Joshua is now two!!! We're celebrating his birthday a couple days late. We might be having Joshua open gifts tonight. 
I have something sad to relate. We're leaving our specific meetinghouse* (i.e. you might call it 'church') because Daddy and Mommy want to go somewhere more local. I don't want to leave. 
But... I wonder what God is doing now! We'll be visiting a bunch of meetinhouses* until we decide on one. I think there's eight that Daddy and Mommy are considering.
*An explanation for this term in one of the preceding entries.
Sarah wants to write something so here she is! - Moriah
Hi! 
Anyway, I've been wrapping Joshua's presents--so what about you? Good
or bad
? - Sarah
Hosannah's birthday is in a week. I suppose she doesn't remember, because she hasn't talked about it. Maybe we should keep it secret.-just forget all about it! No, I don't think she'll like that.
Bye!
P.S. Dad ran a race recently- came in 3rd overall. Go, Dad!
~Moriah
Sorry for not writing for so long! I forgot all about it. We went to an Easter breakfast at the meeting house--okay, I've decided not to say 'church' in reference to a building, because we're the church, not some building! Now that that's said... We ate yummy stuff and then (two of my younger sisters, two of my younger brothers, and I) we hung out in the nursery until the service started. It's the third time we've been early since we started going to Lion of Judah almost three years ago. (that I remember at least) It's a goal every Sunday morning to get to the, um, meeting house on time.
My sisters Rebekah and Hannah are right now trying to figure out what song to use for choreographing. They're (hopefully) going to do it in a recital. [Rebekah and Hannah are being hopeful- I don't really care, but they're my sisters...]
They're also making chocolate chip cookies- yum! But Hannah had to make brown sugar first by stirring molasses into white sugar. Actually, only Hannah's making them. I love her!
-Moriah
Last sunday Dad ran while I biked. we. We took a different route this time. Ahhh, I love biking! the sound of the tires running along the smooth pavement, the feel of the wind whipping through your hair, the challenge of biking up a long steep hill and then the reward of sailing down the other side your tires picking up more and more speed. Yes, I like a nice long ( ussally 4 miles somtimes 6) bikeride.
Hannah
This is Moriah. I know this is rather belated, considering that we're already eight days into the new year, but this is how we welcomed the new year in:
Our church was doing a 'watch' sort of thing, in which they were going to pray the new year in. Daddy, Mommy, Rebekah, and I went. There was about twenty people there, maybe, and we made a circle of chairs near the front of the church. Mommy was asked to talk about what she said in her prophetic word and other people shared stuff, too. We had brought a shofar, so the pastor blew it when midnight came. Then afterward some people went to the front door of the church and blew it out the door! People in the shops around came to their doors and cheered. (Someone told me about that part- I didn't actually see them). We stayed a bit afterward and then we went home.
This is my first time ever writing an entry on a blog, actually. -- I've commented before, but never written an entry.
Today dad worked on the new addition with some of the kids while mom, me and a few others picked up sticks, cut down pieces of barb wire that was stuck to some trees, cut down small trees, clipped twigs off of big trees so we could see the view... (yeah right! there was this one twig mom couldn't reach.....and she wasn't happy about let me tell you.) I know this sounds like we worked the day away but we actually didn't.
ciao for now
Hannah
I asked Moriah and Rebekah to write an essay about fairness after we were given a good illustration of how people define "fairness". Here is the essay:
All people sin, even young children. The following incident illustrates this fact.
Ethan was riding in the car when Dad stopped and bought oatmeal cookies. Everyone got two apiece, except Ethan. Dad miscounted as he threw them to the back of the van. Ethan displayed a great tantrum after realizing he was overlooked.
Dad questioned him and discovered not only did Ethan want two cookies but that, in his mind, he would have been happy if he had received two cookies and the others went without. However, since he was the one with less, he saw the situation as unfair. Without realizing, Ethan had portrayed a socialist, and very human, mindset.
