Perpetual Motion

As sprayed perfume jumps from molecule to molecule sharing its fragrance, or a stone skips across the water and reverberates with ripples going out and out, so our prayers go as they follow one soul, one body, one mind at a time as their needs are revealed. My dear friends, God has honored us with His blessings upon our sister Lindsey and He heard our prayers as she was delivered from the physical ailments that plagued her! Yet, immediately after texting out that news my phone began to beep with return texts praising God. One of those texts revealed yet another dear sister that is struggling and her name is Courtnay. She has just finished a long battle with breast cancer that hit her hard emotionally because she is only a young woman. Married with two young daughters and a wonderful career as a nurse, I've known her since she was a teenager. Her mom and dad were my neighbors and it was fascinating living next door to them! They were a close family that survived many things and their all-American style was comforting to be around and embraced by.

Friends, Courtnay's mom just informed me that they found a 6mm tumor in her daughter's brain. I implore you to lift Courtnay up in your prayers and keep her at the forefront of your thoughts. She's a daughter, sister, aunt, niece....a young wife and mother who has a lifetime to live yet. As the disease, brokenness and stains of this world seem to be jumping from one soul to another, let us as God's children and ambassadors stand firm before the onslaught with our armor of God on! Let's raise our voices proclaiming, "Jesus is greater than this world and no weapon formed against us shall prosper!" Write the names of those who need our prayers on your mirrors, counters and in your prayer journals.....leave notes with their names in your cars, silverware drawers, refrigerators and cupboards, pray for those who need our intercession as you wash the dishes, shower, sit at stop lights..... Throw up sharp arrow prayers as they come to your mind, light a candle, ask someone to join you in prayer or simply stop and just praise God. Being silent before Him in reverance and in awe is also powerful because He already knows our needs. Yet, He loves when we settle at His feet and rest in Him, knowing that He is all powerful, all knowing, all wise and ever loving.

I wanted to believe that when God healed Lindsey, the stress of holding someone in prayer would be over. There was a small part of my brain that wanted rest from worry, and relief from the pangs of empathy for the suffering. I think there's a small dream in each of us that hopes all the pain and suffering would stop and we could just exhale and relax our shoulders and minds for a bit. But, as a stone skips and perfume jumps, trials and sickness will always pass from one life to the next. So, our prayers in the same way should be ever flowing from need to need. Never cease in praying, for troubles never take a break. Life is a constant, perpetual motion and the only resting place is in the center of each storm, where the God of the Universe has placed His calm......our only place of repose.

Pray.........

The Pit and the Gate (updated)

This is a re-post of one of my favorites! 

I read a book a few years back called Boundaries, by Cloud and Townsend. It was the perfect book at the perfect time for me and it's truths taught me how to self-protect. I never realized that I didn't know how to do that until my counselor pointed out that I didn't have that particular tool in my mental arsenal. I had no boundaries regarding how others treated me and I was pretty much a walking target. Any unhealthy, out of control, emotionally unstable person was immediately attracted to me because they could see that I had no problem jumping right into their puke-pit with them! My friend Kat told me this theory and I'd like to pass her wisdom on to you...People who let their emotions run their lives are figuratively living in a puke-pit. They are almost constantly frazzled and in need of someone to attach themselves to, usually so they can wear that person out!

Kat's theory is that those kind of people live in a pit filled with all their emotional garbage. They really don't want to change, so as others pass by their pit, they will try to get someone to join them. People who have good boundaries and loving hearts will sit next to the pit and listen a bit, offer prayer and then move on. People who do not have good boundaries will run over and jump in the pit with them and say, "Look, I can feel  all "your" confusion and dismay, I'm here for you!" People with no boundaries attract people with no boundaries and the result is a big "pit party" filled with nothing but foolishness! It's just like when someone comes up to you and dumps all kinds of nonsense on you or blames you for all their problems! Kat says, "It's like they walk up to you, throw up on you, then walk away saying to them self, "Gosh, I feel so much better now!" and they go along their merry way and you are standing there with their vomit all over you! They only think about how they feel, not about how they make others feel!

