His Heart’s Desire News – July 2021 - His Heart's Desire Ministries

Hi everyone! I hope this finds you enjoying your summer (well, it’s summer here in the Texas Panhandle, anyway).

I don’t mean to sound whiny, but summer is my least favorite season.

Aside from the sometimes extreme heat we experience in the Lone Star State, when we do get relief with moisture, we have to deal with nasty mosquitoes (ugh!).

These vicious little creatures have interfered with the enjoyment of walking my beagle, Joe, in the cool of the mornings after Steven leaves for work.

(There was one recent walking experience that was anything but enjoyable that was completely unrelated to mosquitoes.)

When the mosquitoes first appeared, I whined about it on Facebook and got some new perspective when one of my friends from another country told me that she and her daughters had to sleep under mosquito nets every night.

Putting things into perspective helps almost everything, amen?

You might not know this, but this is only our second newsletter, with the first one premiering in April 2021.

In that newsletter, I gave a history of the ministry (how we got to where we are now), shared a snippet from my upcoming (third ) book and a little bit about what’s going on in our personal life.

In this newsletter, I’m going to give you a quick update and share briefly how Christ leads us through desire.

This is an area I was confused about until I understood the new covenant and my identity in Christ.

Maybe it will help you gain some perspective (there’s that word again!) in how Christ leads you in your day-to-day decision-making.

Now, for the quick update: I was hoping to have His Banner over Me Is Sustaining Love ready to publish by summer’s end, but that isn’t going to happen.

I’m on Day 2 of Week 6 (it’s a six-week interactive study on the Song of Songs, Chapters 3–5), so I’m not far from having the “meat in the middle” completed.

Then, I’ll write the front and back matter (will include a Leader’s Guide).

I would be grateful for your prayers throughout the rest of this process.

I’m so thankful for how God is blessing others through my first two books:

“Your books continue to be a great, sweet blessing to me. I need to hear over and over again about the complete forgiveness that was given to me by Jesus. I have had a tendency to be really hard on myself and have struggled with an “orphan” mentality … You may be wondering why I am writing you all of this … a total stranger … but I am getting to know you through your books. When you speak of your own particular struggles, that is when the book lands home for me. I appreciate your honesty and vulnerability.” ~ Deborah

(You can find my books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google, and Kobo.)

I love to get specific feedback like this.

Most Christians don’t know that they have been completely forgiven for their lifetime sin debt, and when they begin to see the truth of it, they experience incredible freedom and joy—just like I did! (Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:13–14; 2:13–14; Heb. 10:18).

I also appreciated the reminder that my readers want to hear about my own struggles.

We, as humans, naturally search for connection, and it’s even sweeter when we get to experience these connections within the body of Christ!

Back to the update: If you read our April newsletter, you might remember that I talked about God confirming that He did not want me to go back to teaching math full-time in the public school system.

It has been over fifteen years since I taught, and every time I thought about teaching junior high or high school students, there was zero desire.

In the last month, I have been presented with the opportunity to teach a 1-hour College Algebra math lab at our local junior college this fall and a 3-hour Intermediate College Algebra class in the spring of 2022.

Steven and I have prayed about it, and we believe this opportunity has God’s fingerprints all over it.

Not only will it be a bit of needed extra income, but it will leave plenty of time for writing.

And, and this is a big AND—this is something that I want to do, something I’m actually excited about.

Before I understood my eternal spiritual union with Christ, I wrongly believed that God’s desires and my desires weren’t compatible—that there was a huge gap in what God wanted for my life and what I actually wanted.

Now, I’m not talking about caving into every craving for a Braum’s Brownie Fudge Sundae or a Share-Size pack of Sour Patch Kids (although there is nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence).

I’m talking about paying attention to our new heart, where the Voice of Jesus dwells continually.

You may not know this, but when you placed your faith in Christ, your new heart came with a brand-new set of desires—desires that perfectly match His heart’s desire (Ezek. 36:26; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:17).

The apostle Paul writes, “Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart” (Rom. 6:17).

In other words, the good news is that you can trust your new heart!

You might ask, “Well, how will I know if the desire is coming from my new heart or the flesh (old ways of thinking and acting apart from dependence on Christ)?”

That’s a great question.

Paul writes in Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”

When you have an important decision to make, check in with Christ in your new heart.

Do you have peace about the direction you are leaning toward?

Are there any red flags popping up in your mind, causing you to pause before you commit?

Is this a decision that aligns with who you are in Christ?

If you are married, is your spouse on board?

And finally, is this something you want to do?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then move forward with confidence.

That’s what I’m doing!

Before closing my newsletter, I invite you to check out my Living Loved archives and my books to read more about your new heart union with Christ.

You can also follow me on social media.

If His Heart’s Desire Ministries has blessed you in any way, would you prayerfully consider giving a one-time donation or becoming a regular donor?

We are trusting in His provision to keep this writing ministry going!

Regardless of whether or not you are able to give financially, we would appreciate your prayers for the ministry.

We would also love to pray for your needs, so please contact us.

Together, we can reach many with the Good News of the gospel of God’s amazing grace and help others live loved in Christ through understanding their flawless identity in Him!

Living Loved in Christ,