Author Darlene J. Conard

Excitement swelled in my heart as my friend, and I talked about all that God is doing. He is moving because we are. Praying, praising, and thanking Him are all important acts and it gets His attention.

I understand the news sends out messages every single day about what is going on in the world. Rarely is there a positive report. One source is looked over, God’s Report. One day while sitting at my kitchen table filling out papers, the Lord said, “Darlene, too many are asking Me to do what I promised to do. Claim that promise.” That’s true. Imagine your child coming to you begging you to remember to fill their little tummies with food. You promised to nurture your child and you do not fail to do so. Same with God. He is our Heavenly Father. He promised to watch over us, heal our bodies, and make a way.

“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 KJV

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Numbers 23:19 KJV

The Bible is full of His faithfulness! He wins every battle; failure isn’t in Him. He is a great God! I’m so grateful that His report exceeds the world’s! Nothing came to stop Him. He can’t be explained away, blotted out, swept under a rug, or ignored because He is all power!

Beloved be encouraged knowing that He’s in total control!

Tommy thank you for giving me permission to use your beautiful photography! God bless you!

Author Darlene J. Conard

“Lord, help me to love as You love.” I sat quietly at my desk remembering Jesus’ unending knock on my heart’s door as a sinner. Tears swelled in my eyes as the reel of memories played in my mind. Compassion, oh how this world needs Christlike compassion! The more I fail Him, the more I need Him, the more I fall in love with Him!

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 KJV) Jesus’ love breaks every stronghold, and every addiction unfolds an impossible situation into a beautiful garden. Our hearts must be filled with that pure love to see broken people through the eyes of God. Instead of seeing a person as useless, see a soul being mended. God didn’t see us that way. He saw someone who would be on fire for Him, reach other broken souls. Early yesterday morning scrolling over Facebook someone’s profile popped up. “The spirit of God moved me to pray for this person. This individual has a lot of betrayals and hurts in his life. Pain drives people to do and say things out of the ordinary. The enemy will remind them of their past and even point a finger at us making it appear we are their enemy. Be patient and understand it’s not personal.

“This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.”  (John 15:12 KJV)

Perfect love leads people to the path of righteousness.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”  (1 John 4:18 KJV) When we get into the presence of God we feel an unexplainable love. God corrects us not in a condemning way but in perfect love.

I leave you with this, don’t hate, instead cover them in prayer and the love of Jesus.

Author Darlene J. Conard

The weight of what was coming weighed heavily upon Him. He knew going back wasn’t an option and standing still didn’t cancel the trial before Him. Jesus opened His mouth to say, “Not My will but Your will be done. Although He was God the fleshly part of Him fought the will of the Father.

Yesterday, taking my usual route to the store, I realized something. For two months I refused to go out of my apartment, not wanting to socialize with anyone because of my broken heart. I don’t have to tell you that brokenness is a quick process to get through! Being ground into powder means there is no gluing yourself together. 

God doesn’t waste anything! He lovingly scoops us up into the palm of His hands. He pours into us. We are newly made balls of clay smashed precisely in the middle of His potting wheel. We feel every bit of it! Let me share with you what’s been poured into me. A void is the absence of something. During the time of our trial, the void inside is like the void in the beginning. He spoke to the void and life came forth.

It’s difficult to pray not my will but thine be done. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:25 KJV)

I felt like a brand-new person after coming out of the trial. My usual path was a unique experience than a dull one. Things looked new to me because I was renewed and remade. God poured a fresh anointing, a new vision, and a stronger faith within me.

I encourage you to embrace all that you can out of your trial. God has a lot He wants to pour into you! You’ll see things in a different light.

“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”  (Jeremiah 18:2-4 KJV)

Author Darlene J. Conard

“This is no longer your concern,” the Lord responded to my attempt to determine the closure concerning long-lasting circumstances. The good Lord knows me better than I know myself. This habit of quickly slipping on life’s backpack needed to end.

 God knows us inside out. Occasionally, I jest, thinking God is looking down on me, scratching His head, wondering how He will fix me. Many promises spoken by God quickly terminate that thought. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV)

“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book, all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalms 139:16 KJV) David acknowledged his imperfections, knowing God had known him before his birth. Our existence transferred from the mind of God from beginning to end. Such wisdom is impossible to fathom!

Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6 KJV)

• Be confident
• Begun a good work
• In you
• Will be performed (completed)

God never fails to complete what He started. He does perform with excellence. God is changing us while He takes care of the prolonged circumstance(s).

My grandmother would say, “Darlene, think of it this way. You want the circumstance to change but God wants to change you.” While He is working, I’m pushing for results. I’ve learned a great deal of things. It hasn’t always been easy, most of the time it’s not. Eventually, a bold faith that lays dormant emerges from beneath the ashes. 

Whatever you are going through remember child of God He will turn your struggles into something beautiful!

The Butterfly Struggle
(The Man and The Butterfly Cocoon)

A Moral Story About Life and the Lessons of Struggle

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped as if it couldn’t go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body, but neither happened! The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We will not be as strong as we could have been, and we will never fly.

I have asked for strength… and life has provided me with hardships, to make me strong.

I have asked for wisdom… and life has provided me with problems to solve.

I have asked for prosperity… and life has provided me with a brain, and muscles to work.

I have asked for the capacity to fly… and life has provided me with obstacles to overcome.

I have asked for love… and life has provided me with people to help in their problems.

I have asked for favors… and life has provided me with potential.

I have received nothing of what I have been asking for… but I received everything that I needed!

Live your life without any fear, with the clear conscience that everything works for the best, engage yourself with all the hardships that come to you, and prove the fact that you can overcome them all. -Author unknown-

God has you in His enormous hands!

Thank you Tommy for the use of your beautiful photos. God bless you!

Butterfly- Black Swallowtail on Clover WV © Photographer Thomas Bailey

Author Darlene J. Conard

An overwhelming peace came over me as I listened to chirping frogs. Newness, life, and joy everything that spring represents reminded me of something else.

Isaiah 43:19 KJV, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

You see beloved, chaos is not the dominant ruler. You pray for change, and suddenly chaos hits like a hurricane. Everything is completely dismantled, disfigured, and feels different. God didn’t ignore your prayer; chaos is a sign that God is spring cleaning. I dread spring cleaning because of the mess it creates. But to get to the new the old has to be moved out of place. We either dust it, throw it away, or give it away. I’m going to give you a very valuable piece of knowledge. Several months ago, I encountered a situation that I thought would destroy me. Nothing made sense at all, nothing! I prayed and asked God to change it. We expect too often that God is going to snap His fingers to make things better. He can answer speedily, some prayers are quick. When it comes to people it’s a completely different circumstance. Here is what the Lord said to me, “It’s you I am changing. I’m first changing you to get all the impatience, unbelief, and fear out of you. By that time, you’ll be ready for the new.” If you know me, you’ll know that God shows me things through dreams and visions. I asked God, “Can’t you let me see what is going on in this situation?” He replied, “No, because I want you to rely on what I said. I told you to trust me, that I’m working it out.” I took a deep breath and slumped. It’s true, sometimes things don’t look or sound as though God isn’t in it all. Our prayers seem to be bouncing back in our faces. They aren’t. He is taking His time spring cleaning as He sees fit!

I have never felt so energized, full of faith, and courageous as I do now!

 Dear one, take this message to heart. DON’T YOU EVEN CONSIDER GIVING UP!!!! You keep praying, and believing, that God has our backs. Stay encouraged! God is working in your wait! When it comes it will be quick!

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numbers 23:19 KJV

Thank you Tommy for giving me permission to use your beautiful photography on my website! God bless you!

Butterfly- Yellow Swallowtail on Clover WV © Photographer Thomas Bailey

Darlene J. Conard

Years ago, I had an encounter with a stranger that changed my life. Getting out of my sister’s car to go into the gas station, I came face to face with a drunkard. Intimidated by the man, I stood frozen as slurred words came from his mouth. I opened my mouth, saying, “Jesus loves you. I’m going to be praying for you.” Silence filled the air. “Please excuse me, sir. I need to go into the store.” He stepped aside, letting me by.

I hadn’t been a Christian for exceptionally long. There was much for me to learn.

