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I would go back to where my husband and I had lived, weekend after weekend (he was still living there), and I would slowly sift through things, packing up what I had accumulated over 38 years of marriage.  Then I would drive away and totally lose it and I would cry tears that came out from deep in my soul because the hurt was so bad.  I would get a half mile down the road and God would touch me and the joy of the Lord would hit me and I would laugh the rest of the time going back to my girlfriends.

Sometimes I would barely be able to drive I would be laughing so hard. I grew up feeling like I was bad and that there was something wrong with me.  I always felt that if someone really got to know me they wouldn’t like me.  I couldn’t let go of the past mistakes and hurts that had happened while I was growing up.  I continued to seek God, to study his word and to seek his peace and purpose in my life.  A few months ago I realized that I no longed felt bad anymore.  I finally felt loved and cherished and I knew in my heart that nothing would ever separate me from the love of God, that God would always love me even though I am far from perfect and make mistakes.  HE LOVES ME THE WAY I AM, IMPERFECT BUT SEEKING HIM.

My divorce was final Sept 17th and I was hurting so bad I didn’t think I could get through it.  God took me through the day with supernatural strength and peace.  Two weeks later He showed me my new home.  I saw it on Saturday, signed an offer Sunday, negotiated the price Monday and signed a contract on it Tuesday.  When God moves, hang on.  My head was spinning and my insides were shaking.  I was stepping totally out of my comfort zone.  I was 63 years old and had never lived alone.  I had been in love with my husband for 48 years and married for 38 years.  I didn’t know how I was going to afford it but God had it all planned.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

It is so great to see a church that has taken many actions to pull in people from the community. What went down on Sunday, December 13th was not just a memorable moment for the church, but for the lives that were touched and changed. I was more plugged into the advertising for the event. We hit the streets in Tampa, and wanted to tell all we came in contact with about Jesus Sunday December 13th. Of course, our biggest attention grabber was FREE TOYS! The people were all about that. There were many people that wanted to know what the cost or catch was, and telling them there was no cost or catch they did not know what to think. They were then very receptive to the Gospel, and as we preached people began to repent, asking Jesus into their life. Some were rededications and many received Jesus for the very first time ever. Countenances were immediately changed and it was evident. I’m talking about all ages, from the little children to the older ones as well. Not only were there lives touched in this, mine was as well. There is nothing like leading people to Jesus, seeing them change right before your eyes. People would start asking for us to pray with other people they knew. What was so awesome about all of this, was not only were they praying with us on the streets, they got on the bus, and came to church. They meant it when they said they would be there. What a blessing, and privilege it was to be apart of such a great outreach. Just to be able to see people who were lost, with no hope suddenly feel like what they had been searching for there entire lives was finally found. There is no greater joy than to see people changed and touched by the power of God.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

Being true to yourself is following your heart [the heart of God in you] (Jeremiah 29:13).

Saturate yourself with God, read and meditate on scripture, pray and talk to God. Listen and learn his voice (Psalm 40:6). Daily renew you mind doing those things. Congregate with believers of like faith (2Tim. 2:22). Pay tithes, give of your self and love your neighbor as yourself (Mat.19:19).

Go the extra mile, and love your family out of the love God puts in your heart by knowing him (Rom.5:5).

Be a soul winner (Act.10-36-38; 2Tim 4:2).

Put all fears away, in God there is no fear (2 Tim. 1:7).

Keep busy with what God has given you to do (Luke 2:49). Don’t remain idol, while you wait for God’s perfect will and direction (Act.13:22). Don’t be afraid to embrace God’s will for your life (Rom. 8:28-30). As you remain faithful to God your heart becomes one heart with God’s heart, and your thoughts become one with God (2 Tim.2:22; 1Tim.1:5).

When your loving and blessing others you become more beautiful inside and out. God pours more of his spirit in you as you pour his love to others, blessing, sharing, and loving with a heart that comes from knowing God (Rom. 2:10-11). Think well of others (Phil. 4:8).

Run to the Lord with your mess he will always be right there to touch you and heal you (1Cor. 11:24-25).

Make decisions based on the Word of God (Psalm51:6). Live clean and pure (Psalm 51:2, 7, 10). Take control of your life don’t let someone else control or judge you. Judge yourself according to what God’s Word says. Don’t judge others be merciful as God is merciful and kind, be kind also (Psalm51:1).

Be Holy Spirit controlled (Acts.2:4).

Submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7; 1Thes. 5:22). Mortify the flesh and its lusty desires by saying no to sin.

Keep a humble attitude and put pride and arrogance far away from you (James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5).

Stay sweet by forgiving when necessary. Don’t hold offenses, if you offend some one ask God to forgive you and the person you hurt for forgiveness (Col. 3:13).

Keep a pure heart (Psalm 24: 3-5).

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

We had a blast at the Toy giveaway at the River at Tampa Bay Church with Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne! One thing that has caught my attention about this ministry is the heart that they have for reaching others for Jesus¬- even those that speak different languages. The Outreach was focused on Spanish speaking people. Advertising was done, flyers were delivered, posters covered the walls of Hispanic stores and businesses, and the people came! Translation was provided at the Church, with well-able interpreters and people felt comfortable and at home. All the Church worked as a team, with 300+ workers volunteering to see one goal: SOULS. I could see the compassion of Jesus working through the church workers as they served the first time visitors and everybody who came through the doors of the River at Tampa Bay Church. Kids came expecting, and they were certainly not disappointed! For Kids’ church was amazing! With all the new equipment, teachers’ ideas and games! The children LOVE coming to church. People came with a merry heart and expectation and enthusiasm was in the air.

