Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Project Gideon Countdown!

Well, it's nearly here! Nine days until Project Gideon 2013, and I am already filled with anticipation!

I arranged daycare for Psalmie today. (I wish she could go with us; I want to take her with me everywhere I go, but this is one time that Stephen and I need to do this together.)

And I finalized hotel arrangements about an hour ago.

It's becoming VERY REAL now!!!

I'm so looking forward to going to this conference!!!

Last year, we met so many wonderful people and felt utterly INSPIRED and ENERGIZED when we left. Maybe it's this time of the year, but I am looking forward to that again this year; yes, I am looking forward with great expectation!!!

Stephen and Psalm and I have a LOT going on this year, a lot of hopes and dreams in Christ. And many needs, too. We are looking forward to what God has in store this year and in the years to come.

And that's why we journey for the second year in a row to the Project Gideon conference. To be fed, inspired. To get out of our comfort zone and get away and let the Holy Spirit do what He does best: Heal, Empower, Ignite, and Feed the Fire!

There truly is "More to Come"!!!

Friday, February 15, 2013

"Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord!"

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,
Open the eyes of my heart,
I want to see You,
I want to see You.

See You high and lifted up,
Sitting in the Light of Your Glory
Pour out Your Power and Love
As we sing Holy, Holy, Holy

(You are) Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy
I want to see You,
I want to see You

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My prayer this morning:

I want to see You, Lord, more in my life every day. I want to be a sanctuary to You, every day, increasingly, a vessel prepared for Your presence. I want to be Your hands and feet on this earth, to the best of my ability through the Power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

This earth cries out for a Savior, many hearts scrambling to find their own, but You are there, still, after all these years, hands outstretched, open arms, waiting....And Your precious Spirit, after centuries of heart rejections, still calling, still beckoning, to the people of the earth who hold to them tightly the belief that we don't need You, somehow our innate and pitiful empty rebellion.

You are TRUTH, no matter what bills they pass in this country, no matter who "thinks" they are in charge. You are our SAVIOR, our TRUE KING, no matter how large the ego of any man or woman or group of people on this entire earth. The WHOLE EARTH is subject to Your spoken word, yet so many reject You--they've been blinded.

After all these years, the heart of man still rises up against You, still questions who You are and Your commands. But I am one representative of THE REMNANT, Lord, and while we are not perfect (I, certainly, am a LONG WAY from it), we stand, shaking with humility before your face in the Grace given us by Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Though there are many and more joining the increasing wave of darkness engulfing this planet, those of us, THE REMNANT, stand as tall as we can and speak as boldly as we can--as You enable us! And we speak your Word, your Promises, your GOOD NEWS across this planet. In Jesus' Name.

For there IS a God, Who Reigns SUPREME over every space in Heaven and Earth. Whose Love and Creativity knows no bounds and THIS GOD created a SPLENDID EARTH for His people to possess. He Loved Us So Much that HE SENT a Savior for His people, and invited ALL OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH, again, to COME BACK TO HIM, HIS ARMS.

HE IS OUR GOD, JEHOVAH.

We cannot worship Him enough. We cannot stop praising Him. Our God is AMAZING, filling our Hearts with HIM, Minds with PEACE, Spirits with LOVE. As for me and my house, we will serve this GOD who LOVES us, even when we fail, this GOD who blesses us.

THERE IS NO GOD BUT JEHOVAH.

You may say want you want, build your little "g" gods and kneel before them, submitting your lives to nonsense. Forces of evil can do what they will, attacking JEHOVAH'S KIDS and KINGDOMS, but here's the deal, and take notice, enemy: You may assault us, persecute us, even think you're destroying us, our physical bodies, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE OUR HEARTS and you CAN'T KEEP US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.

THERE IS NO GOD BUT JEHOVAH. (And you know that, too.)

To all those on the "deceiver's team": God's people may be faulty in many ways, and very fallible...on our own. But that's just it: WE AREN'T ON OUR OWN. HIS IS WITH US, ALWAYS. His Spirit LIVES and GROWS WITHIN US. And I make it my mission from this MOMENT forward to combat darkness and negativity with WORDS DECLARING HIS LOVE OVER THE WHOLE EARTH, OVER ALL THE PEOPLES OF THIS EARTH, FROM NOW ON AND THE GENERATIONS TO COME.

JEHOVAH: NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES.

I DECLARE THE POWER OF JEHOVAH OVER THIS PLANET, OVER THE HEARTS OF MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN RIGHT NOW AND TO COME, IN JESUS NAME. I PRAY FOR DARKNESS TO FLEE HEARTS AND MINDS ON THIS PLANET IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

JEHOVAH. JEHOVAH. JEHOVAH.


Monday, February 4, 2013

The Waiting

It's hard, you know: The Waiting.
Painful, almost, the way your HEART
CRIES OUT for what it suspects is on its way.
(It IS on it's way, right?)

Who likes The Waiting?
Knowing something is coming,
Nearly able to hear the Coming On
Of distant heralds, hoofbeats...

Who knows The Waiting?
Frustrating stretch of time--
Counting sheep in daylight,
Squinting into the horizon...

