in West Virginia.”

At the center of this awakening is a Tennessean evangelist from the Church of God named Matt Hartley. On April 10, Hartley preached at Regional Church of God in Delbarton, West Virginia, under the leadership of Pastor Mitch Bias. He was then invited to speak to Mingo Central High School’s Prayer Club.

Four hundred students attended the meeting, and 150 responded to Hartley’s salvation message. In less than two weeks, at least 3,000 youth got saved.

“It’s a climactic time,” Bias told CBN, noting that prayer paved the way for this outpouring. “I think the many years of creating a spiritual vacuum inside of kids by not teaching them the true reality that there’s a destiny in God—time, plus chance, plus matter (have) produced a vacuum on the inside. I think when they hear a message of hope, it really speaks to them because they’re kind of hanging in a spiritual limbo. And they press into it quickly to take it ’cause they know that’s the truth.”

The students are now acting as powerful evangelists in their own right. Some of them are taking to Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to announce what is happening and invite other youth to join the Holy Ghost party. Others are sharing testimonies.

“The Spirit of the Lord is just sovereignly moving in the hearts of young people in very rural mountain regions of West Virginia,” says Rick Curry, a revivalist born and raised in Kentucky who tours the nation preaching awakening. The youth are meeting in a field house in West Virginia. Meeting attendance surpasses the population of the town—and Curry estimates about 85 percent are middle schoolers, high schoolers and young adults. But the evening meetings are more of a celebration of what is going on in the schools during the day.

“Two elementary school girls started fasting during their lunchtime,” Curry says. “They wanted to minister to the kids but weren’t sure the best way to do it, so they took a shoebox and cut a hole in the top and wrote ‘prayer requests’ on the side.”

“During the lunch period, students dropped their prayer requests inside the box, and at the end, the little girls would pray over them,” Curry says. “On one day alone, 18 kids were saved at that school. Over in Pike County, Kentucky, revivals are also breaking out in the schools and in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Lima, Ohio, students are getting saved by the hundreds.”

Azusa Now Ripples

Although some of these revivals broke out before tens of thousands of fiery believers ascended on the Los Angeles Coliseum for Azusa Now—which marked the 110th anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival that birthed the Pentecostal movement in the United States—some are convinced that April 9 was a turning point for the nation.

I declared on that day that awakening is here and it’s coming—and agreed that it was a day of demarcation in America. It was a show of desperation and unity in the church. Prophetically, it was a shot heard around the world. Something shifted in the spirit in the City of Angels that day. If you could pull back the curtain on the spirit realm, I believe you would have seen an intensified war—and we’re winning that war.

Lou Engle’s Azusa Now wasn’t the only prayer event on April 9. United Cry gathered 30,000 pastors in Washington, D.C. Reset America will gather tens of thousands on the Mall in D.C. to cry out to God again.

“TheCall Azusa will act as a ‘rocket booster’ to the entire movement,” James says. “It brings together the streams of the prophetic and prayer with the power—supernatural culture—with evangelism. The merging of these two great streams will create combustion or a convergence where this rocket shoots forth apostolic and prophetic evangelists, not just to the West Coast but globally. It is another booster to the movement that shoots forth signs and wonders evangelists globally.”

Cal Pierce, director of the International Association of Healing Rooms in Spokane, Washington, agrees wholeheartedly—and with tears. As he sees it, Azusa Now shifted the bride of Christ from the waiting room to the delivery room, and amazing divine encounters and healings are on the rise. Even the way Pierce is praying for the sick is shifting as God creates a new wineskin in which to pour the new wine.

“Prior to Azusa Now, the body of Christ was so concerned about the future and looking at the elections and global economies,” Pierce told me. “A lot of believers were in fear and wondering what’s going to happen. Azusa Now shifted us. We are beginning to understand that no matter what man does, it’s not going to change God’s will or what He’s preparing to do—to pour His Spirit out through His bride.”

Pierce told me he’s seen more divine encounters in the 30 days after Azusa Now than he did in the first 16 years of the Healing Rooms ministries. Choking back tears, he tells the story of a little boy born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Doctors gave him no hope to live throughout the day. A Healing Rooms team prayed, asked for the newborn’s name and called out his destiny. Little Wyatt was healed.

