Book Recommendations | 5 Keys to Freedom

How to Participate in God’s Miracles!

by Chris Boersma Smith | Feb 12, 2018 | 5 Gospel Keys, Book Recommendations, Deliverance, Encouragement and Inspiration, Freedom, Holy Spirit, Individual Prayer Ministry, Unbound

Understanding How We Can Coooperate with God’s Plans

I recently listened to Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King. This inspirational book is about the blessings and miraculous outcomes that come from:

discovering where the Father is working;
listening to how we might be called to minister alongside Him;
confirming our call with the Word of God, the church, godly counsel, and circumstances; and
acting on it in faith — that is, before all the “proof” lines up.

Interestingly, the authors point out that the call may not align with what we thought were our gifts or charisms! They convinced me of that with so many Biblical examples of people being called to areas where they lacked what seemed needed for the task—so then others seeing what God did through them would know the glory and success belonged to God and not to His servant!

God Is Using UNBOUND in Mighty Ways

It is absolutely clear that the Father is working through UNBOUND Ministry, the simple but powerful deliverance and healing prayer model that uses the 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ described by Neal Lozano in Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance. Those individuals who’ve been serving in our 5 Keys team’s UNBOUND sessions have seen healing and deliverance over and over again! (For example, see our Testimonies.) Neal Lozano estimates that over 100,000 people were set free through UNBOUND last year. At St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco, we have seen the Holy Spirit grow our team and bring about our priests’ enthusiastic encouragement and participation. They will even present talks at our Live Free! UNBOUND Seminar on March 17th, 2018 (click to register — it’s free but donations will be requested that day).

Our Team Members Hear the Call to Minister Alongside God

Each one of our prayer team members knows or believes s/he has received the personal call to serve God’s people through this ministry. S/he’s received training and made him- or herself available to pray with those in need. Yesterday’s Gospel was about compassion for the marginalized, those in most need, and when we listen to the stories people bring to their sessions, and guide them through the 5 keys, we know we are serving those in dire need! We are obeying the Gospel! Prayer team members have also experienced receiving UNBOUND prayer themselves. They have read and studied the subject on their own. Five team members traveled to Philadelphia to attend and International UNBOUND Leadership Conference. Most have participated as a small Christian community, too, as we develop as a team and support one another.

Setting the Captives Free Is a Calling that Aligns with the Word!

As for confirming that the calling to serve in UNBOUND Ministry lines up with the Word of God: recent readings (like James 1:5-6) have emphasized asking for wisdom with faith that God will give it to us, because that’s His will and His promise! Openness to the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom the Holy Spirit imparts as we pray with people are essential to our ministry. As a team, we have been amazed at how the Spirit has used team members for great blessings despite our own shortcomings, especially when we acknowledge that it isn’t US that makes anything happen: we are inadequate and weak on our own but strongly used by the Lord as His humble servants! We are only expected to do what we can and leave the rest to God — that’s how the wall of Jericho fell, and that’s how people are set free!

There have been so many healings and deliverances from demons in recent weeks’ Gospels–indeed, in Mark 6, everyone who came and touched Jesus’ cloak was healed! We can’t literally touch His cloak, but we can do better than that — through the Eucharist we have him touch us from the inside, living in us. I am excited to remember that of those who came to Jesus with expectant faith, belief, confidence, and hope — ALL were healed! Psalm 37:5 says “Commit to the Lord your way; trust him, and he will act.”

Is This Ministry One for You to Act On?

Of course, more prayer and time in the Word can clarify whether the call is for you personally. If you need to discern more about your personal calling, please keep doing that; our team’s trainers can meet with you to help you on that (after April 7th).

As for acting on the call, today I’m emailing the St. Dominic’s team to confirm their availability to serve at our upcoming events. If you’re not yet on an UNBOUND team, and live in the San Francisco area, I’d like to invite you to attend our Live Free! UNBOUND Seminar on March 17, 2018, and our Give Free! UNBOUND Training on April 21, 2018, and then decide whether you are called to receive UNBOUND ministry for yourself and/or to learn how to serve others in this special way.

If You Feel Called to Receive UNBOUND Ministry . . .

