Are You in Desert Places?

The Lord just spoke a word in season to my spirit and I would like to share it.  “There are some who have been lured into the desert by God Himself and these people are unaware.  They feel deserted, forsaken, and even believe that it is the devil. But I have allowed this season in order to speak comfort and to be gracious to you.”

Are you in such a place as this?  If so, just know that God has not forsaken you in that place where He has allowed you to be.  There is a purpose for the wilderness and desert experiences of our life.  Read this passage:

“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.”  ISAIAH 41:18

“”Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.”  HOSEA 2:14

Now the purpose for the desert season is so that others can see the miracles of God’s river being poured out into your life and understand that it is the Lord and nobody but the Lord that brought you out!  So this season is for your growth and character development and for others to witness it also and know who God is!

Blessings to you.  Stay encouraged!

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Worship Reminder

I was reminded this morning by one of my dance Sisters that we are to spend quality time worshipping the Father in our dance. I was blessed to receive this word!  What the Lord gave me from that reminder is this: I must dance for an audience of ONE before expecting and preparing to dance before an audience of many. Not a praise dancer?  It does not matter because this word applies to any ministry or service that you do unto the Lord.

So, have you had your quiet time with Daddy God today? If not, is there an appointment setup to meet with Him?

Blessings to you!

*PS…Don’t forget to check out the author’s site at amazon.com/author/denisecookgodfrey

If you need worship dance mentoring or a workshop, message me on Facebook at Denise  Cook-Godfrey or leave a comment here!  Read testimonies from others who have experienced ministry from our dance and book ministries here:

https://worshipfulministries.com/read-testimonies-here/

 

 

 

Just When I thought I Died!

Just when I thought I died on the altar yesterday or last week………oooops, there she goes again! She thinks she will overrule, she thinks she is the leader.  She sometimes even gets her way but I declare she must die!  Who is the “she” that I am referring to?  She is my flesh!  She rises up and wants to rule.  That is all she knows, but I declare as the Apostle Paul declared, “I DIE DAILY!”  ( I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. –I Corinthians 15:31)

Dying to self is something that we must do each day.  We must present ourselves to our Lord as living sacrifices, so therefore the flesh must die, our own self will must die in order that His will be done in every area of our lives.  So you see we are living dead men/women!  The sacrifices of the Old Testament required death of the animals.  The sacrifice required of us requires death of our flesh.  We offer spiritual sacrifices unto our God with our praise and also our lifestyle.

Let’s encourage one another to live the Holy lifestyle that God is requiring.  It is a fight!  We must prepare to die daily.  Yes, a slow painful death it is at times but it is well worth it!  Lets keep putting a smile on our Lord’s Face!  So God, if you provide the fire……..I will be the sacrifice.

Blessings to you!

Minister Denise Godfrey

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Lets Get Deep!

“Come, let me tell you something.  I want you to get into a deeper circle with Jesus as you pray for me.”  This is the request that I received from my 91 year old Mother-in-Law some two or three months ago.  You see, I was leading the altar worship prayer from the pulpit one Sunday morning and I prayed for my Pastor, my Asst. Pastor and my First Lady, along with other issues and areas that I felt compelled to pray for during my time of intercession.  At the end of the service, this 91 year old Holy Ghost filled-Seer/Prophetess, called me to the side, took me by the hand, and made this request of me.  It was something about the way our eyes connected with one another as she poured out.

Since then, I have been doing exactly what she requested.  Just this past weekend, God overwhelmed me and left me speechless as He blessed me to minister in dance at a program.  See, for the last 6 weeks, I have been suffering with an illness that not too many may have known about.  The illness affected my ability to dance.  The enemy wanted me to think that I was over and washed up!  In my deeper circle that I have started to form with the Lord, I was able to press past the doctor’s reports and people’s reports (you know folks that don’t have doctor degrees will also try to give you a diagnosis about your condition if you listen), and I was able to dance under an open heaven!  The reports and manifestations from the ministry were phenominal!  All I could say was “God, You done did it again!  You have completely blown me away and swept me off my feet yet again!”

Let me encourage you to stay in the race but go deeper!  Go deeper in your passion for God!  Spend extra sacrificial time with Him alone.  Pray for your needs and other needs last or at another time, but spend intimacy time with Him first and be CONSISTENT!!!  I capitalize this because I need to remember to do this!  Just wanted to encourage you with this testimony.

*P.S.-  My husband and I will be celebrating His Asst Pastor Appreciation Day on September 27, 2015 at 2:30 pm at our church location (212 East 5th Street, Sylacauga, AL 35150).  If you are unable to attend, please send up prayers asking the Spirit to do something unusual on a totally deeper dimension!  If you would like to donate to this ministry, you can do so at our website at www.worshipfulministries.com via the “donate” button on the side of screen.

