First and foremost, I am honored to be part of River City House of Prayer in San Antonio Texas. My family and I have attended there for almost three years and count it one of the greatest blessings we have experienced. I have never been in a church body of any kind where my family and I have been loved so much. Through all our struggles and triumphs as a family they have been there; always. And not only do they love us but encourage us to follow our hopes and dreams. The leadership at RCHoP has always made way for me to teach and minister according to the gifting the Lord has given me.
And now I am in the process of publishing Soaking With A Purpose, The Five Ps to Living In God’s Presence. All this has been completed with the encouragement, instruction and blessing of William and Angela Nunez. It is at River City House of Prayer where started my first web site Journals of the Heart and published my first book Carvings In His Palm, What God Thinks When He Whispers Your Name..
I had the opportunity to speak at our Saturday night Encounter Service on June 7th. It gave me the chance to teach Soaking With A Purpose in 45 minutes and under. I wondered how I would teach 168 pages in 45 minutes or less. Well, guess what? I didn’t.
However, I did get the chance to teach on Genesis 1:4 and the hovering presence of God in relation to soaking. What a blessing it was and continues to be. One of the greatest blessings was to have Jamie Lipe and the RCHoP Band conduct a 20 minute soaking session called Strength.
Jamie is an incredible prophetic worship leader. I have added Strength on the Free Music Page under the genre Devotional. Be sure and check it out and let His presence hover over you as He speaks Words of Life into your spirit.
Make sure to keep checking in as we will be adding new music. And be sure to check out the artist web sites and avail yourself of their music. Helping them by purchasing their music helps us to keep offering new music along the way.
Don’t forget to check Strength out before you leave us…blessings as we all depend on Him…Brenda
This last Sunday night, May 25th, I had the privilege of sharing at Capstone Global Ministries in San Antonio Texas where Kyler Thomas functions as pastor.
As usual, my heart was drawn to talk about intimacy with God by Soaking With A Purpose. in His presence…and how to listen carefully in order to Journal His Heart, making it easy to come into agreement with His plans and purposes for one’s life.
After discussing the hovering presence of God as it relates to Genesis 1:4 we spent around forty minutes soaking. One lady present had never soaked before but she took to it like a duck to water. Water…yes, only this was living water. We were immersed in it.
As we listened to Lover of My Soul by Theresa Griffith Hurlbert and Jeff Hurlbert all were swept away into the very presence of the Lord in one way or another. The call of the Bridegroom to the Bride was very evident in the room.
Many experienced visions and words from the Lord. some found out first hand how to rest in green pasture and walk beside still waters.
One person in particular was given revelation about how she understood the Father’s Love but not the intimate love of being adored by the Lord just as you are and for the person He created the you/her to be. She express how excited she was to go on this new adventure with the Lord.
One lady remembered unpleasant incidents of her childhood and saw an eagle flying over a valley. I am sure the Lord was flying over the painful places of her life with prophetic utterance and comfort. She could see even the slightest movement of the eagle’s feathers shift His direction or change his lift.
I personally saw a glass of wine being poured into until it overflowed and flooded the room of my house it was sitting in. I also felt the Lord instruct me to take communion with Him every day. Boy am I glad I wrote this today…I had forgotten His simple yet profound instructions. This is why it is important to write the things down He tells you. If you do, it is much easier to remember.
As we sat around discussing the experiences we all had the sweet presence of the Lord lingered making everyone hesitant to leave.
This is the beauty of Soaking With A Purpose. You can do it anytime and as much as you want or your time permits.
Blessings Brenda Craig
By the way we will be adding the music of Theresa Griffith Hurlbert and Jeff Hurlbert to SWAP in the next few days. Be sure to take time to check out their music. It is truly Music to Heal the Heart.
Just wanted to fill you in and let you know how my book signing went. I must admit it was a bit slow…and some came by to say the traffic was slower than they had seen in a long time. However this did not stop God from working. I had the privilege of speaking with several people and one in particular. It seems I was in the right place at the right time.
