Red Sea Situations

“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”  ESV

I heard an interesting story the other day that made me think about how Jesus must really have MORE for us than we could have imagined.  We speak as if this world ends, ans then its the last of what we will ever have.  Yet I have always “begged to differ”… check out this story….

A friend of mine had a dream about her daughter who passed away, and indicated that  on her dream, her daughter was having the time of her life, taking care of children in heaven, who were obviously filled with tremendous ‘glee’ as a result of her care. My friend  says she walked up to the conversation,  and Jesus was ending it saying unto her  ~”I’m so glad you came… I needed you here to HELP ME with all of these children!”

 It made me think of my assignment here on earth, and whether I am really here to endure and just complete an asisgnment on earth, so God can say “well done“… or is He really preparing me for something else, so when I get there - I am fully into my purpose? Hmmm…

The assignment I have here on earth, blesses me and makes me happy, currently – but I am certain the ones I have yet to witness  and experience in heaven, will make me MUCH MORE fulfilled. Being here on earth is very hard sometimes. It’s hard at times to imagine God might have so much more for us in a better place. Yet, in actuality its in God’s nature to give us even better than what we have every imagined.  It is my prayer that He will give me a taste of of heaven here on earth, but that I also might ~ like Paul become “more and more acquainted with Him“.. so that when I get to heaven I won’t find anything too surprising or strange! I want to come into the TRUE reason for my being while here in earth… and recognize my purpose “beforehand” on earth so my assignment is well accomplished  in heaven.

 I believe God’s assignments require of you a “Yes Lord”  in order that you might work the work of the Kingdom. First, here on earth – then I believe in heaven. God knows you have needs. He won’t leave you without resources. Even more so for those with a work He has called them to do. There are times when we find things to be such a struggle, but if only we would say: “Yes Lord” we would then be able to recognize we have been “Sent “to do His work. Sometimes the work – though it may be a struggle and very challenging, it may be the preparation you will actually NEED in heaven. God wants you preapared,… a bride… prepared for Him when He comes back. Be ye also ready!

Hmmm…spend some time today in consideration. God loves you just that much.

 Selah.

Just a meditational thought this morning…

I read this in my devotional today about the “character”  of Children of Israel.

“ They never entered into the Promised Land. Why? They never took what they knew in their head and transferred it to their heart. Finally, it never resulted in actions that were based on what they believed.”

~ Os Hillman

Interesting how we take what we learn from  “our heads to hearts”. It’s a process. We have to “experience” something before I can actually live it.  The concept of learning “lesson”; either well –received or completely ignored… can either teach you how to walk, or make your walk more crooked. Application isn’t an easy process. However, it’s ‘good stuff’, once applied.

Sometimes we walk in the “wilderness” despite our Red Sea Situations. Despite what we have seen God bring us through. It’s amazing how miracles actually occur. Some miracles come by faith- by saying “yes Lord” on a daily basis.  Some come by sacrifice  & obedience – Abraham saying: ” I will sacrifice my son… despite how I feel.  Some miracles come by surrender –  and yet others happen because we are completely determined and we desire only God’s best in our lives.

Some of us don’t even regard the heart. We just live. We act only as if life is to be lived, not given. As if life is something that comes as ride we jump on, and get the best out of – yet we don’t have to consider our hearts,  morals and integrity. We treat life as if our worth and value didn’t depend upon someone else’s success.

Life is what you make of it.

It’s not a story you tell, and then laugh at it’s ups and downs… it’s a purpose you live, and a call you cherish – because of what you have been given by God to influence his kingdom and help others reign with Him forever.

Selah.

Do you purpose yourself to STAY POSITIVE?

Do you have a purpose partner??  (I have a few of them). That’s basically someone who energizes you when things don’t seem to be very well in your life, but their energy tends to pump you up and help you keep going a little further. One of the things God has done in my life of which I am very grateful is move me around the world and have me meet several women (and men) in my life time who are excellent motivators. Recently I was at a conference where the speaker of a conference my husband and I attended, invited my husband and I to come to dinner with them. I believe something about our positive energy allowed us to connect. They were visiting tables, and by the time they got to us, we had struck up such conversation,  I believe it led to this invitation! We definitely plan to take them up on it, because they have some AMAZING energy we plan to tap into!

