God is Raising Up Women

I have a dear producer/director friend who has been waiting to do a new - ACCURATE - version of Joan of Arc for about 10 years or more.  When I read the script, I wept.  First for France, since she has forgotten her religious heritage.  But secondly I wept for women.  I wanted this film made for my daughter and all women to know that indeed, if in heaven there 'is no male or female' as the bible says - there is no prohibition on what God can do THROUGH THEM here on earth.


I try to stay away from purely spiritual but felt this post today from Elijah List would encourage many.  Visit ElijahList and sign up for daily emails here.

Kathie Walters:

Joan of Arc and God's Wild Grandmas - God is Raising Up Women

God is raising an army of women who will have an anointing like Joan of Arc. The Maid of France (Joan) was a 17-year-old village girl who knew nothing about battles and soldiering. BUT, she had visions from God and heavenly voices who told her how to win the battles and give the French victory over the English.

God told her to bring the French Dauphin, Charles, to Reims to be crowned King. The King didn't even believe for himself – he was a wimp – but Joan had such confidence herself that he decided to believe her.

In April 1429, Joan set out with her army to relieve the siege of nearby Orleans which was begun by Thomas de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury. Orleans is situated on the Loire river, in the present day department of Loiret, region of Centre. In 9 days her forces routed the English and broke the siege on May 8, 1429.

Coronation of Charles VII

On July 17, 1429, Joan's army triumphantly entered Reims and Charles was crowned king (with Joan standing nearby with her banner) at the cathedral, the traditional venue for the crowning of French kings.

Joan had her special banners given by God. Joan later stated that she preferred to carry her banner into battle so that she would not have to kill anyone. "I loved my banner forty times better than my sword. And when I went against my enemy, I carried my banner myself, lest I kill any. I have never killed anyone." Of course, Joan was hated by the English who captured her eventually and burned her at the stake. However, her heart was never burned.

Joan was definitely not "qualified" to lead a troop of boy scouts, let alone the armies of France. Who is this young girl to announce that God had called her to get the Dauphin crowned King and defeat the English? Joan of Arc – the Maid of France – operated mostly through the word of knowledge – and prayed all the time.

It's not what you know but WHO you know. It's not what you feel like doing, it's about what God has called you to do. God is looking for His daughters to rise up and go after a big vision – He is not limited.

God's Wild Grandmas

Watch out, devil – God is raising up an army of wild grandmas! When I had that word on The Elijah List a few years ago, there was an article in my local paper the next week talking about an old lady in her eighties. She was in the house alone (she had a walking stick) and she was not too mobile. A young guy of 28 broke into her house. She went after him with her walking stick and unfortunately broke his collar bone – and sent him to the hospital. I took that as a confirmation. So, if you don't have a wild grandma – recruit one for your life. I would. I think I might do a conference for wild grandmas. Wow, there's oil at my desk and in my face, and diamond dust on my keyboard!

I loved reading about and seeing on YouTube the elderly lady who came out of Walmart and got into her car. As she did, a man got into the passenger side and said he had a gun. He said he would shoot her if she didn't give him money. She told him, "No, you're not getting my money," three times, then she ministered to him about Jesus for 10 minutes. She said "Jesus is in this car and He goes with me everywhere I go." The man broke down and cried and said he would go home and pray, then she voluntarily gave him the money she had – $10. He even kissed her on the cheek. Don't mess with the grandmas!

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." – St. Catherine of Siena

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UPDATED: God's Miracle Blessing in the Bastrop Fire

View from Austin of Bastrop Fire

Update 9-13-11 at bottom of post

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I tweeted earlier today about the sister of a dear friend that has a house in Bastrop.  As we know these fires have been horrific.  Over 1,000 homes have been burnt to the ground this past week. The first picture above was taken just miles from their home and the other structures in the other 2 pictures are the surrounding homes burnt to the ground.


Now my friend's sister is deep woman of faith.  In fact, her main vocation is painting angels.  The studio and house are on a lake and what can not be explained to natural causes are the following:


The fire stopped right in front of both the house and the building on their property:

Notice here the fire came up to the holy statues, but did not come any closer to the house:

And the most amazing sight (to me at least) is that the fire completely disintegrated the pier THAT GOES INTO THE WATER - but the house a few yards away is untouched:

 I don't know which scripture I like better: Psalms 3:3 that says God is a shield about us or this one from Psalms 91:


That's right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
      shields you from deadly hazards.
   His huge outstretched arms protect you—
      under them you're perfectly safe;
      his arms fend off all harm.
   Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
      not flying arrows in the day,
   Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
      not disaster that erupts at high noon.
   Even though others succumb all around,
      drop like flies right and left,
      no harm will even graze you.
   You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
      watch the wicked turn into corpses.
   Yes, because God's your refuge,
      the High God your very own home,
   Evil can't get close to you,
      harm can't get through the door.
   He ordered his angels
      to guard you wherever you go. 


