Friday, April 30, 2010

The Quiet Place

When I want to be completely alone with my Heavenly Father, this is one of my very favorite spots...the front porch swing. I can hear the wind through the many trees, the variety of birds' songs, and the crunching of leaves under the feet of tiny critters running through the woods. This is part of who I am, and I soak it in. But mostly, I find such clarity in my spirit out there in the quiet air.

This first picture was taken one day when I was having a rough time. A sweet friend gave me a biscotti, and I took a 20-minute break to have some hot tea, some Scriptures and my treat.


There's nothing as deeply refreshing as a word from God when I really need it.


And this morning, I shared my favorite quiet spot with one of my children. This is my child whom I call "a balm to my soul." He woke up before everyone else today and came downstairs to ask if he and I could do our Bible time side-by-side on the front porch. This was such a beautiful impromptu time together. He wanted to read I Corinthians 13 about love. Really, what more could a Mama want?


No matter what happens today (and no matter how good or bad of a day it is), deep inside my spirit will be this treasured time in our quiet place.

Monday, April 26, 2010

CALLING ALL PRAYER WARRIORS!!!




Please take 10 minutes to GO TO THIS BLOG and pray for little Chrissie today. We are praying in Jesus' name for a MIRACLE MONDAY! Please keep that blog in your favorites and check it often, as Chrissie's mom updates it frequently. And please tell all prayer warriors that you know. We are claiming Psalm 118:17 as our prayer of faith today.




Thursday, April 15, 2010

To Live is Christ - Gospel for Asia

This video was in my inbox tonight, and I wanted to share it with you. Here is the link. Please let this sit in your spirit and stir you to action...

To Live is Christ - Gospel for Asia

Friday, April 9, 2010

Wholly Possessed By Love

I woke up at 5am with the thought sitting in my spirit: "God, I want to be wholly possessed by Your love."

Something bothers me. When it comes to love, I stink! I used to think I was pretty good at it, but the older I get, the more I realize that giving the kind of love that is altogether selfless is not how I'm naturally cut out. Sure, I can write love notes to my family...I can spend time making them their favorite treats...I can make sure my husband's clothes are ironed and his lunch for work is packed...I can spend hours cuddled on the couch reading with my children...I can even give up that last brownie when everything in me screams to eat it before anyone notices it! But when it really comes down to the nitty gritty of TRUE love...the kind that doesn't take offense when someone hurts my feelings or the kind that takes no thought to my own sacrifices...well that's when I know that I simply STINK when it comes to love. It's not that I don't try. I really really DO try! But sometime in between dawn and dusk (and usually closer to dawn!), I fail at loving with this whole-hearted love.

So, this morning my spirit must have been tossing this around even in my sleep. When I woke at 5am, I lay in bed and prayed adamantly that God PLEASE possess me because I cannot love on my own initiative. I wanted to be so overtaken by His Love that I was simply saturated so densely that all I would need to do is just let it ooze out...hey, even just a drip, drip, drip would be improvement on my dried-up can't-quite-muster-enough-in-me-to-wholly-love-you love. I lay there for an hour and a half trying to do something, say something, pray something that would result in an incredible overshadowing of me...where He would possess me so fully that I'd get out of bed a new woman. But alas, it was getting late, and I needed to get my day started...so I got out of bed the same person I was yesterday. But really, the thought of failing again at the greatest thing (love) was too much for me to bear!

I found my cozy spot to be alone with God, and my faithful cat curled up on my lap. And there I sat again, going over it all again...praying to be fully possessed by God's love...reminding Him again that I'm a failure in this area and that He simply MUST do it through me. BUT HOW??? That became the search I was on again this morning. HOW do I become fully overcome by His love so that it saturates me and drips out on everyone I come into contact with?? I really wanted to know HOW.

I read in my Bible and in the book I had just finished for the 4th time (Compelled By Love by Heidi Baker). (Really...you'd think that after reading that book FOUR times, I'd have a handle on the love issue, right?) So, in Heidi's book, she says, "God does not want us to merely love like Jesus. His desire is to possess our very nature with His love." Yes, that is what I want! But HOW??? I read through several parts of the book that I had highlighted. The theme started to rise to the surface: be meek, empty ourselves, go lower still, humble ourselves, give our lives.... Slowly this answer began to surface...again (this answer always bobs up and down, but I've yet to grasp it fully enough to claim it as my own)...

