GREATER THINGS

By: Wendy Mims

I have heard it said that nothing good comes out of Picayune, MS., that it is just a small & insignificant town with a high teen pregnancy rate and a hub for drugs.  Well, I beg to differ...

A while back I had the privilege of listening to a dear friend in her very first radio interview promoting the publishing of her 1st devotional book for women.  As I listened to her talk about the journey that led to the fruition of the book I couldn't help but think of times that we had experienced.  I began to think about where she had come from, where she was and where she was going!  As I continued to listen my heart became overwhelmed with pride and love and I was honored to call her my friend.  I started to think about my own life and where I had come from and I began to think of all the amazing women that I am surrounded by every day, my inner circle, the ones I call my 'Godfriends'!  I thought about each friend and the journey they have traveled.  Where they had come from, where they are now and where the Lord is taking them and my heart became filled with joy and I thought... "Who ever said Picayune is insignificant?  Great things are coming out of Picayune"!

So who are the Great Women of today?  Where have we come from and where are we going?

We are 'Our Father's Daughters', we are the lineage of the Mothers of Old, and we glean of the wisdom gained from each one.  Wisdom such as that of Hannah, the 'Barren Woman', Naomi, the 'Widow', Ruth, the 'Faithful Servant', Esther, the 'Chosen Queen' and even the wisdom to be gained from the lives of Gomer, the 'Harlot' and Rahab, 'Prostitute'.  They were mothers, sisters, daughters and friends.  Like us, they experienced times of grief & sorrow, shame, insecurity, heartache and rejection.  Just like us they dwelt in Egypt for a time, they had a Jordan to cross over and a promised land to inherit.  Each one had a story to tell, wisdom to offer and each one played a strategic role in the lineage of Jesus Christ and of us.  We are following in the footsteps of an army of Warrior Brides who have gone before us and left their mark on the pages of history.

What could take a young woman having been abused or neglected by men who vowed to love her, from a place of brokenness into a place of wholeness?  What could take a broken heart that once grieved so bad the pain of living seemed unbearable and turn it into a place where healing waters have made joy and laughter its song?  And what could take a mind filled with questions and doubts, fears and uncertainty and make it a place where God's Grace has become its Anthem...NOTHING BUT THE HEALING HAND OF A MIGHTY GOD HAS DONE THIS!!!...these are the places from which we've come, they are our Egypt, our Crossing over the Jordan and they have lead us into our Promised Land.  It is a Beautiful land flowing with springs of joy and laughter and a place where the cry of brokenness has become our captivating dance of redemption ...and the best is yet to come!!!

Yes, I'd say..."Great things are coming out of Picayune"!!!

GREATER THINGS HAVE YET TO COME, GREATER THINGS HAVE YET TO BE DONE IN THIS CITY!!!

Posted with permission: taken from Life Signs Magazine Summer 2011 RLM

Cleansing Streams

Cleansing Streams

(c) Jennie Heberg

Thank You, Lord, for

This cleansing stream

Pouring over me!

Lord, I give my all

Into Your hands.

Thank You for Your

Cleansing streams.

I love You Lord

And look to You

To pour over me

Your cleansing streams

Over and over and over again!

Thank You, Lord for

Your cleansing stream!

Here in this house

You’ve filled the air

With Your Cleansing Stream!

The above just poured out of my spirit as I was worshipping during the final service of this year's Prophetic Conference at Resurrection Life.  I look forward to hearing the music to go along with it.  I usually sing to the Lord during worship and the words just flow.  I pray you'll enjoy this writing.



WHEN PRAYER becomes PERSONAL by Charles & Barbara Grantham

WHEN PRAYER BECOMES PERSONAL

By Charles and Barbara Grantham

As I begin my day I have a track to run on. “Father, I thank you for the love of God that prevails in my heart; because I come through the blood of Jesus; because I am crucified with Christ and filled with the Spirit of the living God. I ask you to fill me now. I thank you for the desire that is in my heart to walk in the law of the Spirit of Life that is in Christ Jesus in obedience – because the law of the Spirit of Life that is in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death – receiving the Grace of God as an intercessor and as a soul winner, wearing the whole armor of God in Jesus name.


