I learned late, late last night my Assisi Elizabeth died Monday, June 2. We met In Italy, October 12, 2023. We texted when she returned to Florida. When she was back in her home country of Trinidad, she asked if I could use WhatsApp. Our covenant to pray for each other was beautiful and remains. What a blessing from God for her daughter to message me
She has a treasure trove of all her mom’s favorite prayers that exchange. Elizabeth was intensely private yet the Holy Spirit bound us from the first day we met.
Our entire small group has rayed for her daughter this evening. Terri prayed for all of us and it was tear jerking for me. I know God heard her voice and my souls cry. The prayer circle was powerful and I could feel the Holy Spirit moving.
I just realized I asked for all three prayers tonight. I asked for Elizabeth/Alexandra. Can’t delay in fulfilling a vow to God. I also asked that we pray over all our children. Then tears fell and I asked for prayer for the battlefield on Saturday. Lord, you heard all my prayers through dinner, the lesson on Daniel , the group prayer and everything else. Thank you Lord.
Mark and I both received haircuts today which was a first. Just a a little fun fact I won’t forget. The Godversation at the hair salon with Birdie was precious. I could not help but be compelled to tell her, my goodness, you are beautiful! She had been in court today and said she what hoped someone would tell her she looked beautiful today! Just a kind word goes so far!
Love that Sarah witnessed the fact Birdie confirmed “beautiful” was an answered prayer and called me “cute”. Jesus is all about the childlike jubilant heart chasing Him. Never have I been called cutes for 33 days straight.
I asked Sarah to do for me what she would do for her mom. Just consider my hair and face shape and do what would be best. The Holy Spirit told me to tell her that I was to give her the control and Trust God. I will forever treasure her spiritual insight and honesty. I pray for her family anyway, but now my prayers can be made clearer.
Before…After
So much goodness in the day! Little Lilliana and Leland reminded me so much of my babies at their ages at the salon. Much more on this, yet I must complete a post before midnight.
Mark and I started the day with a great lesson which tied into every other aspect of my day.
Yahweh, I AM YOURS. 💜✝️
Praise, Praise and more Praise. I have been singing all day.
I will sing Hallelujah to the one who does all the things the world says can’t be done. I know my God can do it. I’m gonna worship through it. Oh, Tasha Layton, how The LORD has used your gifts to draw me to deeper surrender.
Always I come to you in Thanksgiving and utter gratitude. I have not broken my fast since 7 something last night. I am only hungry for more of you and your Word. What you gave me in Psalm 91:11 for The Peterson Family and Numbers today caused me to cry enough to lose 1.6 pounds based on today’s time stamps. I am exhausted and will need to edit this post later.
First, and always first, your word. My daily bread.
Thank you for all the new ways you have amped up my spiritual armor and physical health. Ninety pounds off my knees and hips is a huge blessing. Thanks, again. Please help me heal my painful coccyx. Show me the source. Lord, psalm 103 💜✝️💜.
The movement on the scale today was funny because of what i shared with Mark before the photo. 🤣 Divine humor is a integral to my relationship with Jesus.
Why me? Oh, how you use me in such creative ways! Breakthrough is beyond beautiful! Every time I see the Better Business Bureau or any variety of “3B’s”, please bring me back to May 8, 2025 and replay the last 30 days for me! Please help me write the testimony you planted in my heart.
Each action to seek you in obedience has been stitched together in a way only THE MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE could design. Every little detail perfectly connected in this community you gave us nearly a dozen years ago. I know we have a ton of work ahead and rest is mandatory. I love you.
Lord, I am so overwhelmed and in the best way in this moment. You inspired all of the creativity and clarity in wee hours. Thank you falls short. I praise your glorious names, all of them! I praise you with every ounce of my body. I thank you from the depths of my invigorated soul!!!
What a glorious day and it’s minutes from 7 pm. The fact you repeated books and took me back to 1 Kings today is making me smile all the more in this moment. As one does, I snagged two pics of my Bible pages from his morning. This was the left page.