Pierce is also seeing the atmospheric miracles LeStrange noted in Seattle. In his meetings, Pierce is not agreeing that people are sick. He agrees with the Word of God—by His stripes we are healed (Is. 53:5). When he preaches this word, people begin to testify of healings without anyone laying hands on them.

“We’re seeing these types of miracles now on a continuous basis—things our eyes haven’t seen and things our ears haven’t heard before,” Pierce says. “He’s releasing His presence and His glory.

“Now is the time for our destiny. Now is the time for the bride of Christ to begin to step into the fullness of what Jesus preached. We know that God is getting ready to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and His kingdom will be preached into every nation, and revival will be released around the world.”

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma, director of the Awakening House of Prayer and author of many books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening. Visit her online at .

Take a look at what God is doing in West Virginia in what has become known as the Appalachian Awakening at .

I am a people-watcher. Are you? I find it fascinating to watch common men and women go about their daily lives and observe the character choices they make.

My soul soars with absolute honor and applause when I see a foible-ridden human determine to make a decision with great virtue. My heart swells when I realize that an ordinary person has chosen to live an extraordinary life without the glare of media or publicity. This humble man or woman has determined to live a life of character with no visible accolades or no worldly recognition. They chose to do the right thing simply because it was the right thing to do.

I find it incredibly interesting and much more disheartening to watch those in the public eye as they make character choices for the world to see. From some celebrities, I have learned how to do life well and how to ensure that my character outlives any fame that I may acquire. From other lifestyles of the rich and famous, however, I have certainly learned what choices not to make on a daily basis.

As a people-watching addict, let me just say that observing the candidates who are currently running for POTUS has been a character study of the most riveting kind. It has been a vivid surveillance of the depreciation of human beings who are hungry for power and will do anything at all to achieve it.

They will lie their way into power; they will buy their way into importance; they will bully their way into platform; and they will exaggerate their way into prominence. They will blame their way into visibility; they will compromise their way into a forward position; and they will mock others with whom they disagree. Perhaps the saddest choice of all is that they often use their tongues as a weapon far more devastating than nuclear weapons will ever be.

So that this current presidential campaign is not a total waste of time and money, I have determined to live differently than those who are running for public office. I have decided to do the right thing even when others may think that it is the wrong thing to do. I have determined that my life will smack of integrity and honor rather than of power and platform.

Will you join me in this determination?

1. I will not lie even when it is hard to tell the truth. I will tell the truth. Even when the fault is mine and I have failed, I will still tell the truth.

2. I will not mock others. I will not make fun of people whose education is less than mine, whose looks are different than mine are or whose belief system is different than mine. I will honor each individual I meet or talk about as a person made in the image of God.

3. I will not blame others for the problems of today. The truth is, we are all to blame for the mess America is in. I will not blame Democrats, Republicans, the Left, the Right, the Media or someone whose skin is a different color than mine. I will be part of the solution on a daily basis and never cast blame in someone else’s direction. 

4. I will do one act of uncommon kindness every day. I will say “thank you” often and with enthusiasm. 

5. I will listen before I speak and endeavor to understand before I answer.

6. I will not be a smart-mouth. I will not be sarcastic or make a joke at someone else’s expense. Even when I disagree, I will try not to be unkind.

7. I will understand that politics and therefore politicians are actually not the answer to any problem that we face today. The answer to any human dilemma is heartfelt prayer. The solution to any schism is to love others in the same manner as Jesus loved.

8. I will encourage others day after day while it is still called today.

9. I will love my family in word and in deed. I will stay committed to my marriage vows even when we disagree. I will make sure that the atmosphere at my home address is one of peace and kindness. The truth is that what happens in my home on any day of the week is more important than what happens at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

10. I will pray for America. I will vote. But more importantly, I will pray. And I will try to always do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do. {eoa}

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, including No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released last August. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol’s “A Jolt of Joy” program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at .

It’s painful to say this, but after working in men’s evangelism and discipleship for four decades, it’s clear to me that most men don’t care what happens to other men.

Perhaps they care in theory. But not in practice.

