July, a Big Smile Month

I always think of the month of July as a celebratory month, maybe because of the 4th and the flush of summer, I don't know. For so many years I spent my summers in summer school socking in the college and graduate school credits, and now I look around awed at the bright and happy bloom of a summer July without a backpack of homework, and no student papers to grade as a teacher.  It's amazing what the sweet aroma of grass, planting soil, cypress, rose and  lily become when pressure and stress aren't present.   I'm working on a new book and when the swath of deep green, eucalyptus, palm and pine smiles at me from my window I breathe  a quiet "thanks" to God for this sweet month sandwiched in between a misty June and a broiling August.   Swimming is probably my best sport and July creates ideal water temperatures for the swimmer.  I went diving (snorkeling) in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy in July,  the sun delicious overhead, the water shimmering clear, the world beneath the surface of the sea a treasure of colorful creatures and rock formations.  The Minnesota lakes come alive in July and the California coast
brightens as though invited to a grand party, God's party.  It's God's July, a brilliant opportunity to thank Him, shout hallelujah and smile.  It's July. We've been through some hard times, but we're still here and we're smiling.

With or Without a Daddy

Father's Day is  a big day for us, would you believe it, being we have no fathers in our lives?  My father was tragically killed in a train accident a few years back, and I have wonderful memories of him, a hard and tough Sicilian who was adored by many, and dearly loved by my mom and us kids.  It's a huge loss in our lives.   Then came my own little personal tragedy with divorce, so my kids haven't had a grandpa or a dad to make cards for, or buy presents for on Fathers Day.  I raised them alone with no child support or alimony (child support? heavens, what's that?)  and miraculously, we've made it on our own. 
So now every Fathers Day my daughter sends me Fathers Day cards and I receive Fathers Day love and gifts.  It sounds funny, I know, and we have a good laugh over it, but thank the Lord, my children show me their appreciation and love in so many creative ways.  I could never be a daddy, of course, but I've tried to be the best mommy I could be.   So we celebrate Mothers Day AND Fathers Day in our family, with our Heavenly Father as our Divine Daddy. 
Here's a Happy Fathers Day to you dads out there every day of your lives.  Be a great dad.  Some of us never knew you.

A Great Shaking

We had an earthquake here last night and it's the talk of the day today.  People get understandably quite shook up (little pun there) when earthquakes strike.  There was no serious damage done and no injuries reported, but an earthquake is a scary thing.  I've been in tornadoes, floods and storms at sea-- and now earthquakes.  We're always hearing about the Big One coming.  We receive regular warnings and advice on what to do when the Big One hits. 
Once I was in a flash flood in the mountains and I had to out-run it which was a pretty amazing contest.  Another time I was snorkeling in the Mediterranean Sea when a huge storm hit.  I had to outswim it to an underwater cave where I huddled and paddled until rescued.  But you can't outrun or outswim or outmaneuver an earthquake.  When the earth jolts and jerks beneath you, all you can do is run for cover.  And pray. 
But here's the thing:  we can't wait for the storm to hit before we pray.  Prayer warriors have been praying and interceding about the Big One for years.  I believe the oil spill in our Gulf will be contained not only because of the prayers going up now, but because those waters have been prayed over and blessed by believers for years.  God is faithful, and we must declare Psalms 91 over our homes, our land, our waters, and our air.  We need to release blessing and the glory of God into the atmosphere.  And we need to do it now!  Are you feeling the same urgency as I am? 

The Great Awakening

     I've just returned from our H.I.M. Leaders and Ministers' conference, and I feel like I've just been through a spiritual tornado. I've been in natural tornados and experienced the uprooting of trees and concrete sidewalks, the ripping off rooftops and the utter devastation of a landscape, but this was a tornado of a different sort. It was spiritual, quiet and deep. There were no flashes of lightning, no dripping oil, no feathers or gold dust this time, but we received a powerful impartation of the reality of God.

      Jack Hayford and Peter Wagner shared on the power of intercessory prayer. Now I've been an intercessor for years. I teach on intercession and I train intercessors. But the Holy Spirit took me to a new level of understanding as I entered into the spirit realm to learn more of what God is doing on the earth today. I believe if we, as intercessors, will see into the spirit realm and discern the tactics of demonic assignments, we will reach into the mind of the Holy Spirit and receive the prayer strategies to overcome and prevail for the purpose of the glory of God in each situation. Not all of us are called to the ministry of intercession, but I believe we are each called to intercessory prayer. 
     I found it interesting at this conference for leaders, ministers and missionaries from around the world that most of us took copious notes as each speaker ministered.  I sat between two pastors and their wives, and they each took notes as fast as their pens could write. Of course, I was madly taking notes, too. No matter how many years we serve God, we are always and forever students of the Word. I've observed that the most powerful ministers I've known are true humble students of the Word. Always learning, always growing, always reaching higher and higher into the heart and will of God. It's so beautiful.
     Cindy Jacobs ministered to us and I bought a couple of her books. I'm reading her book on prophecy, and I thank the Lord for her. She has been with us in the past, but this time I felt something entirely new coming from her. James Goll talked about NOW being the time of a Great Awakening. James sobs as he talks, and you can feel the throbbing Presence of Lord. I'm telling you, the incomprehensible loving heart of God longs to embrace and bless us with His goodness and His tender mercies. I sense Him reaching out to us, calling with so much love-- He is our Perfect Guide , the lover of our souls. The time is now. The time to wake up is now.

from the road...