As a result of this prayer my focus is no longer on me. You and I who are born again must dwell in the light. Once we have tasted and have an appreciation of the light, the contradictions are obvious and cause discomfort; rightly so?


I would like to share with you answered prayer. For quite some time I have noticed when praying with other people, words would come up out of my inner man calling for liberty. After going through the Cleansing Streams led by Bro. Carey, I recognized a light came on; my prayer has been answered. I have an appreciation in me; thanksgiving that the leadership of this RLM fellowship has emphasized and encouraged liberty of the individual to function in the Kingdom of God.


About 5∏ years ago Bro. Allen asked Bro. Dan to put together a prayer team to hear God. A dozen people participating in regular times to pray together formed the healing team. In an all night prayer meeting the Lord gave us an assignment to form the Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers then formed the Watchman on the Wall. The New Year began with the Watchman in place. We are being flooded with dreams, visions, and revelations. To put it another way, the perfect law of Liberty is coming into effect right before our eyes. The perfecting of communication between God and man is taking place and we are in it. This is not an exclusive club. Stay tuned and be aware, the Holy Spirit is one fine recruiter.


There are no heroes here but we will honor our leadership to the point that they will be effective for the Glory of God. I can see it now: the RLM House of Prayer will become the instrument in the fulfilling of Jesus’ Prayer in the lives of many, ‘THAT THEY BE ONE.’


Bro. Dan has preached to our team for almost six years that we should not be “need oriented” people but that we should have a testimony of an over comer; that my God meets all my needs. So the simplicity here is recognizing and appreciating Almighty God’s perfect plan of Redemption and learning to function in the perfect law of Liberty. The perfecting of communication, that is to say, learning to hear the voice of God and responding in obedience is the way we are going to get it done.






Last year during the Week of Prayer and Fasting Mary Pitts came to our prayer booth in the sanctuary. She had been diagnosed with cancer. After praying for her she received healing in her body. Recently the last PET scan came back negative. Since then every time I see Mary she has a big smile on her face. She shared with me that she is so thankful that the Lord led her and her family to RLM. When you see a woman at church with a smile on her face that can’t be wiped off you will know it is Mary Pitts. Look what the Lord has done!


People who come to the healing room for prayer receive salvation as well as healing. About a month ago a couple brought their seven year old son, Warren, to the healing room for prayer because he was having his tonsils removed the next day. After we prayed for the operation I asked Warren if he had asked Jesus into his heart. He said, “No!” His mother said, “Do you want to right now?” He quickly answered, “Yes.” When he left the room he not only had been covered in prayer for the operation he had also received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. His mother shared with me that her prayer was answered: Warren went into the operating room with no fear. What a difference prayer can make!


For years the intercessors of RLM have prayed for a prayer room where intercession and prayer could be made without interference. The House of Prayer building is an answer to the intercessors’ prayers.


People are being saved, set free, and healed in Picayune and Pearl River County. Prayer is being made night and day by Gatekeepers, Watchman, and faithful Intercessors who have answered the call to prayer. No matter the situation Jesus is ready to hear and answer. You can’t tell me God doesn’t heal today.

Jesus is Lord over Picayune

and Pearl River County!

My Pieces ..by Ejay Harris

...anything to bring Glory to God and trade my ashes for beauty...I just pray that it may bring hope to someone who may be feeling broken and down trodden...

Love in Christ,
Ejay
---------

My Pieces .. by Ejay Harris

When I was age 12, I surrendered my life and heart to Jesus completely and innocently. Soon there after, my Mom and Dad passed away within 8 months time of each other. My Mom was the last to leave passing only two days after my 13th Birthday. She threw me a big party and away I went for the weekend with some relatives. Life was getting better after losing my Dad only 8 months prior to that. I remember the day she passed like it was yesterday...I also remember looking into the clouds and saying "Thanks God, some birthday present". After I gave my heart to the Lord, I begged her to start attending Church with me, which she never did, saying "maybe some day". Neither she nor I ever had that day, so in hurt and disbelief I turned my heart away from Jesus saying, "if there is a God then He certainly doesn't care about me".

