Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Small Voice in the Storm


Cloudy with a chance of wintry mix...rain/sleet/snow.

These are the days to curl up and read, write or watch a great movie..but they also represent the perfect scenario for the enemy to come and lay claim in your mind.

During this season of clouds and freezing rain, the roads turn icy in a moments notice, you have to be on guard. We should be the same in our faith walk..let me try and explain what I mean.

The enemy slips in unnoticed, with just a wondering thought, then that thought demands more attention and we give it, usually without a second thought as to what lie we are actually being told. Then, without much warning that small wondering thought has actually become a stronghold and we label IT as who we are, how we are, it is automatic, part of us...

Unlike the weather, this does not happen instantly, but over time. The enemy starts young..I am watching the battle begin in my own daughter and am trying to call what IT is at the start so that IT does not make permanent residents in her mind!

I speak as a solider who has fought those battles and still does. IT is the lies of the enemy. Lies that tell us we are unworthy, worthless, ugly, unsuccessful, and the list goes on...

When our season of life has turned cloudy and rainy, the lies seem to be louder and stronger and become more deadly. DO NOT give in to the lies (I am repeating that to myself)! Why is that do you think? Why when things are not so sunny and happy it is so much easier to fall for the lies? Has GOD changed?



The answer is no, GOD has not changed, we have just forgotten.

We have forgotten that HE has rescued us, died for us, and has set us free! We have forgotten the love HE has for us. We have simply forgotten to be still and know WHO has created us.

GOD is in the clouds, the wind, and the rain (frozen or not) speaking in a still small voice....quiet your (mine too) hearts and minds and listen to the TRUTH, for that TRUTH will set you free!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Discipline or Attack

Have you ever wondered if you were under attack from the enemy?

Have you ever felt the correcting hand of God?

How do you know the difference between the two?

The path that HE has me on is one that resembles the previous questions! The problem is knowing when the correcting ends and an attack has begun...

Simply put, the enemy knows all to well my bad habits and that God wants to rid me of them...so, the enemy sets snares to catch me...and of course I trip and start to second guess the path.



The Israelites had the same problem. What should have been an eleven day journey took forty years, why? Because they simply could not follow directions. God laid out the rules and the enemy went right to work at shifting the perspective of the people. The enemy planted seeds of fear, pride, and want and let the people do the rest of the work for him...

Are we not the same today?? I know that I am. The rules have not changed, the seeds of fear, pride and want are not new either...and yet we still fall for them all the time.

Our perspective changes and we see correction as an attack and assume that we will be set free from the trial...however, the trial is there to refine us, renew us, and reshape us into the being we are meant to be; we miss the lesson and the trial continues and the enemy smiles and confusion sets in again...

The good news, God never leaves us the way we were...and slowly we start to get the picture!! I am just praying that it is not a forty year journey...one year will do thank you, okay maybe I need one or two more lessons... {faint smile}!


Here is to being quick learners!! God bless each one of you on your own journey in the desert!



Saturday, January 16, 2010

Winter's Light....A Challenge

Over at (in)Courage, they gave an artistic challenge...so here is my attempt at being artistically challenged {smile}





Winter's Light

darkness comes early
LIGHT shines bright in the darkness
the soul receives rest.



May God grace this winter weekend with much needed rest for your soul, and may HE grant healing and peace for the people of Haiti, and for all nations who suffer loss.

Monday, January 11, 2010

On the mountain




We meet God on the mountain and not just at the top.

The whole journey up and back down, we are in the presence of God.

Currently, I am at the foot of the mountain. Examining the path and wondering exactly how long it is going to take to reach the peak. There is no answer, because our timing is not HIS timing.

So, I stare.

I know what I should do, and what needs to be done, but...

This is where my ACTION resolution meets my weakness..I am great at starting things, not so great at finishing them. Actually, that is the enemy talking to me because I have finished things, like a half marathon..I trained for months and then completed the race...{smile}

Thank you for that memory.

Back to the mountain, the only way to ascend is to start walking, one step at a time, one prayer at a time.



And God has invited me to this mountain, to meet HIM there, why wouldn't I want to run up the mountain? Because climbing is hard and dirty and it takes energy and patience...man, I can complain alot...

So I stare.

Have you found yourself looking up a mountain, that God HIMSELF has invited you to climb, and instead of climbing just stood there? I say invited, because HE is a gentle God and HE awaits our answer to HIS call.



I am reading the OLD TESTAMENT and am currently in Exodus...I am relating to the Israelites, more than I would like to admit. I am at the mountain, and there is loud trumpets, lightning and thunder, and God is there to meet me...I am afraid. I will be changed even if I just stay at the foot of the mountain. The amount of change, will depend on how far I am willing to go up the mountain. But, wasn't I invited? So why am I scared of the change?

I have grown comfortable in my skin, too comfortable really. I need change. The problem is that I don't want to have to do the work. The enemy again.. as with all things, the first step is always the hardest..



On a side note, Bob's mom will start chemo tomorrow; three rounds and then surgery and then three more rounds...please keep her in your prayers as she has her own mountain to climb...


Pictures from a trip to Hawaii

Friday, January 8, 2010

The Red Sea

God does not waste time when you step out in faith.

I was bold in naming this year, an idea I got from another traveler on this path of faith. Did not fully grasp that boldness until four days later.

The first Monday of this year, my mother-in-law was told she has cancer. As I am writing this, I am waiting to hear what kind, what stage, what process will be taken, and a whole bunch of other what's...ACTION in deed!



The eating healthy, exercise thing is so not happening, however the spiritual disciplines are in high gear!

Exodus 14:11-12, the Israelites were complaining to Moses about being led to the desert to die.."What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Leave us alone..." I am having the same feelings of late, God what are you doing to us? The financial situation,(okay that one is our own fault) the lack of church family and now this...really I ALMOST want to scream leave us alone, but I cannot for I know HIS ways are not my ways...

The very next verse in Exodus says.."Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today." ACTION in face of our fears is not always running back to the familiar, but STANDING FIRM in the unknown and watching for the deliverance that WILL come.

My Friends, I hope that if you find yourselves in a whirlwind of STUFF that you STAND FIRM and know that you know the LORD will part the Red Sea and make a path for you.

I am standing at the edge of the Sea and the enemy is approaching from behind at great speed but my eyes can see the wonders all around me. I know that I know the sea will part and I will walk through this, at my husband's side, and we will entire into the promise land the LORD has set aside for us. FREE by HIS grace!