Wow.  Chicagoland!  If you have been at any of the meetings this week you know what I mean by WOW.  One story I must share with you is about some photos that were taken at our all day SCHOOL OF THE SUPERNATURAL "Body Soul & Spirit" Conference.  Figures of angelic beings showed up in the photos and when the lady who took the photos brought them into Walgreens to have them developed the clerk at the counter saw them,  burst into a storm of tears and gave her heart to the Lord right there.  In all the meetings there have been wonderful healings (legs, knees, allergies, to name a few) and angels have been seen everywhere.  Last night two fire angels ministered behind me as I spoke (people told me they could see them) and it's been wonderful.  What I love so much is seeing God move among His people with His tender love and mercy.  I see His hand on people as He touches their lives healing, delivering, restoring, refreshing, and I am awed.  It is thrilling to be in the Presence of the Holy Spirit.  It's thrilling to see the angelic realm rejoicing with us.  It's flat-out thrilling to belong to the Lord Jesus.   Let the miracles continue!

Life in the God Lane

I'm happily back behind the wheel, and drove to Los Angeles over the weekend listening to great praise music up and back.  Thank the Lord, I survived traffic school, (which is at least a hundred times more harrowing than the Interstate in rush hour, haha).   I had a great time praising the Lord and praying  for a few hours uninterrupted as I drove.
Here at MCM (Marie Chapian Ministries) we are busy at prayer for my speaking tour in Chicagoland and so excited about what God is going to do in our midst at the meetings.  The Lord has me set apart at this time and soaking in His presence as He speaks to me.  I am contending for for the people with Deut. 28:2:  "And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God..." 
It's going to be a time of great blessing.  "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Deut. 2:8, and that's the  King James Version. 
When the Lord sets me apart like this I become so much energized and filled with Him I can concentrate on nothing else but Him and the Kingdom of God.  Tonight I walked in the setting sun praying and smelling the air and watching the sky, and celebrated the magnificence of dusk.  I pulled a leaf from a eucalyptus tree and held it under my nose as I walked.  The aroma was heavenly.   I often pick wild rosemary or lavender to hold under my nose as I hike the woods, but tonight even the sound of my feet as they met the earth a celebration.  "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"  (Romans 11:33)
I really hope you'll join me in Chicagoland May 21-27.  Check my (yes, if you can believe it!-- ALL NEW UPDATED website!) -- http://www.mariechapian.com/ for details.  I want to see YOU in Chicagoland!

Love from Traffic School

I'm going to be totally open with you.  I spent the day in traffic school today, and I don't mind telling you I'm a bit traumatized now.  It felt like an 8-hour horror show, mixed in with a fear of driving because-"they'll-get-you-with-a-ticket-no-matter-what." I sat there with 30 other people, our mouths agape, feeling terrible about ourselves and wondering if we should buy bus passes.  We were shown videos of horrible accidents including decapitations, life cripplings, and bloody deaths of teenagers and children.  We saw cars fly off cliffs, cars burst into flames against trees, cars run  into one another in huge pile-ups, and children and animals die because of traffic infractions like talking on cellphones and driving without seat belts.  I'm telling you, when it came time for lunch break, nobody could move.  We sat there like 30 stunned and shocked sparrows on an electrified wire.  I sat next to a young girl tattooed and pierced all over who had a DUI and it was costing her $23,000.00.  The girl's pierced face is still before me, and I'm thinking it will take her a very long time to pay off that DUI.  Such a precious girl, so cherished by Jesus, and  yet she made a mistake that will affect the rest of her life.  Thank the Lord, she didn't kill or injure anyone, and God, in His mercy, heard her prayers and helped her through the lengthy process and financial hardship.  Most of us in the class had tickets for things like rolling stops, red lights, speeding, cell phones, and one guy for making a U-turn in the middle of the block.  We weren't exactly what you'd call criminals, but we sat there in our guilt and shame wondering how we could make this a positive experience.  I decided to make it a learning experience and so I took notes as though I were in a college class.  (Ask me anything.)  By the end of the day we were all completely spent, exhausted, fried.  You should have seen the older people.  They could barely stand up.  It had been a harrowing day of looking at the reality of driving with stress the horrors on the road.  When we finally signed out and received our little certificates of completion we filed out like silent lambs to the slaughter.   I could hardly drive home.  We had been programmed to think we'd do something wrong and get pulled over, and we'd have no way out of it, even if we were right.  I had to go before the Lord in the Throne Room with 2 Peter 1:2-4:  "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue..."  Ah yes,this verse too-- "happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding..."  (Prov. 3:13).