Elena Leno's Blog (14)

'I remember my grandfather always would cook up a storm when he knew we were coming to visit - even if we were just passing through. (He lived in the Bronx). He would be beaming as we arrived & he most times had the table already set. I remember saying, "Grandpa, I told you not to go through all that trouble, really, a sandwich would have been fine" he would say, "What? This is nothing." Meanwhile there was everything from eggplant parm, to tripe, to escarole, to chicken parm, to fresh…

When we don't spend enough time of our own in God's presence (prayer, reading the word,) That we look to others for His leading, when we should go directly to Him ourselves. Not everyone we look up to is right with God, & the enemy blinds us & uses our weaknesses for what he thinks is his advantage - & because of our humaness, and how we fall short ourselves we allow ourselves to be blindsided & fooled into thinking we got a word from the Lord, when it was really the other…

It is all in how you look at things. You are called with an assignment in another city. You have to rely on others to take you there. You work it out. You travel three hours. You get there, you wait, the assignment was cancelled & no one told you. Meanwhile you are inconvenienced - the people who brought you there were inconvenienced – maybe you didn't even get paid to cover your time & travel. Even if you did, it was nothing compared to what you lost. Because you find out that while…

There are 4 triggers that leave you open, & vulnerable to the attack of the enemy. . .you become a wreck. . .you can't focus, you are extremely disoriented. . .you can't concentrate. . .you need to HALT. . .If you are extremely Hungry, Angry, Lonely, &/or Tired - each one of those alone is bad enough - but all 4 at the same time - you need to stop. . .& REST. . .physically, mentally, emotionally, & spiritually. . .shut it down. . .turn it off. . .put the electronic…

You can only hide for so long. . .your secret deeds, your secret misdeeds, your secret relationship, your whisperings, your secret communications behind someone else's back . . . and the truth will come out, before you even realize it did. . .be very careful not to step on another. . . "For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come out into the open." ~ Luke 8:17 AMP

Your first & most important ministry is under your own roof. . .whether it is your spouse, your children, your parents, your roommates. . . learn to shut it down (FB, phone, computer, all outside sources) & minister to the needs in your own home. . .if your home ain't right, you won't have the balance you need in your life & your outside ministry won't be as effective as it should be. . .you may think you are alright. . .but our children follow our lead. . .are you being…

On August 14, 1986 - I gave birth to my precious angel, my second daughter Sarah. Sarah was born with anencephaly, and two minutes after she was born, she went home to Jesus. . .she will always be in my heart & on my mind. I always wonder what she would have been like, if she would have been anything like my precious Jessica or totally different. (they were full sisters). When I was 6 months pregnant, after several ultrasounds & x-rays (all in one day) the doctors told her father…

It is all in how you look at things. You are called with an assignment in another city. You have to rely on others to take you there. You work it out. You travel three hours. You get there, you wait, the assignment was cancelled & no one told you. Meanwhile you are inconvenienced - the people who brought you there were inconvenienced – maybe you didn't even get paid to cover your time & travel. Even if you did, it was nothing compared to what you lost. Because you find out that while…

Why do Christians treat each other the same way non-Christians do? Can anyone really claim that we've never needed forgiveness & understanding? Romans 3:22 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Now read v.24, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" That grace is for everyone! Not just those who look to condemn others for some of the same issues they won't ever admit to having themselves. ooops. . .yes I did say that.…

God told me - "stop wallowing in it." "But Lord, I can't seem to pull myself up out of this." He said, "Where is your faith, my child?" "But Lord, I do have faith. I know you will deliver me." He said, "Really, that isn't what it looks like to Me." "But Lord, I am holding on." He shook His head, with such incredible love in His eyes, "Holding on to what? You are holding on to the situation, let go. Let it go. Let Me handle it." I cried & cried & reached out to Him. He gently took me…

Genesis 22:1-5

 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and…

1 Samuel 15:22-23: “Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” (KJV)

Obedience is better than sacrifice because if we are obedient then we are…

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was…

Meditate on this a moment: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 4:19 NKJV.

Let’s break it down. “And MY GOD”. That’s right MY GOD means not just MY, because the Word is for all of us, so He is not only MY God, but He is YOUR GOD. HE IS OUR GOD - HE IS GOD!! GOD – wow, HE is a personal God. It says it right there in the Word – MY GOD. He created everything - everything is HIS.

Now go on…