Dear Friend, 

We are gearing up for our D.R.E.A.M. Conference! This annual conference takes place in a very elite setting, and is designed to host 50 young ladies from various backgrounds. D.R.E.A.M. is the acronym for: Damsels Revisiting Expectations and Motives. The word damsel is defines as; a girl or young unmarried woman, originally one of noble birth. We mentor our girls from 1Peter
2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The question we use to guide our girls in considering their own purpose in life is; “What reason do you take up space on this earth, consume its resources, breathe its air and do so for all the years of your life?"  When the girls seek to answer that question honestly, we observe their world opening up and they are becoming fully aware of God's purpose for creating them in the first place.  To help answer this very complex and profound question we go over several statements in Scripture that helps provide guidance. Isaiah
43:7 says, “Every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” In this conference, we make sure each girl understands that God
created mankind for His own glory, for His own purpose.  Face it; most people go through life without any concept that this is fully God's intent for EVERY individual whom He created.  People tend to live lives that are fully intended to fulfill entirely their own desires, striving to get all that is
possible out of this life for their own benefit, only to find that the gathering of the things of this world do not satisfy that deep and basic need for purpose.  The reason for this frustration is simple.  When we live a life for our own purposes, we never accomplish anything greater than ourselves.  However, when we understand that we were not created for our own purpose, but for God's purpose, we find that we are designed to accomplish something far greater than ourselves: serving and glorifying the God who
created us. We answer a couple of very serious questions the girls have. The main questions they ask are; why would anybody desire to serve God? 
Why would we want to be obedient to a God who teaches us to think of others before ourselves? We explain, when you truly understand what God has done for you, serving Him is not a difficult task, but rather an only option that brings true and lasting peace, lifting our lives out of our self-centered existence to a life of ministry that
is far greater than ourselves. First we discuss
How to live a life that pleases God? Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes,
which I command thee this day for thy good?”
In this passage, the first imperative is to fear the
LORD, a command that instructs us to fully learn who God is, and by so doing, recognize Him for the awesome and wonderful God that He is, responding in an attitude of profound respect and love towards Him.  Not until we have done this can we truly walk in all his ways, living a life that is
obedient to Him, doing so because we love him and desire to serve the Lord with all of our heart and ...  soul.  If this is our response to God, obedience is not characterized by trying to follow a rule book, but rather it is a spontaneous
characteristic of our sincere desire to please Him.  As a young girl my desire was to please my mama, so my response was obedience.  No rule book was needed.  Likewise when we seek to obey God, we will keep the commandments of the LORD as our nature changes from a self-centered and lost soul to one who loves the Lord and seeks to obey Him out of our love for
Him.  As we do this we find God's purpose in our
life. A life that is lived in obedience to God will be abundant in the things that matter:  peace, love, joy, etc.  There is no inference here that
abundance refers to monetary gain, or mammon.  Actually, we can see from limitless examples that abundance in the things of this world does not bring peace, love, joy, etc.  It is only through obedience to God, inspired by our love for Him, that we will realize our true purpose in life. 1
Thessalonians 4: 2-6 says, “For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That
every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that
the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.” Here Paul clearly states some of what is clearly God's will for us; specific direction for two areas of our lives that are clear and simple.  Based on the authority of Jesus' teaching, first it is God's will that we be saved.  Stated as even your sanctification,
before anyone can please God, they must turn their lives over to Him (Hebrews 11:6).  Without salvation, man does not have the seal of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and will be exposed at the final judgment when those whose names are not written in the "Lamb's Book of Life," will be separated from God for eternity.  Without salvation, all men are doomed to eternal separation from God.  A person can go through their lives appearing to be good in every way, yet fail to please God in any way because of their lack of true faith. 

In closing, God's purpose for us is not finished at the point of salvation; it is just getting started.  Sanctification is both an event and a process. 
It is an event that takes place once in an individual's life when they turn their heart and life over to the LORD in faith.  From that point on, though we still struggle with sin, we stand before God without sin because of the work of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary.  It is not our righteousness that brings us to the throne of God, but rather the righteousness of Jesus. Sanctification is also a process.  Our own righteousness is like "filthy rags."  However, it is God's purpose that His children repent of their sinful lifestyle and grow in the righteousness that is demonstrated in
their lives. Jesus was illustrating this necessity for following God's will when he said in Matthew
7:21.  “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.” We are called to a life of holiness. Our lives have been separated out from this lost world for God's purpose, not our own.  God's purpose is holy, and likewise we are to be holy.

Let’s pray:
“Heavenly Father, make me a vessel of honor and an instrument of righteousness for your namesake, amen!”

A Simple Nugget:
“Live without pretending, love without depending, listen without defending,
speak without offending!”

