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5 for 5 Brain Dump – Momentum Monday

Feb26
This 5 for 5 Brain Dump, was written on February 19, 2018. Momentum Monday.
First I’ll share what I wrote, then show you some of the steps I’m taking. Feel free to comment anything helpful for me to keep my momentum, and to help you to reach your goals as well.

 

Here is what I wrote, 5 for 5 Brain Dump style. If you don’t know what 5 for 5 Brain Dump is, Click here to find out more about it. 

(Note; The scriptures added later)

My biggest goal , all over seems to be that of helping people to access the quiet place inside of them. To help them disconnect from their fear, and and to have an understanding that the past is over.  It helped create who they are, for better or for worse, but it does not need to, nor can it, hold them hostage, unless that is a choice that they themselves make.

My approach my be different than some, but it is MY approach. Everyone is different, so this is not carved in stone. For ME, my approach has been 99.9% effective.

What it requires from me, is focus. It requires remembering who God says I am, what He thinks of me;

(Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV) For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

and keeping His goals for me, always in front of my eyes.

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

With Him, all things are possible.

Luke 18:27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

(99.9%, because only He is perfect)

The way I keep what He thinks of me alive in my heart and mind, is to revisit this scripture, over and over. Whenever I sense the “overwhelm” moving back in, I return to my comfy chair by the window, and re-read (or even listen online) once, twice, three times, how ever many times it takes, until my heart lightens.

The way I learn about what He wants for my life, often takes place in the same physical space, quieting myself, reading my Bible, quiet music, (no words, they distract) and taking note of any thoughts that come to mind – big or small!

The way that we know it is possible with Him, is that the Word says so. My belief is that either God is telling the truth, or He’s a liar (or a mad man) and I do not believe the last two at all.

In the world that we live in, there is little or no place for quiet. We must carve out that space for ourselves.

Now, some are afraid or uncomfortable with quiet because they either are not accustomed to it, or they may even be afraid of what they might “hear”.

The world is running so fast, that even if we want to slow down, it is a most difficult thing to do.

Here is my shameless plug. Shameless, because I believe it works. Shameless because I want to share the value of what I call “Quietude”.

I’m sharing a link to a page I’ve created to help those of you who wish, to have a small space to begin their journey into Quietude.

May you find peace, and rest for yourself. You’re worth it.

A quiet place for your soul.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for letting me share.

 

 

Crazy Women in Caves, With Oil!

Feb19

I heard the following quote at a conference in 2007.

I ran across it again while reviewing my journals.

First the quote, then, why it was so important to me.

“David was in a cave with some crazy people and some oil.”

The back story on this (a study I did) comes from years of feeling inadequate, lonely, and unloved, until finally, after my mother’s death, I went inside myself. I slowly took myself away from  most forms of social activity. During that time I became increasingly unhealthy in my body. At one point, for a couple of years, it was difficult to even get off the floor to get a drink of water from the kitchen. I only moved when I absolutely had to. I had two engagements each week that expected me to show up, so I did. No more.

The healing part of this story is for another time, but when I began to heal, the Lord put on my heart that I was a cave dweller.

Now cave dwelling is fine. For a season. But it was time to leave the cave for a while.

I argued that He had provided me a pretty cool cave, and that I was comfy here. To which I heard, “Comfy is what you come back to, to rest, but to come back, you first have to leave.”

As the healing was beginning, I had a handful of gals come to my home once a week for coffee and a book study. I had shared with them that I was literally a crazy lady hiding out with my friends in my cave on Wednesdays! (Note, I still wasn’t LEAVING MY CAVE.)

First I looked up CRAZY – full of defects and imperfections. Thanks a lot.

Before actually leaving my comfy cave, I looked up caves in my faithful, old, blue, 400 pound Strong’s Concordance. (No Google or https://www.biblegateway.com/  back then!) I looked up all the cave words I could find. Over 20 references!

