A Note: & The Blog Turns 2

This blog has been around for two years now. 

So, here’s a quick note since it’s the 2nd Birthday of this space. 

 

“If I ever do get to be a fine writer, it will not be because I am a fine writer but because God has given me credit for a few of the things He kindly wrote for me.” -Flannery O’Conner

 

There have been times filled with words and inspiring writing and there have been days where my brain felt stuck and I couldn’t write a thing. But still, I put my fingers to the keys and type away. Sometimes the things I write are terrible; sometimes they actually sound ok. I know I’m not a fine writer, as Flannery described, but I do know that what I write can affect people. I’m not writing just for the sake of doing it. I want to take this ability God has given and use it for His glory.

 

I think that’s what we all should be doing. Using the things we’re given to bring God praise. Multiplying our talents (Matthew 25). Growing the Kingdom. Making disciples. 

 

Whatever comes, we should take the spark inside and spread the fire to the people around us. We often talk about catching the world on fire or changing the world, but we need to spread the Holy Ghost fire to the people nearest to us. We need to change ourselves before we can ever think about changing the world. Start small. Keep building. The small things will add up. One day, every brick and every little bit of mortar we’ve laid will be a beautiful piece in the story God is writing us all into. 

 

Go eat some cake,

Olivia Fortner

 

Photo cred: http://avetisiperoz.ro/5-feluri-de-a-impacheta-cadourile-mai-altfel/

|ACTS 17:16-34|

(This post is scripture and goes with another post titled “Declare Unto Them God”)

 

16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, 

his spirit was stirred in him,

when he saw the city

wholly given to idolatry.

17) Therefore disputed he in

the synagogue with the Jews,

and with the devout persons,

and in the market daily

with them that met with him.

18) Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans,

and of the Stoicks, encountered him.

And some said, What will this babbler say?

other some, He seemeth to be

a setter forth of strange gods:

because he preached unto them

Jesus, and the resurrection.

19) And they took him,

and brought him unto Areopagus,

saying, May we know what

this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

20) For thou bringest certain

strange things to our ears:

we would know therefore

what these things mean.

21) (For all the Athenians and strangers

which were there spent their

time in nothing else,

but either to tell, or to hear

some new thing.)

22) Then Paul stood in the

midst of Mars’ hill,

and said, Ye men of Athens,

I perceive that in all things

ye are too superstitious.

23) For as I passed by, and beheld

your devotions,

I found an altar with this inscription, 

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship,

him declare I unto you.

24) God that made the world

and all things therein,

seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,

dwelleth not in temples

made with hands;

25) Neither is worshipped

with men’s hands,

as though he needed any thing,

seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26) And hath made of one blood

all nations of men for to dwell on

all the face of the earth,

and hath determined the

times before appointed,

and the bounds of their habitation;

27) That they should seek the Lord,

if haply they might feel after him, and find him,

though he be not far from every one of us:

28) For in him we live, and move,

and have our being; as certain also of

your own poets have said,

For we are also his offspring.

29) Forasmuch then as we are the

offspring of God, we ought not

to think that

the Godhead is like unto

gold, or silver, or stone, graven by

art and man’s device.

30) And the times of this ignorance

God winked at; but now commandeth

all men every where to repent:

31) Because he hath appointed

a day, in the which he will judge

the world in righteousness

by that man whom he hath ordained;

whereof he hath given assurance

unto all men, in that he hath

raised him from the dead.

32) And when they heard of the

resurrection of the dead, some mocked:

and others said, We will hear thee

again of this matter.

33) So Paul departed from among them.

34) Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: 

 

ACTS 17:16-34 King James Version

 

Olivia Fortner

 

What is Trust?

Trust is the action taken to get to Faith. “For without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6. 

 

The opposite of faith is fear. 

 

The backbone of faith is trust. 

 

The legs of faith is obedience. 

 

When we have to know all the details about a trial, we’re walking by sight; but when we trust God while we cannot see the outcome, we’re walking by faith. When we trust and accept without question, we move into a dimension of greater peace and intimacy with God. When it looks like there’s no way out for you, just trust, believe, and pray. 

Faith is born in the storm, and conceived in the impossible. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t stop short of the prize. The greater the conflict the greater the victory. “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” Psalms 37:5.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Verse six tells us our reward for trusting the Lord. He will direct us in our lives and help us travel in the right direction. Sometimes we hear people say, “I wish I knew what I was supposed to do in this situation.” What they need to know is that the Lord will direct all of us if we will trust and acknowledge Him. 

