My Little Pink Pony

So I was in Texas and the year was 2003, I had come there for a major worship conference and the speaker for the session was Jeff Lewis. I remember his name because what he said during that session in the next 45 minutes would change me and my life forever. I was about to have a pivotal moment. What he would share in his short message would become a reality for me in a way that I never imagined.

He began to talk about getting focus in your life and he shared this story about his little daughter. Now Jeff had a 5 year old daughter who he had to get off to school every afternoon right after her lunch. They had a large family and a very large dining room table. She was seated at the end of the table with her lunch in front of her and her special toy which Jeff had purchased for her, a pink My Little Pony. Each time Jeff would come into the room his daughter would be playing and laughing with her pony and not eating her peanut butter sandwich for  lunch. Time was moving along quickly and yet she still had not made a dent in her meal which was untouched in front of her. Jeff would tell her to put the pony down and to please eat her lunch as they would need to get in the car and get to school in a short while. He would come into the room two more times to witness the same scenario happening and repeat the same words again but he was not getting any different response from this 5 year old that was captivated that by her favourite toy. She was galloping the toy along the edge of the table and was not mindful about her lunch or the fact that she would need to get to school soon. So Jeff decided to take a drastic action. He took the little pony and placed it at the far end of the table and told his daughter in a stern voice that when and only when she had finished her lunch could she have her pony back. Well needless to say she quickly became focused and gobbled her lunch down in record time and swiftly grabbed her pony from the far end of the table and skipped to the car in time to arrive to school right before the bell would ring.

He went on to share how so many of us have great difficulty focusing on what is of need and real importance because we are too preoccupied with the pink ponies in our lives. We need to put some distance between us and these ponies to focus our energy and efforts on the things that are of importance and requiring our immediate attention. It was the Fathers pleasure to not only provide pink ponies for us to play with but He had also allotted a special time for this after we have accomplished the assignment or task in front of us.

Wow ! This resonated with every fibre of my being and I began to vibrate this truth into existence. I was a person of great vision and also a multi-tasker with many different things going on all at once. This was my life, not to mention that I was often easily distracted and sometimes would get sidetracked with the latest thing and forget the assignment that was immediate or that had the highest priority. I knew I had to purpose in my heart to change this moving forward to be able to get to my destiny.  My Father had all the pleasures in the world awaiting me at the other end of the table but He had moments in time scheduled for me and I would not be on time if I continued with my play and not stay focused on my assignments.

 Well it would have been a great story if it had just ended there, but God had some more. I arrived home the following week from Texas and a friend had dropped off a bag of items that she had borrowed from me while I had been gone and while I was rummaging through the contents, there in the bottom of the bag  to my utter surprise was a pink My Little Pony. I was stunned, shocked and thought to myself that God just wanted to give me a reminder of the message. I called my girlfriend as I thought she had maybe put the toy in the bag by accident and that it belonged to one of her children and to my surprise after sharing my amazing connection story with her she had no clue about a Pink Pony and said that her children have never owned a Pink Pony. Now I was intrigued. The question became not how did the Pony get in the bag, but why did God want me to have this Pink Pony? Was it to be a reminder to me to stay focused and not to allow distractions to get me off focus? Or was it that I needed to put those pink My Little Ponies in perspective- He enjoyed giving me pleasures as well as keeping me in timing with His plans.

Well for ten years I have had this My Little Pony as my reminder and every time I have looked at it I realign my priorities and get refocused again. So two nights ago I was in a store and there on the shelf in front of me were five My Little Ponies (pink ones) for sale. Needless to say I bought all five as I felt that with the time and season I am entering into, that I needed to place a few more reminders that there is a time and a season for everything. There is a time to play and a time to focus on your assignment. I had to keep my eyes on the prize.

They are strategically placed in places in the home and office where I can visible see them and believe there is a deep message here not just for me but for others that will read this that are birthing a vision or a dream. Stay focused and keep your eyes on your lunch in front of you and there will be plenty of time for you to play with your pony and get to your destination on time.

Charmaine Hinds  December 2012©

My Camels Are Coming! My Camels Are Here!

In recent days I have heard the saying “The camels are coming, the camels are here” I even have visions of them coming my way. There is an excitement growing on my insides as I begin to unfold and understand what God is saying to me and my spirit is responding to.

I was recently in Texas at a conference and they were teaching about the Jewish calendar year we are in of 5773- Ayin Gimel (73). Gimel is the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet as well as the number 3, and originally pictured a camel. The name camel comes from the Arabic ǧml meaning "beauty".

