Tag Archive for: dad

Are You Living Your Name?

I asked my dad how he came up with my name, Rexford. He told me that while working on a ship, he met a white man who treated him with such kindness that he didn’t know how to repay him. So, when I was born, he named me Rexford, which means Reigning King, in honor of that man.

Growing up, I’ve always felt that my name has shaped my life. Wherever I go, I seem to be recognized and regarded as relevant, a reflection of the name I carry.

The Power of a Name

When choosing names for our children, we often expect the name to have a profound influence on their lives. Many times, we draw inspiration from family members or mentors we hold in high esteem. In my family, one of my uncles is so revered for his humility and devotion to God that many parents, even outside our family, have named their children after him.

Some people take their search for names even further, looking to presidents, pastors, kings, or influential entrepreneurs for inspiration. In the African context, it's common for parents to name their children after their own parents. However, this tradition can lead to tension when expectations are not met, sometimes causing strained relationships, and in extreme cases, even disownment. I know of a family where this very issue led to serious conflict.

Names and Their Meanings

In the Bible, names carried significant meaning, often reflecting a person’s destiny:

  • Abraham means “Father of many nations.”
  • Moses means “Drawn out.”
  • Jesus, a name central to Christianity, means “Yahweh saves” or “God saves.”

Names in biblical times were powerful indicators of a person’s role and purpose. A name not only provides personal identity, but it also holds emotional significance and impacts social interaction.

The Burden of Sinful Names

Before Jesus Christ came, humanity lived under the burden of sin. Sin was deeply ingrained in our identities, passed down through generations. This meant that bearing a name like Rexford implied a connection to this sinful lineage—sinful Rexford.

In those days, priests offered sacrifices—lambs, for instance—to appease God and seek forgiveness. At times, sinners faced severe consequences, such as the earth swallowing them or divine punishment, as seen in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Redemption of Names

However, with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, everything changed. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus took away the sins of the world. Now, those of us with names like Rexford can bear them without the weight of sin. Forgiveness is available to anyone who confesses their sins and seeks redemption.

As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This verse speaks of the transformative power of being in Christ. We undergo a spiritual rebirth, shedding our old sinful selves and embracing a new identity in Christ. We are no longer bound by the chains of sin but are renewed and redeemed by God’s grace. This transformation is so profound that we are given a new name—Christian. We can now be called Christlike Rexford or Christlike Kofi.

The name Jesus wasn’t randomly chosen; it was divinely given, signifying His mission to save humanity and reconcile us with God.

Living Up to Your Name

This resonates with the Pentecostal song: “Hw3 Wabrabo so yie, ne din dawoso”, which translates to “Be mindful of your lifestyle because His name is on you.” As Christians, we are called to live a life that reflects the character and teachings of Christ. When we live contrary to these principles, we undermine the credibility of our identity as Christians.

  • You can’t be a Christian and live like an unbeliever.
  • You can’t live under the notion that it’s “normal” to fornicate or commit adultery.
  • It’s not normal to have multiple women.
  • You can’t be part of those who manipulate figures, overstate invoices, or engage in corruption.
  • When the boys boast about their sexual conquests, you can’t be part of it.
  • You can’t be part of those who pocket office items or engage in unethical behavior.
  • When the girls head out to inappropriate parties, you can’t join in.

Your name matters. It carries weight, meaning, and responsibility. So, I ask: Are you living by your name?

Rexford Moses

I Have Never Sinned, Can You Believe It?

Have you ever thought about the cross of Jesus? Have you considered what He really did for you? I've always struggled to fully grasp, both simply and deeply, how the blood of Yeshua wiped away my sins and atoned for them. I sing songs about the blood, read scriptures about it, and thank Him for redeeming me, but I've never fully grasped the enormous, life-changing mystery of the Son of God's sacrifice for me and for you!

How do you understand the atonement of sins? What does it really mean for God, you, and the enemy? Does the shedding of Jesus' blood for me mean that I have never sinned? JUSTIFIED, JUST IF I'D NEVER sinned before God and men? Or does it mean I sinned, but God forgave me of my past and is not recording it anymore for my judgment because Jesus took it and paid the price for me? Which scenario is the right one? In Christ, and before God, did I sin or never live a defective life?

To simplify it for you and give you the answer before revealing a huge, life-changing revelation, approach, perspective, and activation: YES, I sinned, and Christ died to redeem me.

I am a sinner, and I need a Savior, just as you do! Now that I have received Christ's wonderful, surreal yet down-to-earth redemption, I have become a new creation, a righteous being who never fell into sin from the beginning. WOW! (We can celebrate right here).