One woman in particular whose husband had died purchased the book. At first she acknowledged that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what God thinks when He whispers her name.
I proceeded to share with her about the goodness of God and how He only thinks good things. He is good and His thoughts are good. With tears threatening to escape her eyes, she agreed to take a chance.
It is my prayer that Carvings In His Palm, What God Thinks When He Speaks Your Name will minister to the depths of her heart…to every lonely and needy place. If you are reading this, I ask you to say a prayer for her. Don’t worry about not knowing her name….God does and that is all that matters.
~Blessings Brenda
Stepping Up - Gina Higgins and Brenda Craig
I have the privilege of meeting with a group of men and women at Riverside Community Church in Spring Branch, Texas on the first Friday of each month. When we met on May 7, 2008 for the first time we took some time to soak together in His presence. The goal was to hear and see what the Father was saying and doing. And to say the least, we were not disappointed.
Everyone was so tender-hearted…so responsive and Holy Spirit showed up in such an awesome way. When one person received something it led to everyone else having a bits and pieces bringing completion to the whole puzzle. This is what it is all about…unity…needing one another…iron sharpening iron…community…
A week or so later I was contacted by Gina, part of our group, and she shared some visual impressions Holy Spirit shared with her…I didn’t give her any detailed interpretation…just agreed with her that she was sensing the Lord and should listen to what He was trying to say to her.
Sunday morning, May 12th,on Mother’s Day, Gina emailed me this beautiful poetic, prophetic and challenging Word of revelation which came as a result of her soaking time in the class.
Per my instructions in class, Gina took the picture she saw and meditated on it…let it sink into her spirit and the Lord was faithful to bring meaning to what she saw and experienced. I believe what The Lord shared with Gina isn’t just for her so I have decided to post it here on SWAP, Behind the Scenes in order for you to benefit from it.
Take time to ponder the words and ask Holy Spirit what areas personally, privately and publicly He is asking you to “Step UP” in. Take time to enjoy the fruit of Gina’s soaking experience and be encouraged. The Lord loves you and is waiting to speak an encouraging Word to you as well.
“Stepping UP!”
There is a moment when one little phrase can cause all the partial revelations seen in pictures, soaking prayer, and real life to rush forward and “create the whole.”
Then you realize that God has been saying repetitively “one” thing (well, one “gigantic” thing) through so many “different” and seemingly “unrelated” avenues - that you almost missed it! It is in this moment, which the “unrelated” becomes “related” and the “unclear” suddenly “clear!”
Whether it’s a spiritual staircase you are supposed to climb; an area of brokenness you feel you are supposed to share; a difficult situation you must engage; or a desire of your heart that you finally have the confidence to pursue…it is in these many “different” situations, different lives and different hearts that God is saying the same thing.
The Lord Is Saying
To the mother of a teenager running with the wrong crowd, doing wrong, the LORD is saying….STEP UP!
To the “little girl lost,” finally found and ready to share her story, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the woman feeling convicted that her error could cost Jesus a heart, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the woman knowing it’s time to climb but feeling unsure how to begin, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the parents whose children have gone wayward and off the path, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the people in need of Jesus but that have yet to open the book, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the woman who knows a friend in need who is destitute and frail, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the groups that gather and are in need of purpose, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the leaders that lead and the teachers that teach, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the quiet and the shy; the humble in heart, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the confident and the bold; the fearless in spirit, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the spouse who is comfortable and resistant to change, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the one who knows better and has committed offense, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the men who are absent, whether in body or spirit, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
To the people who follow the Shepherd, the people that hear His voice, the LORD is saying…STEP UP!
Step UP Where?
“Step up” into My presence, into the place where I dwell.
“Step up” into My peace, where you can hear Me well.
“Step up” into My covering, where I can hide you in the Rock.
“Step up” into My shielded grace, so I can care for you, My precious flock.
“Step up” into My loving arms into to the place where you are safe…only after you have received from Me, can you run this lengthy race.
