Snapshots of Santo Domingo #2- I see Jesus

         


                                                  

          Eyes of Blue, Eyes of Brown,
            Jesus, I see you all around.
              In the smiles and in the tears, Jesus I know you are near.
                Your presence from above came down like a dove,
                   touched our hearts, and filled us with Your love.
                     Like a pebble thrown upon the water,
                       Your Spirit's good work will continue.
                          What you began here in our hearts and in the hearts of those we have encountered,
                             You will be faithful to finish.

                                               

By Triss Curtis copyright @ July 22, 2019

Emails from God

To  Triss, Karla, Sue, Linda
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Cc  Friends and Family
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Add a subject      Psalm 73- Enter into My Presence
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    My child, enter into my presence.  I desire to show you my goodness and love.  Don't worry about those who are wicked; I will take care of them in my time and in My way.

    It is good for you to be in My presence, for in My presence is fullness of joy.  I want you to experience my joy and life abundantly, but you can only experience it when you let go of all your expectations, and trust Me to fill you up and take care of you.

    Don't you know, I take care of the birds of the air; you are much more precious to me than them.  Cease from your anxious thoughts, let go of trying to control everything and put all your troubles in My hands.  I can manage it all.

    As you wait in My Presence, you will experience a peace and rest that the world can not match.  Remember I Am the Sovereign Lord and I hold you in the palm of my hand.  Come to Me with your weariness and I will give you rest.

    Dear child, I love you and will never let go of you, so let go of your anxious thoughts and grab a hold of me.

      Love,
      Your Daddy in Heaven

By Triss Curtis Copyright @ July 2019

Snap shots of Santo Domingo #1

Looking outside the window of the Hotel room in Santa Domingo, I can see the green trees, other hotels and the ocean on the horizon.   Last night our group arrived, excited but tired after spending our time flying from Colorado Spring to Santa Domingo.

Today is Sunday and we will be going to church that works with Vision Trust.  I am excited to worship with the local believers and to see what God is going to show me here in Santa Domingo.

The driver of our bus navigates the traffic and the narrow roads well and we arrive safely at the church.  We walk up a set of narrow stairs to the roof where a few women are fervently praying in Spanish on their knees before the church service.

The service begins with prayer in Spanish.  I catch a word or two here and there and though I don't understand it all,  I  sense the passion and sincerity of the people's hearts.

As the service continues, with worship, prayer and a message, parts of it are interpreted, but the worship isn't.  I recognize some of the tunes and try to remember the English words.  As I am worshiping and taking it all in, I hear God's Spirit, say "Let it go."

"Let it go."  Those three words can be hard to do, depending on the circumstances.  I felt like the Lord was telling me to not try so hard to understand everything, but to worship Him in the moment; Worship who He is, and allow His Spirit to take control  and guide me in praise and worship.

As I let go of my expectations and just worshiped the Lord, I found words coming to my mind that were lifting Him up.  I don't know if they were the exact interpretation of the songs, but I do know that they were a response of gratitude, worship and praise to the Lord.

I believe that the Lord often tells us to "Let it go" and trust him.  Sometimes it means giving up something that we want.  Sometimes it is giving up control of a situation that feels overwhelming.  Sometimes it means surrendering our disappointment, anger or frustration over lost opportunities or past hurtful relationships.

We can only grab on to something new, if we let go of what is old.  Maybe the Lord is telling you today to "Let it go".  Are you willing to release it all to Him, so He may give you something new and refreshing?

Love from Santa Domingo

Triss Curtis

The Rose

The Rose

Once there was a little rose bud.  She couldn’t remember her beginning but she remembered being a tiny bud on a large bush.  Of course she had some memories here and there, of growing up.  She remembered the feel of the warm sunlight surrounding her as well as the raindrops bouncing off her head.   She also remembered feeling the shadow of the gardener covering her, when he would add fertilizer to the rose bush or water it on dry days. There were memories of the cool breezes that comforted her and the storms with loud banging that would cause the little bud to tremble.  During all these things the little bud continued to grow bigger and bigger, until one day, she felt like she was about to burst.  

That day she felt the presence of the gardener very near to her.  She could hear his voice and feel the warmth of the sun shining on every part of her exterior.  She knew it was time to open up and bloom and yet there was something holding her back.  She trembled at the thought of raindrops possibly pelting her petals or harsh winds pulling them off. 

Then she heard the voice of the gardener, gently whispering to her and speaking deep into the center of her being.  “Wake up little Rose, it’s time to bloom.  Let go of holding everything in.  In releasing you will find freedom and others will see the beauty that is deep within.  I am the gardener who planted you.  I watered, fertilized and tended you too.  You were created to show my glory by coming to full bloom. Don’t be afraid of losing your petals or you beauty too.  Each petal has a story and when one falls to the ground, I pick it up and save it for the future.  I bring it back to life and it becomes a sweet aroma to me, as well as a fragrance that touches others for eternity.”

Where are you on your journey in the garden?  Are you the tiny bud still growing?   Or are you the bud ready to bloom but trying to hold back because of fear?  Maybe you were the Rose, blooming, opening up your petals starting to share the beauty of God working in you; but now some of your petals are bruised and have been pelted off by life’s storms.  It is in this place of feeling vulnerable that you can still trust the Gardener to hold and cherish you.  It is in sharing of yourself with others that they can see the sweet aroma of Christ in you.

Whatever you have experienced in life, may you know that you are truly cherished by the Lord and of great value.  May you be a sweet fragrance of Christ  to others.   

Love,  Triss

We are children of God, His church

"For is Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."  Galatians 3:26-29

The other day I was having a Biblical discussion with two young ladies that came to my door. As we were talking back and forth, the Holy Spirit gave me scriptures to share.  It was a good discussion and after they left, I felt like I had listened to them, as well as  shared with them all that was on my heart.

One belief that these two young women held onto was that their church was the true church.  I shared some scriptures and reasons that I did not believe that was true.  As I continued to ponder our conversation and what the true church is; I came upon the passage of faith in Galatians.

In Galatians 3, the apostle Paul discusses our justification by faith instead of  by the works of the law.  What justifies us, is faith in Christ, the promise given to Abraham of salvation through his offspring, given before the law came into effect.  He goes on to say that the law was like a guardian until the promise was brought to completion through Christ.

Galatians 3 also states  that we are sons of God through faith in Christ.  It is not our race, nationality, sex (male or female), or our economic status that makes us children of God.  It is also not which church we are attending, instead it is placing our hope of right standing with God through Christ Jesus our Lord!

All who put their trust in the Son of God, Jesus, for salvation,they are part of the true church.  There are basic believes and principals that all Christians adhere to, but there are also preferences in style of preaching, music and  of course, our own personal opinions.   We need to not let our opinions and preferences get in the way of our relationship as the corporate body of Christ.

I have had the blessing and opportunity to attend a variety of  denomination of churches and have grown in my faith through each one. What is most important for me, is to attend a church that glorifies the Lord, preaches the word and encourages me, as well as develop me spiritually. I desires to walk in a manner that is worthy of Christ and to encourage His body of believers.

My hope and prayer is that you are in  a church family that is strengthening your faith and leading you to encourage others also.  May we spur one another on to good works in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Love,
Triss