Prayers and Dreams

My sweet five-year-old, Cambrey had a dream last week that she was so eager to share with me. She said that we were camping in a tent with our family. We prayed and then went outside of our tent. Suddenly an angel appeared in the sky and said, "Jesus will visit you soon" After that Jesus came down on a cloud and began to tell us many important things. She couldn't remember what he said, but remembered it being very special and important. After that, Jesus joined us in the car on the drive back home. He sat in the backseat and told us lots of great things. Then He went back up to Heaven on the cloud. She was beaming as she shared this with me,

A week prior, she had found some pretty pink crystals in the basement. They were scattered about on the floor in a way meant just for her. Almost like a trail someone had made. No one in the family had ever seen them before. When I asked her whose they were, she said they were a gift to her from Jesus. She said, "Mom, Jesus knows that I love crystals and that pink is my favorite color. He did this just for me!" She was so happy, she took them to show-and-tell at preschool and told everyone what had happened.

I have been fasting and praying over the past few months to have a personal witness of my Savior and to see Him face to face and talk with Him. I know it sounds like a big request, but I also know that He tells us to ask and we shall receive. No request is too big for the Lord. When I heard my daughter say, "Jesus will visit you soon", I couldn't help but feel that message was just for me. It was a beautiful and tender mercy.

I know that the Lord hears our prayers and they are important to Him. He knows the desires of our hearts and it pleases Him when we ask for them in faith. He wants to bless us with what we ask for. Never give up on your prayers and never give up on the Lord.

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Surprise!

Well, this is as Indie as it gets!  I've been working on a Christ-Centered album over the past few months. It's been so rewarding and fun to make. I tapped into my singer/songwriter gifts and here is the result!

This is the first track release from my new album, "Outside the Box". The track is called, "Through the Night". The album is set to be released next month and features a lot of local talent. I'm so excited!

Here is a link to more details about my music, and I pasted an interview I did about the song and album, below. It really was a special experience!

http://lindseyrietzsch.blogspot.com/p/singer-songwriter.html

Tell Us About Your Album Title

"I love to think about how God cannot be kept in a box. Sometimes we put limits on Him, when in reality He is so much more than we realize. When we step outside the box, we begin to see the incredible hand of God in our lives in a way we never thought possible. Our faith is strengthened, our hope is lifted, and we step into a new light."

What is "Through the Night" About?

"This heart-felt song represents the desperate and weary plea of someone who has tried to overcome deep trials and challenges on their own. When the breaking point has been reached at the end of a long day, the only option is to turn to the Lord and ask for His love, grace and will to be done. When we ask, He sends us that peace and we realize we can make it through anything with His help.

It was actually written in a major key, but changed into a minor to reflect the mood of the lyrics. The song then lifts into a major key as the lyrics reflect faith and triumph."

What Can We Find on the Album?

"This album features first single release from 2012, "Faith is", as well as guitar performances by Michael Dowdle, vocal contributions by EFY artist Brinleigh Kinne, a bonus track cover of "Through the Night" featuring vocalist Bethany Gainer, a vocal appearance of local musician Troy Langston, and a beautiful new rendition of the hymn 'Lord I Would Follow Thee' - all produced by the very talented, award winning  Mark Stephenson (MAS Studios)".

What's the Inspiration Behind the Video?

"When we are at the end of our rope, and ready to plead our case to the Lord, it's usually at the end of the day, in our home, on our bed, the couch, the porch, or wherever we can find solace. When we talk to Him, we are alone. For this reason the video was filmed in my home. Different shots of places where I usually speak to Him. The sunset was key in the video. Not only representing the end of the day, it also represents "the Son". When we face the Son, we can give Him our pain, suffering and worries and He shines His Light on us. He points us in a better direction.

I always involve my family in my projects - especially my kids. They love to be a part of what I do. Their feedback is so important to me. Each of my kids took turns being the camera man, and when I needed at least a few still shots, my husband took over. They helped during the editing process as well. Their favorite part though, was coming into the studio and singing on the track, "Stand Up Tall".