Socialism agrees with Ethan. If Ethan had received one cookie and everyone else got two, then Ethan had a right to be upset. If Ethan had received two and his brothers and sisters only one then Ethan would be happy, since he was the one with more.
Communism carried out this type of "fairness" on a much larger scale. According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, “Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production.”
The brainchild of communism, Karl Marx, was born into a Jewish family as the third child of seven. In his teen years, he absorbed the views of the German modernists who denounced the deity of Jesus Christ. Marx readily accepted their radical views and formed some of his own. He believed history was, “a class struggle between the wealthy and the poor and private property is the source of the conflict.”
Men want to be fair. God’s fairness is more rightly called Justice. Justice differs from fairness in this manner: Justice is the perfect consequence for the behaviors of men. Fairness only seeks to balance the consequence among many men. Fairness is the bellcurve of true justice.
God is just. He has set up the laws of the universe. If a ball is thrown into the air, it will fall back to the earth. Gravity operates under natural law. The ball’s fall is just. It is fair because we expect the ball to fall. We don’t question it – it just is.
Sin brings death. This is justice. All those who sin with the law will die with the law. The law is just and demands a consequence. God has satisfied this just law and the demand for death by taking the consequence for our sin on the cross. This is not fair…But, it does satisfy the demands of justice.
The Sound
Listen! What is that reaching my ear?
It is growing ever so louder.
My spirit is leaping within me.
My heart knows my Redeemer is near.
There is a Sound reverberating on high,
A beautiful and glorious Sound.
It is the song of the saints worldwide,
Who are now getting ready to fly!
They have yielded their lives to the Lord,
Released all that would hinder their song.
And now God enables them to soar,
As their voices blend in one accord.
Listen! There is yet another Sound.
More awesome than the song of the Bride.
The Sound of Many Waters, so loud,
Commanding His own to be unbound!
Arise, Arise, Oh people of God.
The Lord is beckoning us upward.
Sing the song of the redeemed with awe.
Soon we will behold the face of our God!
12/1/07
Dawn Vickery
12/07/07
“Can you hear Me?”
LISTEN!
Do you hear that sound? It is the sound of many waters. It is God calling out to His Bride. He is saying, “Can you hear Me? Come closer, closer still; I want to talk with you. Get rid of those things that are hindering you from hearing My Voice. REMOVE THEM!”
Follow the directions.
God desires to take His people higher in Him this year, but we must follow the directions! We will go from glory to glory, and greater works will we do, IF we hearken to His voice.
Not I, but Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…
(Galatians 2:20)
He is giving a deeper revelation of who He is, and who we are, in Him.
We have the Spirit of God.
We have the mind of Christ.
We have the faith of God.
We have His DNA.
We are His children!
For in Him we live and move and have our being… (Acts 17:28)
Gates being opened.
This year of new beginnings (2008) will be a year when God’s righteous ones will begin to fly!
God is opening doors and gates this year. This will give His people access to new levels of authority in the Spirit. Revelation 3:7,8 is a key verse this year.
What He opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open… See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.
No more fence sitting!
What is our part? To choose. To choose which side of the fence to get on. God is roaring from heaven:
“No more sitting on the fence! No more compromise! No more mixture! No more lukewarmness! I desire passion and zeal, which is born out of intimacy. Will you embrace Me, or will you embrace Canaanite worship of Baal? Whose side are you on?”
Which side of the fence will we choose? One thing is for sure, we will not be allowed to sit on the fence any longer.
How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is god, follow him. (I Kings 18:21)
No compromise! No mixture! (Zephaniah 1:5-7)
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe” – safe to do all these detestable things? (Jeremiah 7:9,10)
A pure and spotless bride.
This past year, God did much shaking, purging, and exposing. (Joshua 7; Isaiah 1:25)
He raised His holy plumb line (Isaiah 28:17) and promised that once again we would:
See the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. (Malachi 3:18)
God’s house cleaning continues in 2008. (2 Chronicles 29) We will see a major emphasis on getting rid of mixture. Mixture produces lukewarmness and compromise. God wants passion and zeal, our wholehearted pursuit of Him! As we do away with mixture, we will experience the presence of God in a much greater way.