I was immediately moved to the Picayune area where I lived in an environment of mental, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of not just one relative but several. When the secret was out, I met my social worker Tana Walker and was moved first to a girls shelter, then through several different foster homes, until I finally landed in the loving home of my Mom and Dad, Larry and Dottie Wilson and all of my sisters and brothers. Tana Walker reminded me through the example of her life and love that Jesus is real and that He loves me. Larry and Dottie and the rest of the family showed me, through their acceptance, what living as a person who is unconditionally loved is all about. Mom and Dad took me in when I was 18 years old and they, and the rest of the family, have always loved me and treated me as one of their very own. I thank Jesus every day for each and every one of them.

At the age of 17, I gave my love and soul back to my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Though I now knew that Jesus loved me even though I was used and abused, I still had not learned to love myself. Those of you who have known me since school days probably remember the change. Between my 11th and 12th grade High School years I went from being a pot smoking, beer drinking, cussing like a sailor heathen, to a Bible thumping, Jesus loving, Jesus t-shirt wearing, Word preaching Child of God. Yet during all those years in school there were not many people who knew of the abuse and hell I was enduring at the same time.

During my walk with Jesus I have made some very bad choices such as abusive relationships, drugs and alcohol, wrong marriages, and divorces. I have been rejected, beat down, ignored, disowned, overlooked, hated, used and abused. I have lost so many loved ones that I started to feel like Job. The only difference is that each time someone I loved died, I cursed God and walked away. Eveytime I lost someone I became angry, discouraged and confused. I was saddened by the losses but angry because I felt that God chose them over me. You see I had prayed and begged for Jesus to just take me home almost every day of my life since I can remember. This life I had been walking, even as a Christian, was brutal and I was tired.

After my last divorce, I decided to take that leap out from under the covering of the protection of God. I am in no way blaming my ex-husband, infact I thank him for helping me get my life back once I gave my life back to Jesus. I soon found myself once again abused, used, on drugs, homeless, helpless, and hopeless. I was tired of the walk around the mountain...like the Israelites in the wilderness...so I began to pray that Jesus would place in me a new heart. A heart that is not tossed to a fro with the winds of life, but one that is secure and at peace even during the strongest of storms. Jesus has answered that prayer in a way I would never imagine.

Jesus has taken my pieces that were so shattered and broken, He has carefully and purposefully placed each one in its place. Like the loving Creator He is, He has changed my heart, delivered me, restored me, accepted me, acknowledged me, caressed me, lovingly touched me, and set me at His right hand as His beautiful bride and the DAUGHTER OF THE MOST HIGH KING!!

Here is my hearts desire...I have allowed God to make me vulnerable and use my pieces to hopefully spark just a glimmer of hope in someone's life that may be feeling rejected, hurt, confused, and broken. If there is but just a glimmer Jesus will do the rest.

Here is God's promise to me and to anyone who will believe that He sets the captives free, brings sight to the blind, makes the lame walk again and restores back to all everything that the devil has stolen!!

Isaiah 42:3 "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;" (NIV) another translation Isaiah 42:3 "He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged." (NLT)

Matt. 11:28 Then Jesus said, "Come to Me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest."
At the feet of Jesus I have found my healing, deliverance, restoration, peace and rest!

Love in Christ,

Ejay

Rise and Go Toward the South...to Picayune, MS

Carl, Jennie & Jonathan Heberg
May 2010

The first part of Acts 8:26 reads like this:  Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south..."

This has been resonating in my heart of late.  As you continue on to verses 34-35 we see one particular man, who had been reading the Scriptures and really didn't understand their meaning.  Amazingly, Philip came up just at the time he needed direction and explanation.  When Philip asked him if he knew what the writing meant, his response amazes me, 'how can I know if someone doesn't explain it to me?'  Philip then had an opportunity to lead him through 'what we in our society call' the plan of salvation and upon coming upon a body of water desired to be baptised. 

