IT BEGINS AT HOME

http://www.necchurch.org/familyministry

I decided to share some thoughts, that may win me some enemies, but "it is what it is" and sometimes we just have to speak up. As a Christian, we have some simple mandates before us, sometimes very hard to fulfill, because they deal with the heart, out heart. One of them is LOVE. We're instructed to LOVE, but not just love those who love us back, we're told to love those who despise us, hate us and do us wrong. We're told to LOVE our enemies and well, the truth is, this is a really difficult reality for not just a Christian, but anyone who has been hurt, offended and mistreated. 


Another instruction that comes from Scripture is that as a believer we are to FORGIVE. This goes right along with LOVING people because it's sometimes easy to forgive and forget the person that stepped on our toes on the train. It's not so hard to forgive the person that cut us in line at the supermarket. But, it sure seems hard to FORGIVE those who have hurt us when they are the very persons we LOVE. God loves us, right? I mean, true or false? His love is everlasting? And yet, we mess up. We mess up again. We do some crazy stuff and then because we know His word says we can come boldly before Him and ask for forgiveness, we mess up again and then get on our knees, cry out and ask to be forgiven and restored.

Then, our brother or sister makes a mistake. A misunderstanding happens. Life dumps manure all over us through the person of those we are close to and suddenly we're too perfect, too holy and too right in our own eyes to LOVE and FORGIVE. Really? How many times has GOD looked at our sin? No, not at our sin but at us sinning? How many times has God seen not us, but the condition of our minds, our filthy imaginations, our bodies immersed in wrong doing and yet, through all that He calls out and says, "Come to me and I will make you new, like the white snow...."

Are you or I bigger than God? Are we somehow more righteous or have the right to hold grudges and not go out of our way to make things right? Why? Because we're too right and others are too wrong? Because our PRIDE has been touched and we can't bow down to reason? I think of PRIDE and I think of Satan who allowed PRIDE to enter his heart. He wanted to be like God. He wanted to be recognized, praised, admired, and adored. We should only want God's mercy and grace each day because without it we cannot make it each day.

 My friend, my brother and sister, your walk in the Lord doesn't start out in the streets, the school or the workplace where you open your mouth to tell people they need Jesus. Your calling and your unction to serve and walk in the Spirit doesn't begin when you decide to preach, minister or do your "thing" for the Lord. It begins at home, in your inner circle called family, in your heart. If you and I are going to truly walk in the anointing, then we are going to have to learn to "walk the talk" but starting it at home. It's the ones in our home and in our lives that will know if we are REAL or just putting on a show for others to see. You want to win the world, but you're losing at home. You want to conquer in God's name, but at home you've lost the battle. You want to talk about the power of God but you can't even plan a family gathering because of all the junk going on in your family. You talk about serving God because He is love and mercy, but you don't extend any to those that are your own flesh and blood.


I don't want to win the multitudes and lose not only my life but see my loved ones never knowing God's salvation, peace or love. In my youth, I believed God had called me to speak to the masses. As I started my family, many times I was more involved in giving to the church and not to my own family. I've learned the hard way that true ministry begins with those in my home and those that are part of my family. I must be at peace with my husband, my children, my parents, my siblings and anyone connected to my siblings through marriage. The truth is some of us are so busy serving God or trying to live in the appearance that we are serving God, that we don't realize what a waste all our efforts are if we are not living right at home first.

My dear friends and family, let us stop living like our family doesn't matter. Let us stop living like God can forgive and forget, but we're too up and mighty to forgive and love again. We need to stop with the junk that we are called to do great things and that we have this amazing ministry but we can't even accept an apology or make one. Enough with the nonsense! If you truly want to experience God's anointing and power in your life, then you need to start making a difference in your house. Your "CASA" is first. Your wife is first. Your husband is first. Your daughter is first. Your son is first. Your mother is first. Your father is first. Your brother is first. Your sister is first. Your Grandmother and Grandfather are definitely first. It's time to get involved in identifying the Enemy's tactics to come against your family. It's time to identify the work of the Enemy and how he works to trick and blind you and me so we don't see the damage that can happen when we forget our home.

It begins at home. I pray that whatever you've been going through that you can lay it aside and go fix what has to be fixed before you keep on praying for revival and a miracle. You need to get things right with your brother or your sister before you keep making plans to do God's work. It's time to destroy the work of darkness and let LOVE shine in your home, let mercy be the welcome mat at your door and let forgiveness be the cup of coffee that is shared when you come together. Pray together. Love one another. Hug one another but not for show and not for fake because you can fool me but you cannot fool the Holy Spirit. Come against the Enemy together in Jesus Name and stand together. Then, you and I will see the great things that will happen in us when the family is first.

