Morning At Last

When my husband used to teach, there was a question that he always asked his students.  He asked them, “What do you believe and why do you believe it?”  In other words, ‘some of what I teach you may shake your beliefs.  Rather than dismiss it outright, look at the foundation of your beliefs.’  That question alone is enough to start someone on a road of discovery they might not have otherwise gone down. 

I thought about that this morning.  I had been reading a post a friend of mine wrote on the Wise Fire forum and he referred to our brain as being part of a 6th sense.  We all know the 5 senses we were taught in school – taste, touch, smell, hearing and seeing.  They are the way we gain information about the world around us.  But if you believe in prayer or more specifically, being led by the Holy Spirit or hearing the voice of God, you are actually learning something in a way that by-passes the 5 senses.  Maybe the 6th sense should be called “intuition”.

In the other 5 senses, the brain gathers information it receives through the physical receptors and interprets the data in a way we can understand it.  (We touch something and our brain interprets the signals to tell us it is smooth and cold.)  With intuition, the brain gathers intel through the spirit and interprets it in a way we can understand, “God Said…”.

This may seem like a little thing but it demonstrates how we are continually learning about the world around us and reinterpreting what we know as we grow.

1 Cor 3:18 tells us that we are changed from glory to glory.  Every time one of the veils is pulled from our eyes, we see more than we did before and have to re-evaluate what we know and why we know it.  If you understand that change is part of the process, it is a lot less threatening to have to face it and you get excited when you begin to understand things differently.  You can’t look forward to seeing Jesus face to face and being like Him without it.

I try to walk every morning.  Losing weight boils down to less calories in or burning up more than you take in.  Most of the diets you read about try to boost both sides of the equation but it all comes down to what calories you take in and how you process them.  I like to eat so I have to walk.

This isn’t a post on the wonderful benefits of walking but I have found that I am enjoying the time I spend doing it.  This morning I was thinking about words and how they affect our life.

Think about it:

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2  And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters
Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

How many times in the very first book of the Bible does it say that God said something?  Words are very powerful containers of energy and they affect the world around us.  Masaru Emoto demonstrated photographically just how powerful they are. If you haven’t heard of him, it’s worth a few minutes to see his work.  I guarantee it will change how you think about what you are saying.

I recently heard about an ancient Hawaiian healing technique called Ho’oponopono.  Now for those of you who think meditation is something New Age and therefore forbidden, please realize that there is more to God than we have been taught in church on Sunday morning.  He is so much bigger than we have realized and sometimes, people outside of traditional christianity have discovered something about Him that is true but they don’t have the right words to express what it is they know.  Therefore, they may call God something like “the divine power” but it doesn’t negate the fact that it is God moving.  Ask God to reveal to you His truth and let the rest of the stuff go.  (I call it learning to sift what I hear.)

As I understand it, Ho’oponopono teaches that the way you perceive reality around you comes from within.  Have you ever perceived that someone didn’t like you when in fact, they weren’t feeling well and it had nothing to do with you? That is just a tiny part of this.  In Ho’oponopono you take responsibility for what is in you that is affecting the world around you.  They say that you either perceive the world through your memories or divine inspiration and it is either/or.  You can’t operate from both at the same time.  That is why taking time for God to heal you is so important.  We want to see the world through God’s eyes, not our memory or intellect.

Getting back to my morning walk, I asked God to heal whatever is in me that needs healing and then concentrated on the four basic Ho’oponopono healing statements.  “I’m Sorry”. “Please Forgive Me.”  “Thank You.”  “I Love You.”  It has strengthened a feeling of peace within me.  What a blessing!

If you are interested, you can find more information on YouTube.

I Love You

I’m Sorry

Please Forgive Me

Thank You

Have you ever stopped to think about what kind of footprints you are leaving? I don’t mean the kind that form when you step into mud but the effect you have on the world around you. Are you making a difference? Sometimes what we do seems so minor that we forget it leaves a lasting impression.

I took a walk this morning. It was a beautiful sunny morning. The air was crisp and clear. The kind of air that we only get when northern winds invade central Florida. As I wandered over to a local pond, I couldn’t help noticing the evidence of past visits from other people. Yes, there was a bottle carelessly tossed here and a paper something there but more than that was the new tree carefully staked, ready for summer growth. I saw some wonderful camellias in full bloom and a rose holding out like the last soldier on a frosted battlefield. No one was in sight but their labor of love was evident in what they left behind.

