Author: happyreign

Joshua the Unlikely Ruler

On By happyreignIn Heather, Reflections & MusingsLeave a comment

Are you familiar with the feeling of doing something you’d rather not do?  Are you familiar with the feeling of having to fulfill an obligation no one could pay you enough to fulfill?  Have you felt like the victim of your own barrage of thoughts that are zapping your energy?  These are tiny of glimpses of slavery and are foreign to your true self.  You, in essence, are created to live without any other king but you and your God as the best of friends basking in the glorious responsibility of true freedom.

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There’s a man named Joshua in the bible, torah, and koran who is Moses’ right hand man while the whole clan of Israelites have just been divinely freed from slavery in Egypt for 430 years.  We are introduced to Joshua in the desert after their release and we see him believe God when few others did, in the tent of meeting with Moses.  We are introduced to him as a free man, but Joshua too, grew up as a slave.  Just like every other short-sighted, fear-based Israelite who couldn’t believe in God’s goodness beyond their own past experiences, Joshua grew up a slave.  However this man, unlike Moses and almost all Israelites, did cross over in to the promised land.  Joshua was able lead others that had only tasted freedom into God’s promises, despite having grown up in a culture of slavery.

We often eliminate ourselves for so many things.  We look back at our lives and say, “But I’ve done this, or this happened to me, or I endured this,” and we have these road blocks in our minds to believing our own happiness, our own strength, our own victory.  We tolerate slavery in little ways, we endure being emotionally or mentally kept into places we want to leave, but why?  Joshua is a man that had every excuse like everyone around him had to stay in his slave mentality.  All of his peers.  Comparison.  Justification.  Do you see how we’ve been treated?  Do you see what we’ve been through?  But he carried no excuses in his soul to not believing God was everything he imagined he could be and more.  You see God never joins in slavery with us.  Even as Christ in flesh, Jesus was not a slave to anything.  God never tolerated being pushed around.  It’s not who you are even if its where you’ve come from.

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Your experience with slavery does not disqualify you from leading yourself and others into God’s promises.  It does not disqualify you from achieving the impossible.  It does not negate your unearned inheritance.

Joshua, the slave who acted like a king.  The man who had slavery as the norm in his culture of origin.  But he spent time with the never-slave God.  The free God who spoke, interacted, and existed without being forced to be or do anything but who lives as love and calls us to the glorious freedom of the same.  Your origins are free of all slavery.

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Moses!  Of course Moses was chosen to lead the exodus, he grew up in the kings house, he experienced the kings freedom, he saw the world from the perspective of ruling since birth.  But the one who led the people into the land of inheritance, Joshua, was the one born a slave who believed God enough that he became a king in his inner man.  By that I am inspired.

Maybe Joshua was given the command of being courageous because he doubted.  Maybe was given the command of being strong because he was familiar with feeling weak.  “Be in my likeness,” God was inviting Joshua, “You don’t have to stay in the likeness you’ve come from or see being displayed around you.  Listen to me, I’ve invited you, come and lead in what it feels it feels like to be free.”

Joel’s Clothing Brand

On By happyreignIn Heather, JoelLeave a comment

I am so proud of my husband Joel.  After hiking over 2,500 trails miles the past two years, he’s officially fallen in love…with hiking.  In the midst of incredible experiences and meeting amazing people from all over the world, he has captured his memories in clothes that he -and other hikers- can wear.  His thru-hiker lifestyle brand is called Out in the Wild and can be visited in the menu at the top.  Some of his shirts have hit the trail already or are about to with people who have inspired and entertained Joel via sharing their youtube hikes, pics on his instagram are on the right or below @joelreckless.  Check out the adventures of people’s lives online this year as thousands of people attempt to thru-hike both the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail.  We look forward to seeing you outdoors too!  Happy spring everybody!  Try something new!  outinthewild.life

p.s. We’re also excited for our first 50k race this coming weekend!  It’s our anniversary gift to each other and we’re looking forward to shuffling through the pain cave!  ShastaTrailRuns

 

Start Again

On By happyreignIn Heather, Reflections & Musings3 Comments

Last weekend I heard Bobby Conner speak.  He said Jesus showed up to him and his face was sad and when Bobby asked why, Jesus replied, because my people don’t want to spend time with me.

