Hello Ambassadors!

Sweet, sweet greetings to Phenomenal You!

Yes, greetings to you indeed, in the Name above all other names: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

~

Today, let’s look at a very important passage of scripture found in I Samuel 16:7. It says:

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” KJV

The Lord does not see as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart! Did you hear that? The Lord looks at the heart! Oh, I find that to be wonderful news, indeed!

Why?

Because we live in a time and society where everything is based on our appearance. And the world is backing up this position by the billions of dollars they invest yearly. Yes, we are bombarded with their ads on television, in the movies, in our magazines, etc. And the message clearly is that we are judged solely on how we look! Not on the contents of our character.� In this world, sadly, we are judged way too often, I reiterate, on how we look on the outside.

And no one knows that better than a BabyBoomer in Hollywood.� Especially if the Baby Boomer is female!� For the moment� she reaches a certain age, and does not look as youthful, or be as sexually appealing, and� she’s not as marketable, then she is tossed aside like she’s nothing. And how quickly all the good that� she has ever done for the industry is completely forgotten.� She is a� ”has-been”.

Oh, just ask a BabyBoomer, indeed!

And in the passage above, Samuel, the chosen Prophet of God, had that problem when God had sent him on a critical mission to anoint the new king that God Himself had chosen.

~
Samuel went to Jesse’s house and asked to see his sons. And when Jesse’s first born stood before him, well, Samuel was about to blow this assignment big time because he was looking solely at the appearance. This hunk of a young man stood before the prophet of God. He had all the appearance of a king. He was tall, dark and handsome and strong. A “Mr. Universe” stood before his eyes, and surely this is the one that God has in mind.

Surely, he is the one, thought Samuel. And he was ready to anoint him as God’s new chosen king. But God intervened. And He said, Not so, Samuel. He is not the one. I have rejected him. You are looking at his packaging. You are looking at how tall and handsome and buff he is. But I am looking at what is in his heart. You don’t see what I see. He is not the one!

Then Samuel asked to see the rest of Jesse’s son.

They all stood before him, and God rejected them all. Jesse was shocked. The young men were shocked at their rejection. But Samuel knew he heard God and that he was at the right house. And he knew that Jesse had to have another son somewhere. So he insisted on seeing this son.

Finally, the father Jesse, speaks up about him having another son, the baby of the family, but he was insignificant and was out taking care of the sheep.

~

Can you even imagine that an event as important and honorable as anointing one of your own sons to be the new king would have been an event important enough to have all your family present. But Jesse didn’t even think enough of his youngest son to have him there to witness this once in a life-time moment!

~

But God knew the heart of this young man, and He knew whom He had personally chosen. And He was not about to let Samuel blow it or Jesse. God assured Samuel that Jesse had another son. So, Samuel insisted that Jesse send for this son. He was not leaving until he saw him. The father then sent for him, and when the youngest son came before him, God spoke to Samuel that this young man indeed is the one He had chosen to be the king of Israel.

That young man’s name was David. And God Himself said that David was a man after His own heart.

~

So you see, it truly doesn’t matter how many times you have been passed over or how often you have been rejected by man. If God chooses you, then nothing and no one will be able to stop you from stepping into your divine destiny!

God knows who you are. And He knows where you are. You might be in the wilderness, in the desert, on the mountain or hiding in your cubicle in the back office. But the Lord your God is acutely aware of you, and He will bring you to your expected end.

~

So I say, rejoice and again I say rejoice for it doesn’t matter at all how many times man and the “world” may have rejected you solely and ignorantly because of your appearance. The Lord your God, He has chosen incredible you. He has favored you. He has placed His personal “stamp of approval” on precious you. His heart is full of you; His eyes are fiexed on you, and His righteous hand is always outstretched toward you!

Your hope and your trust, as well as your future, should be in the goodness of your Beautiful Lord.

You just have to know for yourself . . . that what is for you . . . is for you. In other words, no man can keep from you what God has ordained for you . . . no matter what your age is!

It’s not what man thinks at all, anyway. It’s what your Lord thinks, and what He has already declared. God’s emphasis is always, always on the condition of the heart. It’s not what you look like on the outside or even what you do or do not do. And He wants you to to never forget that all encompassing truth.

Now, what am I saying?

I am saying that when it comes to you, my Father’s Beloved, well, it’s a heart thing with your Darling Lord!

And I like what my dear friend, Baby Boomer Beverly Mahone would say in answer to the negative words and opinions expressed about a woman over forty:

WHATEVER!

