Please Pray

Hello everyone, I wanted to submit to you a prayer request. I am feeling like its time to move on from home. I feel that God is releasing me to go and so I am stepping out. I don't understand how or what but I am trusting in my Dad that He won't fail me. My family and I are going to Heidi's conference in Fort Worth, Texas and I am expecting God to do a lot in my family individually and corporately. I am also expecting God to set up some divine appointments and have a feeling that I will be going from Fort Worth and not returning back home. Please be praying that I will continue to find favor with the right people for me to do what I need to do, (which I am not even really sure what that is.) I am also needing to find favor in the financial area as well. Thank you for you wonderful support. It means a lot to me. God Bless each and every one of you!

Prayer Requests

If any of you have any prayer requests there is a link that a friend has put together for prayer requests. It is updated daily with new prayer requests and testimonies. If you would like us to pray over you, your family, your friends then please submit a request under the comment portion of the blog and we will pray over these daily. Also you are more than welcome to email me if you want to keep it confidential. My email address is under my profile.

A Laid Down Lovers Thoughts

A new thought has just occurred. (Yes I know its amazing. Things like this doesn't happen very often.) I have decided to build a new blog. This one will still be active just as the title says, "A Laid Down Lovers Adventures." The purpose of this blog was to let everyone know where and what I was doing. This new blog, (which there is a link on the side pannel) will be for my thoughts, aka: ranting and raving. So from now on this blog will be solely for my adventures. For my random thoughts go to http://alaidownloversthoughts.blogspot.com . Enjoy everyone. Thanks.
PS. Leave comments on both. PLEASE!!

Its a New Mexico thing! Maybe you would understand?

Here is a bit of trivia that you will need to know when arriving in New Mexico. Be aware of....
(Its a cultural thing. If you don't understand thats ok. We will forgive. New Mexican's do that.)
(For the Holy Giveners: Maybe this will help explain me.)

Rabbits sleep in the middle of the road with all four feet in the air.

There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in New Mexico.

There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in New Mexico, plus a few no one has ever seen before.

If it grows, it will stick you. If it crawls, it will bite you!

Nothing will kill a mesquite tree.

There are valid reasons some people put razor wire around their house.

A tractor is NOT an all terrain vehicle. They do get stuck.

The wind blows at 90 mph from Oct 2 till June 25; then it stops totally until October 2.

Onced and twiced are words.

Coldbeer is one word.

People actually grow and eat okra.

Green grass DOES burn.

When you live in the country you don't have to buy a dog. City people drop them off at your front gate in the middle of the night.

The sound of coyotes howling at night only sounds good for the first few weeks.

Fix-in-to is one word.

A TANK is a dirt hole that holds water for irrigation, watering the cows, or swimming.

"Sweetened ice tea" is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you are two.

Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you.

"Jeet?" is actually a phrase meaning, "did you eat?"

You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it is.

You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

You measure distance in minutes.

You can switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

Stores don't have bags, they have sacks.

You see a car with the engine running in the Wal-mart parking lot with no one in it, no mater what time of the year.

You use "fix" as a verb. Example: I am fixin' to go to the store.(note: in the portion above "fix-in-to" is one word....)

All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit or a vegetable.

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

You carry jumper cables for your own car.

You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" are.

You only have four spices in your kitchen: Salt, Pepper, Ketchup, and Tabasco.

You think everyone from north of Farmington has an accent.

Sexy underwear is a tee shirt and boxer shorts.

The local papers covers national and international news on one page but requires six pages to cover Friday night high school football.

The first day of deer season is a national holiday.

You know which leaves make good toilet paper.

You find 100 degrees a "tad" warm.

All four seasons are: Almost summer, summer, still summer and Christmas.

Going to Wal-mart is a favorite past-time known as "goin Wal-Martin" or "off to Wally-world."

You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chili weather.

A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola, or pop....It's a Coke regardless of brand or flavor.

Remix of Jesus Loves Me

Here is a new version just for those who have white hair, or no hair at all. For ya'll over 40 (or even those almost there) and all you others...Check out this newest version of "Jesus Loves Me". It is quite cute, so read, sing and enjoy.

Jesus loves me this I know

Jesus loves me this I know,

Though my hair is white as snow

Though my sight is growing dim

Still He bids me trust in Him.