On the right hand page, 1 Kings 10:10 says,” Never again were so many spices brought in as those the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon”. Lord, forgive us of our outrageous laughter and remove anything from our hearts that does not serve you. We trust you know the hearts you gave us. I am convinced you gave us that hearty laughter to fuel our day. I will forever giggle to read the 10:10 verse with President Trump’s language patterns and to remember how you have moved so mightily today.
We listened to this message this morning and it was like pouring gasoline onto a fire. I was nudged to send myself messages for anything which guy punched me during the message. Thank you, Lord. I see you what you did there!
Soul filled up and overflowing, I drove to work. Andrew Ripp’s Breakdown is such a totally joyful vibe.
At this point, it is now pushing 8 pm and I must share highlights via images. Obedience first. I arrived at the shop and quickly posted this to my personal Facebook page.
Shortly after, I saw a message from a woman I have not spoken to in eleven years. The post was originally made to our business account and explains context. Hours later, I was nudged to share to my personal page, as well.
New inspiration to build up other small community businesses.
At the beginning of the post, I shared a page from my Bible at home. thank you, Father God, for showing me the study notes match us to my husband’s response on that text. TEN better. The way the Holy Spirit works with me, I love a sweet last minute reminder to share the word shared with Jackie.
I love you. I can not ask for anything in this moment, Father God. You give me immeasurably more than I could ever deserve.
Two days ago, this was part of a text conversation with my husband. I felt nudged to make certain he knew several things he had taught me in The Bible. The Holy Spirit has been palpable and active. The nudge was clearly to humble myself to my husband and for his edification.
We did go for a late walk last night. This is the screen shot from the night prior. The heart and spirit are the same. 💜✝️💜
This morning, I woke at 6:30. I knew I needed at least one more hour of rest. When I did wake up, I flipped to 1 Kings. Rather than repeat the content, I will share a post.
Mark and I specifically discussed the map and historical context of the two Golden calf worship sites. We discussed Bethel at length. We talked about the study notes in the image below, as well. When I arrived to the shop, I read today’s devotional. I was somewhat awe-struck.
Every single thing the Holy Spirit taught me today was tied together in word and spirit. In this moment, I can only grin like a Cheshire Cat because of what He taught us the other day about doing things “in deed”.
The deed to my heart and soul says OWNED BY YESHUA. My Jesus directed me a long time ago to TRY to mark my prayers with 💜✝️💜.
Closing the month of May, I am drowning in gratitude. Our HVAC was out of commission this past week. Rather funny to me, as I saw in old Facebook memories the last time our system went out was the same day and the heat required us to get a hotel that year. Praise God, the unseasonably cooler weather made this past week bearable. Mark and I praised God last Saturday when the HVAC shut down, but the air was cool outside. Truly, we praised God every day we survived without AC and are still praising Him the day after it was repaired for a reasonable price. Gratitude is always the best environment for Godversations and today was a better than normal one with my husband. We are both super grateful to be able to snuggle at night, as we did last night for the first time in a week! We are also grateful for pizza and beer tonight, dinner with Morgan and Jonathan tomorrow and a thousand other things. So “Happy-happy” Mark and Carol enjoyed this Godversation a little bit extra today.
Several elements and topics seem to be cyclical, not just the timing of when our HVAC system was down. It is important to note that from the onset. All of this started with meeting Josiah last week, someone I told Mark may be one of my “stranger angels”. The Lord sends people into our shop daily and I see His Fingerprint all over Josiah. Mark remembered him, too. Again, something that is notable. I shared how the Holy Spirit rearranged my study session today between 2 Chronicles 33-34 and 2 Kings 24. I also shared the spiritual connection I feel to Mark every time I read or think anything about King Hezekiah. We talked about how Josiah’s father and grandfather were evil, but Josiah’s great grandfather, Hezekiah, was good. We talked about how Josiah died, as well. I am so glad I shared the connection again, as Mark did not remember. Immediately, Mark was excited to share what he was studying in the Book of Acts about Ananias and Sapphira, a story he has mentioned before. It was a moment I knew Jesus was hanging out with us on the couch at the shop in a palpable manner. It is super exciting when you can feel your savior cheering for your marriage.