“Step Up” into all the places that I call you to be My voice.
“Step Up” into the many situations where I am calling you to make a choice.
“Step Up” into the place that I have prepared for you - a place you know not yet - but soon it will all be revealed, plans in motion, I have set.
Step UP and Continue
Continue on your journey with all your heart, your strength and mind—remember, “I am always with you!” You are the branches and I am the Vine.
Never will I forget you, forsake you nor leave you behind; never a greater, more encompassing love will your heart be able to find.
Love Jesus
Gina Higgins © 2008
I had the privilege of speaking at Riverside Community Church in Spring Branch, Texas on the National Day of Prayer. What an awesome time in the Lord. I can truly say that Riverside Community Church exhibits community in every way. When one of their members gave her testimony about God’s miraculous healing power in her life I was so encouraged and my faith grew by leaps and bounds…however, the most amazing thing in her testimony was the sense of true community she gave voice to…it seemed every other word she spoke was about someone in their church “community” and how they had been there in her times of need which were many.
Her testimony provoked me to ponder and reflect on our nation at large—realizing that sometimes I see our nation in such a negative way and tend to view it as being too large of a task to overcome the many negative issues at hand in our day and time. After all, the news is full of negative and disparaging reports leaving little hope in their wake.
Being with Riverside helped me to change my perspective and Holy Spirit began to break this “bigger than life” concept I had of our nation down into a much simpler more workable scenario—one called “Community”.
I began to see our nation as a community. Yes, it is larger by far than the community of Spring Branch, Texas, but never the less, it is still a community…though built up of many communities just like the one I was privileged to be a part of on the National Day of Prayer.
After hearing the testimony of healing in the life of a believer, I saw how a local community can be changed by the miraculous power of God in the life of one person. Take this example and multiply it across many more communities like it throughout this nation and you have change.
Seeing our nation as a community helps to scale down the largeness into a more palatable and hopeful scenario worth having faith for. You see, one person in need within one local community who is served by those around them transforms the local community. In turn the local community grows in faith, compassion, and hope. They take this growth and do likewise for the larger community around them such as their city, county, state and so on.
In Genesis we are told to be fruitful and multiply. If you notice fruitful comes first. Riverside Community Church became a Tree of Life for one of their family members and she in turn became a testimony to the community of Spring Branch on the National Day of Prayer. Fruitfulness became multiplication. God is the God of multiplication. He is not satisfied with addition.
Therefore, I challenge you to see your nation as a “Community” and start changing it for the better at the most core unit, your personal family and then at the local church level. From these foundational places change will began to take place and multiply to the point His image…His fingerprint will be impressed upon the Earth. After all, it all starts with one person reaching out to one person. This is true “community”. Let it start with you as you give to the need of another. Who knows where it will lead.
Hats off to the family of Riverside Community Church as their commitment to community and ministry within their own family led to a display of God’s glory and power to the people of Spring Branch, Texas.
Brenda Craig ©2008
April 5th — Alamo City Christian Fellowship
Whisper Conference
San Antonio, Texas
For information please call 210-654-7880 and ask for Beth
or email brenda@journalsoftheheart.com
Conference Testimony
And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12 Amplified)
The Women of Alamo City
April 3rd-5th 2008
It was such a blessing to be with Alamo City Christian Fellowship all the wonderful women there this past weekend (April 3rd-5th) for their Whispers Conference. I am so amazed by the ladies there and their diligence to prayer, intimacy with Abba Father and personal relationships. We started working together sometime late last year and continued all the way up to the day of the conference. It was my privilege to pray and worship with them several times leading up to the conference. The love and acceptance I experienced was and still is phenomenal to say the least. They truly take the command to love the Lord and to love others seriously in both word and deed.