It begins at home. 
And then from there, the Lord will do the rest.
I pray you have been challenged to seek the Lord anew.

Written by Angeline M Duran Santiago


#forgive #brother #family #pride #love #forgiveness #ministry #hatred #serveGod #prayer #miracle #parents #homeministry

IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK!

 

We want to fix things in our lives. I know I do. We want life in our home to be peaceful, our kids to be healthy, prosperous, and respectful. We want our marriage to be harmonious, beautiful, and on fire not only intimately but in the knowledge of Scriptures. We want to succeed in our work place and we want and want and want. I want lots of things also. But, the truth is that our homes, and our lives, with all our wants, we don't want the same things- together. We are that divided house scripture talks about. We walk around as if we have built the foundation of our homes, our lives on a strong foundation and that we cannot crumble, neither can our circumstances bring us to our knees, and we think that if you put on this "I can do anything" attitude for long enough, we can come through any difficulty.

The truth is, and I can only share from my personal experience and from what I believe the Lord teaches me as I go along. You have to want the same things, together, especially in marriage, for things to work out. 

 

In marriage, if one person is desiring the ways designed for us through Scripture, and the other person wants to follow their own ambition and their own selfish road, sooner or later it all comes to an end? Why? Because we're supposed to be one in all things. Our walk with the Lord, even when the temptation and the challenges come, still needs to be constant. I am not only talking about relationships where one person is seeking to live for the Lord and the other keeps walking in their ups and downs and can't decide if they will live for God or not, I am also fearlessly calling out marriages where both are claiming to serve and honor Christ, where both husband and wife are involved in ministry and yet when they come home, it is chaos.

My brother and sister, there is NO way God is getting any glory for your work if when you come home you refuse to see that the foundation in your marriage and the groundwork in your heart is faulty. It's shaking and you're refusing to acknowledge that you are responsible for how everything around you is falling apart. You can't claim to pray for people and love people and then go home and you can't love your husband. How can you share the gospel, sing, dance, do what you do for the honor and glory of God and then when you get home you close yourself in your room and shut the world out?  

 

 My brother and sister, my friend, and anyone who finds this today, you have to stop all the nonsense of Kingdom living and the lies you're telling yourself! Kingdom living is living a life that honors God and it begins in your heart, that's your first home, and then it extends to your family and those who live with you, and after the main people in your life, then and only then can you truly minister to others because what God is doing on the inside can be reflected on the outside.

I struggle. I struggle a lot. My marriage has gone through storms. No. That's a lie. We've gone through Tsunamis and Tornadoes. Those episodes have been damaging in every way. Even though God has been present, helping us work through so  many issues, we've seen the labor of our hands come crashing down. God wants us to be a team. God wants our marriages to show a partnership of love and walking together as one. God's design is that our children will see the wholeness in our lives, see our love for God and one another, and that leads them to see and also want to serve the Lord.
I'm not telling you its easy, but yes, it can be if you take grab hands and choose to walk completely as one in the ways of the Lord. 

 

For you who forgot what it was like when you were at that altar, entering into covenant with the Lord and your spouse, let me remind you, it's not going to work unless God is truly invited to be part of your daily life. For you who think it's one day serve the Lord and the next, you're "living la vida loca" because no one is watching, you're foolish to keep on this way. Your words and your actions can be the bricks, the stone, the mortar, the rocks, and the planks of wood that build your home beautifully and strong. Or, your words and your actions will be the very words that work like an explosion, a fire or a storm that finishes off what you thought you had as a family, a home.

I am the first to confess that there are days you want to stop trying. You feel alone and you wonder, "God, is this your plan? Is it worth fighting for any more? When will my life be together? When will I see my children living the way I know they can live under your guidance? Lord, when will you visit my home? Lord, when will this heart of mine truly be free? God, I've prayed and prayed, but God I feel done, so done! Lord, why I am still holding on?" I know what some of your prayers may sound like because my life is far from perfect, and far from where it needs to be. I too am a work in progress. But, I don't give up. I keep on. I choose to believe. I choose to stand and take my place in the battlefield that pulls my family, my marriage and myself into the arena to face the lions. You may be there also. And I know God is saying, "Come together! Pray! Do not fear! Seek me and you will see I am here in the fire with you!"