In the midst of this exciting Godversation, I confessed my lack of productivity at home. Thank God, Mark understands my joy when I am immersed in God’s word. He understands I NEED the time to LISTEN. He could probably visualize the notes in my Bible and how I looked flipping between scriptures. The study notes for 2 Chronicles were powerful and mentioned where to find Josiah’s profile. Today, this joy led me back to Josiah’s story in 2 Kings 24, where my study serendipitously aligned with a powerful message I first heard on February 3, 2023, in Blue Ridge. Months later, the same message lined up with the “slain in spirit” experience at Our Church in November 2023. Two huge dates I know God moved hugely in my life.
This was no coincidence; it felt like the Holy Spirit orchestrating the pages of my Bible to illuminate profound truths. The Lord’s playfulness and precision in these moments affirm His role as the ultimate teacher, guiding me with both tenderness and intention.
On a lighter note, the day also brought moments of intimate humor. After a week hindered by a faulty HVAC system and other challenges, my husband and I found joy in the simple pleasures of life—a shared laugh, a playful SOMMEE Card exchange, and the comfort of pizza and beer later this evening. These moments, though ordinary, remind me of the importance of connection, both spiritual and relational.
As the day wound down, I was drawn to Psalm 46:10, a verse I have cherished throughout my life: “Be still and know that I am God.” Yet, today, I uncovered a deeper layer of meaning through the Aramaic and ancient texts, which translate the verse to “Stop fighting…Repent…Return.” This revelation reframed my understanding, underscoring the active call to surrender and realignment with God’s will. It brought me full circle to the message in Blue Ridge, a reminder that God’s truths are timeless and His sovereignty unshaken.
In this tapestry of study, conversation, and reflection, I see the Lord’s hand weaving threads of wisdom and grace. There is indeed nothing new under the sun, but His presence makes all things new. Praise be to our Sovereign Lord, who reigns now and forevermore.
Lord, thank you for all you have done, are doing and will surely do. The past few weeks, you have done so many wonderful things I have yet to write down. I loved how it all began with #clays4trey and facing the demons I know in Clarksville. You gave us the DOUBLE BLESSING to share with the Petersons. Almost three weeks later, Angie is now planning to attend the event with me. Thank you for her invitation acceptance.
The lovely yet super-stormy dinner with Joyce and the “DOUBLE DUTCH” buffet plate last Tuesday must be mentioned. Joyce prayed over our meal and specifically for our homes to be protected in those storms. The next day, she showed me destruction all around their home. We enjoyed a rare mid-day phone call whereby we were joyful children praising you, together. It was downright giddiness with us on the phone. Friday, you gave me the JD GREEAR sermon on the radio to share with Mark about Underdogs, NC Wolfpack 1983 Basketball and Gideon. You reminded me that simple act of sharing brought forth the blessing of hearing Mark’s love for Gideon, again. Saturday, I was beyond giddiness with the pregnancy news shared by Eric and Sophie. I will write the story out in the future, but “One egg for a dozen” will remind me. Father God, thank you for all of it and for all I am failing to mention thus far.
Lord, please forgive me for being so “in my head” that I have allowed it to cause me to struggle with writing down testimony to glorify YOU. I have not felt my words were worthy enough or clear enough. The enemy is such a powerful liar. Please keep reminding me PRAISE IS A WEAPON. Heartfelt praise is what started my healing. Lord, please help me turn up the spiritual volume to praise even more boldly. Please remind me how great it feels to exalt your name with others, daily! Praise is always a huge part of the answer. Thank you for bringing me to this keyboard on Memorial Day. I love how you give me strong imagery and dates to really sink a lesson into my spirit. To the world, this day is about American soldiers who died in service of their country. In this moment, I see my savior on a cross. I see Jesus’ bleeding out for every man or woman, whether they died in service of their country or not. The thought does not translate to words very clearly, but for every war monument, I see Jesus in front of every soldier. The spiritual battle has been real.