(CHORUS)

YES, JESUS LOVES ME

YES, JESUS LOVES ME

YES, JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh so slow

With my hand in His I'll go

On through life, let come what may

He'll be there to lead the way

(CHORUS)

Though I am no longer young

I have much which He's begun

Let me serve Christ with a smile

Go with others the extra mile

(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long

In my heart He puts a song

Telling me in words so clear

"Have no fear, for I am near."

(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done

And life's victories have been won

He will take me home above

Then I'll understand His love

(CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does he know?

Have I ever told Him so?

Jesus loves to hear me say

That I love Him every day

Touch someone today

God Bless Us All !!!

The Prayer of the Century!

This Pastor has guts!! (We should all be so gutsy!) Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression we have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God." If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything."

Mozambique Update Finale #6

September 11, 2005

Wow I can't believe time has flown as fast as it really has. It seems just like yesterday I was climbing off of that plane and headed off to a land I have never seen before, ready to meet people I have never seen before and minister to a culture I have never heard of before. All of that is old now in the sense of Mozambique. Time has escaped me and I am now back home with my family in Wichita Falls, Texas. At about this time I would expect you to be wondering what I am doing home so early. I will give you the short version of the story. God. Ok so that is not satisfying enough here goes the long version. (Be prepared it may take a while.) :)

Friday, July 29th God got a hold of me in a very powerful way. I had set up a meeting with a girl by the name of Analee to talk about something I had no idea about. I felt like I was supposed to talk with her not really knowing what about made things a bit hard. Analee feeling a very strong sense of urgency, made the appointment for the following day, Friday. When we met the conversation was a bit dry in the beginning not really knowing why we were supposed to meet so suddenly. And so we discussed some things that had been on my heart for a little while but nothing too extravagant. Finally after about 30 or so minutes God began to really pull out of me what was going on inside of me that I had had a hard time letting come out. That clinched the deal. God was there and doing some really crazy things in me. That day I decided and felt as though it was the best God thing for me to do was to come home immediately. There was a very strong sense of urgency in coming home. Also that afternoon in the course of about a 6 hour conversation her entire world was shifted, realizing that God had placed the man of her dreams, the man that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with right in her lap but he was in South Africa on his way home. (He is a British pop star and had come to Mozambique to ask her to be his girlfriend. They had been friends for about 5 years but she had a no dating rule over her life and wasn't looking for anyone. Turned him down immediately and after our conversation of putting everything that God had told her and told me about her life, the promises and dreams, she realized that he was the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.) So she hopped on the next plane out of Mozambique to South Africa, which was Sunday. She met up with him and God has been crazy awesome with them over the past month. So her life turned upside down and all of my plans to go to Europe were completely down the tube. We are called to live by faith and not by sight, so that’s what I did.

That night changed everything but it didn't stop there. On Sunday, July 30th God really took care of business. Sunday night was the most horrific and most freeing night of my life. I won't go into a whole lot of details so I won't frighten any of you. That is not my intention. (If any of you would like a fuller, more detailed account I would be glad to give it you on an individual basis. Just email me anytime and I will respond as quickly as possible, which is pretty fast now that I have internet at my disposal.) A lot of demonic things began to happen inside of me and after a period of about four hours God completely delivered me of some really nasty demonic spirits that had been plaguing my life for a very very long time. After that night there has been so much freedom in my life, so much liberty to go and do as God asks. I don't feel like I am being restrained anymore by anything. My mind is free from lustful thoughts, my heart is free from brokenness and shame, anger and bitterness, hardness and resentment, and my body and mind are free from pride. I am a free woman all thanks to God. Life has been so much different since that night and I thank God every morning when I wake up knowing that I don't have to struggle with these things anymore.

As to why I am here at home in Texas with my family. Over the course of about two weeks the Lord gave me a lot of promises concerning my family, one of which was that He was going to restore my family through me. (For those of you who don't know, my elder brother committed suicide on July 4th of this year, while I was away in Africa. For those of you, who have been praying for my family, thank you. We have felt your prayers very much.) My family is a very broken family. We need Jesus more than ever to come and restore our hearts, our minds, and our bodies. Since the passing of my brother, hearts have been softened to the goodness of God, although not fully understood, but definitely receptive. God is at work here in my family's hearts and it is starting with my mom and dad. He has called me home and to be obedient to the call of God I came. It hasn't been easy or pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, but it is where my Daddy wants me. Because I love my Daddy so much that I would be crazy enough to give my entire life over to Him and His will I have obeyed Him.

