Meet my BFF and author Joyce Ray... and Book Giveaway

I'd like to introduce to you my best friend and author... Joyce Ray. We have been best friends for over 30 years. We met in the 5th grade, and she hasn't been able to get rid of me since! Just kidding.  ;)

Seriously... Joyce has stood by me through thick and thin. The good. The bad. And a lot of the ugly. Just ask her. No...She won't tell you. She's too good of a friend. See what I mean? But yes, she's been there for it all.

We've learned a lot over the years. Even now as we're older, the Lord is still teaching us and helping us grow in Him. Often He's teaching us the same lesson at the same time, each in our own way. It's when we get together to talk that we discover how God works in us and our friendship. Iron really does sharpen iron, and I consider myself blessed to have such a friend in Joyce.

Not long ago, Joyce wrote a book called Active Christianity. It's available at Tate Publishing. In it, she talks about the struggles of trying to be the perfect Christian. Hiding behind the mask of who we believe we should be... or the mask of what we think others expect of us. And the feeling of failure from 'pretending' to be the perfect christian. She reminds us that abiding in Christ and accepting the finished work on the cross is the only way to live the life God intended.

Joyce and I have learned so much together that I have asked her to do a guest post for me. I think she has a lot to share that would be helpful and minister to many. So you may be seeing a little bit more of her here on my blog.

For now, this is what she had on her heart to share...

When Mary Ann invited me to the Cross Walk and to hear Arthur Blessitt speak on Sunday morning, I was very excited. I knew that it was going to be an exciting weekend full of many blessings, but what I did not know is that it would be life-changing, not only for myself, but for all who were a part of it. It was a weekend that I, along with many others, will never forget.

What stood out in my mind about this weekend was the love of Christ as it radiated off of Arthur Blessitt. It was evident in his countenance, in his actions, and in his words every time he spoke. “I love Jesus, and I love people.” I will never forget the passion with which he shared these words. He had no agenda apart from loving others and sharing God’s love with others, and this is exactly what he has dedicated his life to. This made me question, “What have each of us dedicated our lives to?”

Our world is filled with things – some good and some bad – that can fill our minds, take our time, and drain us of our energy. Then there are the messages that the world sends our way every day. Messages like “money brings happiness, looks are everything, and happiness is found in a good relationship”. As Christians we know where our focus should be; we know where we want it to be; but sometimes it seems like the pull of the world overrides all that we know should be. The end result is often guilt and depression as we find ourselves crying out as Paul did, “The things I want to do I don’t do, and the things that I don’t want to do I do.”

So what is the answer to this struggle? I used to think that the answer was found in living a disciplined life - be a doer of the Word, make the right choices, die to self, and walk in absolute obedience to God. What I discovered, however, was that I had it all backwards. All of these things are important, but they are not the first steps. They are the outcomes of a life dedicated to loving God.

As Christians we’ve got to start putting first things first. If we want our love for God to be real, and not just one of those things we say because we are Christians and of course we love God, then we can’t just say we love Him; we have to fall in love with Him. We’ve got to get to know Him, find out what’s in His heart, and what He desires for us. We’ve got to spend time with Him, talking to Him and listening as He talks to us. We’ve got to start running to Him when things in life start crumbling around us, and quit running away from Him. We’ve got to share with Him our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and our innermost desires. We can’t worry about trying to be good enough; we’ve got to come to Him just as we are. This is how true love happens.

Once we have fallen in love with Him, as the words of the familiar hymn says, “The things of the earth will grow strangely dim…” Obedience will no longer seem like a chore or a struggle, it will be a natural reaction to the overwhelming love that we’ve experienced in Christ and that we have for Him. It will be only then that we can truly say as Arthur Blessitt says, “I love Jesus, and I love people.”


Joyce is a gifted writer, speaker, and teacher. She has so much to share. And speaking of sharing... she'd like to give away a copy of her book. Ok... 2 copies!

This is my first giveaway... ever. So, if you'd like to enter, please leave me a comment including your email so I can notify you if you win. If no one comments, I'll save it for another time. If you're the only one to comment, then... you win. And if I have more comments than books (here's hoping!) then I will have a random drawing for the books. Sound fair? Great.

And I should mention that I will take entries thru Monday, March 7th at midnight and the drawing will be held Tuesday, March 8th. I will notify the winner by email.

Thanks for reading today and God bless!

Mary Ann :)

Things I Learned Following The Cross

It's amazing how God can use a single event to change your life.

That's what happened to me after walking down the Fremont Street Experience with Arthur Blessitt as he carried the cross. And then to hear him share all that the Lord has done in his life over the years... well, it just spoke volumes to my heart. It's been a week now and the Lord is still showing me new things.

I know I've already posted about the movie The Cross and the CrossWalk itself, but I learned so much... I really want to share a little more.

I'm not sure what I expected from the walk. I was excited to go and be a part of it. That I knew. But I was unsure of how the evening would go. I guess if I'm honest, I was thinking people would just kind of walk up to me... ask me about the Lord... and I'd smile, say "God Bless You" and give them a tract. You know? Then they'd be all happy and as excited as I was and just follow along. Right? Well...  I was hoping. But that's not exactly how it went.

It's been at least 20 years since I've been involved in any kind of street witnessing, so I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said I was more than a little intimidated. Times have certainly changed. Some people were not as welcoming. Some wouldn't even acknowledge us. Yet some were interested and wanted to know more. My BFF and my Little Boy ended up handing out most of my tracts and stickers. I guess I was like the one providing for the 'missionaries' to go out. They both did a great job - and I'm so proud of them.

