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EL SHADDAI MINISTRIES

 

As Christian women, we all have unique personalities, giftings, and abilities which God wants us to use to for His Kingdom plans and purposes. Since He created each of us, He wants us to to get to know Him on a personal, intimate level so that we can enter into relationship with Him and come to understand His loving and never-changing character. His truths and promises for a rich and abundant spiritual life are there for us to claim if we believe and know who we are in Christ.

 

But in order to  be sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit, we each have to face our own fears and be willing to confront the lies of the enemy. Otherwise, we will continue to live our lives out of a victim mentality instead of that of a warrior bride of Christ and our effectiveness as His ambassadors and change agents will be limited here on earth. The decisions and actions that we make today will have far-reaching consequences on our lives and those around us, now and eternally.

 

Unhealthy fear, as opposed to a healthy and reverential fear of the Lord,  can cause us to act in ways not reflective of Christ-like character. Fear is masked by different names, to name a few, pride, control, intimidation, gossip, perfectionism (differs from excellence), denial, blaming others and substance abuse, all things that keep us from facing the truth about ourselves. 

 

If we have an "overriding fear of "man" and the need for 'man's" approval (people pleasing) in order to feel accepted and often, loved, our true growth potential and beliefs in who we really are become stifled and we will never experience true freedom in the spirit. Instead, we will resort to things of "the flesh" such as manipulation, pride and control.

 

Unless our dependence and trust is in in God, we will continue to look to others and/or or things to fill this void in our life. This is called co-dependency and if not addressed, can literally kill you, spiritually and physically.

What has proven true in Diane Houston-Lloyd's life over and over again is that in order to move forward in life with passion and purpose, one must operate from a place of truth and courage; the courage to face one's own fears and unhealed spiritual and emotional pain/hurts, the courage to walk truthfully in love and compassion without compromising your own beliefs, the courage to forgive others and ourselves and the courage and genuine desire to break free of unhealthy thought and behavioural patterns that can keep you in bondage to the "lies of the enemy"

Diane founded El Shaddai Ministries in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God showed Diane that He wants women (and men) to be free of unhealthy bondages and to have spiritual blinders removed so that He can use them for His Kingdom purposes in creating cultures of honour within the 7 mountains of Influence. Cultures of honour that are built upon His Kingdom principles and are reflective of Christ-like character. Here are a few ways that the Lord is using Diane and her husband, Mark, also a spirit-tilled believer, to advance His Kingdom purposes in this area.

Lloyd's Family Take-Out

 

When the Lord moved Diane and Mark to Cortes Island which is located just east of Campbell River, British Columbia (Canada), He showed them that they were to be His lighthouse and gateway to the Island.  Cortes Island is one of the most beautiful Gulf Islands and is internationally known for its natural beauty and its diversity in wildlife and people. Like many of the coastal communities, Cortes Island has several different spiritual influences and traditions that are rooted in different beliefs to Christianity. 


Like any religion, we all know that there have been many casualties along the way with the religion of Christianity as "man" has made it more about himself than about the love and supernatural power of God and being in relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Some have been hurt by "the church" such as residential school survivors and others by emotional and spiritual abuses that they have experienced within church settings and by fellow Christian sisters and brothers.

And that is why it is so important that we start the healing process within ourselves so that we can heal from these trespasses and our trespasses towards others. It is so important to see what unforgiveness we hold in our hearts towards others and ourselves so that healing and restoration of our souls can begin.

 

At Lloyd's Family Seasonal Take-Out, our role is to serve those who come across our walkway and be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.  We are open seasonally 6 days per week from the Canadian May 24th long weekend to just after the early September Labour Day weekend each year.  As my husband and I serve and honour customers, we ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment so that we are instant in season when He wants us to speak into the lives of those who visit us.  Several people have accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts while waiting for the ferry (it runs every two hours so they have time to reflect and share while sitting on the deck) while others ask questions or at times, challenge our beliefs which we welcome.  We know the truth so we are not ashamed of the gospel.

 

Here are some of the comments and prayer requests that we have received from different customers who visit Lloyd's Family Take-Out:

 

"Thank you for opening this business.....and more importantly, thank you for bringing Jesus to the Island..salt and light!"