I don’t know how many of pray for energy , but it’s so needed in this day and age, when we have so little of it. I am so careful what I allow to be received in my spirit. I cannot take the RISK of placing myself in places where  God isn’t there. I will leave it that simply…because I believe we know those places and where they are. It really doesn’t take a whole lot to know whether God is “there”, or not. We just need to be honest with ourselves, and really consider it. It could save us from a whole “sea” of troubles!

I love people who bring a certain energy into my life. I find friends like this to be (a group I once belonged to in Maryland) - Treasures of The Heart Ministries. I could be tired and worn, depressed or stressed yet when I purposed myself to go and spend time with this ministry, each and every time… I would found myself being “wound up for another week!”

Energy is just a tremendous challenge to come by. There are so many people who just seem to be distracted by life situations  that finding JOY just seems to be such a rarity.  I have a friend close to me that created a site based on JOY. How amazing! I thought… it’s good to consider where joy is, in a world where we find so little of it. Bonnie St. John, a motivational speaker has a whole website dedicated to finding joy! She even creates what’s called a JOY Kit! (smile) Spend some time with her on Good Morning America and see what she does to create it. I don’t know about you , but I’m getting out my list of joyful things and plan on keeping it near me to remind me of how to live ” joyfully “!

Here’s the link for Bonnie St. John’s insights : http://bonniestjohn.com/VideoGallery.aspx

Her website: Finding Joy – (www.bonniest.john.com) has several GOOD insights!

I found a certain ‘release in life’ when I found my voice.

What keeps us from saying things we really want to say? Well, oftentimes we may feel less than or we feel imperfect. We feel like no one really wants to hear what we have to say, anyway – so we don’t say it. Sometimes we are really afraid to say what we want so say also for fear of rejection or how others may challenge us. Sometimes we lose our voices because we wind up in situations where we seem to be drowning, and the best place to go is to “go numb.”

Well…let me say this… sometimes what we have to say may influence or help someone else to change the world.

Words are powerful. God framed the world with them. Take a moment to think about that: this world was actually framed with words! That’s pretty powerful to thin -k that the things which we admire and see daily – people, places, nature – (the seven wonders of the world)- animals, the sun and the clouds … were all formed with words!

I have always known I had a voice… but would rarely use it. Let me explain: I grew up learning that you don’t tell everything, because others may find out then you will be embarrassed. And I had had enough embarrassment in life, not to want any more of it. I learned early on that when I spoke up, I may not be received, and so I would refrain… for a time. I also thought people might not believe me. Of course, this was deeply rooted in the messages I had received growing up. Not that any one person taught them to me… but I learned that great challenge would come with having an opinion. And at a certain time in my life, I avoided challenges.

Another piece of this dynamic is the ‘oppressive space’ that silence provides. Silence… I have learned just from living a while… kills one’s personality. For years, I quietly kept silent with my voice and it cost me years of suffering. It caused my personality to not flourish and several of my hopes and dreams to be put aside. Even though I sat silently, my spirit was not silent. I as able to find myself and my true identity, through my writing. I have been journaling now for maybe 31 years. Recently, I picked up a diary I wrote in when I was about nine years old. My passion was definitely evident in my writing! I was very surprised my voice and my passions were so profound!

I encourage you today; don’t let your dreams be hindered by silence. If you or your child has something to say: post it on a wall, a newspaper… (or the refrigerator). You can even create your own newsletter project with your child… for the word to see! Teach them to express their opinion, and if they don’t know how they feel about something .. challenge them to formulate an opinion. This a great time to influence them with your family values. It will stay with them a very long time. And it may even safe them from a lifetime of hurts and unfortunate consequences.

I remember how it felt when I was fifteen years old to be “Writer of the Week” in my ninth grade English class… I was acclaimed an “awesome writer”… I won a prize, my writing entry was posted in our school magazine, and my picture was up for a week in the Writer’s Hall of Fame. I felt famous! I doubt if that hadn’t happened, I would be sincerely aspiring to write a book today.