But to show you God's goodness.... When it was almost the end of the walk, about 3/4 of the way back, a man walked right up to me and asked if he could have the last tract I had in my hand. Here I didn't have the boldness or courage to witness to strangers, and my loving Father sent someone to me and showed me that He can and will use me in spite of my weaknesses.

Arthur Blessitt said "I am unworthy to be called by God - but my unworthiness does not disqualify me from the call of God." What a revelation that was for me this weekend. Instead of standing there fighting that 'thing' in my life that I just can't quit, can't do, can't fix or can't be... all I have to do is follow Jesus. Lay it all down... and follow Jesus.

I watched my 'Little Boy' follow Jesus on that walk. I saw him being used by God. Struggles and all. Talking to strangers. Walking up to people who would have walked right passed us. Sharing Jesus, inviting them to church. and loving them. God gave me a vision that weekend for my son... I saw him walking toward the cross, following Jesus... as he left those addictions behind. What an awesome God we serve!

My Baby Girl was walking with us and we would often get behind or too far ahead. From the beginning, she took it upon herself to be the one to 'keep her eyes on the cross'. She would ask "Mom, where's the cross? Where's the big cross?" What a great lesson for my 7-year-old. I told her how proud I was of her for always looking for the cross, always knowing where we were supposed to go... so we didn't get lost. I shared with her that this is how we should live our lives. We should always be looking to Jesus. We should always look to see where He is leading us... and follow after Him so we don't lose our way.

When we reached the end of Fremont Street, which marked the 1/2 way point, we were to turn around and head back. Well... at the end of the street there were these dancers up on a small stage outside of the casinos. Fremont Street is not family friendly, so these girls where pretty scantily clad. My first reaction was to tell my kids, "Don't look at the half-naked women up there... look the other way." Well... I stood convicted. The Lord showed me that I was trying so hard to avoid sin that I was overlooking those who were still trapped in it.

As I would later learn... one of the dancers, when she saw Arthur Blessitt walking by... jumped right off the stage and ran to the cross. Not worried about her job, how she was dressed, or what anyone else thought... she ran to the cross. She told Arthur Blessitt that she knew who he was, had seen the movie "The Cross" and was showing it to all her friends. God was using her. He saved her... right where she was.

There are many people who will never see the inside of a church... but they can meet Jesus out on the street... if we are willing to take Him there.

As I listened to Arthur speak Sunday night at our church, one thing touched me in a way that will never leave me...

He said when people say things like "Brother Arthur, you have such great faith, I wish I had the kind of faith you have." or "It must take great faith to go into all these places."...

He tells them... he doesn't go because he has great faith...he goes because he loves Jesus.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

Lord, I want to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength.

Thanks for reading and God bless!
Mary Ann :)

CrossWalk 2011 with Arthur Blessitt

What an amazing night! Of all my years in Las Vegas, I would have never thought I'd see such a thing as a large cross being carried down Fremont Street. Much less witnessing to the passers-by. This is my city... MY city... and I have never seen such a thing. Only God can make it happen! And that... He did!

 Arthur Blessitt praying for us and the people we'd meet and giving us information about the event. He provided tracts and stickers to hand out as we walked.

And we're off...  Right at the beginning, Arthur is already talking to someone about Jesus. As he stopped along the way, those who came for the event were talking to people as they passed by and handing out tracts. Many were curious as to what was going on. Some accepted Jesus. Some didn't want to hear. Some took our tracts and stickers and others refused to even acknowledge us. But the love of Jesus was seen and heard... acknowledged or not.

Praying for someone along the way.

Many people came up to talk to Arthur during the walk.

And he took the time to talk and pray with each of them.

Sharing Jesus with 'Elvis'. :)

It was a wonderful time of witnessing God's love being shared so unconditionally with others. Funny, I thought I'd be spending the night ministering to others.... but God used the time to minister to me.

I'd like to share a little of what I learned tonight... but I will have to do that in another post. Soon to come!

Thanks for reading and God bless!
Mary Ann :)

"The Cross"... The Arthur Blessitt Story

Available at www.blessitt.com

Last night our church showed the movie "The Cross"... the story of Arthur Blessitt. If you've never heard of this man, let me tell you a little about him.

Arther Blessitt began as a preacher on the Sunset Strip. He ministered and shared the love of Jesus to those who others may say are unworthy. Hippies, hookers, drug addicts, Hell's Angels, rock stars and more. He has a heart to love people. ALL people.

In 1968, he said that God told him to take his cross and start walking across America. Two weeks before he was scheduled to leave, he found himself in the hospital, with a brain aneurysm. Faced with the news that any excessive walking or heavy lifting could cause the aneurysm to burst and kill him, he decided that he would rather die doing the will of God, than live outside of it. He said that his circumstances did not alter the call of God on his life... so he headed out, as planned, on Christmas day.

Now, after more than 40 years, Arthur has walked the world over. He's been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for "World's Longest Walk", walking through 315 countries, walking on every continent, and crossing every ocean. He has shared the love of Jesus with every people group, of every language. He has walked through places that no one else would go, knowing that God was sending him.

Here's a trailer of the movie...

Arthur Blessitt is a humble man. He's seen many miracles, and he gives all the Glory to God, and God alone. He says... "I am unworthy to be called by God- but my unworthiness does not disqualify me from the call of God."

I'm very excited for the weekend ahead. Arthur is coming to my city, Las Vegas, to carry the cross down Fremont Street, and share the love of Jesus. I know God is working in Vegas. I miss the days when christians had a heart for the lost, and I'm hoping this weekend will restore that passion in me, and in others.

Lord, give us a heart to reach the lost for You. Bless this event and use it to Your Glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Mary Ann :)