My oldest son came home from college last weekend. For me, his mom, it felt like Christmas! I cleaned the house, bought extra food (he’s 6-foot-1, folks!), and prepared a quiet place for him to sleep near his brothers.
 
My heart, which felt such utter loss and lack when he left for school five weeks ago, now filled with joy as I anticipated his return. I couldn't wait to talk to him, to hear how his new life was unfolding, to celebrate his growth.

As the day of his arrival drew near, I became almost restless waiting for him, like a child waiting for Christmas morning. Everything was ready; I longed to spring into action, to make the drive to pick him up, to hold him in my arms again. The appointed time could not come fast enough!

When at last that moment arrived and my boy was home, it was as if a hole in my heart had been filled. All was well again. Everything about him – the new growth in his beard, his manly smell, even the overstuffed bag of dirty laundry he brought with him made me happy and complete!

I am mom. He’s my boy. He’s back home. 

Blessings to each of you this Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ! May you and your families experience great joy in the Presence of the Lord and be reminded of His countless Inscriptions of love on your hearts this year. I am so grateful to know you and share this journey IN HIM together! 

If you have prayer requests for the holidays, or for the coming year, please email me at Deborah@HisInscriptions.com. I am happy to agree with you for all your requests. Merry Christmas! 

(To view or print a copy of the original Prophetic Word for 2017, please click here.) 

For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.
~1 Corinthians 4:15, NKJV
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​Parents have a divine mandate to “train up a child in the way he should go.” (Proverbs 22:6.) Like climbing bean plants that need support to grow, children need the supportive framework of the Word of God or they will only connect with the things of the earth, never growing upward to their spiritual destinies in the Lord.    (Book Review and Giveaway continues below).                                                                                       

Watch a SLIDESHARE of this post- Click here! 

"And pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." ~Ephesians 6:18, NIV     

We are living in a time of great acceleration. In speaking about the coming New Year, God reminded me of scriptures from Amos 9:13, Leviticus 26:5, and Joel 3:18. Through both scripture and some amazing practical confirmations, He is revealing that 2017 is to be a year when “the plowman overtakes the reaper.” Scarcely will your seed be sown before you see the harvest from it! You will have a thought in your heart and almost immediately see the provision of the Lord for it. 

"Children should be seen but not heard." 

Do you remember your parents or grandparents correcting you with these words? Popular from Victorian times, this phrase is still used today to correct or silence children. I distinctly remember hearing this from adults in my childhood, especially around the dinner table! Harmless? Maybe on the surface. I highlight the phrase today because it epitomizes a deep wound between the generations that needs healing. 

I know of a family whose father would not allow his children to appear downstairs until he had left for work in the morning or gone to bed at night. These children rarely ate meals together as a family, since their father and mother ate in peace - alone. It made for a peaceful home on the surface - and angry children who grew up essentially fatherless. Not one of these children ever had a decent relationship with their father, and even as adults, only a fraction of the anger with their mother has been resolved. 

You might think this is a rare exception, or just a sad story I chose to illustrate my point. Older generations might even feel justified; after all, if we cater too much to a child's emotions and demands, they'll never make it in this world, right? 

Actually, the opposite is true. The world is tough enough on its own, and impossible to survive without some kind of family support. In the absence of their fathers, children turn historically to their peers. Devoid of wisdom and real love, they flounder. Not because they're not tough enough - they are, in fact, much tougher than their parents - but because they lack mentors and do not trust authority. I do not have room to cite the statistics of escalating suicides, self-mutilation, alcoholism, and addiction. These are children whose behavior has been modified by rules, but whose hearts do not trust their fathers. 

God has harsh words for those who ignore the brokenhearted: 

Today's younger generations have largely rejected God, believing that He does not want to see or hear them, either. Thankfully, He does see, and He does hear. He saw Ishmael when Abraham and Hagar abandoned him in the desert. His response was: "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." (Genesis 21:17-18, NKJV; see also Genesis 16:8-15).

Through Jesus, God revealed Himself as one who gladly welcomed children when adults turned them away. The healing of a daughter (Mark 5) was as important as the healing of a disciple's mother-in-law (Matthew 8). God heard a little boy who had the boldness to offer his meager lunch to Jesus. He honored the boy's generosity and sat down with him to the biggest family dinner ever prepared! (John 6). 