Thursday night, April 3rd, I joined them for their banquet and was so blessed to hear the heart of Shirley Walker shared with humor, wisdom and grace all the while being challenged to come up higher in Him—challenged to respond to the voice of the Lord with obedience. Her statement, “Revelation demands a response!” stood out to me like a neon light in a dark night. And when she talked about 1 John 2:27 and how the word received means to reach out and take hold of, the message I was to give on Saturday was confirmed. Throughout Thursday night Shirley continued to inspire me, and confirm the message on my heart for Saturday April 5th.
The women of Alamo City Christian Fellowship embraced me, loved on me and made me feel right at home. This was very evident as we met in homes on Friday night, April 4th, for a meal, fellowship and teaching. We discussed Elijah and the still small voice of the Lord. It was an eye opener to say the least.
One of the ladies told of how she sits under an oak tree in her neighborhood when she gets tired during her walks—how she was struck with wonder as she gazed up through its tremendous canopy in the heat of the day—how its shade cooled her and reminded her of the greatness of God. She shared of how her heart marveled at the beams of light shining through the branches and how they spoke to her of the glory of God shining down. Everyone shared something on hearing God’s voice and what it meant to them personally. Like a diamond reflects light, each woman reflected a different aspect of the Lord’s still small voice.
All of creation displays His glory and can speak to us in profound ways. I call them “God Whispers”. They are everywhere if we will only look and listen. They can be found in the darkest night as the stars display themselves both in the natural and in the heavens or in a spark ignited by the touch of someone who loves you or I. The Word is full of stars having the fullness of God’s power held within each and every syllable.
Therefore, keep your eyes and ears open. You never know how He might speak. It could be through sound, sight or touch. One thing I know for sure is that His Word will demonstrate itself through Alamo Cities’ love of the Word for they are like an abundance of stars in the dark night of this world
The smiles and giggles of the women in my group on Friday night were indeed the whispers of God expressed as their unique personalities made themselves visible for all to see. My thoughts went to the beauty and diversity of God’s heart and I was made aware once more that there are many ways in which He speaks. Some of His words are silent but can be heard over the shouts of the world and some are loud, colorful and can come like a blast of fresh air when one of His sons or daughters opens their heart and speaks. This is what I experienced on Friday night.
On Saturday, as I stood up to speak and teach on Soaking With A Purpose, there were no nerves or worries for I had already been taken into the heart of their body and was fully loved and accepted. I was among friends and fellow sojourners having the same desire and goal as they, to hear the whispers of Heaven in order to walk out purpose and destiny in this life. Eternal life does not begin the day we leave this earth. Our eternal life in Him began the day we said, “Yes!” to Him.
I was so blessed by the music my friend, Jamie Lipe of River City House of Prayer, shared with all of us. Jamie ministered during two “soaking” sessions and the very essence of heaven, the very essence of Abba Father’s heart fell like a gentle spring rain and softened our hearts. Her words and music cleared the atmosphere and the whispers of Heaven flooded the room and saturated hearts with the desires and encouragement of Abba Father.
Being with The Women of Alamo has changed me and challenged me in ways I never imagined. I consider it an honor to have prayed with them, cried with them, worshipped with them, and fellowshipped with them over the last few months. I consider them my friends. They are truly an incredible expression of unity, mercy and grace demonstrated through humble hearts.
Thank you Jesus for The Women of Alamo City Christian Fellowship. How You love and adore them. Pour out on them and in them. Give them Whispers from Your heart pressed down, shaken together and running over. Fill their hearts with dreams, visions and revelations which declare Your purpose corporately for the body and individually for each life and family. Establish them in an even more firm way upon the Rock for the Kingdom is at hand. Amen.
Listening for His Whispers
Brenda Craig
Soaking With A Purpose & Spirit Food for Life
March 26 2008 7:30 am
Soaking to Grace Williams Heaven’s Rain CD
As I soaked in His presence this morning I found myself walking along one side of a natural river with tall grasses on each side…a lion was walking on one side and I was on the other…I began to feel as if I was rising and could see the river as one would from an aerial viewpoint…instantly I was in the same place but in a heavenly atmosphere…walking along the river…flying over the river only to find myself standing in a field of ripened grain. It was blowing ever so gently.
