Christmas At The Window

As many of you well know, the main message that I bring across from “Waiting At The Window” is the importance of taking time each morning with the Lord to receive from His Word to help equip us for the day or days to come because we never know what they may bring.

As I sat at my window this Christmas morning and opened up the window of the Word and began meditating on the Lord of what this day was really about, the Lord shone his light of understanding into my heart. I would like to pass on to you this day the wonderful truths of His Word that He shared with me. This is quite different than the Christmas Story that you all probably read today.

I opened the Word and began to pray, “I wait for you Lord, my soul waits, and in your Word I put my hope. Tell me Lord, what is the meaning of Christmas? What is the meaning of this day? What is your message that you want to share for my life today?”

It all began with a young girl, Mary who was chosen by God.

You see, God created man and gave him dominion over the earth, but because of the sin and disobedience of Adam, the power and authority was given over to the enemy, satan who then became the god of the world. But...

Through the plan and the spoken word of God, Jesus came and got that power back for us. Jesus, God's Word, came and took flesh upon Himself. And this is how God did it. The power to do it was in the Word! The Bible tells us that “...(He is) upholding all things by the Word of His power...” (Hebrews 1:3) It didn't say by the power of His Word. It said by the Word of His Power! It is not impossible for God to perform His every declaration. He can declare and do exactly what He says he's going to do! And we find that God created man with the ability to operate in the same kind of faith. We need to control the words that come forth out of our mouth and bring them into the obedience to the Word of God.

The way that Jesus got the authority back, He was born of a virgin. The way it happened was the same way that God created the universe. He spoke it! When he found a woman who agreed with Him, it was done. “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Lk 1:34)

Mary didn't doubt it could be done, she just asked “how?” and He said, “...the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:...” (Luke 1:35) Then in verse 38, Mary spoke, “...be it done unto me according to thy word.” She agreed with the Word, establishing that fact upon the earth, and it came into being!

God said in his Word that we are...”born again, not of corruptible seed , but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (I Peter 1:23) The Word of God implanted in our spirit caused us to become a new creature that never existed before, born again of the Spirit of the living God. The re-birth of the human spirit took place when the Word of God lodged in our spirit. It caused us to act upon the Word and we were born again. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God.

The Word of God came unto Mary and said “it will be so” and Mary said “I receive it, be it done unto me according to your Word.”. She first received the Word into her spirit (heart) then it was manifest in her physical body. The Word of God was implanted into her womb, it was the embryo, the seed, and it took upon itself flesh, just as the living Word of God placed in your spirit took upon itself new creation – life. The Word of God literally formed within her womb and took flesh upon it. The Word of God became alive, living , walking, and talking on this earth. He came here to destroy the work of the devil that was done in Adam. You see, the work that was done in Adam was destroying the creation of God and the ability of God to work through man. But through God's Spoken Word born through Mary, Jesus came and got that authority back (through His death, burial & resurrection) and He delegated it back to man, to the believer.

Jesus stood on the mountain before He ascended and said, “...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). He had it ALL. Then He turned to the believers and said. “...these signs shall follow them that believe....cast out devils, speak with new tongues, lay hands on sick and they'll recover (Mark 16:17,18) He was saying, 'now you go in my name and do these things'. This is where God's power, God's authority was delegated back to man.

The enemy knows that there is power in our words. That is why he tries so desperately to get us to confess doubt, fear, and unbelief. It is very important what words we allow to come forth out of our mouth. They need to be faith filled words, words that line up with the Word of God, so that we can begin to see great things happen in our life and the life of others and start living that victorious life in Him.

The Word tells us how to develop our faith in Romans 10:17. Our faith comes by hearing the Word. We need to begin speaking the answers instead of our problems. Quit praying the problem and start praying the answer.

If you feel that you have been living a defeated life or maybe things have been okay but you know that you've been settling for less instead of God's Best that He so desires for you, then take notice of what has been coming out of your mouth. Death & Life is in the power of the tongue. Have we been speaking life or death?

Let us all determine that we are going to be more conscious of what we speak this coming new year. Begin to speak good things into your life and the life of others.

Ponder this thought: What if Jesus came up to you and touched you and said, “From this day forth, everything that you speak will come to pass for your life”, would the words you speak become more important to you?