What Was it Like, Making This Album?

"Writing these songs and being able to sing them, was an incredible experience I will always treasure. This album has a nice mixture of fun, upbeat Christian/folk, contemporary ballads, peaceful hymn elements, and raw, heartfelt energy. The songs have great hooks, are catchy but even more importantly, they have a deep message. This album is a gift for my family and a legacy of love for my posterity to cherish.

The music was Divinely inspired and helped me tap into a new area of musical gifts that has elevated my entire being. It was so much fun inviting others to be a part of this project. I'm honored to showcase local talent, and give a spotlight to all the amazing people in my community who contributed their gifts and time on this album. I'm so excited to be able to share it with the world, and hope that it finds it's way into the lives of all those will be touched by it's message."

What Inspired You to Get Involved with Music?

Music has a powerful influence over us - I have felt that many times. There's enough music in this world that sells us lies and changes our paradigms for the negative. I wanted to be a part of influencing the world for good.

The music I write doesn't come from me, it comes from Above. It's all about the Lord and the messages He shares with me. I want my kids to have music that helps remind them who they really are, where they come from, and what they are capable of. It's so rewarding when they get my songs stuck in their heads. It's so cute to hear their sweet voices singing the words that I wrote. They are my smallest, yet biggest fans, and it makes all of the hard work worth it.

What Advice Can You Give to Other Christ Centered Indie Songwriters, Authors, etc?

While working on the video, there were days when the adversary would cast doubts in my mind. The video wasn't "good enough", my voice wasn't "good enough", people were going to criticize my work, and it would distract from the message of my song, etc. But then one day I heard a voice say, "You will always be good enough for Me, and that's all that matters." Shortly afterward, I heard a song come on the radio that crushed all my doubts. I smiled because it's the same advice I always teach in my workshops and videos but I needed to hear it from someone else. The song is called, "It's Not About You" by Davis Handley.

There's a line in the chorus says, "It's not about you, it's for the people who are blessed by what you do." That's the truth. Whenever you are nervous or afraid to share your gifts or be in the spotlight remember who it's really about - and all your fear will go away.  When you are afraid, who are you listening to? The adversary puts the focus on us - fear comes from him - but the Lord helps us put our focus on other people, and we find peace. When I speak, write books, present, or sing, I'm speaking, writing, and singing to "the one". The one person who I know was the reason for why I was inspired to share my gifts. The one person I may never meet. God is using me as an instrument in His hands to bless the one."

Surprise Text

**UPDATE** right after I published this post, Misty texted me! Talk about in tune with the Spirit. We chatted for a while and we are going to collaborate with each other, with our gifts. It's amazing how God gives us all different gifts, and when we come together and share them - we become a powerful force to be reckoned with. :)

***

A few weeks ago I received a text out of the blue from someone I met a year-and-a-half ago. Before you understand the power of that text, I have to fill you in on the story.

18 months ago, I was standing in a corner of a room chatting with some ladies I had met at a class. The class had ended and we were enjoying refreshments and making small talk. Now, I didn't need to attend this class, I had already attended it months prior, but for some reason I felt I was supposed to go. So I paid the $20 and drove to Farmington.

About this time, I was telling these ladies that I didn't learn anything new, but felt I was supposed to be there - not sure why.Right after mentioning that, a lady I had never met or spoken to before walked across the room, came up to me and said, "I have a message I'm supposed to share with you."

Yes, my spirit antennas went up. She continued, "I know this sounds strange and you don't know me, but I have a gift. I'm getting such a powerful message about you, and I feel prompted to share. I seldom do this, but when the Spirit prompts, I obey. Here's my card. Call me anytime, and I'd love to share with you."

The next day I called her and she was kind enough to talk to me for two hours on the phone. I had a pen and paper in hand as she shared with me everything she was feeling. She spoke of fears of mine (that no one would know), obstacles I'm facing, but most important she told me that I'm to be a teacher/leader - it was part of my mission and I wasn't doing it because I was afraid. She spoke in powerful parables and I'd ask her to explain. It was the language of the Spirit and it was beautiful. She encouraged me to lose my fear of man and trust the Lord. It was a phone call that changed my life.

