Establishing total peace

You always think that you have everything under control and you are ready for the next step in life...then you have this doubt...this uncertainty. Lack of faith it is. I have experienced this uncertainty from time to time since we have felt the direction to pack and move...not everything has been answered and revealed yet so it gives me a sense of doubt that it will not work out. Then, I turn on the radio, attend a church service or Bible Study, or whatever it may be, and I hear from the Lord. He is like, Regina, listen to me. I will provide. After lunch yesterday, I walked back to my truck and sat in the seat. Turned on the ignition. Looked up to God with complete PEACE and told Him, "OK, God. I am ready now to move..." Move as in the sense of leaving Houston or move in the sense of going to the next step in this path He is taking us. A little of both really. I just had to finally come to the point in my life where I knew I couldn't keep going in that same direction. How awesome it felt to just sit there with complete peace and NO doubt. Thank you Lord :)

Another note, God has touched my heart to refrain from the worldly matters and social sites that my mind was becoming more addicting to and to bury myself in Him more. I will begin to devote more of my free time to this blog as I put my whole heart and attention to bringing Glory to him. This is something that I feel led to do. I will stay in touch with each of you as we move closer to where the Lord is leading us. I will just not be as active. I know that the Lord has blessed me with wonderful friends and has re-established old relationships through these social networking sites.

Much love to you all and remember that "Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:2

New Move, New direction

It has come to a point in our life where we see the Lord moving us towards a new direction. We continue to ask for his guidance to help us with this move. We ask all of you, our friends and family, to support us with prayer as we follow the Lord. 

Our house here in Porter, TX is now going up for lease. Please pray that God will send us a tenant to live in our home that has been built on the center of Christ for the past 7 years. 

With sadness in our hearts, but excitement and joy to look forward to, Jason and I have accepted offers to move to Irving, TX near Dallas. Thanksgiving is the anticipated date. 

For those of you who have moved away from your families and friends, you feel what is inside our hearts. We continue to see God's favor all over everything and see him answering prayers. We love you all that we see and will miss you. We are very thankful to have the technology today so we can stay in touch. Thank you for your prayers and wonderful support. 


The Winkle Fam

The Lord is faithful and just Psalm 111:7

You know, I am still in awe at the fact that the Lord can amaze so many people and they just don't get it! Yes, people, he is the one who can do such miraculous things here....Even tho we may not always be so faithful to him or bring justice to his name, the Lord never gives up on us. We are his children. Just as our children as so precious to us. We will go the extra mile or two to get our children what they need right then in their lives even when it is putting something(s) ahead of whatever may be in our lives. Why do we do it? Because we love our children. God has so many children here on Earth. Can you imagine all the requests that come in. Bruce Almighty comes to mind when I think of this. You know the scene with Jim Carey's character wishes to be God and he wakes up hearing all these voices....(prayer requests). Then he decides to send them to email...then since he has so many he just answers them all to what the requester wants, not what they need. You know, our Lord isn't like that. He is faithful. He is just. He may not always grant us our "wish" in life, but he knows what is best in our life at the time and he will answer it according to his will. I am thankful that what the Lord is accomplishing in our own lives this very moment is a testimony of how awesome he is. I ask that you take the time now to pray that the Lord will continue to be faithful and just in your life and the lives of others you love.

Our Faith is what sets us free

Have you ever just stood on top of a mountain or high cliff and just felt on top of the world? Last year, on a business trip, I was able to travel to Phoenix, AZ. I have not been out of the state of Texas but once in my lifetime prior to that trip. I was very excited to ride on an airplane and go to a new world, at least to me. As we drew closer to Phoenix, I saw these mountain ridges from my plane window and the excitement just grew. When we landed and drove to the hotel, I could see what looked to me like mountains. How awesome it would be to climb those....long story short, 1 week later with some "old" high school friends I had reunited with while there, I was up on these "mountains" at the top to overlook God's country. I was amazed and felt like I was flying. You know that sense of peace and rush at the same time. A feeling I will never forget.

The mountain ridges from my plane window

Lori and I on the top of the mountain

The sense of rush that I felt that day is the same feeling that one feels once he/she experiences God's Grace. I can remember when I dedicated my life to the Lord and made the decision to serve in His ministry. I wanted to tell the whole world. Most new Christians are very pumped up and excited to share what the Lord has done for them. He has saved them. You want to tell everyone. Just like when you score an unbelievable deal at the store or with your coupons, you want to get on Facebook and tell everyone you know about it. Even those of us who have been saved 5, 10, 20 years, we should still feel this incredible desire to shout God's awesomeness. No fear should stand in our path to prevent us from sharing the Good News. 

