FROM PLAYGROUND TO BATTLEGROUND

Meet Ally Boughton - a loving, energetic, and typical six-year-old girl. She's grown up in a Christian home her entire life along side her 3-year-old sister Hannah. Nothing traumatic has happened to Ally that would make her stand out from the crowd in anyway. She's just an ordinary girl; an ordinary girl who's fighting in an extraordinary battle.

"It all started about one year ago," Ally's mother, Jody, explains, "Ally's nightmares began to intensify to the point that she was afraid of going to bed." Things escalated quickly; pretty soon it wasn't only when Ally was asleep that the nightmares came. Lying fully awake, the hair on her arm would rise and the beating of her heart would quicken, as if on cue, sensing evil in the room. This happened night after night after night and it wasn't because she had "monsters under the bed."

"Witches come and stand in my room every night," a wide-eyed, trembling, Ally told her mother. Now where some parents would begin to doubt the validity of that statement, Jody knew full well that Ally was speaking the truth. Jody, herself, had many encounters with the spiritual realm, especially as a child, but even through her adult years. Back then she had brushed them off as a "head thing" and didn't do anything about it; but now it was about her daughter; there wasn't going to be anymore brushing it off. Ally moved into her parents bed, but the nightmares continued, the demonic beings still came, and her fear was mounting.

Jody began to do some research about spiritual warfare. She learned of Set Free Ministries through her parents and immediately contacted Dean Vander Mey. Dean took Jody through Spiritual Warfare 101 (Ephesians 6)- putting on the armor of God. After gearing up, Dean then went on to explain that, although unbeknownst to a majority of people, many things can play a crucial role in our spiritual lives. Things such as the music we listen to, the movies we have in our homes, the TV shows we watch, and the books we read all greatly affect the spiritual realm around us.

Jody immediately took action. Everything remotely "grey" she tossed into the barrel of no return, from old c.d.'s to Bewitched reruns and Disney films containing wizardry and witchcraft. Every book which glamorized the dark realm was thrown out. In there empty place on the shelf, she put the living Word of God and surrounded herself with written Bible verses. Above all, Jody and her husband brought their daughter before the King of Kings through intense, focused prayer of protection. They were now fully engaged in spiritual warfare, with Jesus Christ as Commander and Chief.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) Who stands a chance against Jesus, Son of God? No one! Immediately, the beings of darkness submitted to God's authority and left Ally alone, and they remained that way as long as Ally continued to "flee from evil" and seek protection through God's Word.

Ally moved back into her own bed, and enjoyed many nights of peaceful sleep. She was no longer afraid to turn off the light or watch her parents leave the room. Months went by of witch-less nights, until Jody made the mistake of allowing Ally to see the latest Disney film, The Princess and the Frog, without first viewing it for herself. Although the film looked harmless enough, crouching beneath the mask of princesses and charming frogs, was the dark message of witch doctors, curses, and evil powers, candy-coated to entice children. That very night, the witches returned to Ally's room, and remained for ten straight days.

Coincidental timing? I don't think so. Just a child's nightmare? Try again. I have been there; I once was the five-year-old screaming for help, as well as the twenty-year-old claiming the protection of Jesus. I know, personally, that this war is real, as does Ally, and countless others who have experienced encounters with the spiritual realm.

When I asked Jody what she would like to say to other people who find themselves in her situation, she replied, "Believe that it (Spiritual Battle) is happening. Get yourself on board and surround yourself with believers who can support you. Surround yourself with the Word and don't be afraid to tell your child what is happening."

Spiritual warfare is real - whether you see it or not, and whether you believe it or not. It is time for you to take your position seriously and protect your families from the evil in this world, whether it be from direct spiritual attack or from other masked methods that the Adversary uses to veer God's children off course. I will leave you with a command from the Most High God, that I think will greatly benefit all who adhere.

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

Ephesians 5:11

May you be encouraged to keep the course, deviating neither to the left, nor the right. The path is straight; the road that leads to life is narrow, and "only a few find it." (Matthew 7:14) May this short excerpt from Dean combined with the testimony of Ally Boughton and her family, awaken you to the perils of stepping outside the boundary lines that God has layed.

Dangers of Entertainment

Wake up people of God! Hear the clear warnings of our Lord.

"Have nothing to do with worthless deeds of darkness, rather expose them." Along with, "Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

How is it that Christians think it ok to watch the hit TV show Ghost Whisperer, Desperate Housewives, or the new hit Cougar Town? Some put their children to sleep by reading books like Twilight and Harry Potter and they think it's harmless entertainment.

Think again.

In the tech head world they call this "garbage in garbage out." These TV shows and books are filled with much evil that God hates and states so in scripture. So then why do we think it's ok to fantasize about such evil? Is this at no cost?

Think again.

Our Set Free Ministries office is dealing with multiple cases of children ages 6-16 who are being spiritually oppressed because of compromise in entertainment choices in Christian homes.

Freedom comes from walking in truth. It's a straight and narrow path.

Dean Vander Mey
Director, SFM

Staff Note: We greatly appreciate SET FREE MINISTRIES allowing us permission to reprint this writing. We have recommended counseling/prayer at SFM to several people in the Western Michigan who are in need of help, because we know God is using the ministry mightily to "help set the captives free", and assisting the Body of Christ (in many different nations) in helping believers learn to personally engage in more effective spiritual warfare when the need arises. You can learn more about their ministry by clicking on the following link: Set Free Ministries

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