What a great intro to what God is doing in our lives today.  We have lived the theme "Don't Limit God" throughout this year.  At the beginning of each year my husband is given a specific theme for the year.  This theme runs throughout the messages he preaches, passages he teaches on, and everything that occurs during that year.  Our family adopts this as a constant part of our daily lives.  At the beginning of this year, 2010, we had no idea how real it would resound in our daily living.  As having been a pastoral family in a particular denomination for several years, he felt that God had specifically instructed him to take 'a little time off' in that area.  However, that being said, we ARE NOT AT ALL to step out of the ministry He placed in our lives.  We walk daily in the reality of walking in ministry He places before us.  Having lived in the Henleyfield area for 4 years, going south for us is to Picayune, MS.  We sought the Lord and He truly spoke to us to make Picayune, MS our home on this earth.  I had told Carl that I'd be willing to go wherever he heard from God we were to go and even Jonathan wrote in his birthday card this year that no matter what we do for the Lord, or where the Lord leads us as a family he would be there for him and would encourage him and pray for him.  Jonathan, being a twelve year old and very close to his Dad, really touched his heart.  We are in full support of all that God calls Carl to do and we'll be with him and minister side by side with him, be at home when he has open doors to travel or can travel with him.  The Lord will do the leading and we'll all do the following. 
My husband has been in some sort of jail/prison ministry for over 20 years but within a week from actually relocating to Picayune the Lord opened wide a door for him to weekly lead a Bible study for Federal prisoners, those no one else would go see.  For various reasons these prisoners, even if they really want to attend a Bible study, were not willing to attend services out of their block.  The door has been opened wide for him to go into their block.  It began because 1 (ONE) person was interested in a deeper relationship with the Lord, however since then nearly a dozen men have joined in the study, although as in these type situations, they are not always allowed to continue in this group simply due to the fact that they are relocated in various facilities in the nation. 
There are also other areas of ministry Carl continues to walk in, (ie. Nursing/Assisted Living Homes, etc.)
As we've begun to attend church we have been able to plug into various areas of leadership and God is opening many doors for him in ministry as well as opening things for me to walk in also. 
So my reason for saying that 'Jesus Is Lord Over Picayune, MS' is that simply He, our Lord and Savior, called us here to Picayune, MS, minister to everyone He places in our lives.  We are to work on our own lives, keep ourselves ready always to be Jesus for others, and see just what 'Great and Wonderful things God will do', as Carl always says to end his prayers of benediction and blessings spoken over congregations.
We look for God to begin to open doors for us to minister in local and distant churches, retreat situations, revivals, etc.  When God opens a door we will know it, and will see Him walk us through that door.  We know that as God has promised He will allow us to only walk through those doors He opens and will close all doors that are not His.  What a great encouragement to know our Lord and Savior is so interested in our lives to the extent that He will keep us as we seek His face and direction in all areas of our lives.  This is true for everyone who will do so.
I'm probably the greatest advocate and supporter for the call of God on Carl's life and love his teachings as he has a great gift of teaching and administration on his life.  A variety of teachings have been developed over the past 21 years since God spoke the call to him.  Here is just a small list of topics God has developed in his spirit:

• New Life in Christ (a concise yet expanded explanation and teaching of walking out our faith in Christ, including discipleship)
• The Blessing (the importance of the blessing of the parents/especially the father over the children)
• You Have Not Many Fathers (mentors, fathers in the faith, etc. for men who really are not walking in their proper place because they are not confident in God's leading due to the fact that they don't have a Father view of God as there are no Fathers of the Faith they can pinpoint in their lives)
• Prayer Walking (taking the city/community for Jesus by walking, riding or coming together with others to pray, encourage and minister with a purpose to see Jesus' love permeate their lives)
• and a host of other teachings

Contact me for info about his schedule.  Be blessed and always know that God has a plan and a vision for your life.  It is up to you to walk in it.

In His Love and Service,

Jennie
Eph. 3:20

Home Sweet Home

Howard & Thelma Summers

Home Sweet Home

We moved to Picayune from New Orleans 35 years ago when we were expecting our sixth child and had outgrown our suburban home. After looking exhaustively for a country home near New Orleans, Slidell, and finally, Picayune, the realtor took us to see “just one more” down a country road, over a “cattle gap,” and up a long driveway. A picturesque panorama unfolded before us with two giant magnolias flanking the drive framing a sprawling, white, older home surrounded by birds and flowers. It would be our home for the next 20 years.