Let it be for us as it was with Mary and tell the Lord this Christmas....“Let it be done unto me, according to your Word. Let YOUR WORD be birthed in me that I might then share YOU with the world just through the Words I speak that will bring LIFE not only to MY LIFE but to theirs as well.”
Thank you all so much for your encouragement and support. My prayer for you all is that you will receive God's Best this coming year and that you won't settle for Less! My prayer for those of you who have not yet opened up your heart and life to the Lord Jesus, this Christmas I pray that you will allow your heart to be the vacancy for the Lord to Be Born in You!!
Have a Blessed Merry Christmas and a Happy & Changed New Year!
Connie Schmoll
If you are viewing this from your email, please visit http://waitingatthewindow.blogspot.com to view the video/music titled. “Be Born In Me” by Francesca Ballistelli.

The 7 Days Before Christmas!

The 7 Days Before Christmas

Day 1 (Dec 19^th) The Magic of Christmas - The Magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His Presence. Take the time today to just rest in the Lord and enjoy His Presence. It's going to be a busy week getting things ready so also take this day to find a place with Jesus and cast all your cares on Him. Welcome His help and be sure to include Him in everything this week. Also Pray for friends, family, and even enemies asking God to give them their special gift this year and pray that they all will receive God's Magical Presence in their life!

Day 2 (Dec 20^th) Change - The 3 C's in Life are Choice, Chance and Change. Are you really wanting to see some changes in your life that you've just been afraid to make? You must make the Choice, to take the Chance, if you want anything in life to Change. Be determined today to apply the 3 C's to your life today!

Day 3 (Dec 21^st) Give - Giving is what Christmas is all about. Christ was the greatest gift given to mankind today. Choose a person today that you would like to bless with a special gift for Christmas.

Day 4 (Dec 22^nd) Serve – Find someone who is in need of a service or help and volunteer your time for them.

Day 5 (Dec 23^rd) Feast – Let this day be a Fun Filled Feast of Favorites. Let everyone choose their favorite food and have them all on this night. Spend the time sharing great expectations and dreams for the new coming year.

Day 6 (Dec 24^th) Unopened Gift – When our son was younger, we always allowed him to open One gift on Christmas eve. There are many unopened gifts under the Lord's Tree today just waiting to be unwrapped by you. What one gift has remained unopened way too long for you? Salvation, Healing, Forgiveness, etc? Choose today to receive that free gift just waiting for you to unwrap.

Day 7 (Dec 25^th) Celebrate - Celebrate Jesus today. Let your day center totally around Jesus and the gift He has brought to us and be thankful. Enjoy the things that mean the most to you that money can't buy. Love, laughter, happiness, togetherness, family and friendship.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to all!

Connie J. Schmoll

Why Does My Body Still Hurt?

In 2008, after being diagnosed with enlarged ovaries full of cysts and it being recommended that I have a complete hysterectomy, I scheduled the surgery. After realizing that I had not even consulted God about what I should do, but just did what the doctor suggested, I began to talk with God about it and ended up refusing the surgery, canceled the appointment and began believing God for a healing.

Three years later, being treated for a kidney stone, I'm reminded again of the enlarged ovaries and told that the mass has gotten bigger and that there is a chance of malignancy but they can't know for sure until a surgery is performed.

Fear began to take up residency in my mind and a deep disappointment settled in my heart. I had stood for 3 years trusting God for a healing! Why has the situation not changed?! I became angry with God and voiced it not only to God but to others. This led to guilt settling in me for being angry with God.

Wow, just look how quickly I had given access to the devil in such a short time. Look how quickly the devil can steal God's Word from your heart if you allow it. But I found that I could not stay angry with God because I knew too much of His Word that I had hidden in my heart and I was NOT about to let the devil steal it from me this time!

God began reminding me of many of the lessons He'd taught me in the past that I had been inspired to write as devotionals. You can read about how I dealt with the anger I felt by reading, “Just Be Honest!”.

It's okay to be angry but sin not. When we begin to voice it by speaking words that are contrary to the Word of God, that is when our troubles will worsen. It's okay to be angry but we need to just begin to pray and ask God for understanding. This is the place I found myself. I just needed to understand. Just be honest with God of how you feel. I began to tell God, “God your Word says I'm healed. I believe it. So, why does my body still hurt? Please explain to me.” God will explain to you and tell you what to do. I wanted to share what God began showing me.

1. Misguided Faith – I was 'believing' God for a healing which actually meant I was waiting on God to heal me; I was hoping He would heal me, which is misguided faith. I actually needed to not only believe it but receive that healing, knowing it is already done! By His stripes we WERE healed (1 Pet. 2:24). My healing was coming progressively because that's what I was believing for. That was not His best, though. And it's not what I wanted. I wanted it NOW!
   