I want to thank everyone for standing by me through the entire summer. For praying for me and my family through our difficult times. For supporting me financially. I apologize to those of you who have not received any of the updates that were promised this summer. It was a hectic summer. But to make it up to you I have put together a site for you and anyone else who didn't receive my updates. (Please pass this along if you know of people who would like to know what is happening in my life.) God has been crazy good to me and I would like to share that with the world. Thank you all once again and look forward to hearing from all of you very soon. If any of you have any questions about anything I have said in this email or in any other emails (even my posts) PLEASE email me. Don't sit on the questions that plague your mind. Ask so that your mind may be at rest. I don't mind responding to any kind of question. If I don't know the answer to your question I will somehow find out or direct you to a person who knows more about a particular subject. PLEASE let me know what you don't understand. If you would like to call me instead that would be fine as well just email and ask for that as well. I look forward to hearing from and see many of you very soon. May God bless and keep you all the days of your life.

Through His Blood,
Joy Waide

Also some of you may be wondering about pictures I have set up another site for pictures, but I am trying to tie both of these together somehow. Attempting to put pictures on my blogspot site. I am not for sure how much room I have for picture downloads so here are about 60 pictures already uploaded onto this site. Once again if this is not being able to be accessed easily please let me know. http://laiddownlover05.zoto.com

Thanks to all of you who have endured this summer with me. It has defiantly been worthwhile! Thank you!!

Mozambique Update #5

July 26, 2005

Hello everyone from Mozambique! God is good and faithful! Wow! I can't contain how good He is. There has and is a lot going on here in the wonderful country of Mozambique and the city of Pemba. God is showing up and revealing Himself in a wonderful incredible way. The funny thing is that when God shows up and starts doing things the devil likes to stick his nose in the middle of it all and try to disrupt it all. And let me tell you we have all of it. God is blessing and the devil is attacking. We have so many things that go on in a day its insane. Last night in our house God showed up and started wrecking all of us and revealing His heart. While that was going on in our house there were some guys walking home from the other base and they were robbed. No one was hurt but it is kind of funny. The devil doesn't like what God is doing here. There have been signs of strife and division trying to come into the camp but as soon as it is recognized it is tossed out. At the same time we are seeing miracle upon miracle! Blind eyes are seeing for the first time in peoples lives. Deaf are hearing. The deaf mutes are hearing and talking for the first time is their lives. Kids are being healed of all kinds of things....malaria is one of the big ones. But the greatest miracle of all is people coming the knowledge and saving grace of Jesus Christ and accepting Him as their Savior, Lord, and King. We are seeing whole tribes and villages coming to know Jesus that were previously all Muslim! WOW!!! God is soo good and merciful.

I want to thank all of you guys for supporting me through finances and through prayer. It all means a whole lot to me. For those of you that have been praying for my family thank you. God has got His hand in the middle of this entire situation.

It is so hard to believe that school is going to be over in 2 1/2 weeks! It has gone by so very fast. But I am very excited about the next thing that God has. Some of you know that I am going to England directly after this. I am leaving here on August 14 and going to Johannesburg. I will be staying with a guy and his family that I have met here for about 8 days and then flying out to London on August 22. My plans as of now for England are not set in stone and really don't know what I am doing. My return ticket is from London on October 5. Please be praying that God will direct my footsteps and appoint divine appointments. God has some awesome plans for my time in England and I don't want to miss it. I will be home before you know it. Time is flying by so quickly and I look forward to see all of your beautiful faces when I return.

One other thing my parents are trying to find a house in Texas. So if you could continue to lift them up as well and that God would direct my fathers footsteps in the direction that he needs to go. Divine appointments as well. All of you guys are wonderful. Thank you once again for everything! Will talk to you soon.

God Speed,
Joy

Mozambique Update #4

June 30, 2005

Hello everyone, it has been great hearing from everyone. Please continue emailing and letting me know what is going on in your lives. I won't really be able to respond but I would love to know what’s going on. I am very encouraged to hear from you all.

I have been praying about what to put in my next email for about 2 weeks now and nothing has really come together smoothly so here it goes.