Father God, thank you for pressing my heart so clearly to share the images and how you moved me from the couch to this keyboard in this moment. Simply put, we agreed to open for five hours today and close early at three. We have been open for several hours and there has not been a single customer. I am not disappointed we have not earned a dollar. I trust you will take care of us. I have thoroughly enjoyed just talking to you and pondering why you put me back in Hosea 13 this morning. It is just you and I hanging out in the shop and it is beyond lovely. It reminds me of how, just like with Gideon, you will remove what is not necessary. The entire world has been pulled away from me. Blake and Jess are at the house. Mark is at the Boro Shop. I am beyond grateful to be separated away from the world with you.
In the midst of the deepest gratitude, I was sitting on the couch and could not help but shake my head and smile. I giggled out loud thinking of the “Pretend Shingles Commercial” Mark and I laughed about over coffee. Lord, I have prayed to understand several things and you know EXACTLY which prayer you answered by giving me that “fake commercial’ to share with Mark. Thank you for blessing our marriage with humor and laughter. Thank you for revealing that deeper truth to me today of how prayers get answered. It would be difficult to forget the group of friends at the beautiful brunch at Todd & Danae’s yesterday to go see the new Mission Impossible movie. It would literally be impossible for me to forget the image of a Shingles commercial filmed in the setting of their home. Perhaps now I will learn that my husband can sit at a table and genuinely not hear extended conversation on a topic and not take it personally. Oh, Lord, please press this on my heart with every stinking pharmaceutical commercial we watch. Constantly remind me with this “shingles giggle” of all you have on my spirit in this moment.
Thank you, Lord, for returning me to obedience of this variety today. It is beyond words. It has always been more than enough to know I am being obedient. Of course, it is perfect for you to remind me on this man-made holiday WHY obedience is better than sacrifice. Part of that means including the document which opened for me in MS Word began with this sentence:
“I trust you all know that if Yah puts something on your heart to do and you do not do it, it is a sin. (James 1:22,4:17)”
Again, you make me giggle. I see so many different aspects of your Divine Humor. This post is not perfectly written, and it may not make sense to any other person. It makes perfect sense to you, Lord. This release I feel as I close my praises and limited petitions is palpable. Lord, I ask in the sweet name of Jesus for you to keep me close and grant me your wisdom. Thanks, Daddy. I love you. Amen.
Father God, I am writing the gist of what has transpired the past few days because my heart feels like it will burst if I do not write it down.
First, thank you for using me in any way to help Lyss and John in their healing. Thank you for friendships and encouragement and for house visitors who share their time so beautifully. Thank you for teaching me to CLIMB in more ways than one. Thank you for showing up in spirit on Jess’ face at the climbing gym yesterday. Thank you for humbling me in so many ways with her yesterday. Please protect her.
You know why I am still re-reading the letter Mark gave me this morning. While I will not write about the contents, I will acknowledge I sought Godly counsel from “PNP”. I have no answers, only more questions. For now, please show me what must be removed from my mind and what is to be added. Make me more like you so I can be the wife YOU desire me to be. If it is not of you, I do not need it. Period.
The heart wrenching truth of the Ghana Romance Scams in Murfreesboro which have harmed my sweet Futina are very much sickening my heart on her behalf. Her husband has not earned a dime in fifteen months of marriage. Her home burned down. She got it repaired and sold it last month. She has paid for immigration and other attorney bills for her husband, as well. Learning the pastor, “Poppa”, is not paid a salary by the church. They pay his rent/mortgage and other bills instead. They fired the woman who moved here four years ago from Chicago for asking questions about the finances. Her job was finance. Immediate red flag, indeed.