Let me illustrate it with this example and then do an activation with you that is a SHOCKER to your flesh, which is always at war with the spirit.

When a judge stamps a paper to declare someone who was guilty now clean, it means the judge has officially erased the person's criminal record through a process called expungement. This decision makes it as though the crime never happened, allowing the person to move forward without the past conviction affecting their future opportunities, like employment or housing.

This is too much to grasp, right? I know but it is real yet earthly still. Continue reading because what is coming is greater than that and let's invite the Holy Spirit to help us taste God's unfathomable love for us in Christ Jesus.

In Christ, you never sinned before God! Don't freak out now; you can keep thanking God and you should for Jesus, who saved you from your sinful nature. YES, you can and should tell others your testimony of how Christ transferred you from darkness to light and transformed you. I am not telling you to forsake this awesome part of redemption. We will always be grateful and worship the Lord for this INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY that no eyes have seen, ears have heard, or hearts grasped what God prepared for those He loves. No one ever saw this coming, not even the devil. It is not a GOD move if you can perceive it or the devil.

What am I really saying here in the presence of the Lord? I am locked in the realm of thanking the Lord for being my Savior, yet I have come to a place where I am more focused on my righteousness in Christ than my transition from sin.

Many Christians dwell on the cross only and never lock focus with their newly restored nature of righteousness. The cross of Jesus was the door, the entrance to a relationship with God through this righteous nature in Christ Jesus, but many remain at the door. Imagine if I invited you to visit my mansion (I don't live in one and I love small houses) and you remained at my beautiful big gate, thanking me for the invite, contemplating the gold ornament, the bigness of it, etc. Would you be considered sane? The cross was the door and we will forever BE THANKFUL for the entrance, yet it is the inside realm of righteousness that you must awaken to that will revolutionize the way you live before God and men. In Christ right now, you never sinned. You were never a sinner! Jesus became sin so that you may become His righteousness. What part of YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS can't you understand?

It grieves the Lord when you stay at the door and never get acquainted with the inside realms of righteousness that many Christians are not awake to.

In Christ now, you were never GAY! You were never a PROSTITUTE! You never cheated on your wife, and you never killed that neighbor. Look, I understand this is too much to grasp, and it doesn't make sense, and if it does, then it is not a GOD technology. You may tell me, “But Tony, I do feel like I am gay (since this is the greatest now), and I engaged in homosexual experiences with men. The sensation was real, the images, the feelings, the sounds, the touch… I can't get it that in Christ, I was never gay because I was, believe me.”

Thanks for asking! haha. I will answer this one:

You were gay before Christ, indeed, and Christ did save you not just from being gay; actually, He saved you from something bigger and greater, which is a sinful nature. After being saved and entering the door (Christ's Sacrifice), Heaven stamps you as NEVER GUILTY! Can you understand the power of that or what? I sense the power of the Holy Spirit writing this, and I know He is greatly delighted that I am unpacking it for you because it changed my life!!!

NOW, IN CHRIST, you are not considered GAY anymore, and you can't renew your mind if you can't establish your identity first as clean. What do I mean? Glad you asked, again. The Bible exhorts us to CONSIDER OURSELVES DEAD TO SIN and alive to Christ and righteousness. In simpler terms, you should never think again of those past things, and you can SANELY and BOLDLY rehearse day and night: I WAS NEVER GAY, I never went through it, I never did this or that, you name it for yourself, whatever you engaged in before.

The enemy will TRY TO ANNIHILATE the work of the cross by making you sin-focused and not Son-focused.

Jesus took your sinful nature and mine on the cross, and in Him, it was never ours. He paid for it; it doesn't belong to us anymore. Jesus didn't only redeem your nature but your time too because in Christ now you never were or did those things, which means you never lived this lifetime of sin. You had a righteous life from the beginning.

Read this article 1000 times and BEG the Holy Spirit to reveal this dramatic truth to you that Heaven is eager to reveal to mankind night and day. Let me tell you this too before I activate you. If I were the devil and I knew in glimpses that one day you would be a great singer and you would glorify the Lord with this lifestyle, I would have done everything in my power to destroy this from your childhood. I would have convinced you that your voice is bad, you will not match up or improve, others are better, get another career, etc. Say you believed those lies and embraced them and wasted your life derailed from God's original calling and cursed yourself for decades saying I am a bad singer. Guess what? In Christ now, you can say I WAS A GOOD SINGER from the beginning of time and I am seasoned in this gift, but the enemy had me go through this lie experience because I was a potential threat to him if I awoke to that.