 

Is your marriage under fire? Is it getting to where there are days you hate each other? One of you is going to say, "Let's pray." You're going to have to hug and love when all you feel is hurt and anger. One of you is going to have to put on the whole armor of God and push the enemy back. One of you is going to have to look under your house and begin to find where the foundation is coming apart and start fixing it, little by little. One of you is going to have to forgive- over and over and over again. I don't know why I am writing this, but you are going to learn and experience just a tiny taste of how many times God forgives us. One of you is going to have to be, "not the bigger one" and say sorry, but the person of faith that will turn to God and stand on His promises. And, if it doesn't work out and counseling doesn't help, then your next steps will come but let them come with God's guidance. If you have chosen divorce, do it in peace. Try to. Seek Godly counsel every step of the way. I won't linger there because I believe that in MOST situations, not ALL, marriage can be restored. If you are in an abusive marriage, (And I am not just talking about physical abuse where someone is being beat up) abuse comes in SO MANY FORMS, so If you're in an abusive marriage, GET HELP!!!!

I end with this, "Is God bigger than your heartbreak?" "Is God greater than your past?" "Is God more powerful than the hell you are living in right now?" YES! YES! and YES! If husband and wife will come together today to seek the Lord and trust HIM to restore, your home will  not fall when the storms come blowing your way. I pray God's blessings, his help, His presence and His faithfulness to surround you today. May God intervened and speak into your life. May God restore and renew. In Jesus Name, Amen. 

Written By Angeline M Duran Santiago

#marriage, #divorce, #marriagecounseling, #Godandmarriage, #hurtfulmarriage, #prayingtogether, #husband, #wife, #weddingvows, #wedding, #Weddingregret, #infidelity, #Godcan, #trustGod, #pursueGod, #Prayforyourmarriage, #MarriageRestored, #seekGod, #delivered, #restored, #renewed, #forgive, #forgiveness, #forgivenessinmarriage, #forgiveagain, #helpless, #abusehome, #familyrestored, #abuseinmarriage, #crisis, #marriageincrisis, #marriageunderassault, #Godscoveneant, #marriagehelp, #Godcares, #standtogether, #acordnoteasilybroken, #fasting, #prayer, #Scriptures, #relationshiphelp

I WAS THAT GIRL!

I am the one who was broken,

I am

Healed.

I am that girl who was hurting,

I was shut down,

Sometimes it still feels that way,

But,

I was immersed in LOVE

and ever since

No matter how you sift me,

No matter how you work at it to tear me apart,

I was the girl who couldn't get up,

But, I am standing.

Sometimes, wobbly

Some days, bending down

I was unable to feel secure I could make it

I will be the one who remains upright,

In the midst of adversity

and insecurity

When the voices around me tell me something is wrong but I can't see it,

When the voices around me tell me I need to change 

And I have prayed, "Lord, change me."

But, they still can't see it,

I will be the one who remains afloat

When the tempest has hit it's hardest

ransacking my insides and all of me

Shaking up my world so I don't know which side is up and which is down,

I am the one who will trust in You, Lord,

I will call upon you and not fear.

I was the one they laughed at

I will be the one who rejoices at the end

Because You O Lord, 

answer prayer,

You hear my cry,

You know my distress

You know my comfort zone and when I 

feel like dirt on the floor.

In and out,

You know me,

You know me.

 

I want to lash out

Scream, yell, be loud!

The thunderous roar inside of me wants to

explode, "Leave me alone!"

But, if I am to honor You Lord

then I will learn to cover the lid

of this boiling pot

For they throw wood on the fire

And then stare

To see if I will boil over

and let go, crashing over and messing up.

Put your love inside me

For although I confess I say it is there,

Many times I feel the ardent need

to say what I have to say

And, Lord, if I do,

My tongue will not be the tongue of a skilled writer, but the sword of an expert assasin,

Using every syllable to lash out my anger and my hurt, the misunderstandings, the woes,

Since I want to be Your mouthpiece,

And show what you have done

Then change my heart,

take every heartbeat and renew my heart.

Restore me,

Deliver me from what others see and hear

But I cannot.

Change me to be the one you are pleased with

and not the one who brings shame.
 

Let my life bring you glory

Never dishonor.

Use every facial expression to draw all men towards Your love and mercy.

Use my words to prove that You are real, You are true and You are what broken lives need.