There has been so much going on I don't really know where to begin. God has been doing some massive surgery on my heart the past three weeks. He has taken my heart and pulverized it, cleaned it all up and then put it back together again all brand new. I really feel like a brand new woman and yet I know there is more stripping to come. Daddy has been showing me some really incredible things about His heart. Helping me understand the Fathers Heart for you and me. He wants to gather us up in His arms and cuddle us. Hold us very near to His heart so that we can catch the rhythms of His heart beat. He is a very loving Father. He has helped me realize that without Him I am but dust. I am absolutely nothing. I can't do anything without Him. If I try, I fail. But with Him I can do all things. Learning to rest and rely on Him fully has been very stretching but very needed. Learning to die daily. Learning to give up everything to Him daily. Learning to sit in His lap daily. Learning to learn from Him daily. He has done a lot in my life and I know there is more to come. God has more to pour out. More of His heart to reveal.

I have 6 weeks left here in Mozambique and it is flying by. We have had school for 5 weeks already and I can't believe it. I am very excited. I can't wait to take everything I have received back to Silver City and to Roswell and all over the United States. God wants to pour His Spirit out on America and reveal Himself to us but we have to be ready to give up absolutely everything. WOW!!! Praise God!

If you guys have any questions, comments, answers or statements please feel free to email me. I will try to email you guys back if I can. The internet is very unpredictable and very hard to get in line. But I do have to check it at least every week or two so I will write back at that time. I love all of you and pray that God will begin to do surgery in your heart while you are ready this just as He has and is doing in mine here. Jesus loves you and He wants to draw us all very near to His heart. Please let Him. Let Him draw you into His heartbeat. Let Him love you to death. I love you guys very much and can't wait to see you all.

In His Love,
Joy

Mozambique Update #3

June 11, 2005

Hello everyone! Life is good in Pemba but God is better! We have seen hearts change, not only the hearts of the Mozambiqueans but our hearts as well. Since I have been here God has shown me so much of the things in my life that I need to change and surrender to Him. Dying to self and being total laid down lovers of the Most High King. Dying hurts. Its very very painful, but very much worth every bit of the cost.

We have had classes every day all day long. Someone asked me what a typical day for me is like. Well I have been here long enough to actually have a “typical day.” In the morning we wake up around 5:30 every morning (when the sun comes up) and get ready for the day! Yea!! Then at 8:30, Monday through Friday, we have classes with worship before every class! Talk about Heaven!! It is absolutely wonderful. We have two sessions in the morning, lunch at 1:00 in the afternoon and then two sessions after lunch starting at 2. The sun goes down at 5:30 every day and that’s about when school ends, (when we can’t see anything anymore). We have Lesley-Anne, Heidi Baker’s close friend and visionary of this school along with Heidi, speaking for the first morning session. For the second morning session we have a guest speaker. So far we have had Jill Austin, Bill and Melinda Fish, and Sam Kim for guest speakers. During the afternoon sessions we have Heidi or Rolland for the first afternoon session and then another guest speaker for the second afternoon session. (I heard that they are going to cut the second afternoon session because it makes for a really long day sitting in a chair. So that will be very nice.) In the evening after the second session we have dinner and then usually we are too tired to do really anything else so at around 6:30 or 7 I go back to the house and chill and rest and eventually go to sleep. It poses for a very long day but God is showing me tons and tons of things in the midst of all of that.

There is a lot to deal with being here in a third world country but if God is in the middle of it then none of it matters. Staying humble and listening to the Holy Spirit is a key here. Listening and obeying is such a huge element to our Christian walk with Jesus Christ. And yet that is one of the elements that are skipped over in our everyday walk. I have been listening to all of these speakers talk on various subjects and haven’t really got anything profound from what they were saying but allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you while sitting there in class or in your bed writing in your journal has been a big part of the revelation from Heaven that I came here expecting. Wherever you are at, Holy Spirit can speak to you and show you things if you are open and willing.