Same for you as gay! Your identity, manliness, fatherhood, and mostly authority threatened the devil that he had to create another scenario to derail you. He is a liar! In Christ, you were never gay, and you never lived this experience at all. Until you confess this and align with righteousness and DIE TO SIN, you won't experience this surreal glory yet available.

Each one of you has a story, identify with a sin, so apply what I am teaching you here, and mount to realms you never dreamt of. Next time you say God is good, let it be based on some understanding of what He accomplished for you on the cross. The devil hates the cross!

Let's do an activation here. So I told you in Christ, you are righteous because the bible says so, have a new nature, and time redemption, so rewrite your story in the pen of this truth now (you can type in the comment section). As for me, I will say this:

“I grew up in a godly house, and I have witnessed amazing love, honor, and respect between mom and dad that whet my appetite for godly relationships and surely a marriage and life of commitment. My mom never yelled at me, never ignored me, always there to love on me and comfort me. She always encouraged me and affirmed my identity as a growing boy. She signed me up for activities that built my character and self-esteem and was never controlling of me. She always encouraged me to be bold and serve others. I thank God that I lived in a peaceful home, with no sickness, no disease, no stress or drama. I had a childhood that if told in detail, nobody would believe me. I had a great life growing up. Never miss an opportunity to be served and to serve others. I never went through traumas, no child abuse, no fear, no stress; it was a happy, blessed upbringing.” Amen.

For those who don't get it yet, I lived the opposite, but I am acquainted today that in Christ, I was never guilty because He restored my good nature and lifetime. We lose you as Christians when we move from theory to practicality. Every Christian is excited they are God's righteousness now, but I think many will be offended when they read the practicality of it here.

Go do your activation, believe it, this is not fiction, not at all. “Let it be according to your faith!”

I dare you to share this with your friends and EVEN THEOLOGIANS!

God bless you,
Tony Francis

Activating Abundance Now Through This Creative Technique – “Fatherhood”

I want to let you in on another personal creative writing from my “Abundance Journal” and the blessing topic was about being transformed into Fatherhood.

If you've spent time around me and the ministry, you're likely aware that I'm a man of activation. I enjoy empowering others to realize their God-given potential, particularly in the prophetic realm. I've always been a practical believer in my walk with the Lord. I seek to understand spiritual concepts and experience my inheritance in Christ in practical, tangible ways. God delights in us when we embrace what His only begotten Son sacrificed for.

One of the activation techniques I've adopted is what I call “My Abundance Journal.” I select a blessing topic and creatively write about it. I'll share my process and encourage you to engage in it during your private time. Essentially, this journaling exercise involves journeying with the Holy Spirit to amplify your blessings in your imagination, stretching your mindset to its maximum capacity, much like physical exercise builds muscles. The excerpt you're about to read touches on one of the many topics I've explored: My fatherhood transformation!

God is boundless! We're born into a culture of limitations, scarcity, and poverty mentality. Your feet won't take you where your mind hasn't already visited before.

In this activation, the key is to break down mental barriers and expand your beliefs through creative writing and imagination. While it might be challenging for some, it promises great blessings. Understand that this creative writing exercise is meant to stretch your mindset and perspective; it's not necessarily a prophecy that will come to pass. Approach it with a spirit of enjoyment and fun, and remember, as much as you exaggerate, you'll never surpass God's abundance and goodness for us. We may fall short, but we can still attempt to scratch the surface! Stretching your borders, start by stretching your mindset and belief system, let's activate…

Below is not a vision or a prophecy, it is a creative writing with the Holy Spirit to unlock abundance in a certain area of a blessing!

Immersed in Infinite Fatherhood:

Not a long time ago, I came back home and to my surprise, I found a very strange-looking key resting on my sofa in the living room. It is not my key, I said. For some moments I tried to think hard if somebody visited me recently and left the key there. No one, none! For months now I had no visitations. That made the moment so weird and odd to me and a little bit frightening.

I approached to behold the key closely, it was so surprising to me, I don’t think there is a key like it on earth in form and power that is emanating from. That key was in the form of the letter F. I can’t describe to you the amount of power, security, dominion, love, and joy emanating from that F-form letter key. Do I grab it? I thought to myself. I was hesitant not because of fear but because somehow, I knew I would journey into something big through that key.

Then I reached out suddenly and quickly without thinking anymore because I didn’t want to waste any more time. I want to step into this!

THE key visited my house for a reason. Boldness came over me and I grabbed it in both hands. I wanted it. What is this key all about? Where is the door anyway for this key? Who would provide a supernatural key to me without the door? As I overwhelmed myself with all those reasonable thoughts because of my desperation to use the key, suddenly an Angel appeared to me in the room and in the middle of his stomach I saw an opening for the F key I was holding in my hands. The Angel said nothing, I just knew that I could insert my key into the Angel. I knew that because I saw in my imagination that I was approaching the Angel and doing this. This is how I know what to do!

