There is nowhere on earth that hosts a thunderstorm the way the Mid West does.
This was by far not the worst storm we’ve seen,
But the clouds before it were pretty incredible.
The sound of rain, invites us to rest.
I invite you to join me.
Rest well.
*
I’ve been given an invitation.
It’s a special invitation.
It’s an invitation that fills my heart with joy.
It is an invitation to a secret place.
No.
It is an invitation to a sacred place.
This invitation is from a dear friend.
She has invited me to join her in her secret place.
She has invited me to her sacred place.
The place where she meets with ……………..
God.
Alone.
The place where she encounters God.
What an honor and a blessing.
Her invitation is a reminder to me.
A reminder that my Dear Savior longs for me to come to that secret place with Him.
Reminds me that He is waiting in that sacred place.
Reminds me that He wants to have an encounter with me,
as much as I need an encounter with Him.
You Dear Reader,
If you don’t not have such a place,
A secret, sacred place of encounter with God,
I strongly urge you to get one.
Find one.
Make one.
Make a place where you can rest with your Savior.
A place where you can abide with Him.
A place where you can go daily.
Be it early before your day begins,
or late and at the end of your day.
It may even be when your children are napping.
No matter.
Just do it.
When you encounter Father God there,
even your problems will seem to have an air of grace in them.
Remember the line in “Field of Dreams”?
“If you build it, they will come.”
Well if you make this place for Him,
He will come.
My own secret place is not fancy.
This chair belonged to my Mother.
It is older than I.
It sits next to the window in my office.
It only has three legs with an empty can from some dark chocolate
rolled wafer sticks serving as its fourth .
When I place myself in that seat,
even for a few moments.
He comes.
We encounter each other,
and joy fills my heart.
If you make it,
He will come.
I promise.
—————
Fearfully and wonderfully made
*
I’ve been struggling lately.
Maybe you have been too?
In the past, my home has been my refuge.
Home is a place where I can spend time studying the Word of God.
Learning in depth what God did for me when He sent His Son Jesus.
But that is not the struggle.
The struggle is that after all that time of quiet with my Heavenly Father,
It is time for me to share what I have learned.
I cannot count the number of times I have had this sense,
I’ve gone out to share Him.
I have shared Him well.
Then I find myself back at home,
Longing to not ever go out again.
I have compared myself to David of old.
He consistently hid himself in caves against his pursuers.
(Not that I’m being pursued, but I do enjoy my cave!)
David did however exit the caves to extinguish attacks from his enemies.
Not all his business was pleasant either.
Mostly he had to leave to take out some enemy that was trying to conquer what was not theirs.
I believe the comparison is that I need to leave when it is necessary.
Cave dwelling is for regaining strength, renewing energy, and receiving new instruction.
I do not enjoy crowds of people.
Un-purposeful milling about is maddening.
The confusion of a crowd makes me want to run and hide.
I did realize something though at our towns 4th of July celebration.
It’s been rolling around in my heart and mind for quite some time,
But it seemed to come into focus better than ever before.
Not pleasant, but clear.
Here were crowds of people, milling about, a crowd confused by everyone’s actions being different than the one next to him.
In truth, I have seen crowds much worse with the milling and the confusion, in the interest of full disclosure, that had to be stated here.
The heat was definitely a factor, I am quite sure it amplified everything.
Anyway…. I found out the reason I want to run and hide.
When I am in my cave, with God, and it is quiet,
I find that He gives me everything I need.
If I take time with Him each day,
I receive what I need for that day.
I have little need for the trappings of the world.
Having them is fine, but not mandatory.
My requirement list is pretty small.
In that time, God grants me a measure of His peace, that I can store up, and when necessary, carry out to the crowds,
Returning to re-fill.
What I saw clearly was a very lot of regular people, doing lots of things to bring them that peace.
Loud talking, boasting, swearing, drinking, smoking, flirting, fighting, showing far more skin than I wanted my grand children to see, and a lot of PDF’s. (Public displays of affection)
All these things bring a moments worth of gratification, but no real peace.
The gratification is fleeting, and the peace, non-existent.
For these reasons, I never want to leave my cave.
For these reasons, I NEED to leave my cave.
I am not condemning any of these people.
I am not perfect.
And sometimes,
To my dismay,
Especially when it’s hot,
I. Am. Not. Nice.
But I need to BE nice, and let people see that there is another way.
That true peace can be had.
That every single thing they need can be supplied.
That God WANTS to supply their needs.
Not necessarily their STUFF needs,
But their heart needs,
Their PEACE needs.
Only in Him can that be found.
Only by Christians that do not hide in caves can it be shared with them.
Enjoy the following song by Lifehouse.
It is absolutely true~
You cannot stand in His Presence and not be moved by Him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjDojEOiMcE
And remember ~ You are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Significant Encounters 
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