   The Lord will meet us where our faith is, but His best is now. "Now faith is" (Heb. 11:1). Faith must believe that God is (Heb. 11:6), not that He was or is going to be. Faith is now! We have to aggressively take the authority God has given us and bring that healing into manifestation.

2. The Forgotten Key – I had forgotten the Key, the authority that was given to me by God to lock out anything that tried to enter my body. My body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19) and I also have the authority to evict anything that has managed to slip past the door of my mind through doubt or fear and taken up residency in my body that I had allowed to remain. You can read more on that HERE!
   

3. Relationship – I have a lot of knowledge in my head and I know intellectually that by the stripes of Jesus I am healed, but I needed to know this in my heart! I was having trouble with it. "God, I want to know you. I want to know your Word." I needed to know that He did this for ME! "God I want to know YOU!" I needed to know THE GOD of the Word instead of just the Word of God! This can only come by relationship, spending time in prayer, praying in the spirit, and meditating on His Word DAILY. We need to let the Word of God paint a picture for us of who God is and through that revelation have fellowship with Him and know Him. Get that revelation of who He is to YOU personally!
   

4. Be Prepared – I had neglected to apply myself to the Word like I should have been doing. We can't wait for the storm to hit and THEN build the house! We're in big trouble if we do. The storm may be too severe and we'll need to run to the neighbors who are prepared and weather the storm there. We need help to survive, wait until the storm is over and start establishing ourselves in the Word, by confessing the Word.

   But understand that “confessing the word' does not 'make it happen'. We are not creating it. We are not making God do anything. It's already been done. It's present in the spiritual realm, but doing no good for us until it's brought to the physical realm which is done by us believing, receiving and speaking it.

5. WarFare – There are times when we're doing what we know to do, but realize that something is there hindering the manifestation. There is a warfare going on that can only be taken care of through Prayer and Fasting. Keep in mind though that Prayer and Fasting does not move God. It moves YOU! If your body has controlled you for a number of years, and you've been giving it all that it wants and then suddenly decide to attempt to be rid of that control, a warfare erupts! The flesh is not going to give up easy! The devil is not going to give up easy! He's had you for a long time! But now...you know what needs to be done. You just draw on the spirit man to sustain you! You start living off the spirit man and it will take your focus off the physical realm. It is the same with prayer. If you focus your attention on the spirit man through prayer, fasting, studying the Word, etc., it becomes more real to you than the physical. You'll reach a place that what God says has become more real to you than the physical. You'll realize that what God says is more true than anything you can see. Many think that's just a pipe dream, that it's not dealing with reality, but it is. God and what He says can become more real to you than what you see. That's the way a victorious Christian walks. I have set MY mind on the Spirit and I never intend to ever look back! "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6) Remember: Make it a priority to never remove the Armor of God. (Ephesians 6)

Some of you are battling something right now and want a word from God. You say, "O God, speak to me," and the Bible is right there in your hand! God has spoken to you! The written Word of God is a more sure word of prophecy than any audible voice. You couldn't ask for more.

We have our Bible on our table and say, "God, where are you?" He's right there, where He's always been! Pick it up, blow the dust off the thing, and read it! The Bible is God speaking to us. It is God's Word. We need to exalt it.

We can do that. We can lose our own life, our own senses, our own wisdom, and get to the place where it's only God's Word that makes sense to us. This carnal world doesn't make sense anymore to me. It's God's Word that makes sense. Everything else is screwed up. It's not God's Word that is screwed up — it's the rest of the world! Get a hold of that.

We can renew our mind to think that way. We can get to where God's Word is greater than anything — greater than the word of a doctor, the word of a lawyer, whoever. It doesn't matter what they have — if it's contrary to God's word, it's ignorance. It's a fool who is speaking. We have a lot of educated fools, but if they don't speak the Word, it's because there isn't any truth in them. The Scripture says that (Is. 8:20).

We need to get to the place that God's Word becomes everything to us. Through the Word, we'll come into a heartfelt revelation of who God is. If we will exalt God's Word in a crisis, if we will fast and pray to get our body under control, if we will ignore what our senses are telling us, it will deal a death blow to Satan's work in our life. It may take time to do this, but believe me, it'll be worth it. Let's do this now and finally end this war!

Love you all and I'm standing with you!

Connie Schmoll

If you are viewing this from email, visit my devotional site to view and listen to the video, "Our God Reigns!" POWERFUL SONG that we should begin each day with!!