Love ya!  Blessings to you!

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“I Feel Ya!”

“I know how you feel”, “Girl I feel ya on that!”  Have you ever heard these expressions from folks when you were really going through a tough time?  Well, they may actually understand and know some things but no one knows the hurt, pain, and temptations that we feel better than Jesus!  He was tempted at all points, and yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).  Jesus, being fully God and fully man, groaned within Himself and felt burdened and grieved (John 11:33-36).  Jesus wept.  So take courage today.  Jesus is intimately concerned about all of our woes, groans, sighs, feelings of infirmities, cares, desires, etc.  He is an awesome Savior, Friend, Father and so much more!

In other news, I want to let you in on a secret………I am working on another book!  This next book is of a different twist for me and  would love for you to let me know if you would like to participate in a survey that I am doing for the book.  Your name does not have to be mentioned unless you want it to be.  Here are the survey questions and you can email me to let me know if you want to participate:

IS THERE HOPE OF RICH SPIRITUAL LIFE AFTER SEXUAL SIN?

WHEN WE OPEN OURSELVES UP TO SEXUAL SIN BEFORE MARRIAGE, ESPECIALLY AT A VERY TENDER AGE, DO WE AUTOMATICALLY OPEN A PANDORAS BOX THAT IS FILLED WITH PAIN, SHAME, SCARS, AND EVEN A LIFE OF EMOTIONAL TRAUMA?

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Get up and Get It!

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life”.

Wow!  The best time to get a nugget from the Lord is first thing in the morning.  That first thing, those first-fruits I have found to be so inspiring and refreshing!  Yes, even before the first cup of coffee, that morning walk, or even before engaging in conversation with my spouse, I love to have intimacy with the Lord!  The realities of life in general and human limitations may prohibit this sometimes, but the times I am able to “get up and get it in”, have always shown to be rewarding and life changing!  The passage above shows us that the morning has a way of bringing us something awesome.  We have the opportunity to get our instructions for the day!  Are you trusting God with every area of your life?  This is my prayer today that I constantly hunger for the Manna (BREAD FROM HEAVEN) each day of my life!

Blessings to you!

Minister Denise Cook-Godfrey

***If you are a praise dancer, don’t forget about the “Deeper Choreography E-Course starting in September!  Email or FaceBook me for more detail.flyer

Grace Loves Me!

Wow, when I think about the Spirit of Grace……when I think about the unmerited favor and the divine enablement that God gives over and over and over again……I begin to realize that Grace loves me and it is not about how good I am or how smart or deserving I am.  Yes, I know.  We should all as Christians understand about Grace, but I want to personify her.  She keeps loving over and over again.  She is faithful even when I am not faithful.  We do not deserve her; yet she abounds!  Take a break and think about our friend Grace and her companion, “Mercy”.  I mean really be truthful and honest about some of the times when you know the justice of God should have prevailed, but these two:  “Grace” and “Mercy” stood in the gap.  (Ephesians 4:7- But unto each one of us, grace has been given as Christ has apportioned it.)

Sometimes it is just good to reflect and think about the simple things of our faith and then we will see that they are beyond simple, but the very thing that we should progressively come to gain more and more revelation about.  These are those “selah” times when I meditate on God’s Word and His ways.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.  Thanks for your prayers as well.  Our ministry drama on last weekend was a huge success and to God be all the glory!  Continue to pray for us as we continue to seek God for direction in ministry.  We are also planning a few days of rest and fun!  I really need prayer in this area because I seem to have a hard time shutting it all down and just resting.  Before vacation; however, we are planning a tele-seminar, which will be on tomorrow evening at 7 pm central standard time.  We will be discussing the praise dance manual, “So You Say You Can Praise Dance….Now What?”  There will also be a time of questions and answers and just a lot of fun filled, passionate conversation regarding the ministry of dance.  Anyone is welcomed to join in and it does not matter if you are new to the ministry or not or whether or not you have purchased the book!  Dial 559-726-1200 and use access code 145261# to join the call.  I look forward to meeting you on the call.

I love you with the love of Jesus!

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I’m In It to Win!

When you have spent days, weeks, even months fighting the enemy because he has attacked your very identity, self worth, and even the peace in your very soul, scriptures like Philippians 1:6 becomes very alive and precious to you!  Oh yes, the Holy Spirit quickened this word in me just now because I have been fighting a battle for the last several weeks and it has not been easy, but……..”I am confident of this very thing,,,,,,He who has begun a good work in me shall perform it until the day of Christ!”  (Philippians 1:6).  God will do also the same for you!  No weapon formed against you shall prosper.  So the next time you find yourself struggling and battling, know that you are in it to win it!  Commit your works, desires, dreams, your everything to Him and I declare that He is able to keep it and you!