The next day, after a second confirmation through a well known public speaker who said, "If you are in this room right now, you are supposed to be a teacher. You are here for a reason. You need to teach others how to be a bright light in this world." - again my spirit antennas went up. I knew that I was to teach the things that I knew, that had made my life better and brighter. That was the day I began teaching classes and shortly after being asked to speak at conferences.

Now several months later, a turn of unexpected events happened that caused me to worry about putting myself in the spotlight. These events caused me to be fearful of what others thought of me and the fear of being misunderstood. When the fear would subside and I'd get going again, another event would knock me to my feet. Yes, it was the adversary and I didn't want to let him win, but I decided to take a break from teaching/speaking so I could go back to a quieter life of normalcy.

This quiet period went on for several months. I was comfortable and just focused on me and my family. Then one day, I began to wonder about teaching again. It popped into my head several times on a certain day, but I would just push it away to the back of my mind. However that changed when later that evening at 11:00 pm, I got a text from this lady, "Misty" who had spoken with me on the phone 18 months prior. The text said that I was on her mind and she need to talk to me.

The next day she called me and we spoke as long as we could. Then, she'd call me again, and we'd text back and forth. This went on all day, and I was so grateful to her willingness to obey the Spirit and take the time to share her thoughts, feelings and wisdom with me.

She told me that she had stumbled across my business card while cleaning her office and had a strong feeling that something wasn't right with me - I had stopped teaching. Again, she encouraged me to share my knowledge and gifts and teach! It was the basis of my mission and when I wasn't doing it, my spirit was sad. She knew this and I knew it.

The spirit had been impressing these nudges upon my mind, but I wasn't listening. I needed a phone call - someone to tell me loud and clear what I had already been feeling. And so I listened. I've started teaching and speaking again - and it feels great!

When thoughts impress upon your heart and mind - realize they are from the Spirit. If they promote good, they are of the Lord. Don't push them aside - you could miss out on an opportunity that will change your life. Always listen the first time and act upon what you are prompted to do. As you do this, the Spirit will speak to you more often and you will begin to notice and hear. Life will fall into place.

This I testify in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Beautiful Witness - Christ Heals

The other night as I was putting my girls to bed, I took the opportunity to to teach them about using the atonement to heal bad thoughts and images. I asked my girls if there was ever anything that they had seen or heard that they didn't like. They said, "yes". I then asked them if that image or thought ever replays in their mind. They said, "yes". 

I taught them that if they ask Jesus to take those images and thoughts from their mind, He will! I encouraged them to have a relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son, and promised them that life will get so much better by doing so.

The next morning, my older daughter Paisley, sat across from me at the breakfast table and said, "Mom, I had a special dream last night."

"Will you share?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "I dreamed that Jesus was putting his hands on people's heads and blessing them. I was one of those people. He blessed me!"

"Really?" I asked with enthusiasm, "Did you see His face?"

"No," she said. "Our eyes were closed like we were praying or sleeping. We did not open our eyes but we could hear his voice and feel his hands."

"Did you ask Him last night to heal your mind of any thoughts?" I asked a little curious.

"Yes Mom," she beamed, "I did it twice!"

"Sweetheart," I said, "I believe you received a witness of what happens when you make that request. You got to see Jesus healing your mind. And those other people were probably people who prayed the same prayer last night."

What a beautiful tender mercy and testament that our minds can be cleansed of anything through the Savior. He heals us! He cares about the request of a seven-year-old girl enough to allow her to witness His love for her in a beautiful dream. I hope this experience inspires you to develop a closer relationship with your Father in Heaven and His Son. There isn't anything He cannot heal you from. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Peace, Prayer, and Power (a Recent Experience)

A little over a week ago I had some very exciting news happen, out of the blue. At the time I thought it was one of my biggest dreams coming true and a long-time prayer being answered. I was so excited that I beamed the entire day and nothing could have stopped me from being so happy that day....well, or so I thought.