The Forgotten Key

For the millionth time, I leaped from my chair and rushed to the door. Not again! I pressed my body up against the door, trying desperately to keep them out. Why don't they just go away and leave me alone! All I could think about at the moment was, I needed to get to the window!

I started toward the window but the pounding on the door was so loud and the pushing from the outside was getting stronger! Oh no! Some got through!! I raced back to the door, slamming it shut! This battle went on for what seemed like hours. Sweat poured from my body and every part of me ached with pain. Finally everything went silent. I fell to the floor exhausted. As soon as I felt it was safe enough to move from the door, I went and sat by the window where a bright light shone through. Peace and quiet (yet pain remained) once again...until next time.

Attempting to put a picture to what I'd been going through lately, the above is what I began describing to my friend the other day. A daily battle of wrong thoughts forcibly trying to break through the door of my mind. The doctor reports haunting me! Pain and disease taking up residence in my body that I seemed to have permitted to stay. WHY??!! Back & forth from all of that to My Window of Hope: The Word of God, and I was growing very weary of it all.

Then the Lord said STOP! Stop this battle of running back and forth! Connie, You have the key!! I have given YOU the key!! Then He began to minister through his servant (my friend) and the Word....

KEY is the symbol of authority!

In the Old Testament, the holder of the keys had the power to admit or deny entrance to the House of God. (I Chronicles 9:22-27, Isaiah 22:22)

In the New Testament, keys were used figuratively as a symbol of authority (particularly the authority of Christ over the final destiny of persons). The risen Christ holds the Key to David and controls access to the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 3:7)

In Matthew 16:18,19 Jesus delegated the power of the keys to His Disciples, combining the imagery of keys with that of binding and loosing, which describe the concept that the church has the power and means to announce that sin was condemned or forgiven.

The keys of the kingdom given to Peter was a symbol in locking or unlocking sins and illustrated his authority in binding and loosing. (Matthew 16:19) Then in Matthew 18:18, this same power was given to the church as a whole. Whatever the church declared to be wrong or right would have been anticipated and ratified in heaven by divine sanction.

We have the God-given authority to speak His Word over every negative situation that happens in our lives. Why do many of us fail to use this authority? It makes me think of how we carry around this big ring full of keys and realize that there is that one key on the ring that we have forgotten what it goes to...what door it opens. Have You ever done that?

I'm reminded of the promise given in Isaiah 55:10-11, one of my favorite Scriptures that always brings encouragement to me, that just like when the rain or the snow falls from above, and returns not but it waters the earth, bringing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, it is also with the Word of God that is spoken from our mouth, that it will not return void but it will accomplish what it is sent forth to do!

My friend, if you are battling something right now, please know that you have the authority to EVICT whatever has entered the body that has no right to be there. You HAVE the authority, THE KEY to that door to LOCK OUT whatever does not have the right to enter or to UNLOCK the door to let in whatever is needed for you to receive.

If you may be battling a health issue, your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and you have the key...the authority to allow what comes in and what stays out!! You know the truth! You know what is right and wrong! No more battling with trying to hold that door shut! No more allowing those things to reside that may have slipped through that door!! It's time that they be evicted!!! All it takes is just a matter of decision on your part and choosing to take appropriate action of either unlocking the door or locking it.

YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE KEY! USE IT!

Connie J. Schmoll

Good News!

Hello Friends & Family,

Some of you are new subscribers and may not know the past history of “Waiting At The Window”. I have some great news to share with ALL OF YOU but first I want to give a bit of history so all can understand what is happening.

About a year and a half ago, I chose a publisher, Publish America, to publish my devotional book, “Waiting At The Window”. I had signed a contract that gave them rights to my book for 7yrs. THEN, I began finding out bad things about this publisher that I was NOT happy with. I tried getting out of the contract but they would not give in. So, I left it in the hands of the Lord and just kept praying for the day to come when I'd get the rights back.

Well...the GOOD NEWS IS....

I received an email a few days ago from Publish America giving me the option of having my publishing rights of my book, "Waiting At The Window", reverted back to me! It costs me some money but I don't care. It's worth it to me. I've been waiting for this moment! The contract I had signed was for 7yrs, so it's just been a little over a year now. I knew that if I did not promote the book (since they had the cost of it outrageous) that there would be no sales (since they try to make their money from ME), and with no sales happening, they would eventually give this option. SO GLAD IT FINALLY HAPPENED!