FYI: Never give someone the opportunity
to waste your time twice!!!

All my love and prayers,
Minister Dorothy King

Dear Friend, 

It's amusing to me that there have been a rash of
scientific studies done in the last few years about whether prayer actually works. One such study that I read was titled; "Why Prayer Could Be Good
Medicine." Yes, they are claiming - there might actually be a connection between prayer and recovery from illness etc. DUH! Those who participate in prayer on a regular basis don't need any researchers to tell them that prayer works. James 5:16 says; "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Prayer is actually more powerful than all their medical remedies on the market today. Prayer goes beyond the natural and touches heaven; that's where the truth
prevails. Prayer brings the kingdom of heaven upon the earth. I think there is an upside to all this research however. It is harder and harder for doctors and hospitals to ignore the importance of prayer. That opens a door for its acceptance before surgery or after. Not just a back door but a front door. More and more medical practitioners are not only willing to have their patients
prayed for but they are praying for their patients themselves. Most of the studies say they don't know why prayer works, they just know it does and on that basis they welcome it. I could tell them why prayer works. It's because God is good, loves us, and wants to answer us. But that's okay. They can keep doing research and we'll just keep praying! Don't you think it is unusual that
Jesus was often shushing people after he had healed them? For instance, after he healed the leper in Mark 1:43-44, he "strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone.'" There are many
other similar cases in the gospels. Jesus wanted to heal those who needed healing but he had no need to become famous because of it. His life was going to make him famous but that's not what he was about. He couldn't be distracted from his mission by throngs of fans. Of course no one could keep quiet after they had been touched by the Lord. This particular man "went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the
city..." But when he went out into the desert places they all followed him out there because they knew he had the real goods. My friend, God is in the healing business today - he still has the goods. We need to pursue doing the works of Christ everywhere we go and we will see signs and wonders follow. This scripture is comforting in my estimation because it truthfully allows for
troubles but provides for triumph. God is on your side and he will lift you back to your feet again.  As you go through the ups and downs of life, look for the hand of God. Now let me ask; is faith simply believing? I don't think so. Believing isn't really good enough. Listen to this: "You believe that
God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." (James 2:19) The demons know the truth about who God is but what good does it do them? And I bet there are lots of people in hell who believed Jesus was the Son of God but who never had real faith. Faith that counts- acts on what is believed. Faith that counts adds TRUST. I think about the woman with the issue of blood who had been sick for twelve years. The scripture says she had; "suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse." (Mark 5:26)
This woman believed that Jesus could heal her if she could just get to him. But she did more than just believe; she acted on what she believed and pushed through a throng of people to touch his garment. He wasn't aware she was there until he felt power go out of himself. As she fell at his feet and confessed all that had happened to her, he told her; "Daughter, your faith has made you well."
(Verse 34) She believed; she trusted; she acted on what she believed. Now there we have faith that counts!

Let's pray:
“Heavenly Father, God of all creation, you who spoke a simple command and brought forth light from the darkness, we call upon you now to send forth your miracle-working power into every aspect of our being. In the same way that you spoke unto the dust of the ground when you created mankind in your own image, we ask you to send forth your healing power into our bodies. Send forth your word and command every cell, electrical and chemical impulse, tissue, joint, ligament, organ, gland, muscle, bone and every molecule in our bodies to come under complete and perfect health, strength, alignment, balance and harmony.

It is through you that we live and move and have
our being. With every breath we take, we live under your life-giving grace. We ask you to touch us now with the same miracle-working power that you used when you fashioned us inside our mother’s womb. As surely as you have created us in your image and likeness, you can also recreate us now and restore our health. Please fill us with your healing power. Cast out all that should not be inside of us. We ask you to mend all that is broken, root out every sickness and disease, open all blocked arteries and veins, restore my internal organs, rebuild my damaged tissues, remove all inflammation and cleanse us of all infections, viruses and destructive forms of bacteria. Let the warmth of your healing love flood our entire being, so that my body will function the way it was created to be, whole and complete, renewed in your perfect health. I ask this through my Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen"

A Simple Nugget:
"Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere!"