It was amazing to be a part of what this Ministry is doing, for the change in people’s lives is so evident, you can even see it before your very eyes. The event was a bomb! All the workers were in position by the time all the people came out of the service, things were done in order as much as possible, there were people assigned in the parking lot for directing the traffic of people, others were assigned to toys’ distribution and everything went smooth. If people got hungry, hot-dogs and ice-cold drinks were being sold at the property at very affordable prices. The event was awesome, people’s lives were changed, I highly recommend you make the River at Tampa Bay Church your home church!

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The teachings on matters of the heart this past week were amazing. Pastor Adonica gave a solid teaching on some of many issues dealing with the heart. It is ironic, but God was already speaking to me about things taught in these classes even a month ago. The teachings confirmed what I was feeling I needed to deal with. One of the main things that was reinforced to me was the importance of keeping my flesh under control. For me it can be so easy to react to situations in your flesh, whether that means saying hurtful things or taking the path of least resistance. I was so encouraged to press into the Word and learn to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whose voice is saying what – am I yielding to my flesh, or is God speaking to me? Pastor Adonica addressed this very situation by saying that what our conscience and the Holy Spirit lead us to do, will always line up with the Word of God. Another thought that struck me was that how I treat others is how I view God! If my heart is impure, then in every circumstance around me I will only notice that which is also impure. It is like that quote from the Disney movie Pollyanna: “If you look for the bad, you will surely find it.” That explains why if I wake up with a grumpy attitude, everything will seem to go wrong that morning. It is so important to keep renewing your mind to the Word of God. If, however, my heart is pure and my mind is in line with the Word of God, then everything I do will flow from that pure heart motive, and I will not even have to worry if am following my conscience or my flesh. A final thing that the Holy Spirit showed me was the necessity of repenting of sin as soon as it is committed instead of waiting and trying to cover it up. Sin only leads to more sin. However, even if we do sin, that does not mean that we keep giving into our flesh because that is our “weak spot”. God showed me that he has given me the power to over come the whims of my flesh. Jesus was 100% man and tempted in every area just as we are. Therefore, if Jesus could conqueror his flesh, I can do the same! Moreover, I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me. Through Christ, I am more than a conqueror. Thank you Jesus!

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

The main thing that I have been hearing from the Lord during this class is the importance of guarding my heart. I’m more aware of now of how often the opportunity to become defiled is presented. As I go about my day, there are many instances where words are spoken that are contrary to the Word of God. Or, some picture or video comes up on a web page or on television. The enemy is slick and has set up many traps. It takes real diligence to filter everything through what I know to be true from the scriptures. In 2Cor 10:5 it speaks of “casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ”. That’s a challenge! As a matter of fact, that is a full time job in itself. Only by the Holy Spirit through yielding to Him is this possible.

When I was first filled with the Holy Spirit, God spoke to my heart Matt 5:8…”Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” In this He showed me that the only way to see God is to keep my heart pure. He is speaking the same thing to me now through Pastor Adonica. I’ve had many years now to ponder this message, and time has proven it true over and over again in my life.

I’ve also been reminded that I should never take for granted my ability to resist sin. That attitude comes out of arrogance. I’m hearing that I should be diligent to give no place for the devil or my flesh. I’ve found that the only way I can do this is to keep my (spiritual) eye on the prize, which is for Jesus Christ to be constantly revealed in my life.

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

A young man with withered hands and feet lying on his stomach prayed the prayer with me. He couldn’t talk so he just lifted his head to look at me as I talked. Afterwards I asked him if he prayed that prayer with me to hold my hand & he pulled his hand slowly out from under his chest where it was touched in & he reached my hand and held it to let me know that he prayed the prayer. Super market: Lady-I don’t know where I would go” Had a big smile “I’m going to Heaven”.

Vanessa L
Florida United States

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

84 yrs old dad turns turns 85 next month- Brazil 13 years old soulwinner, first time, at nursing home: Man started crying and said that he hated God- then soulwinner shared the gospel & he received Christ. Prayed with all the staff. Easiest thing in the world. 35 got saved. Lady at WalMart received Christ and wants to come to bible school. lady in hall way sitting in a wheelchair “pray for me, pray for me”. She asked Jesus into her heart. She looked happy after the prayer.

Geysi R
Florida United States

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

Lady in car leaving from parking lot. Greg ran up to the car–> two ladies received Christ. Took 3 days off work-is going to bring sons out on Saturday to soul winning. 2 girls roommates at car- received Christ Wed. nite bag boy received Christ- was Muslim. Lady just had surgery on thyroid-received Christ- entire countenance changed.

Pastor Eddie C
Sanford Florida United States

Worship Soundtracks from RMIRiverSong on Vimeo.

My daughter Kendra, 8 years old attended one night of the revival at Port St. Lucie. Saturday March 15, 2008, Kendra was at work with me staying in the break room at Publix. She had been fasting since the night before. A woman came in the break room and Kendra, with script in hand led her in the prayer of salvation. Come to find out, another employee had been ministering the gospel to her for four years and had even given her a bible!! The newly saved person was also a muslim!!

Sabrina B
Hobe Sound Florida United States