After we left the meeting that night I had a long stream of thoughts in my head that I thought I would share here.  Can I say I already knew this?  Can I say that because it applies to me?  Holy Spirit’s kinda scary.  Let me explain more below.

A decade ago I was in the heart of everything extreme regarding Holy Spirit experiences.  Prayer rooms, conferences, communities, ministry, missions trips, prayer meetings, extravagant poverty and generosity, new adventures, preaching, ministering to the poor, etc.  Its safe to say many many of us remember those times of waking up to everything supernatural, unseen, giftings, refinement, and faith challenging.  Literally on the the floor, taken over by God.

Then I noticed another season.  I noticed it but hadn’t articulated it, until someone else did that for me.  An old fatherly preacher said first you are a part of a move of God and so is everyone else.  Then you fall flat on your face, and that’s a move of God too, and so did everyone else.

Between the years of 2013-2016 or around there I noticed so many people encounter very challenging or hard circumstances.  I’m referring to the sold out crowd.  The whole-hearted ones.  We had followed God–Holy Spirit–to the best of our growing ability and it led us right into heartbreak, setback, disappointment, confusion, or disillusionment.

So people are still figuring out which way is up, many people are forever changed through these experiences.  And we should be.  That’s why we have them.  But pain is a hard thing to choose willingly.  I know for myself I wondered how I had heard wrong, or gotten off track, or the lingering question of why?

God works healing, restoration, recovery, strength, and endurance in the midst of our inability to fix things, mend things, turn back time, or undo what’s been done.  Sometimes this happens overnight but more often than not it happens as the seasons pass by one after the other and the sting is gone and we can hear truth in the peace.  Or at least feel love in it again.

This may be the time to start again my friends.  Us, the family of God that has been learning so many things with our paradigms, communities, and living situations having changed so dramatically since back then.

So do we dare to open up ourselves again to a God that seemingly led us into a crash course with something we didn’t sign up for?  Will we be wholehearted again when it feels like we don’t even have our whole heart anymore or don’t know where we lost pieces of it along the way?

Our minds know he’s good.  Our minds know he’s faithful.  Our minds know he has a plan.  It’s the time of our hearts thawing towards him again.  We may look more secular, we may speak more secular, we may live lifestyles where religion can’t be detected much anymore but we are right where he’s invited us all.

He really is a wise orchestrater and he knew all the outcomes before all this happened.  You’re not off track.  You’re not lost, because he knows right where you are.  Myself included, I feel like this is the time for affections to be repaired and emotions to be restored.  In him, towards him, for him, and with him.

You have overcome.  You are equipped.  You are gifted.  You are included.  You are loved.  Maybe your dreamer got broken.  Maybe your believer ran out of power.  But there is life within you.  There is purpose in your breath.  There is glory in your experiences, maybe the failures more than successes.

God never invited Jesus into comfort, acceptance, celebration, the loyalties of those around him, freedom from pain, or glory among men during his life.  God has a much different value scale than you or I.  You may not know that every purpose that God had in the midst of your experiences has been accomplished.

He doesn’t want you as a worker anymore.  He does miss me.  He does miss us.  Maybe we are ready.  Maybe we are ready again to say yes.  All of us just know we will never say yes again to the mistakes or pains of our past.  There is glory in that.

We’ve heard all along in our involvement with Charismatic circles that God is moving towards doing wonders and miracles beyond our wildest imaginations.  We carry the memory of the hope we had of being in the center of that.  I think we still are.  I think you still are.  God knows what he’s doing on a global scale in exact timing.

