Happiness

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude to our Lord. Denis Waitley

Today in History

Today in History

1932

Lindbergh Baby kidnapped

On this day in 1932, in a crime that captured the attention of the entire nation, Charles Lindbergh III, the 20-month-old son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family’s new mansion in Hopewell, New Jersey.

His father, Charles Lindbergh II, who became an international celebrity when he flew the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, and his wife Anne discovered a ransom note demanding $50,000 in their son’s empty room. The kidnapper used a ladder to climb up to the open second-floor window and left muddy footprints in the room.

The Lindberghs were inundated by offers of assistance and false clues. Even Al Capone offered his help from prison. For three days, investigators found nothing and there was no further word from the kidnappers. Then, a new letter showed up, this time demanding $70,000.

The kidnappers eventually gave instructions for dropping off the money and when it was delivered, the Lindberghs were told their baby was on a boat called Nelly off the coast of Massachusetts.

After an exhaustive search, however, there was no sign of either the boat or the child. Soon after, the baby’s body was discovered near the Lindbergh mansion. He had been killed the night of the kidnapping and was found less than a mile from home. The heartbroken Lindberghs ended up donating the mansion to charity and moved away.

The kidnapping looked like it would go unsolved until September 1934, when a marked bill from the ransom turned up. The gas station attendant who had accepted the bill wrote down the license plate number because he was suspicious of the driver. It was tracked back to a German immigrant and carpenter, Bruno Hauptmann. When his home was searched, detectives found a chunk of Lindbergh ransom money.

Hauptmann claimed that a friend had given him the money to hold and that he had no connection to the crime. The resulting trial was a national sensation. The prosecution’s case was not particularly strong; the main evidence, besides the money, was testimony from handwriting experts that the ransom note had been written by Hauptmann. The prosecution also tried to establish a connection between Hauptmann and the type of wood that was used to make the ladder.

Still, the evidence and intense public pressure were enough to convict Hauptmann and he was electrocuted in 1935. In the aftermath of the crime—the most notorious of the 1930s—kidnapping was made a federal offense.

 

 

Prayer Initiative

Prayer Initiative

Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving. Psalm 95:2

You are Holy, O Thou that inhabit the praises of Your people. Psalm 22:3

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me... Psalm 103:2

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

With profound gratitude we thank You, Sovereign Father, for the bounty of blessings You have poured out on America. We acknowledge as a nation that all good things come from Your hand.

Thank You for revealing Yourself to us through Your creation, Your Word, Your Son, Your Spirit, Your truth, and through the wisdom and devotion of Your people.

Thank You that You make Your true character known to those who truly seek You.

Thank You for Your love, dear Father, and for all the ways You provide for us. May we never forget to thank You.

Thank You for entering time and space on earth, Lord Jesus, and for letting us know that You want a relationship with us - each and every one of us. Thank You for providing the way for forgiveness and healing in our lives and in our nation. Thank You for Your patience, Your mercy, Your pardon, Your provision and for Your sacred sacrifice on our behalf. We love you, Lord.

Thank You for the faith of our founders, and for giving them Your wisdom. Thank You for their prayerfulness, and for guiding them to establish this country on the fact that You created all of us equal, and that our rights do not come from other men, they come from You.

Thank You for those who have gone before us who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish this country on principles borne out of Your word. Thank You for their understanding and respect for Your gift of free will.

Thank You for all those who have put their lives on the line for the freedom and welfare of others.

Thank You for the religious freedoms we enjoy - to gather, to worship and to pray.