I am a tough man, strong, bold, manly inside and in my appearance but my heart was beating as I was approaching this opportunity.

I stretched my hand to put the key inside and at some point, the energy hovering on the opening attracted the key and sucked it in. Instantly, I saw myself in a big womb then I realized it was not a womb but a BOSOM!

A huge, gigantic bosom. I felt like I was sitting in an unlimited energy field of strength, affirmations, love, correction, intimacy, and creativity. For a reason, I wasn’t consumed by that bosom. As humans, we put words to our experiences, so that bosom for me felt like FATHER’s lap but infinitely multiplied. I could stay here all day, not all day, but forever! It became my chair of comfort!

The longer I sat in the Father’s bosom, the longer I was filled with its substance and then I started seeing the faces of people that I didn’t know but I felt they were all my children and I am responsible for them.

What? I am 38, not married, and don’t know what fatherhood means, what is going on?

That F key was FATHERHOOD's presence. When I began to understand FATHERHOOD and that blessed bosom, I started getting mysteries, secrets, and downloads about the universe and everything about it. FATHERHOOD originates everything!

Then I felt like a huge thunderous sound wave was coming toward me like a train. We hear the train coming from afar! That sound felt like that… and BOOM it hit my core.

I thought I was going to hear a sentence in my language, but it was more an energy language that filled my being and I heard it and understood it as much as I could. I was empowered at that moment to manifest FATHERHOOD energy and heart.

I was never the same, everything changed in me even in my physical appearance. OMG!

Fatherhood looks like something.

Super Dad
Tony Francis

Let me know in the comments below your opinion about this activation and if you have tried it. Also, I want you to watch my new 1-hour video course “As you go up, glory comes down”: Learn more

Activating Abundance Now Through This Creative Technique – “Finances”

If you've spent time around me and the ministry, you're likely aware that I'm a man of activation. I enjoy empowering others to realize their God-given potential, particularly in the prophetic realm. I've always been a practical believer in my walk with the Lord. I seek to understand spiritual concepts and experience my inheritance in Christ in practical, tangible ways. God delights in us when we embrace what His only begotten Son sacrificed for.

One of the activation techniques I've adopted is what I call “My Abundance Journal.” I select a blessing topic and creatively write about it. I'll share my process and encourage you to engage in it during your private time. Essentially, this journaling exercise involves journeying with the Holy Spirit to amplify your blessings in your imagination, stretching your mindset to its maximum capacity, much like physical exercise builds muscles. The excerpt you're about to read touches on one of the many topics I've explored: financial blessings.

God is boundless! We're born into a culture of limitations, scarcity, and poverty mentality. Your feet won't take you where your mind hasn't already visited before.

In this activation, the key is to break down mental barriers and expand your beliefs through creative writing and imagination. While it might be challenging for some, it promises great blessings. Understand that this creative writing exercise is meant to stretch your mindset and perspective; it's not necessarily a prophecy that will come to pass. Approach it with a spirit of enjoyment and fun, and remember, as much as you exaggerate, you'll never surpass God's abundance and goodness for us. We may fall short, but we can still attempt to scratch the surface! Stretching your borders, start by stretching your mindset and belief system, let's activate…

Crazy Wealth Overnight:

Before my father died, he summoned us in his presence to reveal his last will and tell us what he was leaving for us as heritage and inheritance. He sat with each member of my family alone, and then it was my turn. I felt a mix of excitement and sadness; my dad was my greatest inheritance, but I knew he couldn't stay here anymore. His inheritance would mean so much to me because it reminded me of him—an extension of his love and a reminder that he entrusted me with it all.

He sat behind his office desk as I entered his all-black leathered room. His smile held so much love and hope, and I returned it. There was a folder on his deluxe desk, and I knew it contained everything for me. I sat before him, and he asked if I understood what would happen in that session. I nodded gently.

Growing up, I was born into a middle-class family, never experiencing extreme poverty but also unfamiliar with vast wealth or abundance. Dad, after taking a sip of his tea, began reading from the legal paper. His emotions poured through his words, touching me deeply. However, my shock came when he revealed my inheritance. I had expected perhaps some land or property, but it was much more than that.

Dad had bequeathed me everything that belonged to him, instantly making me wealthy. At a time when I was finishing college and about to embark on my business journey, this newfound security filled me with hope for the future. With talent, energy, and high expectations, I aimed to serve my community with creativity, seeing myself as a solutionist.