It got me to thinking about the footprints we leave on our children’s hearts and how we affect the world around us. I may be moving soon but my children and I spent a busy Saturday clipping back the jasmine and cleaning out the hedge along the house. We have bags and bags of clippings for my grandson’s favorite recycle man to take away. It all looks pretty bleak just now but I know that as soon as the weather stays consistently warm, it will flush with growth. I may not see any of the fruit of this labor and the next occupant of this house won’t even think about it until the chore rolls around next Spring. Still, they are footprints we are leaving behind. Someone will know that we have loved the gardens surrounding this wonderful house that we are leaving.

The thought came to me that the measure of footprints a man leaves behind reflects the depth of his soul. I know that sounds philosophic but you can blame it on the crisp, clear Spring air or the peace of an early morning walk. Just don’t dismiss it too soon because all of us leave footprints. Some are muddy and hurtful and others beautiful and loving, but they are there just the same and we control what they tell the ones who follow in our path.

Notice:  I first posted this on my Qondio profile.

Some people think of our Christian walk like climbing a ladder.  I suppose it comes from thinking about Jacob’s ladder reaching to Heaven or may be the influence of our natural life – climbing the corporate ladder, so to speak.  In truth, we aren’t climbing anything and our Christian walk is much more of a metamorphosis.

I’m a fan of Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.  It’s an allegory of our Christian walk where little Much Afraid follows a path through rugged mountains to the high places.  Along the way she confronts various fears and finds truth to overcome them.  As she embraces the lessons she faces, she is changed from the inside out.  There is a follow up book called Mountains of Spices where we find that her Aunt is told she can ascend to the high places without leaving home.  Therefore we see our Christian walk is not so much a journey or a mountain to climb as it is a metamorphosis.  As we turn loose of those things that we believed were our nature and allow God to show us the Truth of who He is in us, we are changed from glory to glory.  It’s a liberating process that brings us more and more into leaning on Him and less and less on relying on ourselves.

That is why I have a problem with much of the existing church programs as they are today.  Too many of those occupying the leadership positions are leading the members to depend on them instead of helping them discover God within.  I know many of them feel responsible for the people under their charge and they believe they have to lead people in such a manner.  The truth is, all of the Five Fold Leadership: Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists, are charged with one thing and that is leading the church into maturity.  That’s it and mature Christians are able to hear from God for themselves and have learned to be obedient to that voice even when it is telling them to do something the rest of the church around them isn’t doing.  It takes courage to follow God.  You have to be willing to let things that you identified with go and embrace the light He is giving you today while knowing that people around you might not understand.

God calls each of us as individuals.  He loves our diversity.  Our Christian walk is about learning to follow the leadings of the Spirit as He relates to us personally.  The unity of the body is more about letting Him join the diverse parts into a harmonious whole than it is about making us all the same.  That is one of the things I love about Him.

Today we met and remembered all the good things God did through His servant Paul.  For many, those are traditional words commonly used to refer to a Christian’s death but in this case, they truly fit.   So many people have told me that Paul’s service was the best memorial service they had ever been to.  It was full of Joy because of all the lives he touched and thankfulness that He had embraced what God had done in his life and shared it freely.   Better than anyone else, I know his faults but his virtues clearly outshone them.

We stopped to reflect on his legacy and to thank God for him.  Now it’s time to lay this shell he has left to rest and seek what God has for me next.  I have been a good wife and mother but I know there is much more and I am looking forward to it.

is the death of His saints…Psalm 116:15

October 15, 2009 my husband and best friend finished his earthly race.  Paul and I would have been married 35 years on Dec. 21 and already I miss being able to ask his opinion on things.  Like all of us, he had his faults but the best part of him far outshone them.

It’s time to lay his remains to rest, gather friends and remember the good times and then let God lead me into the rest of my life.

You never know how you will respond to fire until you have to walk through it.  It seems like life has had problems lined up for my family to face.  Everytime one simmers down into a level of normalcy, another rises up.  It has served to keep us slightly off balance.  Six months ago our grandson, Asher, was born needing immediate heart surgery.  He is doing well but faces more surgery in the future.  It’s hard to think about such a little guy with such a heartwarming smile having to face more pain.

Now, my husband is in the hospital facing colon cancer surgery and what ever comes with that.  He has lived most of his life battling muscular dystrophy and this makes things that much harder.  I’m sharing this because I want my readers to know that I’m not immune to the hard things of life.  “In this world, we will have tribulation”.  There’s no way around it.  The good part is in the rest of that quote that He, Christ, has overcome the world.

If you are facing similar stuff today, know that Jesus promised to never leave you nor forsake you.  He has the strength to carry you through if you will rest in Him.  Paul and I are looking forward to the day we get to have new spirit bodies that aren’t subject to the corruption of our present ones.  Can you imaging not getting tired or having joint pain or traveling between the Spirit realm and the physical at will?  I agree with the Word where it says

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

I plan to walk through the present with my eyes on the future and remembering the sweet times of fellowship God has granted me in the past.  He doesn’t love me any less because I am facing hard times now.  God is still good.  He still loves me and has plans to give me a future and a hope.