Later that evening, as I investigated the good news I received, I saw that it wasn't at all what I had thought it to be. As I looked over the company's website again and again just to make sure that there wasn't a small ounce of hope I could hang on to, or something I had misunderstood, I quickly realized this was not an answer to my prayer. It was not at all what I had envisioned earlier that day.

Right away I felt a punch to the gut as reality sank in. All of that adrenaline and those endorphins, gone. What I thought was an opportunity that was going to take my dreams to the next level was nothing of the sort at all. Reminding myself that I need to always practice what I preach, I began to praise and thank the Lord for this experience. I praised Him for what I was to learn from it. I let Him know that I still had hope, but that I was also running low on motivation.

Over the next five days I felt zapped of positive energy. As I let each of my family members know (who had been there when I received the exciting surprise phone call) that I had turned down the "opportunity" as it was not what I thought it was, it felt as though someone was standing over me with a giant hammer and pounding my dreams and hopes to pieces. No matter what I did, this heaviness and devastation followed me around. I couldn't seem to shake it.

I thought about in that moment of excitement and shock, how I had put down the phone and prayed to my Heavenly Father and thanked Him for blessing me with this dream come true. Then I proceeded to tell my parents and siblings, and their families how you should never give up on your dreams and how Heavenly Father always has something amazing planned for us if we have hope, faith, and we ask. It was as though I gave the speech before accepting the Grammy - and the Grammy went to someone else. My family (who many had abandoned their dreams), must have been thinking, when is she going to finally stop dreaming?

One day, while praying and contemplating all of this, I told the Lord that I just wanted to get lost in service. In that moment, I felt that service was the only way out of this lingering disappointment. Just then I noticed an opportunity on a radio station website, to pray for people. It was a list of random people throughout the country who added themselves to a prayer list and specified what they were in need of. Some needed to feel love, others desired healing, and some just peace of mind or comfort. So, I clicked on the list.

 As random names and requests popped up, I began to pray for each person and their circumstance. As I said each name out loud, I could feel an overwhelming sense of love that our Father in Heaven has for each child. It was as though He was allowing me to feel that love, and as I pleaded on their behalf, I could feel a connection to each of these people and they were no longer just names on a computer screen.

I have always kept a prayer list in a binder for when I say my personal prayers. I add names to it often as I come across friends, neighbors and strangers that are in need - this way I don't forget anyone. There have even been times when people have called me and asked me to pray for them because they call me a "prayer warrior" - and I have added their names to my list. I have to say however, that praying for complete strangers, without understanding their full circumstances was a completely different experience. There was something very healing about it.

After an afternoon of praying, I felt an enormous sense of peace come over me, like I have never felt before. I can't explain it but I know it came from God. That heaviness and disappointment was gone! In fact, what's so strange about it is, I noticed that little things that used to bother me no longer bothered me at all. Past memories that were not so pleasant in my life suddenly had no unpleasant feelings attached to them. It was as though I had been cut free of all doubts, worries, fears, anxieties etc. I didn't have very many to begin with, but I had enough to realize there was such a big difference in my life now.

This amazing and incredible peace has stayed with me for over a week now. It's an enormous feeling of "all is well and all will stay well". Later that day, after praying for others, I received an email from a company in California letting me know they are interested in possibly extending the opportunity to me that I had been praying for. This time instead of great excitement or even doubts from the previous experience, I felt an amazing sense of peace with this email. I responded by thanking them and then putting it into the Lord's hands. I believe this was the motivation I had asked for. Later that evening, random readers, strangers and friends, connected with me through social media and each thanked me for something I had inspired them with. Again, the Lord was sending me motivation to keep on doing what I'm doing, and to keep on dreaming.