While there we visited Glory of Zion Church, they have an altar display with camels laden down with treasure, spices, anointing oil and jewels.( see picture)

A few days a go I was reading my bible study and came upon Isaiah 60 and as I read verse 1-2 this is what it said.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

This part was familiar to me and it wasn’t until I read verse 5-6 that the full verse spoke loudly to me.
     Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord


I was so excited as I read how when we begin to arise and shine for God and let his glory rise upon us that something amazing happens- the riches of the nations will come to us laden on the backs of these beasts of burden.

Caravans were sent in different ways. Sometimes they would send some of the camel caravan ahead of the journey so when they would arrive at their appointed destination all of their provision would be there waiting. This is symbolical of our faith walk when God has given us a vision. Many of us wait for the resources to arrive before we will begin the journey but God has sent the provision ahead of you and when you arrive at the place that you have a need then it will be there waiting for you. You would gladly say my camels are here.

If you are traveling a journey along with camels they are going to be able to bring you to places of refreshing where you can fill up.  In their native lands, camels feel by far the presence of a fountain or river. They never forget the place where they have found water. This makes them awesome animals to travel in terrain that may be unfamiliar to you.         

Now if you were apart of a group that began the travel with the camel train and somehow arrived ahead of the caravan, or if you were living in a remote place and needed supplies or resources, then you would be waiting for the camels to arrive with the needed treasures. How excited you would become once you sighted the camels coming in the distance. Camels were known as desert ships as they carried heavy cargo of goods, spices, gold, riches and people, through sand storms, variation of temperatures differences, for many days and long distances. Throughout scripture donkeys and camels were used as symbols of transportation for riches and treasures.

An excellent example of camels carrying provision can be found in Genesis 24:10
Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

This unnamed servant was sent on a precious journey with a caravan of ten camels with the task of getting a bride for his master’s son. These unusual creatures were used on this long arduous journey through the desert to carry the riches that would pay the brides price.  It is noted that Rebekah the bride that would be chosen watered the ten camels at the well and her family even fed and made room for the camels to bed for the night and the servant would unload the riches off their backs that he carried to use as a dowry, jewellery of silver, jewellery of gold, and clothing that he gave to Rebekah and her family.
With no delay the next day Rebekah mounted one of the camels and set out to travel to her tomorrow and her new future. Now the camels were carrying another treasure as Abrahams servant headed back from his journey of truth to bring back the bride of the Lords choosing.

Moving along in  Genesis 24:63  we see Isaac awaiting His future.
He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

Here was the camels coming with Rebekah, a bride for Isaac and she gladly dismounts off the camel to meet her bridegroom.  God is bringing your provision to you, this can come in many ways, sometimes it will be a person that has the key for your future, or financial provision or the spiritual riches that you need to begin to walk in your destiny.  Look up, your camels are approaching.

Three other examples of camels spoke to me

I have always loved the story of Joseph, a caravan of camels came and took him down to Egypt when his brothers decided to sell him because of their jealousy. At the beginning of this scripture we might think that the camels were apart of the bad thing that happened to Joseph. Genesis 37:25
As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.    But it would be that same group of camels that in actuality carried Joseph to his destiny and he would later declare that what the enemy meant for evil God had changed to good.  Where ever your camels take you just trust in the plans of God. He has a good plan for a hope and a future for you. Embrace the camels coming towards you.

Camels were also mentioned in regards to Queen of Sheba when she came to visit King Solomon.    

1 Kings 10:2, 2 Chronicles 9:1
Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind.

The wisdom and favour of God will cause people of influence to travel to reason with you.  To share what is on their hearts and to bless you with their resources.

1 Kings 10:10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon

My last story and one of the most impactful for me is the Magi (The wise men) who travelled a far distance from the East following the star to visit Jesus. They were most likely travelling by way of camels and had their provision and treasures of gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh 

Matthew 2:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

These three gifts were presented to Jesus and had great significance. The gold a precious metal the standard gift for a King, it represented royalty and provision. The Frankincense was an incense and perfume for worship, this represented His ministry here on earth as the High Priest. And Myrrh, an anointing oil was used to embalm bodies of those who died, it would symbolize the way He would live and die and one of the main reasons He was here on the earth to be the sacrificially lamb that would take away the sins of the world.

These camels would carry on their backs to Jesus the Savior of the world the kings that would bear gifts of great symbolism of His ministry here on the earth, reminders of the reason for His true birth. Your camels that are here are bringing you gifts that are declaring to you of the destiny and purpose of who you are and the position you hold in Christ and the provision needed for your kingdom ministry

With all of this I hear very loudly… My camels are coming! The camels are here!

Charmaine Hinds November 2012 ©