One of the things I have been learning is adapting. Adapting to something new, different, and something that I am not used to all together. I don’t have all of the conveniences of home and yet I am growing and learning. God is stretching me in places I never knew I had. He is challenging me in places I was weak in. and He is killing things in me that were in my life that I didn’t see as “bad” and didn’t know I needed to get rid of, but He is slowly getting rid of it. I can’t imagine that this is only my second week being here! Praise God! None of you guys will recognize me when I get back. :)

A couple of days ago I moved from the old compound, living in tents, to the new compound about a mile away in a condo style house. My new house has two rooms with three bunk beds (6 people to each room), a living room/kitchen and two bathrooms. Very nice. No air conditioner or anything like that. But is much better than anything else around here in Pemba (except for the Pemba Beach Hotel, a five star hotel.) As far as prayer requests, please continue to pray for wisdom, discernment, and direction. I am also having some problems with living in communal housing. Just pray for grace and that I would absorb as much as I possibly can during these three months.

Well that is all I can write for now. I have to get going, using up my time, which means money. I am not sure as to when I will be able to write again, the internet is extremely slow so don’t expect a whole lot of mail. Also if there is anyone you know that has not received anything from me please forward this to everyone. God Bless.

God Speed,
Joy

John 14:12 -- He who believes in God the works that Jesus did, that person will also do and even greater works than those Jesus did will the person who believes in God, BECAUSE Jesus went to the Father.

Mozambique Update #2

June 1,2005

Hello Everyone, First off I would like to say thank you to all of the replies. It lets me know that people are really reading them! I will not be able to reply to each of them individually but will try to include answers to questions in my emails.

God is so good! Everything here is incredible. Today in Mozambique is a holiday called Children’s Day. Its a day where all of the children at the orphanage get presents, play games and get to eat chicken, (which is only eaten twice a year. Very special!) Momma Heidi flew in yesterday from her preaching tour and was able to be here for Children’s day today, (I don't think she would really miss it for the world. :) For the game aspect of everything, we had basket ball, jump rope, musical chairs, singing and dancing, and a quick thanks to my mom who packed my white clown/mime makeup, I was able to do face painting with the children. They absolutely loved it! I tell ya, you never think that something as simple as chicken, rice and cabbage could be so incredible. We (the students) were able to have some as well which took a lot of work. The cooks spent all night preparing the chickens for all of us. We gave out toys to each of the children. The joy of simplicity is really moving! I wish the church in the states could grab a hold of that! There is so much power in the simple things.

Anyway, moving on, to answer some of your questions. A normal day ................... as of yet there isn't one! :) So far we have just been hanging out with the children, reading, and getting to know each other. School was supposed to start today but because of Children’s Day and because the new center isn't ready yet, things have been delayed. Heidi said that school was supposed to start tomorrow. We will see. One thing you learn very quickly is that everything done here is on their time. Just because they say something will be done in a certain time will mean that it will be done about 3 times later than expected. Mozambiqueans like to please you. They don't want to upset you, so as a result they tell you what you want to hear and it messes up your plans. But praise God, He is in control.

Well it is getting dark outside and we aren't allowed out after dark. I will talk to you guys again very soon. I love you all!
God Speed,
Joy

Mozambique Update #1

May 30, 2005

Hello everyone, WOW!!!! That statement sums everything up! God is soo good. I arrived here in Pemba, Mozambique on Friday, May 27th and God has been working already. I am currently sleeping in a tent and it is wonderful. I have met so many incredibly on fire for God people here. They all have the same heart and mind that I do. I have never been in one place that everyone around me is seeking God with all their heart and wants Gods will for their lives more than anything else in the world. AWWWW!!! I wish all of you guys could be here experiencing this.

Like I said I am staying in tents with about 12 other girls and one couple, and honestly in the beginning I was a little bummed out about not being in a dorm but now I love it. We have the most tight nit group of all of the school. (Mom, the beach mat that I bought......best investment ever!) The nights and days are long. It gets pitch black here around 6pm and the sun rises around 5:30 or 6am. I have pretty much been going in rhythm of the sun. My energy level is rising. Still trying to get in the swing of things in this culture! I want to thank all of you that have supported me in coming here. This is the best investment you could have made into my life and the lives of the Mozambiqueans.

I am at the internet cafe that has just one computer and the server is slow, so I will end this one now. I love all of you very much and please continue to pray for strength and wisdom. I am slowly but surely finding my place here at Iris Ministries. God is good all the Time!!!

God Speed,
Joy

This new fangled technology!

So how do you use this thing? I knew I wasn't totally up to speed with everything coming out, but I guess I really am in the dark ages. This is really exciting. So I am not sure exactly what we are supposed to put on things like this or who exactly they are to be addressed to but I think I will get the hang of it soon enough. let me know what you think. :)