People trust in things everyday. We go to our light switch and flip it on, expecting the lights to come on. We don’t even think about the electricity coming through the power lines. We trust, if we have paid our bill, that the lights will come on when we turn on the switch. We should have that same trust in God to supply our needs. 

If we pray, fast, and believe, it is the equivalent of paying our power bill. The power is there for our benefit if we have done what we need to do.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16

So pray and trust. 

-Rebecca Crider-

 

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Rebecca Crider first and foremost loves God. She loves her husband, children, grandchildren, sons in law and all of her family. She is so devoted to them and their wellbeing, spiritually as well as physically. She is a prayer warrior and an encourager to many.

If her family is well and happy, she is happy (also the beach; that makes her happy too). Her goal is to be with Jesus for eternity and take somebody with her. 

Thank you to my lovely grandmother for writing this guest post.

I Surrender All

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us:” -1 John 5:14 KJV

Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except what lies outside the will of God. God will only answer the request He inspires. You see, prayer is surrender- surrender to the will of God. It’s cooperation with His will.

We pray because Jesus commanded us to. He wants us to be a part of the process. So, when God puts a burden on our heart for someone or something, we pray. And then we see God do the impossible. We see Him do the things that are answers to those prayers. 

Man is nothing without God; but we serve a powerful God and when our lives become in sync with Him, nothing is impossible (Philippians 4:13). That’s why we should pray for an awakening within ourselves. When we realize the power of ‘impossible’ we can start to see what happens when we apply it. If we have such a power, we can fix the problems of this world. When we wake up ourselves, we can powerfully pray for a Great Awakening in our nation. Prayer can, will, and does really change whatever we apply it to. 

When we pray for the gospel to go out and for people to believe on Jesus, we are praying according to God’s will. And guess what, He really does hear us.

Why?

Well here’s why… 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

If we contemplate the awesomeness of God and consider His will and purpose then we can pray this way: 

:: A Prayer ::

Our Father is Heaven, You are holy. Let you kingdom come; let this earth be the place where You dwell. Jesus, let this place be a realm where Your will and Your desires be fulfilled. Make my will to be like Yours; God pour Your will into me. Make my thoughts like Your thoughts. I give You all of  my plans, dreams, and life. I pray that You will order my steps, my thoughts, and my ways according to Your perfect will. In Jesus name, Amen. 

-Lydia Fortner-

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Lydia Fortner is a traveling preachers wife. She home schools both of her kids and is always on the search for a new adventure. She follows her husband across the country while he preaches the Gospel of Jesus to any and all.

Her “happy-place” is being snuggled up in fluffy pajamas, a good book in hand, and huddled around the fireplace with her family. 

Thanks for writing the guest post, Mom. Love ya. 

Here’s the Plan…

Twenty-sixteen was a blast. So many adventures filled the year. We crossed a mile high swinging bridge, climbed the Rocky stairs, danced through Time Square for the first time, hiked and wandered through the forests, chased down a few waterfalls, had my one year Blogging anniversary, and more than I can name. We’ve had the best time traveling this country (pictures at the bottom of the post) and I’ve enjoyed sharing it on this blog.

 

But I want to be more focused this year. I don’t want to randomly write whatever I feel like writing. I want to get us to a new place, a place of trust. Places of trust, commitment, worship, balance, prayer, consistence, and understanding in Jesus. 

 

I want us to pull close to God this year. I want to be intentional; I want my life to be for Him.

 

So, in all of that, I’ve written a plan- a plan of action for myself and for you. 

 

A goal for us to grow together, so that when two-thousand and seventeen is peeking in at another new year, we can say we worked hard to get to this place where we’re at, and this is a better place than where we started.  

 

For every month in 2017, I’m committing to a theme. And for every week of that month, I’ll post a blog under that topic. 

Hopefully I’ll be posting on Tuesdays, and on the third Tuesday of the month I’ll be featuring a guest post. Here we go.

 

January – Prayer

February – Trust

March – Commitment

April – Consistent // Remain

May – Balance

June – The Church

July – Be Imaginative 

August – Uncharted

September – The Word of God

October – Glory in His Creation

November – War

December – The Higher Call

 

And that will be how we build in ourselves. I feel like each month will grow off the last and our understanding will grow deeper. One will lead to the next and our hearts will want to seek God more. At least that’s my prayer— that we will be motivated to know God more. 