Selah . . .
Ora ~

* * * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ

~

Martin Luther King, Jr.� -� Letter from Birmingham Jail (April 1963)

I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.

A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks, before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman empire.

I’m grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.

Was not Jesus an extremist for love — “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.”� Was not Amos an extremist for justice — “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”� Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ — “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
Was not Martin Luther an extremist — “Here I stand; I can do none other so help me God.”
Was not John Bunyan an extremist — “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.”� Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist — “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”� Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist — “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice–or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?

In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime–the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.

There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed.

In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.” But they went on with the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.

We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.

One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, and thusly, carrying our whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in the formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

# # #

Selah . . .
Ora ~

* * * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ

~

~

Hello Ambassadors . . .

Sweet, sweet greetings to Phenomenal You!

I am so happy to report to you that a very exciting thing happened to me today.

I was crowned an official member of the Baby Boomer Diva “Platinum” Community!

Oh, it was joy unspeakable when I received a personal note from Amazingly Amazing Beverly Mahone, the Creator & Founder of the Baby Boomer Diva Web of Fame, informing me that I was now an official member of this very, very distinguished group of phenomenal women. And well, I had to share my wonderful news and great joy with wonderful you.

I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it!

2008 is starting off magnificently! And this Babyboomer is definitely on the move, and making a difference. To God be the glory. To God be the glory, indeed!

And if I can borrow a phrase that my darling son used to blurt out as a little boy whenever he was simply over-joyed and beside himself with sheer pleasure. “I think that’s jacuzzi!” ~ Oh, yes, Beverly, I think it’s jacuzzi, indeed! And I might add, It’s platinum, too!

Blessings, and Much Love,

Ora ~

* * * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ

~

Hello Amabassadors . . .

Sweet greetings to Beautiful You in the Amazingly Amazing Name of our Darling Lord & Savior, Jesus the Christ!

Today I want to present to you a very important annoucement if you are interested in learning more about “blogging”:
Upcoming Blogging Teleseminar
�

Signups are located at: http://www.talk2bev.com. <http://www.talk2bev.com./>

This teleseminar is for you if:

1.� You’ve been thinking about blogging but don’t know where to begin.

2.� You’re not sure what to “blog” about.

3.� You want to learn more about how to attract more readers.

4.� You don’t quite understand the “technical” aspects

5.� You want to make money from blogging

These are just a few of the topics that will be covered with a panel of experts:

Heidi Caswell http://www.connectsimply.com/blog <http://www.connectsimply.com/blog>

Betty Lynch http://www.mycountrykitchen.wordpress.com <http://www.mycountrykitchen.wordpress.com/>

Karlyn http://www.karlyns.com <http://www.karlyns.com/>

Kathie Thomas http://www.vadirectory.net/blog/ <http://www.vadirectory.net/blog/>

Remember what my Father and your Father has said:� “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”� � ~ You really don’t have to� perish, not any longer.� �

Blessings,
Rev. Ora ~

* * * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ

Hello Ambassadors . . .

Sweet, sweet greetings to Beautiful You in the Amazingly Amazing Name of our Darling Lord & Savior!

Today I’d like to share a very special poem I’ve written called “Who Gives A Care, Anyway?”

This poem was given to me by the Holy Spirit one afternoon about 15 years ago. I was in my daughter’s bedroom. She was lying on her bed in great pain, struggling to sleep. She had a vicious brain tumor and she was deteriorating more than I wanted to acknowledge.

As I looked out her window, I saw two young men. They were talking loudly and from their conversation and apparel, it was quite obvious that they were gang members.
Strong feelings began to rise up in me.

Feelings I did not know I even had. And suddenly, I became angry. And the more I looked at them and the more I listened to their mischievous conversation, the more angry I became. Yes, I was very angry!

These youths were walking around being a menace to society and terrorists in the communities. Yes, I was angry all right because they were just a little too healthy in my opinion.

And glancing again at my lovely daughter, I wanted to know why they were so healthy and why my beautiful, brilliant, sweet daughter was so unhealthy, so grossly inflicted by a new kind of terrorist! Why!?!

I looked again at my daughter and quickly again at these youths. And instantly I felt a “check” in my own spirit from Him. And I knew that what I was feeling was wrong.

Immediately I bowed and apologized, and earnestly repented for my evil thoughts against these children . . . children whom my Father had given breath; children whom my Father had chosen on purpose to give life. And no matter what they chose to do with the lives He had given, I had no right to the evil I was thinking and feeling.