Having boundaries is a healthy and wise choice. I've learned to spot an abusive or foolish person from miles away now! My antenna go up and everything in me sounds off an alarm, "Code red, code red!" By learning to have boundaries we can be much more effective for Christ and live a much more peaceful and wise life. The way I describe boundaries is like this...If you are living with no boundaries you are living in a round flexible ball, abusive or foolish people can ram into you and bruise you or knock the wind out of you, they can roll you around and get you discombobulated, and all their attempts to use you, confuse you, hurt you...are effective because you're vulnerable. A person with boundaries, lives in a Plexiglas cube. No one can bump, bruise or roll them around, they will try but they just run into a solid wall. After you develop boundaries, you will begin to see those old abusers start leaving you alone and they will go find a nice flexible ball around some person with no boundaries and they will begin to torment them instead!

There's another system to deal with people and I call it, The Gate System and works like this...Your inner circle should be just yourself and Jesus, the next outer ring is whoever you trust the most (preferably people with good boundaries and ethics). As the circular fences go out, you can put whomever you feel safest with or unsafe with wherever you decide. You can even take someone from a closer circle and put them back a few till you feel you can trust them again, and of course those people that prove by their good lifestyle and trustworthiness that they are safe, you can move them into closer rings. Now, each ring is a round fence and you are in control of who gets to be in what circle because there is a gate in each fence and the latch is only on the inside! Therefore, if someone with no boundaries gets to you, it's because you let them in!

Living in the gate system is a wise way to live. You start your day with just you and God together in the inner circle, then, you have all day to go visit people in other rings or you can invite people to enter in closer by opening a gate up for them. This is not a system to shut you off from life, it's a system that keeps you protected so you can be your most effective in life! We all know people that cause pain to others because they know no boundaries! So, use wisdom to take control of protecting your mind, body, heart and soul from them.

The journey of life is comprised of many things and one of those things is interacting with others. Jesus interacted with thousands of people in his short three years of public ministry. Where better to look for insight than to him! Jesus crossed paths with lots of people that had no boundaries and he knew how to deal with each one. There were the self-righteous, the accusers, false witnesses, betrayers, haters, manipulators, mockers, doubters and punishers. He also experienced the needy, the hungry (physically and spiritually) and the poor. People pulled at him, crowded in on him, screamed out to him, touched him and followed him everywhere! The latter embraced him and the former rejected and accused him. There were also hundreds upon hundreds that doubted him and joked about him. How did Jesus survive? Well, he stayed in constant communion with his Father in heaven, before, during and after all his encounters. He spent time with his Father before dawn, he was led by him all day and in the evening he always withdrew to go be with his Dad. Everything we need for our journey we will find "in Him". The problem is that most of the time we go running out ahead of him rather than walking beside him.

Everyday we should practice boundaries so our precious time can be spent wisely and not scattered like pearls before swine. We need to be good stewards of our time and resources, and by doing that we will be much more effective in everything, rather than worn out and resentful. Read the Boundaries book and take the wisdom that Kat and I and other traveler's have learned through experience by walking next to Jesus. Use all these resources, then be a beacon for those who are lost in their foolishness but "desire" wisdom first and foremost. Remember, Jesus didn't go out looking for people with problems, His Father brought the appointed people at the precise time with the proper circumstances "to" him so that God would be glorified through it! Every encounter in life will bring with it a teachable moment where God will reveal a truth to whomever will embrace it. Remember the story of the blind man in John 9:2...As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus said, "Neither this man or his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life!" What we see as problems, God sees as opportunities!

