This colorful and creative book is about speaking life into children of all ages, and making a way for them to hear, know, and believe:

*They are a good idea.
*They have gifts inside them.
*They carry treasures the world needs them to share.

For some, it might be music. For others, art or dance. For others, it’s writing, teaching, business or politics. Regardless of the venue, interest or skill area, everyone is a gift from our Heavenly Father, intentionally sent to Earth to be an expression of Him: a manifestation of Heaven on Earth.

Every human being needs to see their life as a container of priceless purpose and significance. I Am A Good Idea! unfolds foundational, life-giving truths that present practical revelation for empowering this generation to impact their individual spheres throughout life on Earth. Through these truths, each individual gains necessary understanding that:

*My life matters significantly.
*I have not been forgotten.
*The Giver of every good and perfect gift has an infinite treasure of gifts made available to supernaturally flow through me, simply by receiving the gift of His love through Jesus Christ.

Each of us has been created with gifts and callings intended for expressing our Heavenly Father’s love through the treasures of Jesus Christ in us: to love Him and to love others. We have been created to reveal His glory and to accomplish His Kingdom purposes here on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Every individual has not only been created to carry a gift from God, but to also empower others, as they yield the expression of their gift(s) to the King and His Kingdom.

As individuals begin to discover and comprehend the truths of the treasures in Christ for themselves, others will be impacted and set free to carry the gifts within them. We need to go out, find, speak life into, love, and equip this generation, in order for them to rise up as the gift God intended when He sent them to live on the Earth. Natural and supernatural giftings are waiting to be discovered, identified, activated and released into the Earth because “the Kingdom is within you” (Matthew 17:21). When you seek Him you will find Him, and you will surely discover that you ARE a good idea! You ARE gifted for such a time as this!

*Visit www.TheArtsExpressed.com store for more details.
*the arts express’d vision and ministry is still in need of $5000 for a digital recording keyboard. See: An Opportunity To Sow on this site for details.

Contributions can be sent to:
the arts express’d
13784 57th St.
Clear Lake, MN 55319

May His abundant blessings be returned to all of you many fold!!! Much thankfulness for those of you who have already sown!

*the arts express’d is not a 501C3. The No More Orphans Foundation will seek 501C3 status within the next several years.

More details to follow soon!

Whoever/whatever sits on the throne of one’s heart determines whether the world and its people’s interactions with one another are viewed, responded to, or reacted to, through the eyes of darkness or through the eyes of Light. When self – political, theological, sinful or ideological agendas, jobs, materialism, entertainment, rejection/hurtful wounds both present/past, or whatever one’s life priorities revolve around – is on the throne of our hearts, influencing our worldview perspective, we will see it all through the eyes of darkness.

The only way to view these many facets of life through the eyes of Light is to surrender ‘self’ (die to one’s self focus) to loving God and loving others with a sacrificial, supernatural love available only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. When we believe, receive, and confess Christ as the only way, the only truth, and the only life (John 14:12), and as the Lord of our hearts, then and only then, will the Holy Spirit dwell within us and empower us to view the world, its people, and life’s circumstances through the eyes of the Kingdom of Light. Our daily actions and words will arise out of whichever perspective we choose to live this life we’ve each been given, and they WILL impact others on all levels.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:2

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12

I challenge you to do a study on light in the Scriptures. There’s a famine in our land impacting all of the nations. There’s a shaking going on in our nation and in nearly every other nation. When the storms of life surround us, we need to be able to see our way through with eyes of light. The darkness will not bring us through into the light, but rather the Light will dispel our viewing the world today through the eyes of darkness, and help us to see clearly the path we are to travel on. There are approximately 145 Old Testament references and 82 New Testament references to light. We are called to not only view this life and others through the eyes of the Kingdom of Light, but we are also called to BE the light…to carry the Light…and that is the truth, plain and simple.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

As I pondered what I had seen I began asking the Holy Spirit to specifically reveal to me what I was supposed to understand from this encounter. I proceeded to research horse-mounted knights and their armor. I also studied Ephesians 6, which is the armor of God chapter. (While participating in the vision I recalled the Ephesians verses about the helmet and sword, and knew I was to pursue it further.) I began to sense for myself that trying to see where to go from here with my natural eyes will hinder me and cause me to be unprepared for the battle ahead; that watching and waiting for His promises to me and my family to come to pass with my natural eyes will only delay them because I need to move forward into the unseen with eyes of faith, boldly and confidently knowing I am following the Victorious One into this battle. The silver armor I was wearing represented being clothed with the knowledge of God and His redemption. The sword in my right hand indicated His authority and the power of His revealed word. The struggle with my left hand pertained to my weakness, which is to be rightly positioned in order for God’s strength to be demonstrated through it. The white horse represented a work of God’s spirit through man in purity, truth and righteousness awaiting those He has been preparing. It also indicated definitive warfare. The Lord had spoken to me earlier this week about the need to “go up a level” in preparation for the season ahead.