I am guided to this conclusion by something Andrew Carnegie once said: “The older I get the less I listen to what people say. I just watch what they do.”

I offer this as an indictment of Christian men. I apologize if you are one of the few faithful men who care enough about other men to help them become disciples.

For the rest of you, you should be ashamed of yourselves. In your neighborhood, on the job, at the gym—men’s lives are falling apart and they’re dragging their families down with them.

And this while you become more and more spiritually obese at your little “feel good about me” Bible studies and church services.

Sometimes you need a hug, but sometimes you need a kick in the pants. This is your kick in the pants.

Most of you are more upset over your favorite team losing a game they were never supposed to win than over a dozen men who abandon their families.

When are you going to do something about it? When are you going to stop waiting for someone else to help these men and their families?

Wake up. If you don’t do it, who do you think will? It takes a man to teach a man how to be a man.

“Share the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses with faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

“Disciples making disciples” is the only plan. In fact, disciples not making disciples is an oxymoron.

If you have tasted Christ, been saved by His gospel, fed by His Word, built up in your faith and blessed by His grace, then isn’t it about time to obey His command to go make disciples?

You’re it. No one else is coming. There is no alternative rescue mission on the drawing board. No elite, black-ops commandos about to swoop in to save the day. Just you.

I’ve heard all the high-sounding excuses. I just can’t bear to listen to any more of your good intentions. I’m only going to listen to what I see you actually doing.

And by the way, I think the Lord Jesus is using the same approach with you.

“But I really do care. I just don’t know what to do.”

Please don’t tell me that you care. I’m calling your bluff. Show me. Better, show Jesus. Like the good Samaritan, loving your neighbor is something you do, not something you say.

And please don’t tell me you don’t know what to do. If you’re smart enough to draw a paycheck, you know what needs to be done. It’s just not that hard.

Discipleship is simply one man caring enough about another man to help him build a relationship with God, a worldview that’s biblical and a lifestyle worthy of Christ.

So, what can you do? How can you be that faithful disciple-making man?

Let’s get practical. You can start by asking a man if he’d like to have a cup of coffee. Ask him about his family. Ask him about his work. Say, “Tell me about your relationship with God.”

Do that. Then follow the conversation wherever it leads.

Just take a man as far as he wants to go toward Jesus at that particular moment.

God is not holding you accountable to produce a particular outcome. But He is expecting you to be faithful.

Do you care—really—what happens to other men and their families?

I hope I am wrong, but I doubt it.

If you do care, prove it.

You will have your answer a week from today—more than enough time to identify a man who needs help.

And so will Jesus. {eoa}

Patrick Morley is chairman and CEO of Man in the Mirror. His book, Man in the Mirror, was selected as one of the 100 most influential Christian books of the 20th century. For the original article, visit .

Whenever my family arrives home my kids make a mad dash for the front door. I’m not sure why it is important to them, but they each want to be the first one in the house.

As I come to the door with my keys to unlock the door they are positioned like two power forwards fighting for a rebound. It drives me crazy. Once I made them sit on the front porch for ten minutes before letting them come in. Tired of your kids fighting over who gets to be first? Who gets to sit in the front seat of the car? Who gets served ice cream first?

One All Pro Dad reader perhaps has a better way to deal with it. Designate a Kid of the Week.

The idea is simple—every week, one of your children will get priority with privileges—like sitting next to Dad, or getting the mail. Then next week, it’s someone else’s turn. Keep all your kids on rotation and let them know that if it’s not their turn this week, it will be soon. This simple process can greatly curb sibling rivalry. And we all could use a little less of that.

Here are 10 ways as a dad you can curb sibling rivalry:

1. All are created equal – Jealousy is a prime factor in sibling arguments. That monster can create upheaval in your home. Your kids are vying for your attention and affection. Let them know you have more than enough love to give and always be fair and balanced in the time and attention you give each of them.

2. Build teamwork. Try to plan regular activities that require your children to work as a team. This will promote cooperation, trust, and bonding. A couple of examples would be: play a game/sport/activity where it is them against you or have younger kids put on a show for you.