Learning the late-night prayer action has more than worn her out, she serves her husband every meal in their bedroom and he does not engage in the household: It is all heart breaking for me. Waking anyone, much less the elderly, to pray between 3 and 4 am feels like Brainwashing 101. Learning multiple women in her church are married to others from Ghana leads me to believe there is a criminal circle of folks involved. For heaven’s sake, Futina doesn’t even believe the emails sent were from the man she was told to marry. I know you know all the details I am not writing. Perhaps I was to at minimum, document the outline.
Lord, please protect all those most vulnerable, especially the widows and orphans. James 1:27, 1 Tim 5:3-16 and Matthew 25:34-40 are all proof to me that your heart is already with them. I ask everything, especially the unspoken parts, in Jesus precious name. Amen.
Today, I enjoyed a good chat with a gentleman interested in buying our business. Afterward, I had an enlightening conversation with my husband. It was so good to be on the same page as my husband when all was said and done. Now is not the time for us to sell. After I got off the phone with Mark, I was blessed with over ninety minutes of Godversation with Grateful Gary. What a gem!
I loved learning how he found God as a child and a relationship with Jesus and God through his wife and mother-in-law. Miss Amber and Mimi have Brooke, Emma and Sadie to round out the female team. Since his father-in-law died two years ago on 2/27/23, Gary has his hands full. How beautiful to hear how when Amber’s sister was violently stabbed to death, her son lived with Mimi and his grandpa. After a while, he moved to his dad’s house and died of an overdose at 16. So much loss and tragedy, yet Mimi’s faith is literally like a rock. That kind of faith is astoundingly beautiful. I was nudged to give Gary two of the Vanessa cards and the first one literally took his breath. As it turned out, he literally wrote her a letter when she returned from a spiritual retreat yesterday, thanking her for her impact on his faith. 💜✝️💜
All in all, I am still processing so much of what we discussed. I thought it was over an hour, but when I checked the timestamp for his purchase, he was here for over 90 minutes. It felt like it flew. Time always sprouts wings when the Holy Spirit is ever-so-present. Fascinating to me with all the negative talk about the Catholic Church, the Lord keeps placing faithful Catholics into Godversations.
We had very slow days at both of our shops today. Roughly an hour ago, I sent my husband a little text prayer and within an hour, we were more than halfway to the goal. It is okay if God does not want to send the entire amount. We trust His plan for our business.
Yesterday was a different type of Sunday for us. We left to eat at Maple Street Bakery and clean out our storage shed near our other shop. It was a super productive afternoon, and it felt good to be actively working toward goals with my husband. I worked non-stop on organizing those boxes and contents at the Smyrna shop today.
Before we cleaned up to leave the house, we talked about a particularly clear dream my husband remembered. Listening to him describe the lack of visibility, it “felt” like the darkly filmed Paramount shows we watch. The gist was he was wearing a long coat, couldn’t toss the ball back in and he was the same age he is now. It would be like me seeing myself in my high school cheer uniform on the side of a dark football field. Just because we do not always see everything in our path does not mean there are not obstacles.
I shared with my husband things I have read about how God absolutely does speak to people in their dreams. In my husband’s case, it is highly unusual for him to recall his dreams. These images and feelings were crystal clear to him. I encouraged him to consider the reason he is now dreaming with recall could be related to the extra time he is spending in his Bible. It was exhilarating to see him perk up during our Godversation.
While I am short on writing time and need to close up the shop shortly, I needed to take a few minutes to at least bookmark this dream and conversation. At the end of the day, we decided we would be taking a vacation together in August. It was downright cute the way Danny and Arlette got so excited to take the cruise with us. Before we went to sleep, tickets were booked and the plan is underway. It is good to have this trip to anticipate in the months ahead.
Father God, please know we truly appreciate all you have done in our lives, are doing at the moment and will do in the future. As we plan to leave our business for a week and trust your provision, please give my husband the same peace in his heart that I have in mine. I know it is you. In Jesus name, amen.