I looked at them again, and this time I looked with new eyes. I looked with my Father’s eyes. And it was if His Heart came up into my throat. Tears began to swell in the corners of my eyes as I thought, Jesus died for these kids. They had a right to be healthy. For Jesus Himself said, “I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.

No, I did not want any child to suffer the way my child was suffering.

And then my Darling Friend, The Spirit of Truth, and God of all comfort, did something totally incredible and unexpected. He graciously pulled back the curtains and allowed me to see inside the very life and heart of one of these young men.

And I was privileged to not only hear my Father’s heart, but to feel His heart for these children who were walking around so “healthy in body” but so afflicted in the womb of their souls. I hope you see what I saw, feel what I felt, and become compelled beyond measure to rescue God’s treasure; to do something about their pain and their shame; their skeletons and rebellion; their anger and danger; their masked fears, hopelessness and their smothered tears.

* * * * *

WHO GIVES A CARE, ANYWAY?

When sleep is no where to be found
And heartache is always around
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When you’re a pebble in the sand
And you lose the child to be the man
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When deep inside you feel inept
And sinking fast is you yourself
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When you can’t find a single trace
Of a mother’s love or warm embrace
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When your own house is not a home
And the “Dad” you know is called “Alone”
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When you don’t know who you really are
And you hide behind the pain, the scars
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When you don’t feel the right to dream
And you’ve displaced your self-esteem
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When you’re losing grip and cannot cope
And in walks dope disguised as hope
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When no one screams, “Just say nope!”
And foolishly you nurse that “coke”
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When a notorious gang wants to befriend
And make you “family” to the bitter end
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

When now at last, you’re on the Top
But it all comes down with one loud Pop!
Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

* * * * *

Well, what he wore was only red
When someone in blue shot him dead
But Who Gives A Care, Anyway?

I Do!

* * * * *

Good morning, Awesome Ambassadors!

Sweet greetings to Beautiful You in the Amazingly Amazing Name of our Darling Lord & Savior!

Just a quick note to say this one thing about Awesome You: You Are A Divinely Framed Woman of God, and you are not second-class just because you are a woman! God made you a woman on purpose . . . and with purpose. Yes, Phenomenal Woman, you are Divinely Framed, indeed!

The Lord our God thought long and hard about incredible you! His thoughts are so full of you and His heart for you cannot be comprehended. It is too vast, too deep for the finite mind!

I especially want to leave you with these profound words found in Psalm 139, verses 13-22:

“Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank You, High God — You’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration — what a creation!

You know me inside and out. You know every bone in my body. You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You; the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.

Your thoughts — how rare, how beautiful! God, I’ll never comprehend them! I couldn’t even begin to count them — any more than I could count the sand of the sea.”

Now, Precious Treasure of God, why don’t you slowly re-read those divine words again. They will make your day, once you truly, truly embrace them!

Blessings,
Rev. Ora ~

* * * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ

Hello Ambassadors . . .

Sweet greetings to Awesome You.

Today, I’d like to post an uplifting word I received. It is entitled, “Savor Each Moment of the Day”. This is so inspiring, I thought I’d re-post it here. It is taken from Mike Murdock’s Monday Motivations:

“Savor means to taste, feel and extract all the pleasure and benefit . . . of each moment. Someone has well said, “You are going to be on the journey longer than you will be at the destination . . . so enjoy the journey.”

Always be where you are. Do not permit your mind to race miles ahead of where your body is! Taste NOW . . . it is the future you have been talking about your entire life.

Don’t Hurry Away From Your Present Moment . . . It Has Taken You A Lifetime To Get Here.

“ . . . now is the accepted time; behold, now is
the day of salvation,” - 2 Corinthians 6:2.

Isn’t that a wonderful word, and beyond motivation?! God is so for us! And He is always behind the scenes orchestrating our steps and will most assuredly bring us to our expected end! So, relax, exhale and enjoy the journey!

Blessings,
Rev. Ora ~

* * * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ

Happy New Year, Ambassadors . . .

~

Happy New Year, indeed!

This is the year that our Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Again, I say, this is the not just the day that the Lord has made, it is THE YEAR THAT OUR LORD HAS MADE. So, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

If you ever feel like God is not there for you, remember He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. He is with you at all times. So, in this year, take time to rejoice and be glad, for the Lord your God, He is truly LORD!

Oh, let us rejoice, indeed!

Blessings,
Rev. Ora ~

* * * *
Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
Ora International

Empowering Women to Rise out of the Ashes . . .
To Reign in the Kingdom!

www.OraIntl.org
www.DivinelyFramed.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jX6V7ZMPQ