After tearfully thanking him, Dad stood up, his gaze fixed not on the paper but on me. He approached, sat before me, and revealed there was more. My three deceased uncles, each living in different countries, had left us all their assets, totaling more than $5.6 billion dollars. The news was overwhelming, breathtaking, and filled me with gratitude.

As a child, I had sensed something significant awaited me, but this surpassed all expectations. The magnitude of $5.6 billion dollars was beyond comprehension. Waves of realization washed over me, leaving me energized and hopeful for the future. Dad had taken care to distribute our wealth wisely, ensuring it would enrich not only our lives but the lives of others through projects and investments. The wealth awaiting me was immense, yet I vowed to use it to make life beautiful for my family, myself, and everyone around me.

The Wealthy Man
Tony Francis

Let me know in the comments below your opinion about this activation and if you have tried it. Also, I want you to watch my new 1-hour video course “As you go up, glory comes down”: Learn more

Prophetic Word for the month of AV 5783 August 2023

Welcome to the new biblical month of AV 5783 that started on July 24th at sunset. By now I believe many of you are familiar with God's precious and holy calendar. We never worship his calendar, we honor it but we worship him and keep our eyes and affections on Yeshua, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior! Yet it is essential to be aligned with Heaven and God's appointments and feasts and thank God that only redemption is passed to us in Christ. Fear no feast or month because God filtered it to us through the blood of his Son. Never receive a curse!

As I was positioning myself to hear from the Lord what he is saying to us, I received this from the Holy Spirit and I pray it blesses you as you read it and enlightens you in Jesus' name:

It is a month of BIG TIME BLESSINGS because AV means ABBA. Yes, God is your heavenly Father every month and forever but this month is named after him and holds special meanings, substances, and authority. ABBA is the provider, every dad on earth is too. In just one month, you can receive a provision for your whole vision. God can finance you for a long time in just one moment! This month can be your huge STEP, your biggest and quickest leap for your visions, dreams, and callings.

Many will connect to this truth by faith and they will not be missed by ABBA but others will read this as another entertaining prophetic word without releasing their faith! I decree you will respond to that in Jesus' name and let the blessings of this month overwhelm you. Wherever and whenever you look, BLESSINGS all around. This window of time can be a restoration month for your provision. But also the Spirit is saying, you don't need to limit ABBA to provision, yet this is the biggest part of him, but he can provide for your security, protection, affirmation, etc. Whatever you see in him and however you perceive your heavenly DAD this month, he will manifest to you.

If you feel sowing into Healed Nations Ministries this month, feel free to do this below. We pray for our partners, celebrate and honor them, and their love and support! For any donation of 75$ and more, we will sow back into you and send you by email a personal prophetic word for this month of AV 5783.

Make a donation this month

God bless you

Tony Francis

The New Breed

John the Apostle addressed in different parts of his epistles the dangerous gnostic ideology that basically preach that the flesh is evil and only the spirit is good, thus Jesus didn’t come in the flesh. Gnosticism is not my subject here, I want to show you how that sect focused on the spirit realm only not understanding deeply God’s heart to redeem what was corrupted and lost by sin. On Earth as it is in Heaven!

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s plan of salvation for everything that was baptized in death after the fall of mankind. God is the God of spirits and flesh. When he created us, it was very good! Sin corrupted everything and we allowed it through Adam’s light stewardship of the creation. Sin is bad, not the flesh! God provided the answer, the antidote, the solution, the way out through his only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

We are all born in sin, inheriting the sinful Adamic nature. The Bible says in Romans 5:12-17

“12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 And the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

What is righteousness? It is making things RIGHT again (RIGHTesouness). Many Christians are not Gnostics as they believe in the incarnation of Jesus Christ but focusing only on the spirit realm and believing that this corrupted flesh is beyond repair till we die, is pretty close to deception. We read in the verse “How much more will those who RECEIVE God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Where do you REIGN? HERE and now we understand why it is so hard to RECEIVE correction, adjustment, and righteousness to what sin corrupted in us, it is a battle, for we war to reign! The huge provision was given to us by Jesus, the battle is now on the receiving end and the devil wins this by inspiring us with deceiving doctrines. Like for example, why do you need to repair your cursed inherited DNA, one day God will fix everything and will EVEN give you a glorious body in Heaven, but hey don’t worry, the Lord will give you grace as you battle sickness, diseases, and curses. Is not this so subtle and sneaky like a snake? I wonder how many of our inheritances in Christ have we lost to that kind of thinking. The delayed victory!