While getting the items on the grocery list, the man outside approached me with tears in his eyes. “Ma’am, thank you. I used to go to church, but I backslid. My wife and I split up and I don’t see my daughter as much. I just want you to know, God has been dealing with me.” My heart ached for the man as I watched and listened to his sincerity. No longer did I see a man numb by alcohol, but someone quickened by the spirit of God. 

Today, going about my daily routine, I thought of how Jesus went after the one sheep that strayed. (Luke 15:3-7) I have fallen so short! He accepts me. Instead, His mercy comes after me.

  My only motive for writing this is that my experience may encourage you. Words of hope are powerful enough to pull desperate souls out of poverty.

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36) I need His mercy.

That one person whom we may not think or know is struggling is the one God is working miracles in. Don’t be fearful or believe that God can’t use you to make a difference!

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 KJV

Author Darlene J. Conard

While scrolling over Facebook posts, a video caught my attention. A man found himself alone, lost in the desert in search of water. He walked quite a while before he spotted a faucet in the distance. Tiny droplets of water fell into the hot desert sand. A drop of water was better than nothing, right? The hand of God descended from the heavens to lead him away from it.  Time after time, the man ignored the Lord’s guiding hand.

Finally, he made it! It wasn’t close to being enough to quench his thirst. It was better than nothing, right? He fell to his knees, covered in rags, sticking his tongue out to satisfy his hunger as one drop broke away from the valve opening. Satisfied, he went on his way. His thirst would have been quenched if he had only understood that God’s plan was much more significant. God’s intentions always go beyond secular boundaries. He would have had more than enough. “If you just listen and trust Me, I’ll pour a blessing on you that you can’t contain.” The desperate man forfeited a marvelous oasis with a total running fountain.

“God, help me to realize that something great lies ahead because You are in control. I don’t know what is ahead.” He doesn’t always reveal things.

We want our prayers to manifest through the divine order of God, not something we feel is right. What is He saying about the job, the vehicle, the house, or a struggling marriage? What instructions has He given about difficulties in general?  

Something within me has been released supernaturally. I sincerely desire to witness that all experience paramount dispensations walking with God. “God can make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” 2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV

Author Darlene Conard

 

Training is something I despised at one time. Over and over, again and again I’d have to go through the process of learning. The instructor waited patiently. “Get it right.”  Looking back on these things this has opened the spectrum for my spiritual sight. Every trial that chose us says, “Try me! I want to see what you are made of!”

 

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 KJV

If we think falling is impossible, Paul says, “Take heed.” We are going to be tested to see if we truly believe that we will stand.

Can I be transparent here? I’m the worst when it comes to being a perfectionist! One mistake that’s it! So, I keep a record of what I should and shouldn’t do.  “I should have known better! When …when God am I going to learn? My list is a mile long in my sight. Fear strangles the purpose of God in our lives. Unlike me, Peter had at least the courage to step out, no questions. I’ve come a long way in that area.

 

Peter did something the other disciples didn’t. He stepped out on the water. He unfastened his focus on Jesus onto the storm. (Matthew 14:25-31) He sliced the ear off of one of the men who came to escort Jesus to trial. (John 18:10-11) Satan entered him disputing Jesus as He foretold of His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus mentioned, “whatever is bound on earth is bound in heaven. These are the keys.” Peter’s words were not that of God’s will but satan’s scheme. He tried to cancel the will of God. God cancelled his agenda. (Matthew 16:22-24) “Peter,” Jesus warned, “Satan desires to sift you as wheat.”  (Luke 22:31-32) Oh… and the sifting is undeniably an experience that will bring knowledge. Take it and act with wisdom!

 

The Bible is not discrete concerning Peter’s failures; however, it speaks loud and clear of him being mightily used of God. Jesus didn’t say, “Peter you failed Me. I’m taking back the keys. I don’t want My church founded with you involved.” No… He said the opposite. (Matthew 16:18) He saw what Peter would become not what he was in that moment. The very one who denied Jesus lead the spiritually blind into the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. (Mark 14:66-68) (Acts 2) Jesus promised, “The gates of hell shall not prevail.”

God sees a warrior in us, when we see nothing.

My friend’s son who won the battle over drug addiction said something to me I’ll not forget. “God puts His strongest warriors at the head of the battle. Darlene, if He brought you to it, He’ll bring you through it.”