Read Lamentations 3.22-24 when you get a minute!  It will bless you...I was having a rough day last week and decided to go off my reading plan and read Lamentations.  Five little short chapters I thought to myself.  Right in the middle of reading those chapters, I stopped to ask myself (you are crazy if you DON'T talk to yourself), "why are you reading this Dee?"  Because that day I had a lament...Jeremiah wrote his lament in Lamentations and asked God why...why had He forsaken them?  You may be asking yourself why today.  Why did your house foreclose?  Why did my marriage fail?  Why are my kids so rebellious?  Have you forsaken me Lord?  Let me tell you He HAS NOT forsaken you!  I decided to keep reading that day and I came to chapter 3.  It was like a river in a desert for my soul.  It was like a garden in the middle of a deserted pasture land.  It brought refreshing to me..."Through His mercies we are not consumed; because His compassions fail not; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness; the Lord is my portion; therefore, I HOPE in Him!"  Hope in Him today no matter your situation and watch Him show off and work on your behalf cause it ALL works for your good!  Bless you!

Missions Update

I wanted to give you an update.  The Africa trip will be put on hold for now in terms of fundraising until I hear back from the organizers.  However, I want you to focus your attention on two upcoming trips where I need to raise support to attend.  One is October 31-November 7 in New York.  A group of evangelists will join together for 24/7 prayer and evangelism on the streets of New York City.  I plan to make the trip November 1-5 and join them in this effort.  Below is a short video on this venture.

The other trip we are still looking for funding for is the trip to Cuba in December.  I covet your prayers for these trips and also solicit financial support.  We need about $1,000 for each trip.  If you desire to donate to these two evangelistic missions trips, please do so by clicking the donate button below, or by going to www.deestokes.org, or by calling 407-494-2705.  Any and all donations are appreciated.  Thanks and the Lord bless and keep you REAL GOOD!!!

Well, words cannot express the experience we had in Cuba.  The glory of the Lord was in the place.  It was so heavy and so tangible that I could hardly minister when I stood up.  I tried to allow God to do what He wanted to do without rushing it, and He is so good to the people of Cuba and to all of us if we would just have faith, trust Him, and seek His face.  Those folks have nothing to hold on to but GOD!  Because of that He inhabits their praises; NOT a visitation, but a habitation...there is a difference!  We need to understand and see that difference here in the United States.  

We flew in and the first day we just got acclimated to our surroundings.  We stayed in an unbelievable place and were so grateful for the place and the people who took care of us.  The next day was our first trip to the church.  I was up early, which is not usual, and spent some time in the Word.  Each morning we had breakfast together in the house and we got an opportunity to speak a short word at the service.  Worship was awesome and the word was great by their young pastor!  We stayed late after church developing relationships with the staff and taking a look at their operations.  They are extremely talented and dedicated to the work of the ministry and the expansion of the kingdom.  Many young people are involved in leadership positions.  

The next day we did a leadership training with some coaches and athletes.  It was an awesome time and they want us to come back in October to speak to a larger group from all over the country during a conference.  The next day, we went back to the church for more leadership training.  When we walked in, the church was packed!  I thought that only a few folks would be there, but you see, they get it, EVERYONE, is a leader!  This was the day when the tangible glory of the Lord was present the most!  The weight of His glory healed, set free, and delivered.  It was incredible.  Please take a look at the photos and enjoy the experience that way, but know, that it was more wonderful than I can explain.  Thank you for praying and considering investing in the kingdom work of this ministry.  Our current fundraising goal is 30 people at $100 a month.  The Lord will bless you in your giving and do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask, think, or imagine.  Thanks for your prayers, contributions, and obedience to the Spirit.  Bless you!

The Lord has been speaking this to me lately through His word: "you shall have what you say," and "you shall have what you desire."  It is not that name it claim it type of doctrine that we once had in Christendom.  It is more, whatever you believe in your heart will come out of your mouth, so put some good things in your heart and allow the Lord to put some good things in your heart, so they can come out of your mouth.  Did you get that?  The trouble with my last statement is that we don't know what to say sometime and we speak death most often over ourselves and over our own lives.  I have been memorizing Scripture with one of my coaches I disciple (He and I are having a blast by the way), and Joshua 1.8 tells us,"this book of instruction (law) must not depart from your mouth. Recite it day and night. Be careful to observe all that is written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and succeed in whatever you do."  Did I get it right...look it up for me. :)  Deuteronomy 6.6,7 tell us, "the words I have given you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you are in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Check again to see if I got it right!  Get to the point Dee.  Ok, it is that we MUST hide the word in our hearts so we can know the word, so it can come out of our mouths, so we can repeat it to our children and everywhere we go so we can carefully observe the laws of God and be prosperous and succeed in whatever we do!  Now shout on that right there!!!!  Now the pastor is coming out of me...if you never speak God's Word outside of a church setting, you are sinning...plain and simple!  You are breaking God's law because I just told you that you are supposed to always have it in your mouth.  Get that Word in you today and you will be changed forever!  