On how to help those who are victims of this fire, please visit The Jersey-Texan's website here.
---------UPDATED 9-13-11-----------------
After having a chance to visit the Bastrop area this weekend, my heart is even more burdened for those who lost their homes and lives, and lifted by the goodness of God to not just these folks but many others.

In touring the area it was stunning to see a home completely intact on a street where every other home was devastated.  In this photo - you see a small pickup seemingly transplanted from a setting in Afghanistan next to children's toys untouched (far right in picture).


In most places you just see a bunch of matchsticks, moon surfaces and metal that melted into an unrecognizable heap.  Hundreds of families could not find out the status of their property and there was at least one time when the firefighters reported a home lost that was, in fact, untouched.


Many families decided to stay (yesterday there were reports of 14 missing) and friends were stopped by police from even bringing them food and water.  There was quite the discussion about the right of the State to dictate whether a private citizen had the right to stay on their land or not.  One person noted that in Galveston, a homeowner need only sign a waiver absolving the local law enforcement of any liability OR obligation to help if they refuse to leave a hurricane evacuation.


Meanwhile, firefighters have enough problems trying to determine which areas are truly 'safe' without worrying about having to leave a systematic management of a burn area to assist someone who is - or could be in trouble.


All the firefighters we met were 'salt of the earth' professionals who rarely would receive water or a bite to eat - let alone any praise for "just doing their job."  WE SHOULD BE PRAYING FOR THESE FOLKS DAILY!  We met one of the 11 national groups from the Bureau of Land Management made up of Rangers from Alaska, California and Montana.  They mentioned that the pine trees in Balstrop carried more sap than those in California and thus were burning hotter and longer in most cases.  Another team swept the burnt out structures and identified remains (if any) while testing for toxic gases.  


The amount of land these guys have to sweep is enormous and what looks calm one moment - can be a problem the next day.


Friday night we witnessed a 'flare up' of a fallen tree that was burning only 25 feet from a nearby woodshed.  The log was doused with water pretty easily, but I was stunned that the pooling water around it was bubbling like a pot of gumbo.  Even a few feet from the log - the ground itself was a bed of charcoal either from fallen charred wood or the roots that would catch fire.


At 4 am Saturday in an area that was supposed to be completely safe, we witnessed the top of a tree branch glowing like one of those bad electric yard Christmas candles.  There was no sign of smoke or flame at base or nearby.  And yet the tree was on fire from the inside.

Driving out of Balstrop you could still see smoke from these flare-ups in different areas and utility poles fallen not just of wood - but metal ones that just melted.

Since we arrived at dusk on Friday, we really did not have much feel for the lay of the land OR have any sense of what was normal and what wasn't.  We identified hot spots throughout the night and the next day but didn't have a 'feel' for the amount of brush and greenery that was gone from before.


I was able to witness first hand the extent of the 'miracle' first hand.  Although the house had the three most important features for surviving a fire (close water source, metal roof, stone walls), there were other elements that still defy logic.  In one portico the supports are made of cedar.  A very exposed, unfinished, dry wood. Notice in the video below the extent and heat of the fire was enough to melt this electrical box but didn't even singe the concrete or wood next to it. 

And this video shows the art studio area where Marti Burns creates her art work of angels and holy things.  I show that although fire came up, and even underneath the studio, there are only two structural items of damage.  This tiny part of the deck that got singed - and one wooden support under the studio.  Can anyone explain to me how a wood support catches fire and disintegrates - but the studio itself is untouched?

We had not visited the area previously so didn't know how it was "supposed" to look or feel.  But the difference between Saturday morning and Sunday morning was astounding.  I didn't realize it, but there was no sign or sound of life AT ALL through most of the day Saturday.  We did find one stray cat and some squirrels with their little tails burnt off, but it almost felt like what you would expect on the moon.  Complete quiet and blackened soil.  Sunday morning however, I was shocked to see the resurgence of life.  Dragonflies bounced off the pond.  At least a dozen types of birds - blue jays, titmouse and even wood peckers filled the empty woods with sound and color.  An obvious sign that some danger had been avoided.


But even with that - this morning a tree burst into flames on the other side of the pond bringing the firemen running.  Like many of the fires we saw on a number of properties - these root systems are so dry they can be burning and spreading under the ground without any evidence.


Please continue to pray for all of these people in Bastrop and all the other fires around the country including Dallas and Oklahoma.  And pray for rain.

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