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News, and people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

God's Grace saves us but we have to first have Faith. How do we get that Faith? This scripture informs us that when we hear the Good News, we then receive the Faith. You know, just when you hear a friend's testimony of not being able to walk because of an injury or birth defect and then they are able to walk because God answered their prayer. That encourages your belief or Faith in what God can do for you. We were not there to witness Christ's death and resurrection as the disciples did. We have to have that Faith. It is our Faith in what happened many moons ago that gives us our salvation. I challenge you today to go forth and step out of your comfort shell and share the Good News with someone today :)

Unworthiness

How can I be worthy of judging someone else's actions when I am so guilty of sin of my own. I have not sat at this computer to type on this blog for a while now for I felt that I was starting to speak on here and not letting the Lord speak through me. I was coming up with topics and it was me, me, me. I have been so guilty of wrong-doing myself here lately that I do not feel worthy of the Lord's mercy. I am downright dirt, mud even. My actions all day long should scream - I am a Christian! I love the Lord! I do no wrong! But, do they? Nope, not even close. Why, you ask? Regina is not perfect because she is HUMAN. Sin is sin and there's no question about it. Is sin any different today as it was when Moses climbed that mountain or what about when John the Baptist walked the streets? Just 30 years ago, it was looked down on when an unmarried couple lived in the same house and slept in the same bed....oh and you would rarely see a woman pregnant out of wedlock. Today, girls, kids even are pregnant and living together is more common than you ordering the same menu item at the local burger joint as the person behind you. The sin is still the same but the perception here on Earth has changed. It is accepted. Gay marriage is encouraged. It's sad that we have allowed God's Word to be overlooked and passed us by. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us that, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." God tells us in His Word that there are different levels of sin that is judged differently. FE: murder and adultery. However, how is lying to someone any different than taking a piece of candy out of the Brach's bin? No different than me running the red light today on my way home from work when I was too busy to notice that the red light turned red or me not going back to the register at the store when the cashier forgets to charge me for the dog food on the bottom rack of my grocery cart. We have all been there. There is a reason why we have speed limit signs. It's not just to put cash in the State Patrol's pockets. God judges our heart's desire in the sin just as much as our actions. All sin, no matter how “small,” is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, there is no sin too “big” that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for all of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). You know, the thief that hung on the cross next to Christ that day? He had a life full of sin. No telling what all he accumulated over his lifetime. He had no time to go to a priest and confess or be baptized...all it took was his belief in our Messiah. God read his heart right then and knew that he knew he was in the wrong. He saved him right there. How awesome is that? Jesus died to save us from Hell. He suffered the ultimate sacrifice so we would never have to live that torture. Why did God allow this precious baby girl die and her mother (killer) go free? Because He has a plan. God allowed His son, His baby, to be beaten to death and for what cause? Our salvation. His plan was revealed in due time. The followers of Christ had no idea at that time of the crucifixion why their master was being nailed to a tree. Their Faith wasn't stored just yet. Just as we do not know why this precious little girl had to die or the fact of all the other babies out there murdered daily while their killers go free. We have to keep the Faith b'c there is a reason coming forth. There were too many people praying for God's Will do be done today. His Will was done. Just as when Christ was crucified. Sometimes our will is not God's. It is so hard for us to step back and realize that. I have prayed many years to have a baby girl and that is my heart's desire and plan, but not the Lord's. You may want to see the rain fall from the sky and refill the lakes here in Texas. There might be a reason why God is allowing Lake Houston to be so low. We might not be able to see it right now, but that doesn't change his plan. We are to pray to accept God's Will and have peace b'c He isn't changing His plan. 


Accept what God has for us, Repent of our sins (daily), and believe that He is our Savior. 

On my Knees Part II

Good Morning,
As you awake from a good's night rest, what does your morning bring? Some walk slowly to the coffee pot  for that hot cup of caffeine, others grab a coke, and then some just brush their teeth and are out the door. Sometimes too busy to stop and realize that they are on with the rest of their life, and where is the time to spend with their Lord. Believe me, I am very guilty myself at times. I challenge each of you who are not spending time On your Knees each morning with the Lord to do so. If you have to start out small with a short prayer, then lead into a 15 min quiet time, and maybe get up earlier and go longer, then do that.

This morning I awoke with a scripture Kirk Hall, our preacher had mentioned Sunday in service that just has not left my heart. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is the only way, truth and light, and that we are only able to access Heaven through Him. You know, how simple is that? Very simple. You know, becoming a Christian isn't the part that is complicated, it's the living a life as a Christian that is. Some tear the Bible apart with scripture and decipher what they want to believe and not what is the truth. How can you miss this scripture here; "He is the only way...not by works, nor man, but by Him."

Let's start today out with learning more about this Jesus. This man of God. Who is He? What did He do for me? Clear your mind, open God's Word to the Gospel of John, and then pray for God to start speaking to you this morning about the "free" ticket into Heaven.........

On your knees

What does it mean exactly? Before I get into any details and explanations, I believe that you first just have to get on your knees. Knees? Why do we have them? Ever wondered why we have these knobby things for besides sitting in a chair? I feel that God has given us knees so we can can get on our face in prayer. How your demeanor changes when you get on your knees, bow your head and start to pray. Tears just begin to flow and can't stop because you are so wrapped up by the Holy Spirit. Have you experienced this lately? Man, tonight, I had finally had enough of my own will battling the Holy Spirit. I heard Him speaking to me yesterday in the service but I just ignored Him. All day today the devil was just attacking me and I kept letting him win. Oh boy, not tonight. I had had enough. I knew if I had, then God had. You know the same thing happened to Jonah. He let it get too deep. Jonah began to run from God himself. He ran so far that it landed him in a belly of a huge fish. Finally God got his attention. What will it take you to get your attention?

I encourage you to take the time to get your life right with the Lord. Get down on your knees and just talk to our Lord. Let the Spirit do a work in your life. Today, we start with prayer. As the days move along, we will begin to get into the depth of God's Word and discover what the Grace is by Faith that we are saved from. Enjoy this touching video below:

On My Knees

http://youtu.be/fx10drNM3gc