I became aware of a stem of wheat that was in my hand and the head of grain was very large and ripe. I took it and shook it gently over the palm of my left hand…when the grains fell into my hand they were a golden iridescent color and moved around like little jumping beans…they were alive and moving. I lifted my hand and blew them into the air.
The wind began to blow through the field of grain and the wheat…the heads of grain released their living grains and they flew into the air and saturated it…At this moment the field of grain began to open right in front of me…opening at my feet in a small river flowing from my inner being…it began to widen and widen to flow out beyond what I could see…getting wider and wider…I became aware of a very large angel behind me with enormous wings lifted up and around me as if to hide me, encircle me, and protect me as this living water flowed from me…I sensed the angel was sent to hide me in the Secret Place…the living grain filling the air took on wings to fly…water began to move out of the grassy banks of the river flowing from me and seeped and flowed out through the field of wheat….
As I sit here typing—soaking I sense the angel and I are in the middle—in the midst of an endless field of grain yet I am aware of majestic mountains in the background, so far away yet so close in my perception…the angel’s wings are moving up, out and back in to create movement over me and in me and as this movement flows through me the grain continues to move like a stage of beautiful dancers and is continuously emanating living grains. The grains fill the air like snow when it falls…only it isn’t falling…it is flying, rising up and going out, saturating every unclaimed space of the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is saturated and the angel, the grain, the river and I are suspended in mid air over the earth as if we are on a cloud above the land, above the earth and the living grains are rising up and falling over like a fountain, like a rainfall onto the earth. We are moving like a boat would down a river and the impartation continues as the angel encompasses me in the Secret Place.
I see stars and moons…I see sun and wind…I see liquid light…liquid color…bands of color moving and forming…like a magic carpet ride as I ride I am journeying to a place…the river is gone…the field of grain is gone…it is just me and I am flying and the angel is above me flying with me…flying through the night…through the stars…through time…to a door…an ancient door…light is shining from under the bottom of the door and I hear…I see it being opened to a place of intense light and a path starts at the threshold of the door. I am beginning to stand upright on the other side of the threshold and the angel is still behind me, but for only a moment and he turns around and flies away…and the door closes behind me and I am hidden away behind the door whose cross members are the hewn wood of the Cross.
Jesus comes and I am aware of Him. We walk off to the right on a path to a meadow with a small pool and recline in the grass among buttercups and daisies. He looks at me and I look at Him and He grins as He holds a stem of wheat in His mouth and chews on it…He is grinning like He knows some secret…I hear Him speak to me yet He says not a word…time to rest He says…time to chew on the grain…time to eat from what you have sewn…and then He lays back and closes His eyes and I do too. I feel the sun on my face…I hear soft music and I rest…all is well….
Every time I soak I always find myself habituating deep in the presence of the Lord and just communing with Him beyond my expectation. And it’s during these moments that God delivers and takes away things that are not of Him and deposits in me the treasures of heaven. Soaking is an area that has been neglected in our Christian circles but it is one thing needful during these times that we are living in.
Like Martha we are so busy in serving the Lord but we have not chosen the one needful thing— the good part of sitting at the Master’s feet. Our lives are very hectic and afford no time to really rest. Soaking gives us the opportunity to rest, not just to relax the mind and rest, but to sit at the Master’s feet.
Soaking gives us time to refreshed, renewed by Him and time to behold His beauty. Like with Mary, soaking is bringing us back to one needful thing—to rest in him and find our satisfaction in Him alone. It brings us to a place where we know that there’s only one thing that satisfies—the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Nothing will and no one can satisfy our deepest cravings but Him. I have no doubt that once you get hold of Brenda’s book Carvings In His Palm, What God Thinks When He Whispers Your Name and her soaking materials found on www.journalsoftheheart.com and www.soakingwithapurpose.com , your walk with the Lord will be deeper and solidified.
Tumelo, South Africa
Some Pics