All my love and prayers,
Minister Dorothy King

Dear Friend,
I was standing in the grocery store aisle talking to a friend about prayer and suddenly this stranger butted in and said, “I can’t help but ask, why
we have to pray every day?” We both stood there silently waiting to see which one of us would respond. Finally I said, “Think about it this way; if we never speak to our spouse or never listen to anything our spouse might have to say to us, our marriage relationship will quickly deteriorate. It is the same way with God. Prayer—communicating with God—helps us grow closer and more intimately connected with God. She really became interested. To make a long-long story short, she gave us her phone number and promised to start coming to our weekly bible study! To God be the glory!!! What I gained from that incident was; we
must be very careful what we say in public because you never know who might be listening.
Prayer, for me, is one of my favorite subjects to talk about and one of the most exciting things to do! Prayer can be the most exhilarating and the most frustrating experience in life. When God answers your prayer, it's a feeling like no other.
You stagger around for days, awestruck because the Creator of the Universe reached down and worked in your life. You know a miracle happened, big or small, and that God did it for just one reason: because he loves you! When your feet finally touch the ground, you stop bumping into walls long enough to ask a crucial question: "How can I make that happen again ha ha?" Now, there are times our prayers don’t get answered the way we want. When that's the case, it can be so disappointing it drives us to tears. It's especially hard when you asked God for something undeniably good like someone's healing, a job, or
mending an important relationship. You can't understand why God didn't answer the way you wanted. You see other people getting their prayers answered and you ask, "Why not me?" Then you start to second-guess yourself, thinking maybe some hidden sin in your life is keeping God from intervening. If you can think of it, confess it and repent of it. But the truth is that we are all sinners and can never come before God totally free of sin. Fortunately, our great mediator is Jesus Christ, the spotless sacrifice who can bring our requests before his Father knowing God will deny his Son nothing. Still, we keep looking for a pattern. We
think about times we got exactly what we wanted and try to recall everything we did. Is there a formula we can follow to control how God answers our prayers? We believe praying is like baking a cake mix: follow three simple steps and it comes out perfect every time. Let me clear this up; despite all the books that promise such a thing, there is no secret procedure we can use to guarantee the results we want. With that thought in mind, how can we avoid the frustration that commonly accompanies our prayers? I personally believe the answer lies in studying the way Jesus
prayed.

If anybody knew how to pray, it was Jesus. He knew how God thinks because He is God: In John 10:30 He said, “I and the Father are one." Jesus demonstrated a pattern throughout his prayer life all of us can copy. In obedience, he brought his desires in line with his Father's. My friend, when we reach the place where we are willing to do or accept God's will instead of our own, we have reached the turning point in prayer. Jesus lived that: John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." Choosing God's will over our own is so hard when we want something passionately. It is agonizing to act as if it doesn't matter to us. It does matter. Our emotions try to convince us there is no possible way we can give in. We can submit to God's will instead of our own solely because God is absolutely trustworthy. We have faith that HIS love is pure. God has our best interest at heart, and He always does what is most
beneficial for us, no matter how it appears at the time. From my own experiences, sometimes to surrender to God’s will, we also have to cry out as
the father of a sick child did to Jesus in Mark 9:24, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Like that father, most of us surrender our will to God
only after we hit rock bottom. When we have no alternatives and God is the last resort, we grudgingly give up our independence and let him take over.

In closing, I want you to know......... it doesn't have
to be that way! You can begin by trusting God before things get out of control. He will not be offended if you test him in your prayers. When you have the all-knowing, all-powerful Ruler of the Universe looking out for you in perfect love, doesn't it make sense to rely on HIS will instead of your own puny resources? I don’t really have to remind you; everything in this world that we put our faith in has the potential to fail. God does not. He is consistently reliable, even if we do not agree with his decisions. He always leads us in the right direction if we give in to His will. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said to his Father in Matthew 6:10, "…your will be done." When we can stand emphatically and say those words with sincerity
and trust, we have reached the turning point in prayer. You must get this down in your spirit; God NEVER abandons those who trust him. It's not about ME, it's not about YOU. It's about God and HIS will. The sooner we learn that, the sooner our prayers will touch the heart of the One to whom nothing is impossible! Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You
will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”


Let’s pray:
“Heavenly Father, I humbly admit I go along some days, trying to run my life my own way. I forget
to let go and give YOU control. I omit to stop and ask what You want. Please help me to give you
control, Jesus. I want to follow you. I want what you desire for me. Help me to realize that when You close one door, You open the one You want me to walk through. Help me also to realize that what I desire may not be what is meant for me, or what is best for me.  It could lead me away from what your great plan is for me. Lord, help me accept each day as a gift. Help me follow the path You choose for me. Help me to be thankful for what you give me and not to worry about my needs. I do trust You will take care of all my needs. Constantly remind me that my role is to care for those around me and focus on those who need my help. Help me be who and what YOU want me to be. Give me strength, faith and hope, and most of all, give me guidance each and every day. I let go and give you control. I will concentrate on living to please you! In Jesus mighty name, amen”

Simple Nuggets: 
1. “When we put our problems in God’s hands, He
puts His peace in our hearts!”

2. “Simply being thankful makes life easier!”

FYI: A flower doesn’t think of competing with the flower next to it....it just blooms!

All my love and prayers,
 Minister Dorothy King