 A Prayer for 2017 

I pray, God, that I will burry the distractions and that this year will be a year of commitment to You. I pray for a real awakening in my heart. I want to wake up and seek what matters. I want to dig deep until I find You. I pray for an end to the lies I’ve been listening to and I pray for ears flooded with truth. Help me to remember that there are always new beginnings with You, God, and that with you, we are more than conquerors. 

-Olivia Fortner-

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I would LOVE to hear from you!

Comment below, or email me at:       giverofgoodnews@yahoo.com

Want to know when a new blog is posted? Email me at:  giverofgoodnews@yahoo.com , or if you have a WordPress account, follow!

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The Blog Turns One

If I could give you one thing, it would be the ability light a fire inside yourself. To fill yourself with the motivation and enthusiasm needed to take on this life. That has got to be one of the greatest gifts. 

I don’t want people to look at my life and say “Look at that girl. She’s got the fire inside of her”. I want them to never see me but for themselves to learn to start a fire inside. I don’t want to be the only one who’s been set on fire; I want to set the world on fire as I go.

 

To set the world ablaze would begin with one… right?

If I could show one person the truth, then they would speak it to someone else, until we were all consumed. 

 

But what if I set that one persons soul on fire and the world showed up at their doorstep and blew with its mighty gust until their flame was gone. They’d just keep returning for more fire. That’s why giving the flame is not enough. You’ve go to know how to start your own fire.

 

So, I’m committing my writing on this blog to this: learning to stand when the wind is blowing at record breaking speeds. Learning to find the truth when the only thing you can here is lies. Learning how to be committed when staying feels like the walls are closing in around you. Learning to remain steadfast. Learning to create. Learning to pray. Learning communication- communication with God and with people. Learning what matters and why. Learning how to start your own fires. 

 

When the world blows and gusts we can stand strong, because we know how to start this fire again. We’ve learned to build this flaming blaze so strong that the winds can’t blow us out anymore. 

 

Once you know how to start a fire, you can teach the next person. And the flames keep growing. They all become one. We will be a united flame on fire for the glory of God and no one will be able to put that out. 

 

So if you’re in, ready to start a spark that grows into a blazing fire, follow me on this journey. Follow me in seeking a soul on fire for the Creator, because I have a desperate heart. I am desperate to be consumed with Him.

 

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I would LOVE to hear from you!

Comment below, or email me at:       giverofgoodnews@yahoo.com

 

Want to know when a new blog is posted? Email me at:  giverofgoodnews@yahoo.com , or if you have a WordPress account, follow!

Want to share this with a friend? Click below to share on Facebook or Twitter!

 

Our trip to New York City last month.

 

Fall Mornings

When I took my first step onto the front porch this morning, I felt the cool concrete on the bottoms of my feet, and that fall feeling was in the air.
The breeze was crisp.
I slipped back into the house, wrapped up in a flannel blanket, and rushed out into the morning air.
These are the mornings we never want to end. 55 degree air brushing against our cheeks; our favorite, leather bound Bible and vintage coffee mugs filled to the brim.

These are the days we spend listening to God. When it’s still and the Word of God is there for us to dig deep into. His words keep us in Love with Him. Every word He’s saying keeps us coming back to Him, and that’s exactly how it should be.
This love, between Father and daughter, is mutual. Forever will His praise be on my lips.

-Olivia-

 

Uncomfortably Obedient is OK Sometimes

I heard a message one time titled “Comfortably Numb”. It was a great thought. Becoming numb to what God is saying. Not feeling the world beat you down. Yet comfortable in your state. Not wanting to change. Not seeking change. 

 

It’s true. We shouldn’t become comfortable in numbness, but what should we do? In  my mind, the answer was become comfortably obedient to God. Comfortably listening and seeking Him. All good things, but sometimes hard things. Sometimes we don’t know how to accomplish “Comfortably In-tune”. How do we stay away from comfortably numb, especially when it’s a hard thing to be comfortably feeling?

 

You see, we can do hard things, but sometimes it takes smaller steps to get there. I realized we can be “Uncomfortably Obedient”. We can serve God and give it all to Him, even if it feels uncomfortable. That’s OK. We do need a certain attitude to prosper with God but we don’t always start out very comfortable. 

 

It takes trusting to the point of falling in love to become comfortable in such vulnerability. We have to give all of ourselves to something we cannot control for a purpose we can’t always see. Now that sounds uncomfortable to me.