Ask God every morning, what or who he wants to bring into your day, and then go with the flow like a leaf on a creek :) Make your list and begin your day, but if things don't go as planned don't freak out. Look for Him in the detours because that's where He does His best work! Try to see Him in everything! What we think is important and what He knows is important are two different things. There have been many days where God rearranged my plans and on the days that I didn't let it frustrate me, He did amazing things that I now write about and share! Don't think so small that you don't acknowledge that there "is" a bigger picture! If you think about it... have you ever heard a story, watched a movie or read a book that didn't focus on the detours? That's where life really happens! Don't have a break-down if your day doesn't go as planned, just take a deep breath and if you look for Him, you'll find Him right there in it with you :) One of my favorite pieces of advise is to not respond immediately to someones request. Simply say, "I'll get back to you about that." That gives you time to pray and be able to act wisely. Another saying that God gave me one day was, "The quickest way to reveal some one's true intentions is to not give them a selfish request." Pray for wisdom! In James 1:5 it says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." Wisdom keeps us from jumping into other peoples pits and it gives us the training to guard our gates.

1 Corinthians 12:31b...And now I will show you the most excellent way!

The First Thought

I was watching the movie, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" yesterday and I found God speaking to my heart through it. Every time one of the characters was confronted with an obstacle I found myself having a cynical spirit toward God. It was as if I was saying my true feelings under my breath and I could feel my lip curl in a gesture of contempt. The characters in the movie would do the best they could to make a plan of escape yet it would go awry. I found myself over and over again thinking, "Why does life have to be so complicated, so exhausting, so deflating to the human spirit?" But, as the movie went on I began to see God's hand in all their situations and when one of their plans didn't work out.....God had a better plan! Their disappointments where the bedrock that God used to deliver them and show them that He knew what was best!

I realized my character flaw as the Holy Spirit shone a light of truth upon my heart. My first thought was always, "You couldn't make it easy Lord, could you!" Yet, as God worked out each of their problems I felt a feeling of shame for thinking that God would leave his creation when they needed Him most. My first thought was always to doubt God not to trust Him! A weed of cynicism took root in me at one point and I let it grow! The path of thinking that God doesn't care, made me ineffective in helping others with a genuine faith and trust and it tarnished my own views of life and God's involvement in it! What would it feel like if our children's first thought of us was, "They won't show up." or "They'll let me down again." or "They don't care about me."........Even after we have proven time and time again that we love them and will be there for them. And, just as we don't want our children to have a skewed view of our committed love, God wants us to proclaim the truth about His faithfulness and love for us as a first instinct not a last resort of guilt!

I had come to a point in my life where I had a "whatever?" frame of mind. But, God used an old movie to open my eyes and see that I needed to stop having my first thought be one of indifference and allow His Holy Spirit to change that part of me to where my first thought would be, "I know you're in this Lord, I trust you till the very end." Each disaster, paradigm shift, conundrum....is an opportunity for God to make something appear even more insurmountable so that when He does work it out for good, everyone will know it was an act of God and not merely a human advantage or fluke of luck! I want my first thoughts to be about God's faithfulness, power, concern, ability, unfailing love......not thoughts that paint Him as a complicater and game player. Satan works hard every day to skew our image of God and His love for us, to paint Him as the complete opposite of the real truth about His character. It is a daily prerequisite for us to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and be prepared to battle the flaming arrows of lies that the evil one will attempt to barrage us with throughout our days and nights.

My first thought that I am committed to now is, "I know you are in this Lord and you will never leave me. I know that everything is from you and I am to praise you for all things. I know that you promised to work everything together for good and I trust that you will. I see you Lord as my deliverer not as an inflictor of confusion and menacing scenarios. You oh Lord, are my hope and my strength!" Amen (so let it be)

What are some areas that you believe God wants to speak to you about? Is He putting it on your heart to slow down? maybe He is prodding you to go to church or take your children there. Is God tugging at your heartstrings to spend some time set apart for just you and Him to communicate? Are you choosing busyness over quiet time or is the thought of picking up your bible make you turn and run? Look for His message to you everywhere, because He works in the strangest ways to get our attention. He grieves seeing us living in lies from the enemy and God will send the light of His truth to shine on His way for you.....if you will just look for it. Let your first thought be, "Let's spend some time together Lord!" not, "What can I do to avoid God right now!" One thing that you should always remember is, You are always His first thought.