Some of you may not recognize the name in the subject line of this blog.  It is the name of my mother and today is the 6th anniversary of her death.  She died at age 57 on May 12, 2009, and I always try to take this day to remember and celebrate.  The Lord has been so gracious to me to be able to minister to women on or around this date, which always is close to Mother's Day.  As a matter of fact, 6 years ago this past Sunday (Mother's Day) was the last time I spoke to my mom.  How fitting to say goodbye (even though we didn't know it was goodbye) to my biggest fan and cheerleader on Mother's Day.  I cried this weekend cherishing the memories, and cried some sad tears as well.  But, the Lord is always so good to me to dry my eyes and stop me when I don't need to cry.  So, today, I am NOT crying at all.  I am celebrating and thinking of the laughs and hugs and times my mom held my hand and rubbed my back (OH MY...can't wait to get a back rub in Heaven)!!  

You know I find it interesting that in the Bible people were only known by their first names and maybe where they were from or what they were known for would follow.  For example, Jesus of Nazareth, or John the Baptist, or Stephen the Evangelist.  Many called my mom Stine (pronounced Steen), or Ernie, or Ms. Ernestine, but I called her MOM!  I miss her and thank her for teaching me to love God.  If it were not for her guidance in that regard, I might not know how wonderful a Savior we have and how much He loves us. Thank you mom and can't wait to see you in Heaven.  I know you are singing and shouting with the angels!  I love you dearly!

Cuba update:
Thanks to everyone who has given thus far.  We are about $650 away from reaching our goal.  We leave for Havana on June 13 and return on June 17.  Thanks for your prayers and financial support.  Please prayerfully consider contributing to this trip with a cash donation or sports equipment donation.  You can ship equipment to 4110 SW 194 Terrace, Miramar, FL 33029, and you can donate via the website at www.deestokes.org.  Bless you and thanks so much!

I had church at the beach today and it was oh so good....!!  Just me and Father for 3 hours.  While there, I read this, "Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt" (Joshua 24.3-4, NKJV).  Please notice, the BUT Jacob and his children, etc...there goes that BUT again in Scripture.  Let's expound upon this passage of Scripture, shall we?  Jacob or Israel, God's chosen people were sent into slavery, while Esau, the one He hated (did not choose-Malachi 1.2-3), was sent off to the mountains to reside.  Let's go further with this thought...The Edomites, the descendants of Esau, lived on Mount Seir or Edom.  Esau founded the country and dwelled there.  They intermarried with the Horites and was a tribal chief nation before becoming a monarchy.  Eventually, they were subject to Babylon, but in the early centuries of their existence, they enjoyed freedom.  The Israelites, on the other hand, were sent to Egypt, by God, into slavery for 430 years!  We really do not know why God chose Abraham from a family that worshipped other gods, to produce His chosen, royal priesthood, but He did. He wanted the Israelites to be in covenant with Him, and through this nation, salvation would come to the world!  Hold up, wait a minute!  We see a similar situation in the Gospels when after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and His ministry begins, the Holy Spirit sent Him into the wilderness to get tempted by the devil.  So, here is where you are affected.  You might be going through hell in your life right now.  You might be in a situation that seems impossible to overcome.  You might be asking God why did you send me here with these crazy people, or why into this situation?  Lord, why?  If you look back throughout history, every great man or woman in Scripture went through some test or trial or tribulation.  That's what made them great!  Your pain has a purpose.  God is chiseling US, pruning us, taking out all of the ugly mess, disciplining us (cause He disciplines those He loves).  He is getting us ready for promotion. I would suggest that you use this time to get rid of any toxicity in your life, body, and mind.  This is what I am doing right now. We need to be ready for promotion.  Our barns can't be full and vats overflowing if we have no where to put the produce and wine.  As singer Daryl Coley says, "He is preparing me for things I cannot handle right now."  Get ready for a promotion after the pain is gone!  Blessings...

As promised, we launched the NHCLC Faith and Education Coalition today!  It was fabulous!  Elder Bernice King, Rev. Sam Rodriguez, Pastor Kirk Houston, Pastor John Jenkins, Dr. Antipas Harris, Rev. Abraham Hernandez, myself, and others joined together today in Atlanta for this historic and prophetic event.  I was reminded that before I moved to Miami in September 2014, that it was prophesied over me that the education piece in my life and career would not end and that I would be a part of a movement.  Well, this is that movement! Children are made in the image of God (Imago Dei) and because of this, they are all precious and should all have the same chance and access to education and life.  Not only should the standards be challenging, but they should all be the same for children in every state.  Please follow this national coalition at www.faithandeducation.com.  Bless you and look for more updates as they become available.