It is interesting to me that when Moses asked God to reveal His glory on Mount Sinai, God revealed the heart of a father. He stood Moses up on a rock (almost like a kid who needed to be lifted up higher), saying: "Here is a place by Me!" (Exodus 33:21). Then He covered him protectively with His hand as He passed by in all his wonderful glory. He declared Himself to be merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in goodness and truth, and forgiving generational iniquities and sins. 

Look at the similarities: Hagar was told to "lift up the lad, and hold him" with her hand, just as God lifted Moses up and covered him with His hand. As we reach out to the broken generations around us, this "glory" of God will envelop and heal every one we touch. We'll know the ones operating in the glory anointing when we see them taking extra children under their wings, as spiritual mothers and fathers. They'll be the ones repenting for the sins of their generation and praying for the addicts and the outcasts. 

Think about it: God definitely did not exclude Moses from what He easily could have called "adult" conversation! He didn't brush him off, saying, "My ways are higher than your ways!" Instead, He entrusted the plans for an entire nation to a timid man who was once a murderer. Incredibly, He expects the under-qualified to rise up and become great! 

I believe it would be impossible for God to fully release the anointing of His glory without turning the hearts of our fathers to our children. In fact, when God speaks in Malachi of turning families' hearts, He prefaces  it by saying: "Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for Israel." Remember that first unveiling of My Presence! Remember the essential nature of who I Am! I am a Father who loves His children! 

It is my fervent prayer today that the older generations among us be softened to hear the heart cries of the children. And that the younger, fatherless generations be restored to their Father in heaven, who sees them, hears them, and loves them unconditionally

c. Deborah Perkins, 2015

Deborah Perkins is passionate about helping others to connect with God. 
She writes about knowing God and hearing His voice at His Inscriptions.com. 
Follow her on Twitter@DeborahSPerkins, or Facebook 
at HisInscriptions. To subscribe to her blog, click here.

It's time to give the devil a one-two punch! You're familiar with the term, of course: a boxer throws a left-handed jab immediately followed by a right cross punch. The same technique is also used in fencing. It's a fast combination of two actions designed to give an athlete the upper hand. If you're a believer, you should be using a "one-two punch" strategy today. Here's why. 

Current events are unfolding at an alarming pace. The war on terror is expanding, reaching many nations. Most of us lack the political influence we might feel we need to effect change. In light of this, the enemy wants us to feel  hopeless. He knows that powerlessness can lead to fear. Luke 21:26 confirms that in the end times, men's hearts will fail them "from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming in the earth."  

The Bible offers hope, though, in the form of a one-two punch. The first punch is prayer, and the second is provision. 

The Bible says that our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16). They work because we have been seated with Christ in heavenly places, where all things are subject to Him (Ephesians 1:20-22). As joint-heirs with Christ, we receive the blessing of being "above only and not beneath" (Deuteronomy 28:13). 

This means that as we pray, no matter how impotent we may be in the natural, we rise to become agents of transformation in the Spirit. We partner with Jesus in His ministry of intercession. By tapping into the unlimited reach and resources of the Holy Spirit, we now pray and effect change at every level of government, business, education, religion and any other man-made institution. 

The eleventh son of Jacob is a prophetic prototype for us here. After being sold into slavery and betrayed several times, Joseph was transformed from reject to ruler. He left the dungeon of the enemy and was promoted to second-in-command of Pharaoh's kingdom (Genesis 37-50). Like Jesus, he used his prayers of faith to enter in to a place of provision. Having overcome his own adversity through prayer, he then helped others to overcome, through practical provisions for a worldwide famine. 

I believe we have a similar purpose. Rather than succumbing to fear, we can throw the first "punch" of  prayer and follow it up with a second "punch" of provision for the disasters that do occur. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, we are wise to prepare our families in advance for whatever the "winter" season may bring, so that we are safe and can serve others in time of need. We can be "angels with skin on," ministering servants empowered by the voice of the Lord and serving humanity with practical assistance or spiritual gifts. 