 

But because God has proved to us how He really does love us and is really doing all of this for our good (even when all we can see is a “not so promising” outcome) we can give ourselves to a faithful God. 

Jeremiah 29:11-14

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

-Olivia Fortner-

Growing Potential

“The things you’re passionate about are not random, they’re your calling”. 

 

Those dreams deep down inside of you are part of who you are and part of who you’re going to be. Pursue what you love. But, don’t forget to balance those dreams out, with God’s truth. The things that fill you with passion are beyond important as part of your calling. But we must  b a l a n c e  our dreams, with the Word of God. With Jesus. They have to work with Him. They were made to work with Him. But sometimes we let life grab a hold of us. Sometimes we try to shove those potentials into the tiny little box this world gives us. 

 

 “Here, store you potential here. It will do great things if you put it  here”, the world says. But if you do with those dreams what they were made for, their potential will grow. If you tell God you want to use that passion for what it was placed inside of you for (that great big purpose), the potential grows.

 

It fulfills its purpose. Magnificent things happen. And best of all it’s potential grows. Yes, it grows. When we finally throw that box away, the tiny one the world tried to give us, and live out our passion for God. When we do what we were made to do. The potential in our dreams will grow beyond us. Beyond our lives, even. When we start doing what we were purposed to do before the world began

(Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2 Timothy 1:9),

the work we’re doing turns into something that the generations after us will invest in. The people who will walk on this earth long after we’re gone will be using that potential.

 

Because we gave our life to God, because we let our potential run wild, and because God didn’t put our passion in a box, it will stretch beyond our lives. The generations that follow us will be thankful for it. Our work won’t die when it becomes God’s. His work will go on and on.

Give it all to Him today. 

 

 ~Olivia Fortner~

Rambles, On Doubt and Love.

This is what happens when I sit down and type. I don’t know. I started out with a prayer. It turned into a ramble that flowed into something that kinda’ sounded Ok. So, I don’t know. This is just me.

 

God, I feel called to write. What shall I write about. I don’t want to just write for the sake of writing. I want to write what You need to be said through me. I am Your vessel. I am your life. This life I live— it’s for You. 

I get distracted sometimes, though. Often, I forget why I’m living. I give myself some other excuse to do some other thing that’s only keeping me from You. 

I want Your will to be done, in me. I need Your will to be done. I understand that I cannot live without You, Jesus. I literally can’t live. You are the only hope. 

This love thing we’ve got going on, I want it to grow stronger. The bond between You and me— I pray it becomes a stronghold that others look to, for hope. Not so people will look to us, but because of me and You. Because we’ve got this love that is so powerful, it must not decrease. The only option I choose to see is it rooting deeper and deeper into a love no man can fathom. So strong and intimate, even my human self can’t understand and I’m left in a state of awe, just knowing that I’m in this love. Not understanding it. Not knowing how or what it really is. Just awe and wonder. 

I know it runs deeper than awe and wonder. It goes much farther than the enjoyable things. Love is commitment. Love is fighting for something. And being relentless in keeping it. Love is giving all of yourself to something no matter what, under any circumstance. No going back. No giving up. And for sure, no running. 

In Love, you want to run, sometimes. Running seems like the best option. But remember, this is Love we’re dealing with. Love doesn’t give up. Love doesn’t hide. Love doesn’t run, when the going gets tough. Love stays. And Love loves. As faithful a creature as Love is, we must show the same respectable steadfastness, in return. Besides, you know that deep down inside your bones, you want to stay. No matter how hard it gets. You want to stay.

Calm down. Take a breath. Let’s sit and think about this for a minute. This hurts. This love thing really hurts, sometimes. And sometimes, it’s really hard to remain. It’s really hard to remember that you committed yourself to this. No turning back. Yea, this thought gets overwhelming. But at the same time, it’s the thought that makes you giddy inside and grin from ear to ear, knowing that you’re safe. You’re safe, in this Love. 

About this time, you recollect yourself and you remember why you’re fighting. You remember why you started and you’re thankful for the doubt you had, because you’re stronger now. Now, you’ll know how to handle that measly but fierce creature, next time he comes sneaking around. Now, you have a better footing and you know a little bit more about how he works. You know how to prepare. So when Doubt strikes again, you’ll be ready.

Don’t get me wrong now, you’ll probably fall to Doubt again. But now you know you’re stronger and that you can get back up again.

 

a girl rambling to God

~Olivia~