Don’t respond to him in duty.  Don’t turn him away from a place of pain.  He is a lover.  He wants to share his love with us.  He wants to experience our presence.  Share our excitement and our pain.  He wants to comfort us and cause us to believe in ourselves again.

The winter perhaps is over and gone and new leaves are sprouting again.  The warmth is returning, the river is thawed, and life will grow. And we will see it and feel it in our own lives.  A lot is accomplished during the winter and you prime for fruit bearing in your renewed surrender.

The pain, the disappointment, distrust, or broken normal may not ever repair itself to life as it once was but we will have a different understanding of who God is and who we are in its occurrence.  Hope, Faith, and Love have become even more untouchable within us by the circumstances without us.  We have grown.

I can’t promise it won’t hurt again.  Continuing to follow him without understanding or being able to see what he sees about yourself.  I can’t promise you won’t experience or disappointment again.  But I can assure you your fullest life–not coasting by denying your numbness as time passes–the reason you were created as you were, lies in your renewed yes, your renewed faith through confusion, your willingness in your weakness, your availability in expressing and receiving love once again.

Beautiful army bearing the scars of maturity, dare to feel safe in his arms, rather than our avoidance or control once again.

Order Prints and Books for Holiday Gift Season!

On By happyreignIn HeatherLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again!  Maybe your wondering what to get the specific someone?  The option of ordering bright encouraging prints or a book inspiring trust in the romance of God is now available!

Order Prints

Hello Friends!  This is the location you can order prints of some encouraging, bright prints as gifts or for yourself this holiday season!  Prices are as follows

$12 for the 8.5 by 11 sheet prints (with shipping included!) or
$18 for the 11 by 17 sheet prints (again with shipping included!).

Each prints is shipped with the story inserted in the packing.

Some dimensions may vary due to the shape of the original canvas sizes.

GRACE    God was showing me he sees me through his eyes of grace. Seeing his perspective of grace over my life brought with it confidence, courage, and freedom. Can you feel his approval and embrace for your person through this grace he freely gives? This was a piece I painted during a live worship set in front of a church in Paducah, Kentucky. A husband purchased the painting for his wife as a Valentine’s Day gift telling me that during a season of deep grief and loss in his wife’s life, the Lord showered her with love and kindness through the presence of sunflowers.

CITY OF LIGHTS    I had my own personal artistic journey of discovery during this creation not knowing what I was creating when I began. I let myself completely go into the process. After finishing the bottom first I thought, “Perhaps that’s how our planet’s skeleton looked when it was still “formless and void” in the beginning. As I continued painting, the starkly contrasting city of lights appeared. Our planet before humans was void of life, and through God’s plan and purpose, since day one, light and life have been being built upon it. Everyday God’s kingdom of peace is expanding and increasing in the spiritual realm. Upon the rock of this planet God is displaying his church, his shining bright kingdom of light.

INNOCENCE   I saw this painting while God was restoring things in me on the Appalachian Trail. “You are Holy.” I heard him whisper to me as the trees passed by. God was confronting the lies of being less, the feelings of regret, and the condemnation of failure. He was emboldening my spirit to believe his word beyond how others treated me or what I experienced and beyond what my memory was amplifying. He was giving me back confidence in his presence through what he alone has done for me. It is a gift that cannot be taken from us or destroyed. This painting by a woman who had a dream about it the night after she saw it and gifted it to a family who had just lost their three year old daughter

 

FLIGHT     I was requested to paint a prophetic piece for a man going through a number of trying circumstances in life. One in particular was that a piece of land he owned was in the process of being purchased by a major corporation and the process had taken three years up to the day I began this painting. I was directed to paint what came to mind and the piece you see was what I saw for this man. He had been bound tightly but not by the enemy, but the Lord. A transformation process was taking place in his life and it was for his good and was prepared him for what the Lord was releasing in the future for his life. Three weeks after presenting this word and painting, the business transaction completed and this man received the more than a million dollar deal he had been waiting on and his life turned a corner into the next chapter of his life.