 

"You are an inspiration to the world. Thank you for your beautiful smile and warm presence. Your home is a story"

 

"We feel very welcomed and we love the praise and worship music. Very glad we stopped in"

 

"Thank you for letting me enter into your heart and home, Lord. Your blessings are apparent in this couple's life. Please help  me guard my thoughts and direct them towards the light. Please help us find peace and love. Help us co-create the world we live in together to be one of hope, faith, joy, gratitude and love."

 


If you have occasion to come to Cortes Island in the summer months, do drop by our Take-Out and experience the love and warmth of the Holy Spirit flowing through us. You never know what might happen or who you will meet .....we get visitors from all over the world!

Women's Fellowship

 

The Lord has given Diane a heart for Women's Ministries, but this ministry is not for the faint-hearted. This ministry is designed to shed His light and truths into the lives of women so that healing and restoration and unity in spirit can occur. This has required Diane to go through a refiner's fire herself so that she can discern and speak wisdom into the lives of other women.

If we truly want to be ambassadors and change agents for Jesus Christ, then we have to understand who we are in Christ and we do so by communicating to God through prayer and speaking in tongues, by spending time in reading the living Word, by allowing the Holy Spirit to change us from within, by fellowshipping with other believers and praising and worshipping the Lord in the Spirit.
 

As a facilitator of Women's Bible Study groups, Diane sees the purposes of such groups as providing a forum for Christian women to:

 

  •  Fellowship, heal and grow in spiritual maturity as we experience God's love, transforming truths and freedom from spiritual bondages through the study of the living Word and various teachings, videos, courses,  through prayer and through praise and worship

  • To support and encourage one another as we step out in faith and see the challenges of life through His eyes

  • To promote a level of accountability to each other in a a climate of trust and respect and,

  • To broaden our understanding of how God wants to use our spiritual giftings, individually and corporately, for His purposes for such a times as this.

 

If you are wanting to start a Women's Bible Study or are struggling with how to move forward in your group, Diane can assist you in this area so that your group reflects a culture of honour towards one another and most importantly, towards our Heavenly Father.

Teachings and Books

 

As a child, Diane was exposed to the religion of Christianity while she attended an Anglican church with her parents and family in Mississauga, Ontario. By the time that Diane reached her late teens, she left the formal church setting as she felt there was more to discover outside of the four walls of the church.

With an adventurous spirit and a passion for life and the truth, Diane began a journey of discovery that would take her to different parts of the world where she was exposed to different cultures, religions and faiths. It was during this journey that Diane had a supernatural encounter with the living Jesus Christ which brought her to a crisis of belief. It was this life-changing experience that brought Diane to her knees as she knew she had found the truth. It was then that she invited Jesus Christ into her heart. 
 

It was this decision that immediately sealed Diane's eternal destiny as she was instantly adopted into God's royal family as His daughter. She was a new creation in the Spirit. God's promises are real and as the scripture 1 John 3:1-2 states "At our conversion, we were adopted into God's family through Jesus Christ. We have a new identity-the sons and daughters of God. The eternal God is our Father."

 

Since that time, Diane has developed a ongoing personal relationship with Jesus and through the leading of the Holy Spirit, has gradually come to understand that a culture of honour begins within oneself......in other words, how one honours their relationship with God will be manifested outwardly in how one honours oneself and others.

As Diane has grown in her maturity as a spirit-filled Christian, her personal testimonies speak to the power of the supernatural relationship she shares with Jesus and how she is being used to advance her Father's Kingdom here on earth.

She has been blessed by the teachings of many other Christians, to name a few, people such as Smith Wigglesworth, Billy Graham, Joyce Meyer, Patricia King, Lance Wallnau, Sid Roth, Reinhard Bonnke and others. Diane often uses these teachings in her work with other women and she herself is currently writing her first book.

You yourself may be experiencing a crisis of belief about who you are in Christ......you may already be a Christian or someone who is seeking the truth. If that is the case, make sure that you are being taught the truth as today, we live in a world where shades of truth are prevalent everywhere and denial and deceit are two of the enemy's greatest weapons.

Feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance to you in this area.

 

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