If you ask most Christians if they want to be an Overcomer, they will generally say yes. Then when adversity hits, they find their super Christian halo gets a little dented and tarnished. The more you try, the more you fail. That’s the lesson of Failure. Each time you fail, teaches you another way that doesn’t work. The question is, will you keep going until you find the solution to your problem? They say the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who fails is that the winner gets up one more time.

I have some good news for you. In your Christian walk you will never be good enough to become an Overcomer. You were never meant to. We all want to be like Jesus in this world and yet He said He only did what He saw the Father doing. Being an Overcomer means that you have raised the white flag of surrender. You realize that you will never be good enough, smart enough, lucky enough or talented enough to succeed in what God is calling you to do. You are going to have to submit and let Him do it through you. Don’t be afraid of the failures you have faced in life. Let them show you what you are not so that God can show you what He is in you.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Yeah, like the caterpillar turning into the butterfly or the tadpole into the frog.  The process goes on whether the critter wants it to or not because the alternative is totally unpleasant.  Who knew when my sister gave me this blog that it would speak much more of what God is doing in me than others?  I seem to be sheading the image I was “supposed to be” and emerging as an individual happily led by the Spirit of God.  Whew, what a relief to know that He is my safety net and that I really am in the palm of His hand.

Growing up, I was a middle child and you would think that would give me the security of living firmly in the center of the pack but it didn’t.  Aware of my individuality, I never found a place in the social pack that seemed to fit me.  After many years of striving, I finally realized that God made me as an individual and I had better embrace what I am.

Now maybe that seems nonsensical to you and it leads to places that will get me marked as dangerous by some of my peers.  You see, I was ordained in my local church and even taught Bible school for a time.  It was wonderful training for me but if you want to run with that pack, you have to teach what they believe.  I never understood why they all wanted new revelation but felt it was dangerous to actually get it.  What do they think it means when the Bible says,

Joh 21:25  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Ok, so if Jesus did other things that weren’t contained in the Bible, why should it rock our theological world if He reveals one of them?  I’m not claiming great revelation here, I’m just asking the question.

I’ve had a great local church.  (It’s not the one I was ordained in.)  For years I prayed for a house of prayer and God let me see it come to fruition.  You would think I would jump in and be a very satisfied driving force within it.  However, I never got the Heavenly go ahead to do that.  I enjoyed it for a season but now it’s time to move on.  I’m not talking about church hopping.  If you believe in the universal Body of Christ, you can’t leave it to join it elsewhere.  Either we are one or we aren’t.

For the record, I’m not against the churches.  They are necessary parts of the plan of God in the Earth but sometimes God calls you outside the camp.  Sometimes He wants you to think about things that aren’t written in the book they are reading and that’s OK too.

I’m not telling anyone else what to do.  The same Holy Spirit that is leading me on is available to teach you as well.  Jesus said that if we would let Him, He would lead us into all truth.  That’s what I want, the all truth part.  So if I write something that you don’t agree with, leave it here and go on.  Sometimes we travel parallel paths and sometimes they only intersect.  That’s ok too.  It’s time for me to explore the places God wants to reveal to me now.  I am not going to apologize for it.  I don’t need a title.  I don’t need a following and I have His approval.  Embracing my God-given individuality, I’m shedding the expectations of others and pressing on to know God.  I don’t know what this butterfly will look like but I’m itching to find out. :0)

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

As I’ve said in the past, I like to read Michael Q. Pink’s blog.  The following is a familiar scripture that his wife paraphrased for him to meditate on while he was traveling.  First off, how sweet that she would do that for him.  If more wives would strengthen their husbands and see themselves as part of what they were doing when they left home, it would strengthen their marriage bond.  (Conversely, men need to include their wives but that is a post for another day.)  Secondly, we all can share in the strength of this verse.  Simply begin to meditate on it for yourself.

The Lord is my Shepherd… therefore I want for nothing.

Because He loves me, He supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory.

He makes me to lie down in lush green pastures along the banks of cool still waters, giving me rest and restoring my soul by the washing of the water of His word.

He has given me the robe of righteousness to keep me on the right path.

And though I walk through the dark valley, I have no fear of evil; I have no fear of death, for He is with me, always giving me confidence, strength and comfort.

He gives me great favor and causes me to triumph over my enemies.

His anointing over me fills my cup to overflow.

His goodness and His mercy follow me all the days of my life on Earth, and then I am privileged and abundantly blessed to live in His house forever.

Amen!