CELEBRATION   Years before I was married, the Lord was talking to me about marriage that would happen in my life. I asked him when and I saw a picture of me watching fireworks at night. That fourth of July passed uneventfully. Years later I found myself living on the island of Malta during their summer fireworks season. Every night all summer long, the villages compete with their fireworks displays. I knew the time had arrived and God had prepared my heart. Less than a year later I was wed on that island. This painting is a portrait of the word of God in my life and his faithfulness.

MYSTERY    This painting was painted live in worship and essentially refers to the revealed mystery of the ages in Christ.  The truth of the gospel is no longer concealed but has been revealed through God’s son, the source of life and light for all people. It was purchased by a couple who had just finished renovating a dilapidated home in a historical district after ten years of working on it, to be displayed in the house during a neighborhood open homes tour later that same day.

Radiate From the day I arrived on the island of Malta, red Hibiscus flowers caught my eye everywhere. This painting was painted in three stages, the first was during a prayer meeting, the second was during a youth worship dance training session and the last at midnight during a 24/7 worship set focused on breakthrough all over the Mediterranean. This flower is the blossoming experience of the blood of Jesus being experienced and felt in the hearts of people radiating out from the island of Malta to Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa alike.

HOPE     This piece is the result of four years of city intercession in a small town that largely consists of housing projects and survival mentalities. Nothing in the visible changed in these four years. The day I painted this painting followed a week of breakthrough in government, personal lives, justice and education for the city. It was as if God was making a clear declaration that the veil of death that had been so comfortable over everything was being torn and revealed as a liar as new life started springing through in every direction around us. I witnessed a garden of hope through righteousness bursting forth up from the ground around me. In celebration, I expressed the memorial of this moment in this painting.

AWAKENED HEART    This was my first live painting during a city-wide worship event. Churches from the region had come together in prayer and worship. I was invited to paint during this time and I took the risk of saying yes. I purposely didn’t plan what I would paint in order to be a vessel in the moment. This is what came out of that gathering of a region in worship. God was wooing the hearts of city leaders, church leaders, business leaders, and family members. The large scale transformation begins and is sustained with the intimate touch of the Father in our own lives in a personal and real way that causes his love and affection to be irresistible to us, resulting in surrender and trust.

DESIRE     In Jewish historical culture, for a man to propose to a woman, he would list the commitments he was promising to her then as an indication of her acceptance or rejection of his proposal, he would offer her a glass of wine. If she drank, she was accepting his terms of proposal. At the time this acceptance was as strong as the vow of marriage until that day. The night before Jesus was crucified, he proposed to you and I. The conditions were his suffering, death, burial, and resurrection. He was clearly expressing his intent and desire to spend eternity in union with us enjoying one another’s glory for all time. Do you accept?

 

ISRAEL    l I saw a painting of Jerusalem and that night a pastor by the name of Israel came over for dinner at the house I was staying in at the time. At the dinner table the subject of travel came up and the pastor went on and on about his dream of going to the Holy Land. There and then I knew this painting was of his dreams. I finished it without letting him know I had even begun and before I continued on in my travels, I made a stop by his house and gave it to him. He and his wife were very surprised and touched.

 

 

 

Large 11 by 17 inch Prints Options

 

 

Regular 8 1/2 by 11 inch Print Options

If you are interested in ordering prints click on the link below and purchase through PayPal with your total and make a note of which prints and sizes you are ordering along with your address!  Thank you so much and have a happy holiday season!

To Order Books:  Our Love Story

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Joel and I have a love story I have the privilege of living.  Filled with miracles and circumstances too wonderful to coordinate, this story exemplifies God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness with most important areas of our hearts.

This is also a topic Joel and I love speaking publically about in schools, churches, and youth groups.

To Purchase

To order a copy simply click the buy now button and leave your address and number of books in the note and they will be sent your way for $11 with free shipping.