God’s DNA overrides your DNA if you are born again and the gift of righteousness of Jesus Christ lives in you! Just as you received your eternal salvation from hell and condemnation by faith, you can allow God’s correcting power to come over your DNA and bring redemption to what is needed. You don’t need to die at age 51 because your dad or mom died at that age from a certain disease! If sin preprogrammed your death in your own genes, God has programmed LIFE to you. Only a higher authority can override a lower authority. Life trumps death!

Yes, not many will be able to receive this truth and live their miraculous nature because “righteousness needs to reign in this life” and that’s a battle and not many are determined to be heroes in the faith!

For believers who broke in Jesus' name the curse of sin in your bloodline, outlived your ancestors, or lived healed and healthy and separate from the sickness/curse history in your family, congratulations! You changed the report by faith. “I have believed that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”.

Is this possible for you? Yes, only if you believe.

Let’s pray: Father God, thank you for the power of your righteousness you gave me through your Son Jesus. Help me understand the unending possibility of its wonder-working power, teach me how to apply it by faith, and let me be among those who change bad reports. You say I am blessed, and your blessing looks like something. Amen

Glory to God
Tony Francis

The Accident, the Jump and Living Through It

I know that we have all been through something or another. However, none of us has withstood what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He definitely has endured the most. Things may have happened to us at a very young age where we don’t have specific memory. Specific parts of our brain do remember, though. These events definitely form our lives. God knows everything that is happening to us and everything that is going to happen to us. I once heard that we can not question God, so I try not to. Like many, I had a very challenging childhood. We live in a dysfunctional world. My dad suffered from mental illness, poverty as a child and alcoholism. Although our dad was a financial provider, he was not much else. He was seeking something he never found because of the fact that he grew up with a very sparse knowledge of God. He was never taught to develop a relationship with God. He was subjected to nothing but traditions and rituals. I sincerely believe that if my parents were raised in Christian homes that our lives would have been much healthier. My mother, siblings and I now attend Bible believing churches. Praise God for that. Until the time I left for college in 1993, I definitely resided in a broken home. 

On July 8, 1991, I sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury. I was at my brother’s baseball All-Star game and I had left for work. I still don’t know why I went the way I did, but I assume I was taking my passenger home. My paternal aunt suggests that I may have been blinded by the sun. Four pieces of glass went in my head at 65 mph and I was in a coma for around two to three weeks. My Grandpa Flores passed in 1980 and I did see him during my recovery time. He was surrounded by birds and deer and it seemed animated. He asked me if I was ready to go back and I woke up saying my paternal Great Grandpa’s names. The accident happened about a month after I graduated from high school. I was also in summer school at the local college. My plans were to attend the University of Texas in the fall, but that was no longer going to happen at the time. When I was released from the hospital, I went back and took my summer school finals and got B’s. I remember I was like a baby in innocence when I started to recover. I didn’t know a lot about my surroundings, but I adjusted quickly. I had no physical injuries, so I seemed fine. I wasn’t prescribed any medication. I just had a few follow up visits with my neurosurgeons. 

I did start the local college in the fall of 1991 and I started getting D’s and F’s for the first time in my life. I had been in excellent schools since first grade and I had always done well. My parents were fighting still and genetic and organically induced mental illness set in. I jumped off of a significantly high bridge in my hometown and again I survived. I did have some back fractures because I landed on my back. I remember being near the seawall because I tried to climb out. When I jumped, I just drove up to the bridge, parked my car and jumped. Brain injured people are definitely left with impulsive tendencies. I remember just screaming for my Grandpa Flores. I remember hearing the medics say that they couldn’t believe it and that I was so young. Next thing I know, I was in a local mental health hospital under suicide watch. The first of many mental health hospitalizations. My family was in shock and my parents tried to find appropriate care for me. The then Neurobehavioral Institute of Houston accepted my dad’s insurance and I went over there for some time. I did improve significantly through my time there.

In 1993, I felt I was ready to try school in Austin, Texas. I had to start at Austin Community College because my GPA had dropped significantly due to the previous grades I mentioned. I went through some junior college and reapplied to The University of Texas at Austin. Thankfully, I was accepted into UT Austin in the Spring of 1995. Eventually, I moved in with my college boyfriend and that was a waste of four years. God tells us not to fornicate, etc. I still graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in May of 1997. I decided to move back home, which was unthinkable. However, I wanted to continue my studies and my boyfriend and I were going nowhere. I started a Master of Arts in Psychology program the next fall in my hometown. I soon came to see through a related job that that particular degree was not for me. I quickly switched to a Master of Science in Counseling program and finished in December of 1999. My 22 year old is currently pursuing the same degree. Thankfully for me, it was much easier when I got that degree. She and I are very similar and very different. God works in His way.

