Tag Archive | Expansion

Recently.

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Recently.

I love that word recently.

I use the word recently a lot.

 

The Encarta Dictionary says it like this;

1.  Having happened or appeared not long ago

2.  From current times or the very recent past 

Why is that such an important word you ask?

I believe it is because it means that something is happening.

If something happened recently,

Then life is not stagnant or stale.

Stagnant being impure from lack of motion,

Stale?

  Well, which of us likes bread that is not fresh?

 

We tend to go through seasons of stillness,

And then seasons of activity.

Without both seasons,

We cannot grow up in Him properly.

 

We cannot live Godly lives with only encounters that are ten years old,

While they are great stories and teach us how God works,

We won’t be very effective showing Christ to others unless they can see His fresh work in us.

 

If we are in Christ,

Hopefully we will recognize these as times of growth for us.

God our Father,

Jesus our Savior,

And Holy Spirit our Teacher,

Have something for us to learn.

 

I believe we need to take the time to “unplug” from the noise of the world on a regular basis,

Just so we can hear what Father,

Son and Holy Spirit want to say to us.

Our lives are so very loud,

That it is difficult,

If not impossible to hear their voices unless we take that time.

 

We NEED that time of Significant Encounter,

To understand what things He as in store for us to do.

 

1 Kings 19:12 (KJV) And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

 

Well, recently, I did just that.

Life had gotten so busy that my mind was in a constant skitter,

Like cold water on a hot skillet.

The sense that God and I needed to conference kept growing every day.

 

As always,

Whenever I take that time,

God is Faithful to show up.,

 

Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV1984) Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

 

That IS HIs promise to me and to you.

When we seek Him we will find Him.

Proverbs 8:17 (NIV 1984) I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

 

I learned much on that day,

And I fully intend to share,

But I am still processing.

God had a lot to say.

 

For today,

I leave you with a link that will bless you and stretch you.

 

Some will say Amen,

Others will have to say h-m-m-m……..

 

The Resting Place

 

It is an hour in length but is divided into two parts.

Please allow it to enrich your quiet time,

And then plan to join me when some of my processing has been done.

 

Until then,

Remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made!

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Jesus Immigration Policy

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My blogging friend Steven Sawyer posted the following post just this week.

I was taken aback by it’s simplicity,

And the scope of it’s difficulty.

As we say around here,

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!”

I believe it can work,

How about you?

Jesus Immigration Policy

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Fearfully and wonderfully made

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What About the Updates You Didn’t Ask For?

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You may not be a geek, but you are here,

so at the very least you are a little bit computer-ish.

You probably have an email account,

a Facebook account,

maybe a Twitter account.  

Maybe you are Linked-In or you Spotify. 

Whatever the case may be. 

You know your settings. 

It took a while to get things just the way you like them,

and then, BAM!

Totally out of nowhere,

one of these accounts decides to update,

or even upgrade to a different way of doing things or worse yet,

a whole new  program.

New phone.   New operating system.   New program.   New gadgets.

Pretty new packages with lot of work packed inside.

Ugh.

 

Resetting takes time.

It takes brain cells.

It a lot of  mental energy.

How did you handle the news?

Did you get angry and pout?

Did you throw things or complain?

Or did you receive the updates as a matter of course?

The latter choice will mean accepting the change.

It will probably mean rearranging your schedule to give you time to familiarize yourself with the new,

and reset everything from the start.

If you are just a bit computerish,

this may cause great hardship.

For a geek or a techi,

it would be a nuisance perhaps,

but you’re used to it,

so you can get it done pretty quick.

 

After far too many techi type updates and upgrades,

there is something I’ve noticed about them all.

It is there regardless if my trouble is long term,

or if it is of the quick fix type.

I have noticed the same thing with updates that are physical,

emotional and intellectual.

It is there whether it is my computer that is broken or if it is my heart.

 

Most recently,

my own updates came in both the techi and the emotional realm.

This then of course leaked all the way into the spiritual side of things.

These simultaneous happenings threatened to take me out.

 

Folks when this happens to you,

you must seat yourself securely in your chair and follow all the prompts until you reach the end.

Some of those prompts are simple yes – no, click – don’t click.

With some on the other hand,

you have to wait for the action to take place,

then actually shut down and re-start for the update to take place.

Start – stop. Start – stop. Start – stop.

 

My recent updates,

led to some very expansive and not to mention expensive upgrades.

Totally new equipment and programming required.

Here I am on the other side (Thank you God!)

I’d like to share some of the BIG stuff I learned.

Perhaps it can help you too!

There is no “set” way to handle such things,

but I believe that God’s principles work no matter where you use them.

 

*Get a comfy seat – Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and

                                               seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

*Settle in – Isaiah 32:18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, 

                               in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

*Be thankful – Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer,

being watchful and thankful.

*Rest in Him – Psalm 62:5 Find rest, O my soul,

                   in God alone;  my hope comes from him

ASK.

Matthew 7:8
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

I had to begin in each case asking God just what it was I was supposed to learn from each circumstance.

When you learn what you are supposed to,

you can advance to the next thing.

 

WAIT.

Psalm 38:15
I wait for you, O LORD;  you will answer, O Lord my God.

I always pray for the quickly to happen,

but God does not always answer that way.

The waiting, the crying,

the praying,

the seeking,

the finding,

the trusting,

all take time.

Sometimes I learn more slowly than other times.

 

DO OVERS.

Proverbs 24:16 (CJB)For though he falls seven times, he will get up again;

it’s the wicked who fail under stress.

If I didn’t get it quite right, I get to do it over.

The fact of the matter is that I don’t want to move on one minute sooner than He thinks I’m ready.

I  really can’t skip any steps and expect everything to operate smoothly.

 

TRUST.

Psalm 9:10 Those who know your name trust in you,  for you,

LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

This is where the trusting comes in

Knowing He will move me ahead when I am ready,

if I’m really trusting Him,

and not trying to do it myself,

I won’t have to do it over again.

 

ATTITUDE.


Ephesians 4:23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

I have to repeatedly check my attitude.

It can change from moment to moment.

Am I grumpy?

Am I complaining?

Am I doing all I can to change that if I am?

I have to ask God to give me an attitude of thankfulness for the opportunity

to learn some really hard things with the Holy Spirit at my side.

STOP STRIVING


Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart  and lean not on your own understanding;

I don’t know about these things God, but you do.

How about I let you handle this.

Again and still.

When each new pop-up and prompt comes,

I get to choose how I will respond.

Will I follow the prompts?

My prayer should always be “I’m asking your way of dealing handling this God.

I can exhaust myself in the striving.

YOU, however, are inexhaustible.”

When are faithful to adhere to His promptings,

we can be assured of a good outcome.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

Follow those prompts!  Every one!

His way is may not be the fastest,

but it is always the best.

 

What promptings are you receiving from God in your circumstance?

Are you reading His manual the Bible?

Are your eyes and ears open to his instruction?

If you answer yes to these questions and follow through,

then you can expect great things.

They don’t always come in packages we recognize,

but we can be sure they will be worth the effort.

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You are fearfully and wonderfully made

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