Thank You that as we pray, we can trust You for answers in Your time, Your will and Your ways.

~~~

"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States." President George Washington

“I have just repeated word for word the oath taken by George Washington 200 years ago, and the Bible on which I place my hand is the Bible on which he placed his ... My first act as President is a prayer.. Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to hear and heed Your will, and write on our hearts these words: 'Use power to help people.' For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen.” President George H. W. Bush 

 

 

Not Just in Virginia

It isn't only in Virginia where unidentified threats lurk...wherever we go, we must be wary of unsuspected dangers that can befall those who are not vigilant.

As with this unassuming hillside, potential threats can be virtually impossible to detect. There seems to be little cause for concern from this volcano, but experts aren't sure whether it's extinct or simply dormant.

In that regard, it is much like sin, for we all have the proclivity to sin within us. We who are born again have put our sin under the blood of JESUS and we trust HIM to wash us clean and to make us new by the power of HIS sacrifice in our behalf.

Yet, although we know we are born again and that HIS propitiatory death for us is totally effectual, we also know that if he could, the enemy of our soul would ensnare us again in the sin we have renounced.

The question each of us must answer is, "Have I abandoned the pet sin that I have enjoyed or have I simply set it aside for a season?"

In other words, is that besetting sin extinct within me or merely dormant?

If I don't address that question; if I don't conclude once and for all that I am dead to trespasses and sin, I am allowing myself to be open to the snare the evil one will set before me sooner or later.

If I don't assure that all my sin is under the blood of JESUS, I will find myself drawn into it again. The LORD can't wash away the sin to which I cling.

As Moses preferred the life GOD set before him to "the pleasures of sin for a season," so must I.

LORD, help me to prefer YOUR will above my own.

Help me to desire YOUR righteousness above my sinful pleasure.

Help me to hunger and thirst after YOU alone.

 

 Few People Realize There's An Active Volcano In Virginia

 

Learn more about one of the most fascinating geological sites in Virginia.

 

 

Reason to Hope

Most people agree--whether they like him or not--that President Trump's address to Congress was impressive.

Most people concede that the president was conciliatory to the opposition while being encouraging to his supporters.

Only those who WANT to be divisive can find reasons to criticize the words that were spoken to our representatives last night.

May we find reason to hope for good years ahead of us as our nation goes forward with Donald Trump at the helm of government.

 

FULL TEXT Trump’s First Joint Address: Historic, Spectacular — President’s Shining Hour: Trump Era is Born

 

 

 

 

Words to Ponder

"With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 17:26

Quotes of Presidents

“The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made...THE PEOPLE will have CEASED to be THEIR OWN RULERS,”  Abraham Lincoln

"Not every man can carry a full cup.  Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity."  Oswald Chambers

Pick up the Mantle

Pick up the Mantle by Annie Edwards

Recently, while I was leading worship during a Regional Outpouring meeting, the Lord spoke a kairos word to me. My assistant, Ryan LeStrange, stood in front of the crowded room and declared into the cameras that it was time for miracles in America. In that same moment, the Lord spoke these words to me:

"The healing and deliverance mantle that was left when Kathryn Kuhlman died was not picked up by the generation that followed her. That mantle will be restored and placed on this generation."

Completely ecstatic and receiving that word, I returned to my seat at the end of the worship and looked up Kathryn Kuhlman's date of death. I know that a generation lasts for 40 years, so I was completely floored to find that Kuhlman passed away on Feb. 20, 1976, 41 years and one day before I received this word. The generation who dropped her mantle has passed, and we are here to retrieve it.

I know this word isn't for one person or one small group of people but for many people, whose only prerequisite is obedience when the Lord invites them to put on heavier mantles of glory.

I believe the Lord is directing us to do two things: take back popular media and carry a glory so thick that people can't remain the same when they encounter us.

When Kuhlman took to the airwaves in the '60s and '70s, thousands of people received healing and were delivered from painful afflictions. People from every denomination tuned in or attended meetings held by Kuhlman as she would wait on the Holy Spirit to guide her hand.

I believe our generation is going to be blessed with the ability to reach more souls than even Kuhlman could have imagined. If we receive this call, we will be clothed to stand in front of multitudes, wait on His Holy presence and release waves of miracles and glory in the way Christ commissioned us.

God is calling us to believe that Holy Spirit will be returned to mainstream media, not so that we can be honored and glorified but so that He can be made famous. Our God is positioning us to create a media revolution that will shake our nation and our world.

We call in television programs like I Believe in Miracles to be claimed by those who will heed your Spirit and patiently wait on Your words, God! We believe that this is the moment of acceleration for those who've sought You out quietly in the background, not in search of a platform but in search of Your Holy Spirit.

When those people are given the stage and the spotlight, they will become invisible, and You will be the only one people can see.

It was said that Kuhlman had to be walked through separate sections in airports because of the glory that was physically manifest on her person. When she encountered people, they were overcome with the tangible presence of God. We are to glow with His glory as Moses did when he experienced God's unveiled presence.

We are to spend time in His presence in a way that makes us reflective of only Him, deferring our identity to His glory. This mantling is to be an increase in the weight of His glory on our lives; not so that we can fall out in our homes and reside in our prayer closets until we leave this earth but so that we can go into the world and see that people are drawn to His light.

As we carry His glory, His healing power will overwhelm those around us and miracles will occur when our shadows pass by. We receive another level of Your manifest presence, Lord. We want to experience all of You so that we can share You with the masses!

I declare that the Kuhlman mantle has been picked up. Just as Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah and then immediately used that mantle to call down the power of God (2 Kin. 2:9-14), we are taking up the healing and deliverance mantle of Kathryn Kuhlman. We will manifest greater power and more glory multiplied a hundredfold in the name of Jesus!

Annie Edwards is founder of Annie Edwards Ministries and is lead songwriter and head of New Sound Worship, her traveling worship team. She has continued her ministry to the Lord publicly under the leadership and guidance of Ryan LeStrange at Impact International Ministries.