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1)
Trouble is coming 911.
Intimacy with God is imperative if we are to stand strong in what is coming.
The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. (Daniel 11:32)
Hard times are coming. However, we need not fear. Just as God spoke to Joshua, He is speaking to us today.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Prepare for rain!
For there is the sound of a heavy rain. (I Kings 18:41)
An invasion of the Holy Spirit is on the way.
2008 is going to be a glorious year for the consecrated, sold out, zealous saints of God. There are some awesome things in store for those who will hearken to His voice and go through the doors that He is opening.
Get ready to soar! Get ready to have victory over some old enemies!
Rest in the day of trouble.
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
Keep your eyes off what is happening around you and keep them fixed upon Christ alone. Stay close to him. In this way, you will have rest in the day of trouble.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)
Rest is the evidence of faith. People will see you and ask, “How can you have peace?” They will come to you for help, and for answers. (Isaiah 32:2; Zechariah 3:10)
Remember, He has you covered. Do what you can. God will do what you cannot. Expect the miraculous in and through your life this year. Look for divine appointments and divine interventions. He has you covered.
Like the Shunammite widow, you will find yourself in the right place, with the right people, at the right time. (2 Kings 8:5,6)
How you finish is important.
Finish 2007 strong. Run like Elijah in the power of the Holy Spirit and finish this year strong. Then enter into God’s best, and enter into His rest, this 2008.
Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord…Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
(Joshua 24:14,15)
Leading others to liberty.
God wants us to use what He has given us to help lead others to liberty.
Jehovah Reigns!
Happy New Year 2008!
Where in the world is Bedford, Virginia? This beautiful land lies in the heart of Southwestern Virginia. We love to hike and explore the area. It is historic land, full of Native American history and artifacts, legends of founding fathers, Civil war battles, and revivals. Yes, REVIVALS! Bedford, at one time named “Liberty”, had more people surrender to the Lord Jesus than the number of people actually living here. Travelers passing through Liberty would be touched by the Holy Spirit and repent of their sin. Liberty was truly a place of real freedom! And will be once again!
Here’s the news: The children have been busy playing piano, violin, dance, running, and singing. I would say the singing part must be genetic but some of you might argue the point. We have found a wonderful, albeit strict, voice teacher. She has been working with The children for over a year and they have since performed in churches,at the D-Day Memorial, nursing homes and did a commercial on TV. They are also busy
homeshooling…M-A-T-H. (A four-letter word!) .
Dawn has been busy with the children, of course! She has also found time in the early, wee hours of the morning, to spend quiet time in prayer before the Lord. This has translated into exciting times for all of us. God has been downloading Rhema words to her. These have been confirmed many times over and we have shared a brief encapsulation of what God has shown her for 2008 in this letter.
We took a family vacation to the shores of Maine in September. You have not lived until you have dived into 50 degree waters – really helps clear the mental cobwebs. The kids finally convinced me that I would not die. I plunged in after the second day. Well, it may not actually have been a plunge…
This was the first trip to the ocean for Joshua Courage, the latest Vickery. He loved the cold water! Only a boy with Joshua’s middle name could love that water! Like his Biblical namesake, he will take mountains for the Lord.
We went to The Call in Nashville in July. This was a day of fasting and prayer for the nation with 70,000 other believers. The Call gave us hope for the nation – judgement may not be averted for America – but God is merciful and rain is coming.
At the end of The Call, hundreds of men walked down the aisles carrying shofars over their heads. They all marched in silence to the front of the stadium. Then in one accord, the sound of the trumpets bellowed out over the stadium in awe inspiring volume. THE TRUMPET OF THE LORD! What a day that will be…
May God bless you as we all wait in eager expectation for our coming Groom! Come Lord Jesus!
the Vickery’s – Bill and Dawn