Well, we are more than halfway through our 21 Days of Sacrifice and I must say, my mind and spirit are so clear! Today is my day off when I normally get my house cleaned, laundry done and all my "ducks in a row." I notice the clock and it has been almost 3 hours since I got everyone off to school and started going deeper into His Word. I'm thankful for this time of revelation. Am I super spiritual? No way... I'm just hungry for what He is saying. Early in the fast I caught myself thinking MORE about food than normal. That seems so backwards. But now, I've embraced hunger pains as I can almost see a literal light illuminating scriptures that He is leading me to. It really convicts me to try to live a more sacrificed life. I always spend that first week of sacrifice just kicking and screaming (not literally) like a spoiled child who has had their favorite toy taken away.
I want to push away from distractions more. My phone is nearby and I keep getting notifications from "Words with Friends" that my games are about to be forfeited. It made me smile. My phone is noticing that I'm unplugged from all my usual distractions. Word of God, speak. And, OH HE HAS BEEN! I'm so thankful for a mindful God that loves us in spite of the arrogant, self centered way we live our lives. He still whispers... draw near to Me. I long to show you my secrets...
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
More Healings Abound
Our church is currently on our annual 21 Days of Sacrifice. This is a time when we adjust our diets, push away from media... basically, we try to put our old stinkin' flesh in its' rightful place. The night before the fast started I had one of those dreams that I recognize completely as a "God dream." I won't tell all the details of it because He hasn't told me yet what all of it means. I will share this one part... I saw me standing with what looked like a cocoon of bandages and someone (I'm assuming HIM) was slowly unwrapping them. The next morning in prayer God assured me He would heal me and my family in new ways. I took this to mean more than any physical healing.
Now I progress to Day 2 of the fast... yesterday. Cam was sick, as he is SO OFTEN. Since he was 4 or so, he continually gets stomach viruses. I mean, like an "every month" or "every two months" kind of virus. It gets embarrassing to tell people he's sick. I feel like they don't believe me. You can't deny it when your poor baby is puking his guts out though. In all these years I've never taken him to the doctor for this because it's gone within 24 hours like most stomach bugs are. Yesterday was different. I decided to take him because he had a bladder "flair up" right before he got nauseous so I wanted to make sure the two weren't related. They ran all sorts of tests and as it turns out, he has a bacteria in his stomach called h. pylori. A lot of people have this but normally they don't have any symptoms. He definitely has symptoms! We are now able to treat this aggressively and get rid of it once and for all!
It boosted my faith that on the 2nd day of our fast God is already bringing to light things we didn't even realize we needed healing of. It makes me wonder what else He will be "setting straight" in our bodies, minds, and most importantly, our spirits.
I'm ready, Lord. Remake me!
Now I progress to Day 2 of the fast... yesterday. Cam was sick, as he is SO OFTEN. Since he was 4 or so, he continually gets stomach viruses. I mean, like an "every month" or "every two months" kind of virus. It gets embarrassing to tell people he's sick. I feel like they don't believe me. You can't deny it when your poor baby is puking his guts out though. In all these years I've never taken him to the doctor for this because it's gone within 24 hours like most stomach bugs are. Yesterday was different. I decided to take him because he had a bladder "flair up" right before he got nauseous so I wanted to make sure the two weren't related. They ran all sorts of tests and as it turns out, he has a bacteria in his stomach called h. pylori. A lot of people have this but normally they don't have any symptoms. He definitely has symptoms! We are now able to treat this aggressively and get rid of it once and for all!
It boosted my faith that on the 2nd day of our fast God is already bringing to light things we didn't even realize we needed healing of. It makes me wonder what else He will be "setting straight" in our bodies, minds, and most importantly, our spirits.
I'm ready, Lord. Remake me!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sweet Abandon
I know... I haven't blogged in AGES... I'm going to try to do better! I felt this was noteworthy and thus, I'm back...
A couple of weeks ago I felt God whispering this to me. I wasn't in prayer. I didn't even have my journal handy. I just typed it in on the notes of my phone. I came across it today and thought I'd share. So here it is:
"There can't always be absolutes in all things, hard core evidence. That's where faith comes in. I want sweet abandon from you. Surrender to belief... you're out on a limb when you believe without seeing. That's where I want you. Anyone can believe with concrete evidence. Whether it's for salvation or for the answer to a prayer... will you blindly believe for what you can't actually see?"
In Matthew 16 the Pharisees and Sadducees came seeking a sign. He answered in verses 2-4:
"When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face fo the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign..."
I want to blindly believe... no sign required. I've fleeced Him many times and He has always answers with signs and wonders. But.... what if He doesn't? I want to believe no matter what! Unanswered prayers... we still believe. We're still trusting you. You always know what's best, Lord. I abandon my thoughts, my interpretations, my will to yours.
A couple of weeks ago I felt God whispering this to me. I wasn't in prayer. I didn't even have my journal handy. I just typed it in on the notes of my phone. I came across it today and thought I'd share. So here it is:
"There can't always be absolutes in all things, hard core evidence. That's where faith comes in. I want sweet abandon from you. Surrender to belief... you're out on a limb when you believe without seeing. That's where I want you. Anyone can believe with concrete evidence. Whether it's for salvation or for the answer to a prayer... will you blindly believe for what you can't actually see?"