We are created to be strong spiritual athletes: to fight the good fight of the faith and to fear nothing. Paul says we are not called to be shadowboxers, Christians who throw ineffective punches at the air (See 1 Corinthians 9:26). Our faith is the antidote to fear, and our faith gives us a specific strategy for a Kingdom "win." What will you do with your spiritual authority in these dark days?

c. Deborah Perkins, 2014

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"Lord, I’d like to see Betty Jane again before I die. 
I won’t bother her or interrupt her life. 
I just want to see what she looks like. 
Please, Lord.”  
~Minka's prayer, May 22, 2006*

I can find no better tribute for Mother’s Day than the story I am about to share with you. If you have ever doubted whether God answers prayer, or wondered how He makes Himself known in tangible ways, you will simply love this!

The book is called The Waiting: The True Story of a Lost Child, a Lifetime of Longing, and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up.  It is the biography of Minka Disbrow, who waited and prayed for literally a lifetime to be reunited with her baby girl. Released this week by Tyndale House Publishing and written by her granddaughter, this story is an inspiring testimony of God's wonderful plan of redemption. 

The innocent victim of a senseless rape, Minka was 16 when she released her newborn "Betty Jane" to a Lutheran foster family. Despite incredible pain and forced secrecy, this young mother created an astonishing family legacy through nothing but prayer and relentless dedication. 

With only a photo of her baby and a heart that ached with a mother's love, Minka wrote dozens of letters to her daughter which were never answered. Still, she held on to her faith and Dutch tenacity, annually celebrating the birthday of a child she had held only briefly and then lost.  

She kept that photo for 80 years. In May, 2006, prompted by the Holy Spirit, Minka asked the Lord to give her a chance to meet the daughter she had never stopped loving, before she died. 

Now, through an incredible series of God-ordained events, Minka and her daughter (renamed Ruth) have finally met. Jenna Bush Hager had the privilege of interviewing them both together, and you can listen to their conversation on the Today show by clicking here.

What impressed me most about Minka's story, and what will inspire everyone who reads it, is the unconditional love this mother showed in the face of so many obstacles. It would be understandable for a young mother to reject a child who was the product of such a hideous crime. It would not be uncommon for a victim of a rape to refuse to forgive her perpetrator. And it would be easy to renounce God after surviving this and a lifetime of almost insurmountable challenges. But Minka did none of these things. She chose, instead, to forgive. To keep writing. To keep praying. To keep believing the best. And miraculously, she was rewarded in the end. 

“She never forgot about me, Brian,” Ruth said. Her voice trembled. 
“These letters . . . there are so many letters!”
“Letters? There are letters?”
“Yes, so many. She kept writing for years . . . asking about me.” 
~The Waiting, p.261*

Minka's letters - over 60 inscriptions of love for Ruth, were eventually recovered and given to her daughter, along with all of the adoption papers. Two families, fractured by one traumatic event, were reunited. And it doesn't stop there. 

The massive collaboration that has taken place in order to quickly publish the family's history (Minka is nearing the age of 103) is awe-inspiring. From authors to agents to publishers to television studios, her story is fast becoming viral. In Minka's own words, it is the power of God through decades of prayer. Even as I write, I am convinced of the urgency of the message God is trying to get across: He loves us. He never forgets us. As indelibly as that baby was etched in Minka's memory; as cherished as that photograph in her hands; so also, we are inscribed on the palms of God's hands. 

Don't miss this wonderful testimony of the power of God to redeem human lives. Weep for Minka, yes, but then allow God to soften your heart to the lost children He is still trying to reach. Pray as you never have for hearts to be mended and for loved ones to be reunited with the One who, like a mother, never forgets His own.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on 
the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. 
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; 
your walls are continually before Me.” 
~Isaiah 49:15-16, NKJV 

c. Deborah Perkins, 2014;  Cover photos used with permission from Tyndale House Publishers. Reunion photo taken from video courtesy of Grant Huhn and used with permission. *Inset quotations from The Waiting: The True Story of a Lost Child, a Lifetime of Longing, and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up;  La Grow. Cathy, and Cindy  Coloma. Carol Stream, Il: T yndale, 2014. Bible quotation from the New King James Version.  Disclaimer: The writer received no financial compensation  from Tyndale publishing for this article. 

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-3)

Maybe regular church (or synagogue) membership just isn't working out for you. Maybe the kids’ sports schedules eat up every moment of your weekend time, especially Sunday mornings. And maybe you as a parent feel just a little bit guilty that you’re not giving your kids a better spiritual foundation. Well, there’s good news, and you don’t need to be in church to hear it! Here are five easy ways to reconnect your family to your spiritual roots, whether Jewish or Christian.