Too many believers are living by and for what they see with their natural eyes. It is paramount to understand verses 10-19 in Ephesians with the our eyes of our spirits, because there is necessary revelation contained within them. We have come through a season of preparation for holding onto our sword of the Spirit, the powerful word of the Lord, and moving forward in faith, following Jesus as He leads us, His sons and daughters, in establishing Kingdom dominion on the earth; “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9-13). In that position, we keep our focus on Jesus, and are now being called up as His elite warriors into the ensuing battle to uphold Kingdom truth and the principles and values this nation was founded on. We are being called up to be a voice of action on behalf of the weak, defenseless, helpless, and the general welfare of all. This call begins within the very regions we have been placed, and advances outward to the specific states and nations He is calling us to. This call is going out to every major mountain of society: government, media, education, arts and entertainment, business and economy, family and church.

What does this look like in our daily lives? It begins and ends with love for the Lord and love for others. The powers and principalities we wrestle with and Satan himself are incapable of operating in love. Therefore, when we operate with the supernatural love of Christ Jesus as the goal, the Ten Commandments are no longer religious outdated rules, but are rather a guide to protecting and manifesting His supernatural in and love through us to our Heavenly Father and to others. On a larger scale, it means this coming November, we become a voice with our vote for good stewardship and fiscal responsibility, character and integrity, for life, and for the family as covenanted and ordained by the Word of God. We move out to take a stand and to assume leadership positions that promote truth to again be revealed in this nation; revealed to all those “…whose minds the god of this age has blinded…” (2 Cor. 4:4, NKJ).

In 2 Timothy 3:16, it states “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (NLT). For far too long people have been trying to pick and choose verses and interpret them according to the times we live in; even voting as to whether they are relevant. There is nothing in the Word that gives us permission or direction to do so. Either we believe ALL Scripture is the inspired Word of God or we don’t, and we are blessed to believe it by faith. We don’t get to rewrite it according to our own agendas. We were not the ones chosen or called to write down the very Scriptures that have stood the test of time. We are rather privileged to be the ones chosen and called to give testimony to the truth contained in Scripture during a time in history (His story) where the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Light will engage more violently than we’ve witnessed before in our lifetimes. We can no longer compromise the truth of His Word, of who we are called to be, and expect to be blessed. We are the ones chosen and called to manifest as the sons and daughters the earth is groaning for (“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” (Romans 8:18-22, NKJ)

We must become a voice who will visibly stand up in love at all times for the rights of: 1) the unborn, 2) orphans and children who are being victimized and trafficked, 3) the truth and preservation of healthy families, and 4) stewarding responsibly all we’ve been given, including character, integrity and purity. This is only the beginning, but we have to start doing what we are called to do and being who we are called to be. These issues are not political issues…they are issues of life. We are called to bring Heaven’s solution to the problems now facing so many on the earth through the love and shed blood of Christ, specifically and strategically to a world in need, and deceived by a world-wide anti-Christ spirit, which is a spirit of death.

His Church IS being built. His house of prayer (Matthew 21:13a) IS awakened to the realization of being in the midst of a battle against principalities, powers, rulers, and spiritual hosts of wickedness and darkness in the heavenly places, whose only goals are to kill, steal and destroy. His Kingdom, which is about love and abundant eternal life, WILL advance on the earth as it is in Heaven.