I may not seeee it now...
But I can nearly smell it.
When I close my eyes
I feel the change of winds

And I can almost taste in it
The movement in distant sands;
Could this be it?
The FULFILLMENT approaching...

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Tonight, I'm thinking about the HOPE and PROMISES of our GOD, JEHOVAH. I am so thankful to be a Child of God, and so excited to meet my brothers and sisters around the Globe! Though I am unsure as to what He will call me to do specifically when I get there, I wait expectantly and do my best to properly prepare for what is ahead!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

"Bye, Bye, French Fries!"

Our church started the year out by calling its annual church fast. One of the things I fasted during the "13 Days in 2013" was sweets. I know, to some, it may not seem much of a sacrifice, but to me, it most definitely was! Not only was it stressful in my daily life--I had become "that person" craving sweet coffee or a sweet anything during my high-stress days--but I quite enjoy my chocolates!

But I made it.

And when the fast was over, I thought I might just keep the habit of foregoing the sweets! I knew this was a very healthy decision to make! I knew that, at least in the past, I had lost quite a bit of weight--as I recall, in a very short period of time--by just cutting out the sweets and candy from my daily routine!

Imagine my surprise when I weighed myself after a month of no sweets and found I had actually gained TEN POUNDS!!!

What?!?!

Honestly, I was majorly upset. I felt very "let down"--All of this work, for what? How on earth was I GAINING weight?! I was eating less, making better decisions...Wasn't I?!

I talk to God about just about everything these days. And I talked to him about this. About how disappointed I was, about how it all felt like nothing had happened--why had I even tried at all?!? I remember even thinking specifically, "Lord, how did this HAPPEN?!..."

Because I was so upset, I ate an available cookie. It was nice, but my craving for sweets had greatly subsided. It just didn't "taste" like I'd imagined it would.

I was a bit disappointed. Actually, I was a LOT disappointed. I had expected to see RESULTS when I stepped on that scale, and nothing happened.

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Days later, maybe even a week later, something happened to answer the nagging question in my mind and explain what had puzzled me about my weight gain and plunged me into a bit of a funk, if I'm being honest.

After school, Psalm is very hungry. Often, I am taking her one place or another to do business, driving her to dance, going to the church, whatever. Because she complains of her hunger (they take the Pre-K kids to eat FIRST, then they have a small snack in the afternoons), I have been taking her by McDonald's or Braum's or the equivalent to get her something to eat.

And, without a thought, really, I almost always grab something, too.

It was two days ago, on a Friday, when we last went through McDonald's. I ordered what she wanted; I ordered "my usual."

I NEVER read the labels on the McDonald's products. NEVER. I've never been "concerned" much about it before. But this time, I felt that "still, small voice" nudging me to read the label.

So I read it. And I was horrified.

No, HORRIFIED.

I guesstimated that I could consume four to five regular size candy bars at once and still not consume the fat grams and calories in ONE BOX of French Fries!

Seriously?!?! Isn't food supposed to be "GOOD for Me?!?" Isn't candy supposed to be much worse than real food?!?!

And then I realized. It was like the "internal light went on" and I realized why I had gained ten pounds. How many times had I gone through this drive thru in recent days, just getting "a meal," not over-eating? One regular meal during the day--a meal that would leave me hungry again in just a few hours--was the REASON I was gaining this much weight!

That was it. That was when I said, "Bye, Bye" to the Fries!

Fries are good. No, sometimes they're THE BEST! But it's not worth packing on another ten pounds when I'm desperately trying to get off forty.

They're just not worth it.

So, I am thanking God for answering my prayer that day when I was so disappointed. I am thanking Him for having mercy on me when I grabbed that cookie and ate it down, mostly out of disappointment.

It was all my fault.

OTHER AREAS OF MY LIFE gave me those ten extra pounds. And it counter-acted what I was doing in forsaking my sweets.

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Last night, as I was going to bed, I felt The Lord give me the title to this blog. And this morning, as I've been writing it, He's been patiently showing me what ELSE all of this means, spiritually speaking.

Sometimes we focus on one part of our lives, getting things in order, so much, that we forget that there are other parts of our lives that we much be concerned with, too. We can be working hard and sacrificing and thinking we are making quite bold and lengthy strides in the right direction, but if we forsake other important elements of our lives, we may find those other areas counter-acting what good we're doing.

We may be gaining weight, spiritually.

But as disappointing, as crushing as it is to realize you've gained ten pounds when you think you've been doing everything right, it's even more disappointing to know that right under your nose is a MASSIVE problem that, in addition to the extras--the "sweets," must be taken care of, too.

This morning, that is what God is showing me.

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So what's my plan now?

I plan on continuing to forgo the "sweet extras" in my life AND discontinue extremely unhealthy eating habits like the French Fries. It is my plan to "rethink" our daily life patterns, and that includes altering our last-minute, desperate "snack options" and looking into a family fitness plan.

(And I'm referring to both my physical and spiritual self.)

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You know what? I am sooooooo utterly grateful for the patience of our Heavenly Father. He KNOWS how to speak to ME. (And He knows how to speak to YOU.)