If you want to hear God then read your bible, if you want to see Him then love and be loved.

Psalm 142:1-3b....I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.

Matthew 7:7-8....Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened.

Frosting

Frosting is what we put on over our imperfections. It's the covering that we veil ourselves with at church or in front of strangers. Frosting keeps us from using vulgar language in front of our Pastors, makes us not yell at our kids in public while maintaining a restrained composure till we get them out in the car. Frosting is the self-discipline that we use around others but not when we're alone with our family. We not only frost ourselves but we slather it over our kids and spouse too! It's so pretty and polite, so reserved and perfect, and it makes for a great picture! The frosting is who we wish we could be. I saw a quote once that read, "Character is who you are when no one but God is watching." That is so true!

I have this alter ego that I sometimes mentally retreat to. Her name is Barbara and she is the daughter of a wealthy and sophisticated couple who own a horse ranch in Santa Barbara. If you've ever seen the classic movie, "Victory over the Darkness" with Bette Davis, she played a perfect "Barbara"! This fantasy of having "The perfect life" often comforts me and gives me an escape from everyday matters. I assure you I'm not a schizophrenic but just a woman who takes a mental bubble bath in her mind occasionally to stay sane and content :) We all have some sort of frosting that we hide our behavior or fears under and I think it's quite human (as long as it isn't evil). Fear of being exposed is a terrifying feeling that holds people in a prison of false perfection. We think, "What would "they" think of me if "they" knew what I was really like!" Well, "they" are no different! All that matters is how we deal with our issues before "God". There will never be a perfect "you" or "them" but we are all called to enter into God's presence daily, spending time with Him so that we will begin to take on "His" character.

Being accountable, humble, obedient and having a teachable heart are the things God needs for Him to influence and change us. Our open heart and His presence make for a perfect recipe! God doesn't want us to be a bitter cake hidden by fake frosting. He wants us to be pure and sweet inside because He knows that that honesty will be what will best represent Him to others who need freedom from their fears. And, if we are true to ourselves we will have peaceful hearts dwelling inside of us. Whether we frost ourselves for public opinion or we frost our realities to better cope with life, we should all begin to start desiring pure ingredients in our character first, and then our frosting can be worn like a robe of Christ's righteousness rather than a shroud of guilt and shame. Imagine the freedom in our minds and spirits if we actual liked who we were.......when no one but ourselves was looking.

1 Thessalonians 2:4b......we are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. We never used flattery or put on masks to cover up our hearts.....God is our witness. We are not looking for praise from men.

Ephesians 4:22 We were taught, with regard to our former way of life, to put off our old self, which is being corrupted by deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of our minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Peace from not Pretending. Honesty begets honesty. Relax in who He's making you. There's a difference between manners and falsehood. 

The Divine Thread

All of the events in life are tied together by a divine thread. God personally places each moment carefully next to each other to form a perfectly flawless existence filled with joys, challenges, triumphs and failures. Perfect is not what we have made it to be, perfect to God is when we face the gauntlets of life with faith in Him and come out the other side with hope to share with others. I know that some events in life seem to be without purpose and their sting feels cruel and insensitive but from one who knows many sorrows, I can now see that not one thing is without purpose. Many times it takes the gracious gift of time itself to heal us to the point where we can see God and accept the unseen reality that He has a higher purpose for our pain. Have you ever watched a movie that didn't have an obstacle and a triumph? No greater purpose can be had without challenge. Some people get their triumph while still on this earth while others will receive their victory in heaven. Dear ones.....nothing in your life is out of control, there is a loving God that goes before you. Whatever you have, are or are going to go through.......God goes through it with you. He feels everything you feel and you can lean on Him and trust Him to get you through.

I was looking outside the other day while we were having a Santa Ana wind condition that was really ripping through the south-land. It's an east wind that gets pretty violent and I've spent most of my adult life cursing it, but this time I saw it differently. With one big burst of wind I saw the last remaining leaves on my plum tree detach from their branches and blow past the window. In that moment God revealed a truth to me......Everything has a purpose. The Holy Spirit began to fill my mind with several visions and my spiritual eyes were opened to a beautiful truth.......Nothing is a mistake.