In Matthew 16 the Pharisees and Sadducees came seeking a sign. He answered in verses 2-4:
"When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face fo the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign..."
I want to blindly believe... no sign required. I've fleeced Him many times and He has always answers with signs and wonders. But.... what if He doesn't? I want to believe no matter what! Unanswered prayers... we still believe. We're still trusting you. You always know what's best, Lord. I abandon my thoughts, my interpretations, my will to yours.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Asleep In the Light
Romans 13:11 “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
Amos 6:1 “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion…”
Ease here translates rest, quiet, secure…
Amplified says, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those on the mountain of Samaria who are careless and feel secure…”
That’s the thing… we’ve become so self sufficient, so secure in our little world… we aren’t looking for the city built by God… we want to stay here, do things our way.
Ephesians 5:15 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
He IS coming back! I had shared this with our young marrieds class at church this past Sunday. I was expressing how we don't talk about the rapture enough... that we don't live with that expectancy that He could come at any moment. The very next evening we had walked to our neighbors without telling Cam. We left our phones (which we NEVER do!). He came downstairs and couldn't find us. He told me later that his heart was pounding and he was about to cry thinking he had missed the rapture. He finally went outside and saw the neighbor's light on and ran over there HOPING we would be there. You can imagine his relief! He had no idea that I had spoken on this so I thought it was pretty neat that God confirmed His word to me and reassured me that my children are aware that He is coming soon!
I Thessalonians 5:2-6 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.”
On May 24th I had a dream that shook me to my core. It was about the rapture. In the dream I looked up and could see something different in the sky, like the sky was distorted. In that instant I knew the rapture was about to take place. I started warning those around me, “This is it! The rapture is about to take place!” I closed my eyes and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I began to lift into the air and then everything stopped. I was able to go back in time to moments before. I distinctly remember that I was with church people, people of like faith, almost as if I was supposed to remember that most of all. When I went back to the moments before it happened, I really began to fervently tell everyone again… this is it! This is it! They all looked at me like I was crazy. I could tell they were making fun of me. No one would believe that the rapture was really about to take place. It was just like the days of Noah…
Amos 6:1 “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion…”
Ease here translates rest, quiet, secure…
Amplified says, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those on the mountain of Samaria who are careless and feel secure…”
That’s the thing… we’ve become so self sufficient, so secure in our little world… we aren’t looking for the city built by God… we want to stay here, do things our way.
Ephesians 5:15 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
He IS coming back! I had shared this with our young marrieds class at church this past Sunday. I was expressing how we don't talk about the rapture enough... that we don't live with that expectancy that He could come at any moment. The very next evening we had walked to our neighbors without telling Cam. We left our phones (which we NEVER do!). He came downstairs and couldn't find us. He told me later that his heart was pounding and he was about to cry thinking he had missed the rapture. He finally went outside and saw the neighbor's light on and ran over there HOPING we would be there. You can imagine his relief! He had no idea that I had spoken on this so I thought it was pretty neat that God confirmed His word to me and reassured me that my children are aware that He is coming soon!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Sons & Daughters... Oh, the Privileges!
We all remember the story of the Prodigal. He wanted his inheritance early. He wasted it away with rioutous living and found himself at the end of his journey eating with the swine. He humbles himself and asks to come back as a hired servant. His father pulls out all the stops and has a huge celebration for the prodigal son, killing the fatted calf. This is the story we always focus on but in prayer God reminded me of the other brother. He was not so happy about this celebration. He tells the father, "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf."
It's the typical sibling statement, NOT FAIR! I love what the father tells him:
Luke 15:31 "And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
That sounds really familiar. We don't fully take advantage of our privileges as sons and daughters of God. We don't receive all He has for us because we don't even realize nearly all the benefits we have as His children.
Psalm 103:20 " Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."
Psalm 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."
Psalm 81:10 "...open they mouth wide and I will fill it."
Expectation... what are we expecting? We receive what we expect. How big are we willing to believe? Remember Matthew 13:58, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Matthew 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
He says we must come as a child...
Luke 18:17 "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."
Let's not make it harder than it is. Children don't lie awake wondering if their parents paid the light bill or bought groceries for the week. They just lay down in peace knowing that they will wake up with all their needs met. They enjoy the journey. Let's enjoy the journey. Don't sweat the details. Sure, we have to do our part, but let's lay our burdens on our Father. He can handle it. We are His children. He loves us. It's that simple. Don't forget who you are.
It's the typical sibling statement, NOT FAIR! I love what the father tells him:
Luke 15:31 "And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."
That sounds really familiar. We don't fully take advantage of our privileges as sons and daughters of God. We don't receive all He has for us because we don't even realize nearly all the benefits we have as His children.
Psalm 103:20 " Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."
Psalm 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."
Psalm 81:10 "...open they mouth wide and I will fill it."
Expectation... what are we expecting? We receive what we expect. How big are we willing to believe? Remember Matthew 13:58, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Matthew 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
He says we must come as a child...
Luke 18:17 "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."
Let's not make it harder than it is. Children don't lie awake wondering if their parents paid the light bill or bought groceries for the week. They just lay down in peace knowing that they will wake up with all their needs met. They enjoy the journey. Let's enjoy the journey. Don't sweat the details. Sure, we have to do our part, but let's lay our burdens on our Father. He can handle it. We are His children. He loves us. It's that simple. Don't forget who you are.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)