I paid the money and it's all set in motion! All I do now is wait on the termination documents to arrive in the mail. I am SO ready to move forward with this. I will either look for another publisher or self publish and get my book redone so that it can be placed on the market for sale! YES!!

I AM SO EXCITED! Now I just have to get motivated with getting the manuscript altogether once again and add to the book more devotionals that I have written since then.

Just wanted to share the news!! Please be praying for me about this!

Thanks,
Connie Schmoll

Stay Connected!

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. - John 15:5

We are always trying to find the quickest and surest way to accomplish things. We read how-to-books or look for "easy steps to succeed". Christians even seek simple formulas to guarantee success in walking with God. We wish someone would come up with a surefire method for avoiding sin and accelerating growth as God's children, but...

IT'S A RELATIONSHIP
Jesus viewed the Christian life as a relationship, not a math problem. He knew we would hope for a few easy steps to follow. But instead of a method, Jesus answered with a beautiful word-picture in John 15.

To explain how to walk as His disciple, Jesus chose the metaphor of a fruit bearing vine. He is the vine; we are the branches; and the Father is the Vinedresser. Like members of one organism, we are connected in an intimate relationship with our Lord. If this connection is severed, our lives will be empty and unfruitful. Jesus is our sole source of life (vs 4-5). Just as a branch finds its home in the vine, we must abide in Jesus Christ, finding our home in Him. The secret to the Christ life is not following a set of rules, but maintaining an essential relationship with the Ruler.

IT'S AN ADVENTURE

Christians who abide in Christ march to the best of God's Spirit. We follow His lead. The Holy Spirit serves as our spiritual compass, guiding and empowering us to overcome any challenge along our journey as we remain in Him.

Abiding means obeying. Jesus explains that His words actually cleanse us. And if Christ's words remain in us, our prayers will be heard and answered by the Father. (Vs. 3,7) God's Word is the Christian's source of life.

Abiding is loving. Jesus urges us to remain in His love and commands us to love each other with the same selfless love He has shown us. (Vs 9-10, 12) Those who are connected to Jesus will love as He did.

Remember: The fruit that we produce by staying connected to Jesus is an effect, not a cause of a healthy relationship with God. So...STAY CONNECTED, for without Him, you can do nothing.

Connie J. Schmoll

Many Gifts Unopened

The Christmas season is coming upon us once again. To be honest, I get a bit frustrated at times during this season because of the many misconceptions of what it's all about. The other night, God spoke to me in a dream and showed me the reason for all the misconceptions...

In the dream I stood afar off watching the busyness of life that occurs during this time of year. So many people hurriedly purchasing numerous items of merchandise, wanting the best and never considering their financial state or consequence of their actions, just as long as they get what THEY want. The scene seemed so chaotic and gloomy.

Suddenly the scene changed. On the other side of the street stood a huge tree decorated with beautiful white lights that totally lit up that side of the street. Underneath this tree were piles of nicely wrapped gifts of all shapes and sizes. Positioned next to the tree was a sign that read FREE GIFTS. There were so very few people on this side of the street.

As I continued to watch activities of both sides, I began to ask God, "Why, Father? Why aren't the people taking freely of the gifts from beneath that beautiful tree? After all, they are all there to freely take; available to everyone." Then He answered me and said, "It is because they cannot see it. Many have been blinded and only see what the world has to offer."

Many people allow the every day affairs of this life to take over their life and can't see "beyond the veil" into the eternal realm. On one side is "the seeing world" where there are things they can touch, feel and see. But on the other side, what many truly desire to have and try to reach for is "the unseen realm" where all the provisions are - all things God has stored up for us. Gifts for us that are freely given. All we have to do is believe they are there and reach out and receive them.

The Lord spoke to me again and said, "My people today have been taught faith correctly. However, they cannot see into the Promised Land clearly enough to see where their treasures are, in order to grasp them by faith."

If there is ever a time to begin speaking God's Word for an individual - it is today! Let us believe that we and others be given a dream, a vision of all that God has for us and that we all become aware of all those UNOPENED GIFTS that lie beneath that tree just waiting to be received and opened by us.

What gifts from God for YOUR life remain UNOPENED, still sitting beneath that tree? Is it healing? Deliverance? Salvation? A circumstance in your life that you continue to tolerate but wouldn't have to?

Many of us are getting pretty good at freely giving to others. When are you going to freely RECEIVE? HE HAS FREELY GIVEN! NOW FREELY RECEIVE!

Let no UNOPENED GIFTS REMAIN.

Connie J. Schmoll