3. Set a privilege timetable. “You are giving her a cell phone? She is only 10. I had to wait until I was 13!” Siblings remember every detail of what was given to whom and when. Set a timetable for these landmarks and stick to it. If the timetable must be broken, make sure you give a clear and reasonable explanation as to why.

4. Step aside. Sometimes you just need to butt out. A parent can’t resolve every issue. Sometimes when siblings are fighting, you just need to walk away. They need to learn to resolve their own conflicts. In fact, tell them to take their argument outside.  Just make sure nobody takes a golf club to the head.

5. A picture is worth a thousand words. Parents should think outside the box. One parent suggested snapping a quick photo when your children are taunting or arguing with each other. They will see how silly or ugly the scene was and it usually ends in laughter and apologies.

6. Family roles – “Dad, how come I get grounded for doing that but he doesn’t?” The answer to that question is usually “because you are the oldest and know better. We’ve talked about it many times and now you need to set an example for your brother(s) and sister(s).” Every person in the family has a role. Point these out.

7. Understanding – It is important to understand the talents and flaws of your kids. One son might be a great athlete and the other might have a gift for music. Never apply a “one size fits all” technique with them. Just because your oldest son loves playing football, does not mean your other son will. Discover the unique traits of each of your children and nurture them.

8. Special circumstances – If you have a child with special-needs, they will require a great deal of your attention. This can be difficult for your other children. One thing that can help is allowing them to be involved in the care-taking process. This also applies when children are sick or have injuries. Offset the extra attention by including the whole family in the treatment.

9. Safe zone – Sometimes kids need time and space to be alone. For instance, your older daughter is in her room talking on the phone with her friends. Her younger sister keeps intruding on her. This will surely cause conflict. Create a safe zone for each child to be able to have time alone and make sure it’s respected.

10. One-on-one time. Make a point to spend time alone with each of your kids on a regular basis. Read a book to your youngest daughter. Shoot hoops with your son. Go for a bike ride with your teenage daughter. Your attention will mean the world to them.

For the original article, visit .

We first started to converse one day in the cafeteria lunch line—Bible college students from the same hometown. It was not a star-struck, “love at first sight,” enamored moment, à la Hollywood style, but over the weeks as we became friends, attraction was in action, and by the end of the semester, we were dating.

Now the serious vetting could begin. For me (Mike), the question loomed: Is she the one?

My criterion was a woman with a heart for God who was willing to follow me anywhere. (At that time I was planning to return to the mission field in Asia where I had just served for two years.) This was a portal through which a potential wife in my world must pass.

While for me this was a very narrow and specific criterion, a wider principle can be stated thusly:

Is the person you are considering as a lifelong partner a person of vision, and is that vision compatible with yours?

Beyond a particular ministry assignment, we are all called to the vision of becoming Christ-like: to be “transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

This is “Vision 101” and serves as a foundation for all of life’s aspirations, whether in the home, church, or workplace. What you do (assignment specifics and locations) may change over the seasons of a marriage; who you are (the fruits of inner refinement) will always be at the forefront of God’s directives over your life.

It is imperative that you discover and weigh in your heart the spiritual history of your person of interest. Is he a person acquainted with restraint? “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint” (Prov. 29:18, ESV). Does she display the self-discipline necessary to turn from lesser pleasures and follow the supreme path of allegiance to Christ? Now is the time to evaluate before you choose; once married, you forfeit that luxury.

I once heard this illustration: when you stand before the entryway into marriage, there is a banner overhead that says, “Whosoever will.” Naturally, we pray, proceed at a moderate pace, get counsel, and pray some more; but on this side of the door, we get to choose whether he or she is the right one to marry. Once over the threshold, we turn and see a banner that reads, “Predestined and foreordained from the foundation of the world.” God knew who your choice would be, and now it’s a covenant pact for life.

In our premarital manual, Vertical Marriage: A Godward Preparation for Life Together, we recommend couples consider fifteen potential caution flags. The need for caution may not necessarily mean that you shouldn’t marry each other, but it may indicate the need to slow down the relationship.