 

I was the girl who was once broken,

the waves searched for me and held me deep in it's clutch, tossing me from side to side,

But, Lord you saw it all,

I did not die!

I was her, battered, confused and lost

But you turned my mourning into dancing!

You took my dance and taught me to take each movement and turn it into a prayer.

  

Maybe, just maybe

Who I was reminds you of who you are,

I am not perfect

And life has not turned perfect

But each step is now accompanied with God's presence, God's love, God.

Maybe you're broken, bruised and crying out into the unknown, wishing for life to take you away.

God has taken the mess inside of me,

emotionally and physically,

Healed

He's still healing

Renewing, Changing, Transforming

Making me who I was born to be.

Can you hope again, today?

Can you open up the tattered areas of your life and invite the Carpenter of heaven to come and put your life back together, again?

He can and He will if you call upon His name,

He shall not turn you away.

May God's love touch your life tonight. 

By Angeline M Duran Santiago

 

OPEN NEW DOORS

 

 

New Doors.

Some are closed and some are opened.

Lord, you know which one needs to be opened wide for us to walk through.

Enter in.

Doors of opportunity.

Doors of renewal.

Doors that help us embrace a new beginning.

 

Today, dear Lord, Unlock those doors that need to be opened.

Provide us with the Keys so that we may also unlock those doors.

Open doors that will change our destiny.

Open doors that will bring positive change into our lives.

Open doors that will lead us and guide us into the plans you have for us.

New Doors.

Help us, Lord. Without your help and your prompting, we don't know our next steps.

Shine your light upon us so that we can walk in your light.

Inspire us.

Make us able to hear your voice telling us, "This is the way."

Show us your direction.

Help us to know when you are leading us and that it is not our own doing.

New Doors.

Open doors where we can walk through for our healing.

Our bodies are aching and crying out for your touch.

Open doors where we can be emotionally set free.

Take our minds, our hearts, and our lives so that we can walk victoriously.

Open those doors that will allow us to walk in your blessing.

 

In Jesus Name,

In Your Mighty Name,

Oh, Ancient of Days, 

Hear us as we cry out to you in this day,

Open those doors we desperately need opened in our lives,

Let our new season begin,

Guide us and let us walk in Your presence.

Always.

Amen.

-By Angelne M Duran Santiago

 

I AM, GREATER

 

GREATER.

I am, Greater.

Not I.

Not me.

I Am. 

He is.

He's always been.

Shall always be.

I Am, Greater.

You look in the mirror and all you see is everything you believe is wrong and no good.
God is greater.
You sit down to let your thoughts wander off and the past is strong, terrible, ugly and dark.
God is greater than the hurts and the darkness that keep you in that chair telling you that it's over.
God is the Great I Am.

In Exodus 3, I see Him (I AM) telling Moses that (vr.16) He is definitely concerned about you and everything that is going on and has taken place in your life. God knows what has been done to you in Egypt (this world, your past, this life you've lived here on Earth). God sees. God knows even the smallest things about your life and mine. 

God not only identifies Himself as "I AM", but He tells him to also speak to others about Him telling them that He is "I AM." God was saying here, "I am not blind to the injustice you have faced. I am not deaf to your cries. I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt." The great "I AM" was declaring to Moses and would promise through him that He was about to move upon his people. He was getting ready to move in the midst of those who would believe and those who would not care two cents who "I AM" was, is or claimed to be. He said, "I will bring you up out of the affliction." 

To me, I see these words "up out" together almost as if a farmer was working the ground and removing something forcefully out of the soil. I also love vrs.20 because I believe God was saying, "Look, I know what's going to happen when you get there and speak up. This is how it's going to go down, but get ready because this is what is going to happen....I am going to do miracles in their midst and after they see that I AM who I say I AM, get ready because after that, he will let you go."

 

After God does what He has to do in the eyes of this world, of those who hurt you, belittled you and have made your life seem worthless, God, the great "I AM" is declaring, "Get ready because he (the enemy) is going to let you go.  God was peacefully hanging out on His throne, seeing already ahead of time of what was going to take place through Moses and those who would go with him. Yes, God was speaking concerning the future of His people who were being held prisoner, being held captive, bound, not free and miserable. 

Doesn't that sound like where you and I have been before. For some, you are presently there. Bound. Not free. But, this scripture is declaring that God is getting ready to blow away what we have known as normal and He will do something great! The enemy of your life can no longer hold you captive in your heart, in your mind, in your body, and in your emotions. Get up tonight and walk towards the enemy with the name of the great, "I AM" in your lips. Speak with authority and declare that you are being set free in the Name of the Great I Am, because He is greater.