Here are your near-term options:

A. Make an individual appointment:

Submit a Request for Individual Prayer Ministry on our website.
We will respond and present some preparation guidelines and possible appointment times, usually for a two-hour session within two to four weeks, so you have time to prepare.
Obtain a copy of Unbound by Neal Lozano (for sale at the St. Dominic’s Parish Office, Heart of the Father, or Amazon), and read the first half.
Prepare and come see what the Lord will do for you!

B. Take advantage of our March and April events:

Register for Live Free! UNBOUND Conference, a full-day seminar on March 17, 2018, that will help you understand the prayer model and begin your preparation.
Sign up at Live Free! for a one-hour individual session on Saturday, April 7, 2018 (or, if those are booked up quickly at the event or you’d like a longer session or a different day, make an individual appointment, as described above).

Spiritual Quilting is Now Out in the Open

by Chris Boersma Smith | Dec 12, 2014 | Book Recommendations, Creative Expression, Encouragement and Inspiration, Life Stories

The message of Reap As You Sew: Spirit at Work in Quiltmaking was meant to be shared with other spiritual quilters and creative people.

My first Book Signing and Quilt Show in September and my Book Signing last Saturday at the Women of Faith conference in Portland reinforced that belief. In Gualala, two quilters I’d never met came up to me and each told me she’d found quiltmaking to be a spiritual experience over the years, but she’d never admitted that to anyone! One would usually tell people she quilted “for her sanity,” the other that she was “addicted” to it, because each thought people would think her weird for saying quilting connected her to God or helped her in spiritual ways. The interconnectedness of quiltmaking and spirituality was, for each of them, a private matter and a secret.

But this secret is too good to keep to ourselves!

In Portland, even in a Christian venue, I met women who were both surprised and thrilled at finding there was a book on this topic. Many had seen the larger-than-life poster of the book’s cover in the outer areas of the sports arena where the conference was held, it was the first they’d heard of the book, and they returned to my publisher’s booth at the time of my lunch hour signing. A steady stream of women stood in line to get copies signed, and unfortunately, we had to turn some away without books when my 90 minutes in the booth ended and the conference program re-commenced.

About one-third of the women in Portland got the book for a relative or friend who’s a Christian quilter, some planning to read it themselves before gifting it for Christmas. The other two-thirds, the quilters in the crowd, were excited to find a book on what they’ve personally felt—the connection between quiltmaking and spirituality. They told me about experiencing quiltmaking’s stillness as a blessing and about embuing of their work with prayer, especially while making gift quilts. Some were looking to the book for inspiration, to resume a hobby they’d let fall by the wayside in the busyness of their lives. Some sought ideas on ways to design quilts with spiritual themes or symbolism. I trust that a few relatively new quilters who got the book will find their quilting becoming a spiritual path, and I’m sure that the quilters being given the book this Christmas will be surprised and delighted!

A pastor wanted a copy for a women’s group ministry team.

One young woman, Jennifer, is currently being taught by her grandmother to hand quilt on an heirloom quilt frame that once belonged to her great-grandmother, and she got a copy of Reap As You Sew for herself and another for her grandmother. I was really touched at her soulful reverence and the way quilting is connecting generations of women.

ChrisSmith9 5 Most people admired the photos in the book and wanted the print version, but some preferred e-book versions. I was happy to have it available in both formats.

The women wanted to know why and how I wrote the book, and I wanted to hear about their quilting preferences and their creative passions. Many of them not only quilt but also make jewelry, cards, scrapbooks, and music! Our conversations were short, but I hope to hear more from readers about how they individually experience Spirit at work in either quiltmaking or other creative activities. I’d love to share some of your stories, too, perhaps as guest blog posts or through email.

The women who came blessed me, and I, them. I requested that they might be ambassadors for the notion of quilting as a spiritual activity, as well as for the book, telling other quilters about it and posting online reviews. Why? Not just to sell copies, though that’s certainly helpful. But more significantly, I believe it’s important to validate the spiritual benefits of creativity, whether in quilting or other creative endeavors, and regardless of one’s faith or spiritual outlook! It’s good to let this light shine out, unhidden!

In 2015, I plan to open up a Spiritual Quilters’ Community forum—a place where spiritual quilters can connect with other spiritual quilters, preferably in a members only online venue—where you could post photos of quilts you make that carry some spiritual story or message, or where you might seek advice, or share a touching experience. Please feel free to post suggestions or comments about whatever you’d like to see in such a forum.