Caution Flags

1. Uneasy gut feeling that something is wrong in our relationship.
2. Frequent arguments.
3. Jealousy or irrational anger when one of us interacts with someone of the opposite sex.
4. Apprehension discussing certain subjects because we are afraid of the reaction.
5. Extreme emotional expressions; unpredictable mood swings.
6. Controlling behavior—I feel like I’m being manipulated.
7. Feeling trapped—not wanting to hurt each other by even suggesting that marriage may not be for us.
8. Lack of respect—I’m constantly being criticized and treated with sarcasm.
9. Lack of personal responsibility—My fiancé struggles to hold down a job and pay bills.
10. Pride—He/she has difficulty admitting when wrong, thus we never fully resolve conflict.
11. Dependent on parents for emotional and financial security.
12. History of failed dating relationships.
13. Addictions—Do either of you struggle with alcohol, drugs, or porn? If you struggled in the past, how long have you been free?
14. Selfishness—overly self-centered, always wants their own way, tends towards narcissism.
15. Bad habits—Yes, we all have some, but are there any major trouble spots? Are there any pet peeves that drive you crazy?

If one or more of these caution flags is evident in your current dating relationship, bring those concerns to your pastor or a mature married couple that you trust.

God always brings couples together with refinement in mind. The “right” one for you is the one you can do pilgrimage with, holding core values of surrender and transformation central to your union, while you envision a God-glorifying life together. {eoa}

Mike and Anne Rizzo have been in pastoral ministry for over thirty years and currently serve as directors of Marriage and Family Ministries at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri. They carry a passion for personal mentoring, teaching, and raising up marriages that exalt the name of Jesus. Mike and Anne have three grown children and one grandchild, and are the authors of Longing for Eden: Embracing God’s Vision in Your Marriage.

For the original article, visit .

I am addicted to my calendar. I love seeing a day take shape! I appreciate the manner in which a well-ordered life is able to present substantial opportunities or assignments for my very busy and hopefully productive life.

• 9:30: Phone Call with Publisher
• 10:30: Record 5 Radio Programs
• 12:30: Lunch with Board Member
• 2:30: Work on new Bible Study

It’s important to me to know that I am wringing the purpose out of every minute of a calendar day and that I am being a good steward of God’s time. I never want to be guilty of wasting a single day of this extraordinary life that has been given to me.

• 8:00: Walk with a friend
• 9:30: Write blog for the week
• 11:00: Prepare for weekend speaking engagement
• 1:00: Lunch with staff
• 2:30: Go over edits on new book
• 5:00: Dinner with Craig

But there are times that I must remind myself that God is more important than my calendar. Imagine that!

When the single mom calls and needs an afternoon of encouragement, I must set aside my schedule and spend time loving a sweet sister in need. I must.

When one of my grown children needs a listening ear or a word of wisdom, I must close my computer and spend time listening and praying. I must.

When a dear friend is suddenly admitted to the hospital, I must drop everything else, buy a bouquet of flowers and sit by her bedside. I must.

In this crazy world of ministry, I must not become so addicted my stringent schedule and controlling calendar that I forget to listen for the voice of the Master.

“Carol … I need you to encourage a single mom …”

“Carol … would you be willing to take a phone call …”

“Carol … a friend is in pain and I am sending you to her bedside …”

My “stuff” is much less important than His persuasive call. My predetermined schedule pales in comparison to His loving priorities. My busyness, as vital as it may seem to me, holds no eternal weight when He calls my name to fulfill His assignments.

God knows I am busy. He doesn’t need me to remind Him how busy I am! He also knows that sometimes, as a type-A human being, I have been guilty of valuing importance over service. Often He kingly calls me away from my self-designated priorities and reveals the greatness of simple yet humble service.

I can make my plans but I must always give Him control. I can schedule my life to the very minute but I must allow Him to interrupt. His divine appointments accomplish so much more than my best-laid plans ever will.

And so today I lay my calendar at the foot of the Cross. I tearfully declare, “Father, not my way but Your way. Not my control but Your interruptions. Not my importance but Your greatness. Not me … but You!”

An ordinary day that is given to the Savior transforms a busy life into a miraculous life. A calendar that is submitted to the plans that He desires becomes a sacred display of submission. A person who obeys and even enjoys the interruptions of heaven is a force to be reckoned with indeed! {eoa}

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, including No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released last August. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol’s “A Jolt of Joy” program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at .