I won’t name them all, but here is a short list of things people did in/with caves;

  • Lived in caves
  • Bought caves for burials
  • Some belonged to families so that they could all be buried in the same place
  • Some kings hid in caves, then they were executed and placed back there after the fact
  • Mighty men and prophets hid in them and were fed there
  • They were used to sleep in when travelling
  • Eat. Rest. Strengthen.
  • Used as shelters and strongholds
  • Living places for the homeless
  • A place of death (plague)
  • A place of prayer
  • And even a hiding away from the Lord place

What is the oil for?

  • Beautification
  • Fresh oil meant prosperity
  • Lack of oil meant judgement, curse, agricultural disaster
  • Good oil meant stability and prosperity
  • Used to anoint and sanctify
  • Used to consecrate tabernacles – made the tabernacle “Most Holy”. If anyone “unholy” touched the “Most Holy” item, they would die.
  • Sign of the Holy Spirit

Now, here we are. Present day. How does that apply, and why must we leave our caves?

As you can see by the uses for the oil, it can be a pretty powerful thing. It can give stability and prosperity. It has power to give life, and to take it.

The cave, (our homes) are used for many of the things caves were. (Hopefully/fortunately not graves) We eat. We rest. We heal.

We have all this power (oil) in our caves, and we’re not using it.

We need to use our caves to pray, eat, rest, strengthen, then, we need to take our oil and use it for good. We can share it with those no hope.

That power is simply wasted when it is hidden away in a cave.

I have a friend who says that the world needs our words. Could those words possibly be the healing balm/oil that someone needs?

We have it, and we’re hiding.

We find comfort in our caves, but there are others, without hope, who can be helped by a little bit of our oil, if we can just leave our comfort but for a little bit.

So go. Spread your healing oil around and then, you can always come back to your cave to rest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 for 5 Brain Dump – February 12, 2018

Feb12

Once again, a challenge has been made by the lovely Julie JordanScott.

The quote is from Laura Ingalls Wilder, “It does not matter what happens. It is what one does when it happens that really counts.”

The prompt was; Write 5 memories where something significant happened. Write about what you did as a result.

Here is what I wrote, 5 for 5 Brain Dump style (3x). If you don’t know what 5 for 5 Brain Dump is, Here to find out more about it.

I write today on my #4 choice, as it has been on my mind as of late. I went to a meeting in May of 2006. I listened intently to the lady as she told her story. She told what the Lord had done in her life, and just how He was using her to help others along the way. When the meeting was over, anyone who wanted, could go down and they would pray for you. I waited till last. Basically I just wanted to see how she operated after the fact.

Now she had a lady with her to help her pray with people, and to help her to set up and tear down. It was getting late, she had this lady talk to me and pray with me.

Everything began normally, but after I responded to a few of her questions, she got very loud, and seemingly annoyed, almost angered. She thought my attitude in God’s presence was pretty cocky. She went on for almost 10 minutes. A couple of girls who had come with me told me later, that if it had been them they would have been in a puddle on the floor. Fortunately for me, I had a friend behind me writing down everything that was being said! It wasn’t pretty, and I was greatly distressed.

On the way home from that meeting, I wept, and wept, and wept. I took those notes and for days to my quiet place, and poured over them again and again. Finally, at the end of that week, I went to mentors home, some 2 hours from my house, and cried it all out to her, until there was nothing left.

Well she confirmed all that I had been thinking of in my chair. She told me it was very mature to to think it through like that, and not just be ticked off at the woman. She told me if there was any truth in her words – to take it. If there was any untruth – leave it. Her quote? “We are Iowa farmers. Like any good cow, we can chew up the hay and spit out the sticks.” (I love this woman!)

The only thing I hadn’t considered, and perhaps the most important, relayed to me by this woman I had trusted for years, was this; What she said was true. Her delivery system stunk. It was way off. Regardless of what you have to say, you must be kind. She, this woman who spoke so harshly to me, was not in any way kind.

So the lesson I learned, was that you can give people any information you want to give them, even bad info. If you are not kind to someone less mature, they may walk away and perhaps never seek help again. You must always remember to be kind, so that people can see God.

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