I gave birth to the daughter I just mentioned in 2000 and I thank God that my mother was there to basically raise my Hannah from age 5 on up. After Hannah’s sister Rachel was born in 2004, the brain injury related medication no longer worked the same. I wasn’t on any brain injury medication initially. However, when depression set in and around the time of the jump, I was prescribed psychotropic medication. I took it from 1992 to 2004 and after Rachel was born, it no longer worked the same. I tried to take my life again after she was born. Rachel was raised by her dad. I visited with her, was there when I could be and I definitely wrote to her from jail and prison. She is now 17 and I have joint custody and visitation with no help from a lawyer. I did it all on my own…through court of course.  In 2009, I gave birth to Sabrina. I was very mentally not there. I met her dad in Austin at a homeless shelter, we drove to Corpus and were married shortly thereafter. We married in 2008 and he is no longer with us. 

From 2005 to 2014 my life was horrible. I was in and out of the local jail. I was in and out of psych hospitals in South, Central Texas and Sabrina was removed from me through no fault of my own two months after she was born. I used to work for Child Protective Services and the supervisor on call did everything she could to keep Sabrina from me. That supervisor did not like me as a co-worker. In 2011, a local political figure terminated my parental rights. Sabrina was adopted by her previous foster mother’s. Hannah found out that they changed her last name to Sass and that she lives in Round Rock, Texas. 

I was finally prescribed medication that worked for me in 2014 and I have been re-establishing my life ever since then. Today is October 31, 2022 and I still take medication. I couldn’t function without it. I also take Milk Thistle to help my liver. It is hard to drive near the accident site. I don’t like driving by the hospital I was taken to after I jumped off of the bridge. However, that is nothing compared to other people I have been hospitalized with. Only God knows the events of our lives. I have actually been in a place during my coma that has shown me that all I need to do is accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I pray blessings on everyone and I just have to say that life is a choice. If I am making it, so can you. God bless you.

Daddy’s Face

By Sara Obeid

Seek My Face”My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.” (Ps 27) 

I have always been learning about the importance of seeking the Face of God before anything else! But I never truly understood what it means until I had my son John (who is 2 years old now).

Newborns do not have our developed vision, all they see is blurry and the focus gets clear at 8 inches! Did you know that the most interesting object for newborns to look at is the face? When I came to think about it, it made lots of sense! ·

It is the center of interaction with others.  It is where our emotions appear through our mouth smiling, our eyes crying, our voice changing, etc… It is also where we can effectively communicate with each other. So I could see my baby's big smile whenever he saw my face! It was the highlight of his life. 

I learned that seeking God's face is important for genuine interaction with Him. But that was not everything.

One night as I was putting John to sleep, it hit me. I had been in his bed for more than 40 minutes waiting on him to doze off. He finally closes his eyes and starts snoring, oh the joy! few minutes later, he wakes up as i maneuver to escape, crying he turns around and touches my face; he put his fingers in my nose, on my eyes, my lips, checking my teeth and suddenly this peace fills him and I could feel as he went back to calm breathing. In few seconds, he went back to sleep.

It was a new revelation to my soul! Seeking His face gives me PEACE! It is not only seeking God's approval and interaction, but it is also resting in the knowledge of Daddy's presence and touching His eyes and mouth. It is about memorizing His features and details, knowing that He did not forsake me and never will. It was more than just seeking the face of “God”, it is the comfort in seeking Daddy's face. I discovered that I needed to walk into the childlike faith where I would reach out to touch my Daddy's face even if my eyes are closed and allow His peace to fill me.

“The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”(Num 6)  

 

The Reality of Spiritual Substances

God is the God of manifestations, he simply is. He wants to reveal himself to you clearly so you can enjoy his tangible love, goodness, mercy, salvation, protection and all the good things he has in store for you. God’s glory is he who is and what he has and he poured it all over you in Christ! It can’t get any better.

A couple of days ago I met by a divine appointment a group of amazing believers, two sisters and one brother in the Lord. They came from a different country for a few days and I had the privilege and the honor to spend some time with them. We shared lots of God stuff in my country and theirs. We were both so blessed to hear what God is doing among his church and we were celebrating that! One of the dear ladies called Lin opened her heart and shared with us her many amazing precious God encounters and oh boy how blessed and excited I was to hear it. I was amazed and surprised by the simplistic childlike faith she has and how the Lord lands on her kind of faith with signs and wonders! She brought with her many things and photos that backed up her beautiful genuine stories and I had the opportunity to witness it all. She showed my friend and me different colored perfect gemstones (as examined by a gemologist) that fell from heaven on many occasion and each gem has a beautiful story that speaks about our good good heavenly Father. I saw Angel’s feathers’ photos, oil from heaven, heavenly bread with chunks of gold and other cool stuff. I kept wowing with each story and was definitely caught by the thrill of seeing tangibly these good gifts from dad not to mention that I felt the anointing and the presence of God on some items!