Where do we even go from here? Ephesians 6:1-9 says, “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Servants (employees and those not in a position of leadership), be obedient to those who are your masters (employers and those in positions of leadership) according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does,he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you, masters (employers and those in positions of leadership), do the same things for them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

In America, we daily walk out encounters within the roles contained in these verses. If we choose to follow in faith these words of instruction, we are putting into action “loving God and loving others”; the two greatest commandments result in blessing and life. If we are struggling in any of these areas, we can “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). Repent means to make a change in the direction we’ve been heading. It’s time to make a major change in the direction this nation and the church has been heading. The resultant fruit of where we’ve been heading should be all the convincing we need that it’s time to reverse directions. We are called to “pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,” and to “open our mouths boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which we are ambassadors surrendered to His leadership and purpose, that we may speak boldly as we ought to speak!” (Ephesians 6:18-20, NKJ)

The Church is to be His hands, His feet, His voice and His Light invading the darkness and decreeing truth. Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life; He is the only answer to every problem on this earth and for every individual. There is so much more to be revealed through the obedient life of Christ, and His powerful sacrificial shed blood, death and resurrection. It’s time to awaken from our slumber, complacency, compromise and busyness with things that are not eternal. Let’s put on our armor, take up our sword, mount up and prepare to ride, mightily carrying and demonstrating the supernatural love of the Lord Himself, and the power of who He is in and through us – His Body – His sons and daughters. Let’s move out by faith, following His victorious leading into this very real spiritual battle between darkness and Light (the real battle has never been between people, cultures, political parties, doctrines or ideologies – liberalism vs. conservatism or humanism vs. Christianity vs. Muslim, nations, etc.).

Heaven is anxiously waiting to rejoice over multitudes of invaluable treasures of lost and hurting souls coming out of darkness and into the Kingdom of Light. It’s time to advance into the darkness of the enemy’s camp to take back ALL he has stolen from the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s not only time to advance, but it’s time to lead the charge in truth! We have been prepared with faith that rests firmly in the Truth. The Truth we move out for is Hope; Christ who lives in us, the only hope of glory! And the greatest of these we live, breath and move for is Love made manifest. “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13, NKJ). May the light of His truth dispell the darkness in every nation, and especially in the nation we have been called to be awaken!


The Kingdom of Heaven has always been about love. God created us to partake of His love. He sent His only Son to die for us out of love. This love is a love beyond anything humans are capable of in their own strength. This love is the love 1 Corinthians 13 reveals. This love is an unconditional agape love that manifests through Jesus Christ via the Holy Spirit in us alone. This love is able to freely manifest when we truly understand what Jesus Christ accomplished on our behalf and who He alone has made us to be…sons and daughters of the Most High God.

This love is meant to be expressed throughout the earth in word and in action. This is how the Kingdom of Heaven advances and takes dominion on the earth. This love was meant to be expressed in all relationships. This love is what truly changes individuals and nations.

We need to be a Kingdom people who wrap our hearts, minds, wills and emotions (our spirits and our souls) around His love, receive it and the healing that it brings, and extend it to every place and to every one the Lord sends us. We are to express and manifest this Kingdom love in daily interactions and in the very giftings and callings the Lord has place within us.

With regard to the arts express’d, this love is to be manifested through music – vocally and instrumentally, through dance, through writing – poetry, literature, etc., and through visual arts. When we use our position in Christ to be His hands and feet with His love for all mankind as our goal, and the giftings He has placed within us to release greater revelation of His love every where He sends us, the Kingdom of Heaven finds a resting place on the earth…the Kingdom of Heaven takes dominion on the earth…the Kingdom of Heaven advances on the earth.

Walking out this love is how the greater works that Jesus spoke of manifests on the earth (John 14:12). Walking in this love is how the Bride is being prepared for His return. This love is how we are to BE in the new season that is upon us. Walking in a revelation of His love is the only way we will be able to make it through the season that is now facing us.

The Lord has been preparing and walking us through many circumstances throughout many years in preparation for such a time as this. The bottom line and the highest goal has always been, and is now more than ever before, a greater revelation of His love moving out across every region of every nation throughout the earth. It’s always been about the love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, their invitation of love to us since Adam and restored to us through Jesus Christ, and it will always be about loving Him and loving others with His love alone.

Regardless of our gifting and calling, His love must be at the center. We are called to release His love through our identity in Him, and through the unique giftings He’s placed within us. As we surrender to His love, seeking His heart and will, He begins to change the atmosphere around us. It’s time to watch Him take the nations as His inheritance through a people who have taken hold of a revelation of His love, and have surrendered to it manifesting through each moment of time we’ve been given to walk this earth.