HOW do we become fully possessed by His love? We drink deeply of Him every day...seeking Him in quiet times, reading His Word, praying fervently. Then, filled up, we seek the rest of the day to stay put in the lowest place...to look at everyone we see as better than ourselves...to look to each person's needs as more important than our own (in fact, to meet the other person's needs, while we trust God to meet our own needs)...to empty ourselves over and over again, trusting God to fill us back up. It's about wearing the "brown robe of holy humility," as Heidi puts it...the same way Jesus did when He walked this earth.

On the day when Mother Teresa realized the importance of serving others, she was on a trip to attend a spiritual retreat. She looked out the train window and was overwhelmed at the plight of beggars. God's voice was heard in her ears: "My dear, you must see your beloved Jesus in each one of these miserable people. You must love that Jesus, serve that Jesus and look after that Jesus. Never forget His voice when He says, 'Whenever you did if for the least of these My brothers, you did it for Me'."

2Corinthians 5:11-21 talks of being compelled and controlled by His love. He died for everyone, and we have died to our old life we used to live. We no longer live to please ourselves but please HIM.

So, HOW do I get what I asked for this morning? HOW do I become wholly possessed by His love? By letting Him fill me as I soak in His presence...and then making a conscientious choice to seek out the lowest spot in my home, in my community of friends, in my ministry...to humbly go lower still...to become poor so that I can make others rich in His love (do you see it...we POUR OUT all He's given to us...we empty out...we become poor so that others can be soaked in His love)...to do as Mother Teresa did in seeing Jesus in every person and choosing to serve Jesus, love Jesus and look after Jesus by doing that to those we come into contact with every day.

How can I (a love-challenged person!) actually do this though? God answered me in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." It's not about me...EVER! It's all about Him...and His favor is all I need. My weakness in this area gives Him more room to work because it will be HIM doing it, not me.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Free-Falling

First, I wanted to share some pictures that are close to my heart. The first one is of our family on Easter morning just after a sunrise service at a beautiful ranch. I don't know why it took so long for us to be able to do this, but this is actually our FIRST family photo (with all of us in the picture!) since we adopted our youngest princess 8 months ago.







This second picture is of our youngest son. Last week we were watching a movie about the life of Jesus (one of our traditions right before Easter), and this little guy began to feel convicted in his heart. For the first time, he realized that Jesus died for HIM. He climbed up in our laps, and after the movie, he wanted to talk about it. Right then and there, he decided to follow Jesus. He asked Him into his heart, and this Mama was so happy to lead him in that prayer. And he was positively BEAMING! I've never seen anyone so radiant with that fresh joy that God gives when His Spirit is given to live inside them. I told him I'd like to take a picture of him because he was glowing. Here he is...




Now to the subject at hand...free-falling...


I had a dream last week. I was falling through the air high above the ground (perhaps I had jumped out of an airplane), and I could feel that sickening feeling that I absolutely hate: free-falling! In my dream, I was screaming, "God, I don't like free-falling!!!" And I heard Him say something like, "Enjoy it. Try flipping and flying. Enjoy the fall." Something in His voice was very calm and soothing. I could heard the smile in His voice, encouraging me to enjoy the fall. So, I stopped flailing my arms and instead began to fly or "swim" like the skydivers do. And as I began to enjoy it, I could barely notice the feeling of free-falling. And then I woke up. I had no doubt that He was encouraging me, even in my sleep (that has only happened this one time...I wish I could dream like that every night!).

In time, I will be able to share details of what this dream means in our real life. Suffice it to say, we'll soon be free-falling...not a physical jump from an airplane but somehow even more intimidating because this is a spiritual leap of faith, with nothing physical to "see." But there's a complete sense that God Himself is in full control of the free-fall. I pray that we can ENJOY it instead of screaming the whole way! :)


I sense that someone reading this is also in position to take some spiritual steps of faith...that in some way God is calling you to step out into something unknown and way out of your comfort zone. I wish I could have pulled you into my dream because there was a deep deep sense of peace in that free-falling...that leap of faith that feels like thin air. Remember, he LOVES faith...faith pleases Him...and in those steps of faith, we can experience amazing miracles and peace that passes all understanding.