That is, until I learned that having a voice, meant that you could change someone’s mind, their attitude, and shift their thoughts, if you only spoke up about what you believed. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn this until I was about 35 years old. I learned this in a very supportive, open-minded and promising environment that encouraged and nurtured my leadership. An organization called: (The National Coalition Building Institute.) In this same forum, I did not know I would also meet my future husband. And gladly so …, because he has helped continue to form and shape my identity and adult life.

Once this skill was taught to me… I flourished! I didn’t settle for less anymore, I realized some people felt the same way as me, just never had the courage to say it. I also realized that the youth I worked with in school as a school social worker – flourished as well, because their having an opinion and having that opinion validated, made them feel important. I have learned in working with children, that children need affirmation and validation. They need to be encouraged and told that what he have to say is important, and they need to think about how the words they say will affect others. Some of the children I helped encourage in my small groups with exercises on leadership – began to walk a little straighter, smile a bit more, and speak up and say what they felt and their futures began to look a bit brighter. This experience definitely increased their self esteem as well.

I suppose I wrote this today to encourage you to help you, or your children find their passion. I have worked with children who have pent up feelings, and have never learned to express or communicate how they feel.  I tell you,…They are an accident waiting to happen.

Finding your voice can help you and your children find resolve. ‘Resolve’ is an excellent feeling to have. It affirms our choices, makes us more confident, helps us to know and understand ourselves, and trust ourselves more.

What are you teaching your children today about speaking up and finding their voice?

So…if your child gets angry, upset about something that happens with a friend, or even in school or with someone close to them… have them write it down, journal, communicate or draw a picture about it. Help them to express their feelings. At the heart of every passion is a feeling. Help them find something they really care about, study it, take a stance on it – and express how they feel – and then encourage others to think the same. And as a parent you can model this behavior so they learn how to express and deal with their feelings, as well. Talk to your children about problem-solving, who you talk to when you feel down, and tell they why you share with the people you do. Children need help discerning who they can trust and how to share and express emotion. If they don’t learn from their parents, who will they learn from? Help them find a place where they can be encouraged to express their mind, thoughts and opinions in a safe non-threatening environment. Create a climate where they can find truth.

This was taken from my family based site – Kingdom Based Parenting ~ www.kingdombasedparenting.ning.com
Further resources:
Affirming their voices – why it’s important…
http://www.kidzruleusa.com/files/34590792.pdf

I Corinthians 9:24-27

“ Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

This blog was untitled.  I didn’t have a name for it until I got to the last sentence, because I really didn’t have much to say. Sometimes I just look back to go forward. I just wanted to share a picture of me when I was going through a Red Sea experience. This was a tremendously tough time in my life, but notice… there was no evidence I was ‘majorly’ going through.  I had just moved from Syracuse. NY to Gaithersburg, Maryland. I also had just come back from South Africa the year, prior. I needed ‘new definition’.

I decided during this time of transition to do something quite RADICAL.  That was to switch my hairstyle from perms to natural. Though risky, it began a wave of  ”radical feats with me”,  because it was a “tremendously freeing” moment  for me.  I am so, so grateful for the experience. I have  decided from that moment in time, doing something so radical helped me to embrace the moment. In essence, I CHANGED WITH THE MOMENT. My hair is a daily and constant reminder of  my moment of freedom. I am glad it’s with me. It reminds me of my faith.

 Sometimes we don’t really notice when when we are embracing a moment. I was VERY aware – at all times whether I was resistant, or if I was just bearing up and under to “just endure.”

 Take some time…Embrace the Moment. No matter how painful, hard or enduring…It might just do you some good!

Acquiesce. It means to yield without protest. A lot said in one small word, huh?  I know.

I have struggled unknowingly with this concept for several years. I have been known to be a perfectionist  in my latter days. I am much better, now. Thank God. Perfectionists find it very hard to yield. Yielding… has become a way of life for the person who has learned to acquiesce.

Why yield? You ask…? Well.. yielding allows you to make room for understanding. If you make room for a spirit of understanding, you make way for a heart that is open to being molded and guided in the direction of God’s plans. When tossed about and treated unfairly in the past and even now in the present, I don’t dwell on what’s being done wrong, I ask God: Why does this person feel this way? Or.. why are they so confused about my actions?