My friend,
If you are struggling in any area of your life, I pray that tonight you can be dressed with God's presence and that you will get up and have the courage to speak to the enemy that keeps you in darkness, bound, chained in sin and in depression. Get up and walk up to that enemy and speak out that the Great I AM is commanding you to speak up and tell that enemy to let you go. This is just for show so that the enemy can whine and complain and say, "No." But, we already read the next sentences and see where it says, "Yeah, he'll let you go!" You shall be free. Free in Christ.

That's why I wrote at the very beginning, I Am, Greater. God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Lord of Lords and King of Kings is greater! He sets you free!

 

Exodus 3 NASB version
 10“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”  

12And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”   13Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”  


15God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. 16“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17“So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 


18“They will pay heed to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19“But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. 20“So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. 

 

IN GOD'S KEEPING

 

I truly believe that there is no better place to find yourself in this life than to be found safe in God's keeping. My heart is thankful for the place I find myself in tonight. There are so many emotions battling inside of me, and yet, at the end of it all, I am going to sleep in peace because I hear God speaking to my heart and reminding me, "Everything is going to be fine." Why? Because I am safely hidden in His care.

Your struggles, your pain, and your challenges each day are very real. It's not easy to get up and face each day with so much junk in our lives. But, I believe the Lord is reminding us tonight that we really need to learn to trust in Him. We truly need to give all we have inside of us and no longer see it as a blessing or necessary, give it up to the Lord. It is in being in Him, in God's presence that we can truly feel safe, safe in Him.

Lord, I thank you tonight for the work you continue to do. At times I am not sure of how all of this will work out. There are moments of fear and doubt, but I surrender those to you because they don't belong in my life. 

 

Lord, I am looking forward to seeing your hand at work in our lives. I believe the right verse is, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." Psalm 118:17~ Yes, Lord, I will live to declare what you have done. I will live to expose what is hurting so many people still lost in the darkness and I will shine your healing and delivering Light into their lives. In You, there is healing. In you, all things are renewed!

I pray that no matter where you find yourself tonight, that no matter how messed up things are in your life, your heart or your mind, your workplace, your family, and in your body, that you run and place your life, everything you are going through, in His keeping. He cares for you. He will not let you go. Fall into His loving arms. Trust Him.
Amen.

Written by Angeline M Duran Santiago

 

 
 




 

MAKING MARRIAGE WORK

I'm not an expert on marriage. I'll be the first to tell many people, "If you can stay single, do so until you are sure that you are positive that marriage is for you." I also don't have all the answers. Perhaps, personal experience may qualify me to have just enough background to tell you that marriage can work, even a broken one. Even a union that to many should have been severed a long time ago, there is hope if you're willing to invest yourself in making it happen. There is hope if you're truly ready to follow God's leading in restoring your relationship.

Forgiveness.
I'll tell you that the one ingredient you will have to add to your pot, daily and regularly, is forgiveness. It is perhaps a bittersweet spice that you will need to fill your cupboard with, but it is the one key that God will give you the grace, the strength and the power to use over and over again.

We start off in a relationship with many dreams. I guess we all dream of that fairy tale ending. Life is a lot like the fairy tales. The mean step-mother, the witch, the dragon, and the giants show up in our fairy tales in the form of problems, struggles, and yes, the effects of sin that come and attack our fairy tale so that there is no happily ever after. But, as in many fairy tales, there's always that prince or that knight in shining armor that we wait for.

He comes and takes the princess or the main character away into blissful paradise, so we also, who find ourselves in a marriage that has been targeted, hit, and maybe even shattered in many areas, so we also can place our expectation and our hope in a Prince, A King, A valiant Knight in Holy armor that comes forward at the right moment to fight on our behalf. He comes, if we turn to Him, if we call on Him, if we dare to believe in Him, and He begins to destroy the work of the Enemy.

Broken.
I told you before that you were going to have to store up a lot of forgiveness in that closet of yours. You will. I guess what has helped me to put on that forgiving attitude even when I don't want to is the understanding that I fail, too. The reality that God forgives me and extends forgiveness for me and all who have sinned, reminds me that even when I much rather hate, stay angry, or use my hurt to hurt back, through it all, God forgives me and expects me, no, He rather requires of me, (as one who claims to walk like Christ and be like Him) to likewise, forgive. No one is perfect and even if we are that person in the marriage that feels they have never failed or sinned, God will always place a magnifying glass on the table for when we're ready to look into our heart, really look inside, and we will find that there is something God needs to take care of- because we all mess up, fall short of God's goodness, and we all sin.