We raised our six children there, until our son who was born there went away to college. We gave them roots grown deep in the wonderful community of Picayune, watched them graduate high school, spread their wings and go on to successful lives of their own lived for God and reflecting their upbringing, reinforced by spiritual development in church attendance and participation. Our oldest became a minister, our second-oldest, a minister’s wife, four are involved in music ministry in their churches, with one a youth pastor and band director at an outreach church for Chinese in Houston, Texas. Besides ministry, they work in education, nursing, industry and finance. My husband, Howard, became a minister himself when God stopped him in his tracks in the middle of a business career. The then-pastor at Solid Rock Church, Rev. Joseph Kiley, guided him in getting ministerial credentials and placed him on staff as Administrator/Associate Pastor. We left Picayune when Howard was called to the staff of a large church in Wichita, Kansas. We later returned to south Mississippi where he was pastor of a church on the Gulf Coast, leaving after Hurricane Katrina.

Is Jesus Lord over Picayune? That was our experience. I know the demographics of the town have changed, but God hasn’t changed. As II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” If that is the case, then we can say, “Jesus is Lord over Picayune.”

(Check out www.thelmasummers.blogspot.com/ for more wonderful articles by this author.)

excerpt from Bubble Bath Moments compiled by Manthie Hayes

Let me give a bit of intro to this book for you.
The heart behind Bubble Bath Moments was -- to minister to a woman's heart....
devotions by everyday women.
...their stories - amazing, heart-warming, real stories of their experiences & what God has done in their lives.
Love this part.."I believe that new relationships will be built through this, that broken hearts will be healed, that the discouraged will find new hope, that the weary will find strength to persevere and most of all that you will gain a greater understanding of God's love for you."

Here is just one devotion by Manthie Hayes who compiled this book that includes several wonderful devotions from a variety of ladies from varied ages and backgrounds. A great example of Jesus Is Lord Over Picayune, MS (a publication of RLM Media)
shared with permission from Manthie Hayes:
Jennie Heberg

The Perfect Design

by Manthie Hayes

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

My best friend started a t-ball league for special needs children. She was inspired to do this after their youngest son was diagnosed with autism. To me, this seems like such a huge responsibility and undertaking, but she just breezes through it. I got an opportunity at a fundraising event to watch her interact with the children. I watched and listened as she calmed one little girl, who no one else could get to listen, simply by the tone of her voice. I was amazed and inspired to be able to witness her with the kids. Maybe it touched me so much because that is not my element and not my gift, yet she doesn't think anything about it. It's just her being her. Seeing God's gifts in action with her increases my faith and wonder of the Lord. When she is working with these children, I can see God knitting her together in her mother's womb, putting a piece of compassion here, additional patience there, and being so specific as to make her voice a tone that would be soothing to the children she ministers to. What an amazing God! It is so exciting to see someone operating in the purposes that they were created to do. How neat it is to see God's hand in every part of their person that enables them to be effective. Somehow when I watch her with these children, God gets bigger to me, and it inspires me to use the gifts and talents He's given to me.

What are some of the things God has created you for? A mother, a teacher, a nurse, a wife, a business woman, a writer? Ask the Lord to show you what the compilation of you was designed to do. If you're still not sure, begin by looking at your passions. What motivates you? What inspires you? What drives you? You are fearfully and wonderfully made! Created in His image to do good works! Operate in your purpose! Fulfill your destiny! Discover the woman God created you to be.

Father, thank You that You have specifically equipped us with every little thing we need to do Your will for our lives on this earth. Begin to light fires in our hearts that prepare and lead us to Your purpose for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Additional scriptures: Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139; Ephesians 2:10

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This is just one example of the wonderful works God has given to a variety of ladies who reside in the Picayune, MS area and most of which attend Resurrection Life Ministries. Please continue to keep these ladies and their families in your prayers and get on over to Melinda's to get your own copy of their book; a great source of encouragement for yourself or a friend or family member. If you know someone who needs to be encouraged in their faith this would be a very great reminder of God's faithfulness. If you aren't in the area of Picayune, MS you can check out http://www.melindasfinegifts.com/ and mail order you copy/ies.
Jennie Heberg
Eph. 3:20