I  have been in some places where yielding may have actually saved my life. Everything…and I do mean everything, used to be a protest. If I didn’t like it, I would say something. If I didn’t get it, I would tell someone why I thought I deserved it. It was haughtiness, for sure.  Some , may call it arrogance. I called it wanting what I wanted. When I didn’t get it, I would protest. To God, man , friends, family – whomever… and then, I’d have a pity party because I felt sorry for myself. But the Bible says in Proverbs 16:17-18 “…he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. Pride cometh before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction.” I am committed to “keeping my way“. Even when I don’t know or trust where (my way) is going.

How about you?

Another definition  of acquiesce means: to agree with reluctance. Reluctance to me, was a VERY big word.  What are we usually reluctant about? When things don’t go our way, when we feel slighted, when we feel we aren’t heard, validated or we are ignored. Interesting…yes.. although we hate to admit it, choosing to acquiesce may mean you make room for a humbled heart.

An acquiescent nature can  be very accommodating, affirming, supportive or just plain grateful.  Throw in a bit of humility and graciousness to the picture and you will have a spirit of cooperation. Who wouldn’t want suchskill added to our relationships? Sadly enough, we tend to see  less and less of these gestures in our every day lives.

I look at these words (above) and I think about God’s mercy towards me. I really messed up this past week with something bad. But God is so loving with me, He simply desired I repent and once I was back in right standing with Him and addressed the issue at hand with humility, I was fine. Jehovah Tsidkenu is His name. The Lord our Righteousness. I even had my peace of mind back. Quickly. I am continually praying for God’s grace and mercy to follow me~ all the days of my life. Without it, I am not able to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s intervention when it’s needed. Having  the Holy Spirit’s involvement in your day to day affairs can mean the difference between relationships healed, mended, forgiven and renewed – or living life full of misery fear, and desperation.

In the spirit of having a sense of obligation towards what’ really important, pledge to God today that you will be committed to His will, His ways and His word. Acquiesce. And let God show you how submission can be a crown on your head and His peace, a jewel on your crown. In His Light, you will begin to feel more efficient  and sufficient than you have ever known.

Job 29:14
“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.”

Good morning! ~ Just to preface this “spoken word” piece~ I created this morning -  I wanted to share it, because I believe we are in this spiritual season in our lives where we are struggling because we won’t – “Let God be God”. God has every right to claim His own.  When we resist His purpose for our lives, we don’t make room for miracles. Selah.

Here’s the spoken word:

God has a place in us where we need to be Released.

In order for God to be there, in that space and for us to be fully submitted to His plan for ‘Release’, we need to trust in the beauty and the peace that His plan can bring to our hearts, our minds and our souls.

God wants “to be” in that space. You know – the one where we struggle and we resist and we “don’t want to” conform. But God is.

God is Great.

God is Hope.

God is Safe.

God is Peace.

God is Trust.

God is Love.

And everything God is … we can depend on.

We just need to ‘Let God be God’ in our lives.

When we refuse to ‘Let God be God’, we fail.

Failure looks different in our eyes when God is involved. Because  even though God allows a “perceived failure” to exist, He really is bringing you into a large place, in Him.

When we refuse to ‘Let God be God’, we don’t trust.

We have to trust God for good. Because Good becomes relative to where we know we need to grow. And if “good” looks like growth, then we need to acquiesce, and “Let God be God”. Because growth is good, and God is good.

When we refuse to “Let God be God”, we fight.

And fighting is not always loud and belligerent. Fighting can be strong and stubborn, and (shhhh…silent), and fighting can be intrusive and stern and cold. Within.

When we refuse to “Let God be God”, we mourn.

We hold onto our pain. We sink deeply into it. In fact –  we do not allow ourselves to feel. For Real.

Feelings become pretentious hopes and plans and false reasonings that cause us to give up God’s dreams and we become barren, unable to conceive.

When we refuse to “Let God be God”, we hinder.

And we cannot ‘ be ’ helped, and we cannot receive help.

We mimic and converse with the (words) people “think we should say” -

And our thoughts become confused because we aren’t being true.

To ourselves.

And to God.

So Let God be God today… if only for one season, one hour, one moment in your life that might bring forth your destiny, and cause you to “be” ~ what He made you to be  - and knew you to be – even before there was a you ‘to be’.

Let God be God today.