Later after they left back to their country, I was thanking God for this opportunity to meet them and pondering the amazing things my ears and my eyes experienced closely. Then as simple as this is, the Holy Spirit interrupted my excitement in his kindness and corrected a major thing in my heart. He prioritized it all to me once and forever.

What I saw was so awesome and with a big YES you must remain open for God’s signs and wonders and we want to see visibly his glory and blessings. I want God to invade all my dimensions, the invisible and the visible. But remember that in Christ, you are a SPIRIT being of light and God wants your thrill to be first in the spiritual because this is who you are FOREVER! The spirit world for you must be your main focus before anything else. You are a spirit, with a soul living in a body. Yes, God loves to see your smile and joy when you receive his gifts in the physical realm but he wants you to be excited to spiritual realities first, to the invisible king and kingdom within you. We tend to think that if it is touchable then it is tangible and we get frustrated if we don’t experience glory in our mortal fleshly senses. But my friend let me adjust you as Holy Spirit did for me if it is spiritual it is also TANGIBLE and more real and remaining (Matthew 6:19-21).

God wants you to believe that what he gives you as spiritual things and substances is tangible and real. The experience of it may be different from the physical and the natural because you are operating in another dimension a supernatural one but it is real and tangible for him so it must be for you! The presence of the invisible Holy Spirit with you is something spiritual and he will never become flesh like Jesus, he will stay your invisible helper. But being invisible doesn’t mean he is not a real person around you. Holy Spirit is real and tangible and not believing this is a dishonor of Jesus’ promise when he said he would send the helper to be with you forever and lead you into all truth and he did.

In Christ, you are a spirit first so making the spiritual your priority is important but press in to see God’s glory in other dimensions as well. We want God to fill everything but first the spiritual.

Final note: After Holy Spirit met me and adjusted my excitement, I lifted my hands to heaven and asked my heavenly dad to give me a gemstone because he is no respecter of men, he favors faith, not people. I was sitting on my bed and I was waiting on him after I requested that from him and it is up to him to give it or not, you can’t force him. Then I saw in a faint image in my mind a blue gemstone dropped on my bed, it was not in the physical realm (the lowest realm) but in the spiritual. So by faith and with so much innocence and simplicity, I stretched my hand to grab it, although, in the seen dimension my hand is empty, yet I believed I was holding a blue gem in the spiritual. BECAUSE I honor the spiritual first and it is tangible for me. I can say I have a gemstone from heaven from a different perspective :} and it is up to you to believe it or not.

Toni Francis

Yesterday dad told me this story …

I did not know the power of hearing a story until I heard dad told me this story yesterday. After we had dinner, dad took me to my bed and smiled at me warmly. Then he moved a special chair in my room next to my bed. This chair is special to me not because it is a beautiful piece of furniture in my bedroom but because dad sits on it every night to tell me a story.

I laid on my bed with eyes wide open and with an undivided attention to hear what he has to tell me. I knew it was going to be awesome as every night I embark on an exciting journey with him. It was not about the story itself but about how it bonds me with dad deeply and intimately. To prove you my point, I do not think I would feel the same if someone else told me the same beautiful story dad tells me.

I do not know why I am so hungry to hear stories narrated by my father. Maybe because I love to hear his voice and a story gives me a chance to hear him long enough to satisfy my deepest need. When dad tells me a story, I know it is pure love. Maybe a storyteller tells stories to show off, to amaze you, for money or to change your beliefs not because it benefits you but because it benefits him. It is what a movie does or a theater play, or any other form of storytelling.

Dad loves me, this I know. He will put all of himself and all of his energy in any story he tells me. He gets creative not because he is good in storytelling but because he loves me. Love is the fountain of creativity!

I am sorry I have to leave you now; I must shut the door to be alone with dad. Sorry, you cannot come in to hear what he is going to tell me. Mmmm, I am not being rude here but how do I say this? It is kind of an intimate atmosphere where only the presence of silence, dad and me can be in the room. I will not even tell you tomorrow what he told me, don’t expect that, please.

Intimacy with my Father is the holiest thing to me in the world. A public intimacy always becomes like pornography and I am not allowing this.

Dad, here I am. You may start …

Glory to God
Tony Francis

You can also watch this blog as a Vlog (Video Blog). Click here to watch it: Yesterday dad told me this story …