Sin corrupts. 
One way marriages are broken is when sin invades and like an army of locusts it tears your life apart. 


Sexual Sin
Your finances, your emotions, and your heart are all beaten and battered by sin. Some ways your marriage is bruised and corrupted is through an affair. Affairs are not just your spouse becoming sexually involved with another person. Today, we have emotional affairs that begin with just texting, or as many now call it, sexting. One person reaching out to the other through a cell phone, sending images, and sharing what they want to do intimately is just as wrong as going to a hotel and having a secret intimate moment with someone that is not your soulmate.

Another way sin deceives is by telling you that you can be best friends with someone other than your wife or your husband. Instead of sharing our most intimate details with our spouse, we find that we begin to look forward to someone opinions and advice that is not our spouse. We clean up and dress up as if we were back in those dating days, all because someone, maybe younger or sexier has caught our eye. In reality, I don't think someone is more attractive or sexier, it's that our flesh, the lust and the sin we open the door to makes us see and desire what is off limits. Instead of talking about what may be lacking or seems dormant in our marriage, we look for that passion else where.

Words. 
Words that are said and words that are left unsaid also become venom filled arrows that are aimed and shot at the one we love or profess to love. Words cut deep. They are bottled inside a powerful unseen gun and in a moment of anger and pain, those words are set free to damage, bruise, and blow holes through every beautiful part of a person's heart and mind. Words don't go away. They can't just be taken back once they've been unleashed. It just can't be done.

So, also there are words left unsaid. Those words kept inside also impact your marriage. We keep words like, "Sorry." "Forgive me." and "I love you." deep inside as if we have a right to keep them from those who need to hear them. I think selfishness, not fear, keeps them inside the person that should not be afraid to say them. We forget to use the language of love, the beautiful words that exist to make someone feel special, wanted, needed and most of all, cherished and love. We only become great with our vocabulary when we are ready to use our tongue as a weapon of destruction instead of an instrument of peace, love, and restoration.

Sin 
It destroys.
It blinds you.

Unforgiveness.
Unforgiveness lets you live together, be in the same room, but never truly be happy. When you can't get over what has been done to you or what has happened, you always see the past and can never move into the future God has for you. That's why, as I shared before, you will need forgiveness in your closet. Tee shirts of forgiveness, Pants of forgiveness, coats and hats of forgiveness, socks and maybe even some high heels of forgiveness. You will have to even carry your makeup bag full of forgiveness because in marriage, the only way I've been able to move forward has been through learning that forgiveness is a choice. I can either stay hurt, angry and bitter or I can accept God's promises to heal and restore and allow Him to do so as I forgive. Forgiving means I might remember- No, let me correct that, I will remember, sometimes, most of the time, on certain occasions, special dates even, but forgiveness will let me love again, smile again. and live again.

Forgive.

To make marriage work, you will have to recognize that as marriage is heavenly and God's heart, so the Enemy of our souls will work to undo what God has done, shatter what God has brought together, and stab to death what God has breathed life into. So, dear friend going through a crisis in your marriage, choose to forgive. Choose to love. Choose to live again and allow God to breathe live into your marriage. It is not easy. It will hurt. At times you will feel like you're losing and it's better to give up. That lie will come from the Enemy. Choose to hope and believe what you read in scripture. Choose to stand on God's word. He never fails. Obeying God will always be best.


I have lots more to share. That's for another day. My journey continues and I pray that as I share from my heart and my life, the broken areas in your marriage can also be restored and healed as you walk out this journey, this moment in your marriage. I've chosen to follow to Christ. Following the Lord means to follow his directions and instructions. I pray that you will be able to open up your heart and invite God's healing. I pray that you will see there is hope for your relationship. I pray that in Jesus name you can take up the sword of faith and cut through everything that has come against your marriage. I pray that you can stand and believe God's word for your home, your family.

It is my prayer you succeed and find victory in your walk with the Lord as you place your hurts, the loss, the sin and the disappointment in Jesus hands. Amen.

Written by Angeline M Duran Santiago
"Sharing my journey to prove that God still heals, restores and does speaks life into the darkness."