When the supernatural love of Jesus Christ is able to manifest through us, His sons and daughters, supernaturally each day, the Kingdom of Heaven is truly at hand! “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Mark 12:30-31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (will and emotions) and with all your mind, and with all your strength…Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.”

So many people in these difficult times are struggling with health issues, financial issues, marriage/family issues, and concern over our government, our economy and world affairs. Many families who love and seek the Lord wholeheartedly are experiencing tragic devastation and loss. However, Scripture tells us to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God (Phil. 4:6).”

Scripture provides record of the Son of God, Jesus Christ in Spirit and in flesh, spending days and sleepless nights in prayer before His Heavenly Father, seeking to daily bring the will of Heaven to Earth. If the Son of God had to spend valuable time in prayer (He completed His earthly ministry in three years), why do the sons and daughters of the Most High God through Jesus Christ (His Body) think it should be any different for us?

Scripture contains and details much with regard to the Lord’s heart concerning prayer. If we are to be the vessels He can make the Earth His footstool through (Isaiah 66:1/Acts 7:49), we must follow the example of Christ and become a people of prayer who understand that today’s prayers matter. If we are to truly be the Body of Christ being prepared as His pure and spotless Bride to be presented to Him upon His return, we must walk in the revelation of praying His Kingdom come and His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven as a daily prayer impacting today and all todays for generations to come throughout eternity! How else will His glory cover the Earth as the waters cover the sea except through a praying people who daily carry the heart and will of Heaven here on Earth (Hab. 2:14)?

We must purpose to pray continually (1 Thes. 5:17). If our words are spoken through the love of the Father, they will speak life into every individual and every circumstance. Isn’t that what prayer is all about: bringing the eternal life and all of Heaven’s goodness and abundance to Earth exactly as it is in Heaven? This command is not conditional as to whether we agree with what’s transpiring.

Let me offer a relevant example. Many in our nation strongly disagree with the liberal humanistic socialist agenda attempting to “change” and invade our nation, myself included. Our role as followers of Christ is to pray fervently for the hearts of those in positions of power and leadership to be transformed by the blood of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven, and that the Lord would remove those leaders whose hearts refuse to follow His leading.

The sooner the Body of Christ understands our role as His house of prayer (Amos 9:11; Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46), the sooner our King will be glorified by His love and mercy covering the nations. Prayer changes things, even when we don’t see the answers manifest how or when we in our limited human understanding expect. When we pray we can be assured that the Father is at work on our behalf (Isaiah 66:5) and works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called by His name (Rom. 8:28). Many years ago, the Lord gave me a song called, “Pray and Never Give Up.” This is the heart and will of Heaven and our daily assignment, because today matters, and today’s prayers matter for all eternity!

The Lord is causing His people to be stirred and stretched into prayers of faith, prayers of trust, prayers of hope, prayers of perseverance, and prayers of resting in Him; resting and knowing He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. How does He work? He established us to rule over the Earth through the authority we’ve been given by the blood of Christ, the Word of Christ and the Spirit of Christ flowing through our prayers! We don’t have to understand His ways because His Word says they are higher than our ways. We are to receive, love and trust Him enough to follow.

Therefore, remember how important today is, and how important is every prayer we pray. Everything about today is a gift. The sooner we thank Him for the gift of today and pray the things on His heart for today, the sooner His fullness of life will not only manifest in our daily circumstances, but also in the circumstances of others. Prayer is truly how we express our love to our Heavenly Father and His love through us to others. There is no greater purpose and there is no other way to bring His goodness and the unlimited economy of Heaven to Earth…today!

Don’t let this day, May 23, 2010, or the privilege of this opportunity, Global Day of Prayer, pass us by. Please visit www.globaldayofprayermn.com for information, resources, and radio station coverage of the Twins Cities Global Day of Prayer Event, Sunday, May 23, from 5-8 p.m. at Trask Worship Center, Northcentral University, Minneapolis, MN. See also: www.globaldayofprayer.com for additional resources and prayer downloads leading up to this signficant event, beginning May 13, 2010. This is the sixth time MN will join millions across the globe, 220 nations, participating in repentance and glorifying the name of Jesus Christ!

Don’t let this day, May 6, 2010, or the privilege of this opportunity, National Day of Prayer, pass us by. The direction this nation is currently heading may not allow us to continue this precious freedom…but God!