Just a nugget to help boost your long holiday weekend.  Hope you have a very relaxing and safe Memorial Day weekend.  Remember, I love you with the love of Jesus and am praying for you, but know that God loves you even more.

Have you heard about the upcoming gospel stage play that we are ministering on July 12th at our ministry location in Sylacauga, Alabama?  Will you please remember us in your prayers?  We want this ministry event to be life changing.  It deals with family issues and emotional baggage that hinders our purpose and destiny.

She Chose the Hotdogs!

Our Lord wants to speak to us and through us in the ordinary course of a day! The title of this blog message may sound bizarre; however, being the creative writer that God gave me the ability to be, I could not help it! (SMILE!!!)

It started out on a lazy Saturday afternoon after taking advantage of the time to take a simple nap! My body was extremely tired after getting up at 5:30 a.m. to go out and assist with a yard sale for my granddaughter’s community dance team. All I wanted was rest. I did not want to do anything else. After waking up, I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner. He stated that my granddaughter and I should just choose because he would eat whatever. Relieved, I asked my granddaughter to choose between KFC Chicken or hot dogs. She chose the hot dogs (which I was a little disappointed because this meant running to the grocery store to buy them along with other items needed! Had she chosen KFC, all I would need to do is go to the drive through.)

Anyway, I decided to run to the near by Piggly Wiggly so that I could run in and out and get back home in hope to be able to prepare the hot dogs and baked beans quickly and get back to relaxation. But you know how it is on a Saturday afternoon in the grocery store. In the small town where I live, you run into everyone and their “Mama” so to speak. So I did my “hello, how are you?” greeting with a big smile to everyone I came into contact with, very quickly moving from isle to isle. Just when I finally gather all items and is making my way to the check out counter, I spot a woman who I had not seen in many years. This was a woman that I had met when I was in my twenties at a former bank that I worked for. She was a very kind woman who always took time to chat with me as I waited on her as a bank teller. She encouraged me and always showed interest in me and expressed how she was proud of me! Now, there she was in the store, but I did not go to her to speak to her. You see, I saw her, but she did not see me so, being in a hurry but also being in the mood of simply being “tired and not wanting to be bothered”, I hurriedly whipped my shopping cart in the shortest line I could get in. Now to my surprise, the woman that I just “dodged”, is right behind me in line. As I turned to place my items on the counter for scanning, she recognized me and we greeted each other. I asked how she was doing and she began to complain about a health condition. We did small talk for a brief moment and she had mentioned that it had been so long since we saw each other but she stated that she had saw me from time to time in the newspaper due to ministry engagements. She then went on to ask me to keep her in my prayers. Now I knew she meant for me to remember her in my prayers but the Spirit of God led me to stretch forth my hand and let her know that I surely would pray for her right here and right now! Now when she saw my outstretched arm, as I stood behind my cart and she stood behind her cart, our finger tips barely touched but I began to pray out loud asking God to touch her in her body and in her soul and to make her every bit whole! Well, this woman was desperate as she stretched her hand out to my hand and since the carts were in our way and the isle was narrow, it caused us both to press and reach with force. As I began to sense virtue and an anointing at the very moment, we both began to praise and thank God right there on the spot! The glory of he Lord was upon us both. I am not sure what the people around us thought nor did I even allow it to distract the moment!

Now, what did I learn from this experience as I walked out of the local Piggly Wiggly with tears in my eyes? I was reminded that I have a river inside of me that flows out of me to reach others. (John 7:38—He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water). I was reminded that Jesus, in His humanity as He walked this earth, was often tired when crowds of people reached out to Him for healing and deliverance, yet He still gave them what they needed. I was reminded that God is in control and when my granddaughter chose the hotdogs, there was a spiritual purpose even for that! Had she not chose the hot dogs, I would not have been in Piggly Wiggly at that time. Had I not been in Piggly Wiggly, I would not have had the opportunity to minister to this dear sweet woman. Now, God used me in spite of my weaknesses! See I was too tired to even acknowledge this woman at the first so I “dodged” her but God saw fit to look beyond that and allow us to communicate anyway. I am humbled by this experience. I thank God that rather than just telling this woman that I would remember her in my prayers in the future, that I went ahead and obeyed His prompting and prayed right there at that moment in a grocery store, unashamed, with my hot dogs in my shopping cart! God is amazing!

I pray that this article has inspired you to continue to get closer and closer to our Lord through intimate worship and obedience to His promptings!

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