I know that as we forget about disappointments and worries in our own lives, and we hand everything over to the Lord while losing ourselves in service, He will bless us with His peace.
I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Here is a link to the prayer list - if you'd like to join!

http://www.klove.com/ministry/prayer/pray.aspx?cta=prayforsomeone

A Miracle Almost Unnoticed

Last Sunday, we were on our way to the Provo Temple dedication. It was me, my husband and our son Gabe. When we opened up the house door to the garage we realized that the garage door was wide open. We had checked the night before and made sure it was closed, so this was puzzling.

We checked through the garage to make sure nothing had been stolen and all seemed well. So, we hopped in the car and headed on over to the church. Just as we were turning left through the intersection, we heard a loud noise and the car jumped. Almost like we had driven over something and it popped the tire or broke the wheel. As we continued to drive, the car made a weird sound from the back and it seemed to wobble and shake as if we had a flat tire or something worse. As we looked out the back window and all around, there was nothing in the rode we could have driven over - not even a hole. It was a smooth, clean intersection.

Suddenly Gabe and I came to the same speculation. What if the adversary had opened our garage? What if he had tried to mess with our car so that we would miss the temple dedication? Gabe and I both realized that we had forgot to ask for protection in our prayers the night before - something we always asked for. In that moment I had a feeling of peace come over me. I could see in my mind angels coming to the rescue and repairing the problem while we were driving. I knew that by the time we stopped the car - we'd find nothing.

The car continued to wobble as we pulled into the church and parked. We all jumped out and checked the back tires. Nothing! They seemed just fine. We looked under the car and looked at the front tires. Everything was completely normal. So, we headed into the church and enjoyed a beautiful dedication. When we came out, I had the feeling that our car would not wobble anymore and that the angels had fixed it. Sure enough, as we started it and began to pull out, there was no wobble and no sign of anything out of the ordinary. It has now been three days, and the car has had no sign of any kind of trouble.

God is amazing and it's so humbling to think about the many times that He thwarts the enemy's plans - without us even realizing it. How many times have we been on the brink of danger or destruction, but the Lord intervened before we even knew what the enemy was up to? I felt as though in this situation, the enemy was allowed to go so far with his plans so that we would recognize the Lord's hand in our lives in that moment. We would be reminded that when things can't be explained - the Lord is behind it. It's a good thing!

I share my testimony that God is more powerful than the adversary. He is always in control and His will is always triumphant. With that knowledge we can have peace that we don't always have to understand or comprehend the "why" behind the circumstances in our lives. We can just trust that the Lord knows what He is doing, and everything works out for our good in His due time. We just need to trust Him, and then receive His peace. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I found a similar story online and thought I would share:  http://www.markcole.ca/do-angels-fix-flat-tires/

My Husband's Dream

My husband had a dream two nights ago that there was a storm. All the trees in our yard bent over and broke. Then it moved onto the neighbors yard and their trees also bent over and snapped. He thought it a very strange dream. My husband seldom has dreams, and rarely remembers them or shares them with me. I knew this dream was of importance.

I told him that trees represent the family so this dream would mean that a coming storm is going to try and "break" families. I have seen this already happening in my neighborhood.  

I saw this as reminder that we need to shield our home, property and family daily. A day that goes by without prayer or request of Divine protection, is a day that the adversary can infiltrate. The power of prayer is real. The power of the Hosts of Heaven is mighty.

I'm going to put my prayer emphasis on my neighborhood and all the sweet families in my ward and stake. Every morning and night. I think it's great that we pray for our neighborhoods and communities. We don't have to accept or tolerate darkness. We can call upon Heaven to attack it anytime. As we do this, and then ask for Divine protection to keep darkness from coming back in, we can be triumphant!

My marriage and relationship with my children is the best it has ever been right now. It's too important to leave vulnerable to the enemy. I know we have been blessed because of this daily Divine protection. It's my prayer that other families will not yield to the lies and traps of Satan and that they will have the strength to ask for help, and not try to fight the battle on their own. I know that angels are always standing by ready to come fight on our behalf. We just need to ask.

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.