As the human race has become so comfortable in "our" way of doing things, we forget that God directs nature to continue its course of blessing the earth! In ancient times people would settle in the valleys for the late spring, summer, fall and winter but they knew to move up into the hills during early spring because the melting glaciers would flood the valley with it's nutrient and mineral rich glacial milk and soak the ground! They knew that nature would bring them a blessing and they made way for it. Unlike modern times where we build elaborate homes on hills that are known to have wild fires from dry bushes and lightning storms or in the pathways of running streams that come down mountainsides only with good intentions built into their nature to go and prepare for summer. Floods, winds, earthquakes.....are all apart of God's natural system here on earth. There are times of saturation (floods), lightning strikes or insect ridden trees that fall and become rich compost for the next generation, earthquakes to release the inner tension of mother earth's core and under ground plates of rock and storms to cleanse. The rain allows the soil to be ready for the honey bee and humming birds to pollinate and for the crows and sparrows to scatter their digested seeds. Winter's snow makes for rich waters that soak the earth in preparation for the planted seeds that are to come and for what lies in the ground to reach up and out. The summer sun then watches over the bounty warming it, and the morning dew, noontime heat, terrarium type humidity and nighttime absorption all work together to create and bring forth life and blessings. Autumn then brings the the winds to exfoliate the once green remains and sends them to the ground to rejoin the cycle.

So is life.....regenerating, warming, nurturing, ravaging, scorching, bringing down to basic elements and lifted up to elation and rejoicing. We experience new life as a baby enters the world like spring and then death as someone must leave as in autumn, objects and moments that we celebrate and enjoy in our homes then only memories if those homes are destroyed by fire, earthquake, winds or flood, buried like winter.  Then, strength and weakness, love and hurt, triumph and tragedy as the summer season brings not only newness and beauty but also it's natural unexpected courses of destruction. Pestilence and drought rip through the easiness and seem so unfair but we must remember that there is a season for everything under heaven and a time for every purpose (Ecclesiastes 3:1-14). Your loss will bring strength, compassion and a new direction if you will grieve your loss, allow God to heal your thoughts and heart and let time unfold you back into life. Leave the anger, resentment, bitterness......for those who choose to carry a heavy load. (Philipians 3:13b- 14) says, "Go on, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Life is about allowing the past to move you ahead, yet so many of us stagger onward with the heavy load of the past upon our backs, crippling us emotionally, mentally, spiritually and finally physically. I have found that I had a strong spirit of self-pity behind most of my stunted growth. Someday's I still struggle with it but I make myself call a friend who will get me back on track and each time I hold myself accountable, I am yet stronger for the next round. Friends, I pray that we will all begin to see the beautiful insight of the seasons and how they reflect the times of our lives. God will send rains to cleanse and nourish, heat to warm and generate life, winds to exfoliate and snows to cover sleeping seeds only to melt away so it can drench the valleys, preparing them for a new yet familiar cycle. God is present and has a purpose for all things whether fair or foul. We must take our minds and hearts back to why the elements happen and let that truth resound in us so that we can weather life's seasons without the lense of modern, lazy living fogging the truth. Each of us has a purpose and whether it appears big or small in this life's standards, in heaven's standards it is monumental because each of our lives touches another life and in that interaction is where the spark of God's divine plan sews us together! Live your seasons with purpose for when the story is read to us by Christ himself in heaven......all will make sense. So, although sense may have to wait for heaven, it is our faith that must drive us through with purpose and hope. Faith CAN cover pain, hope CAN cover sorrow....only if we choose to let it.

It was only a few weeks ago when I hit a bottom that scared me to the core. I chose to reach out to my brother and sisters and their support and prayers lifted me from the pit and set my feet upon the Rock again. If you don't have family or dear friends then I encourage you to find a bible teaching church and get connected. If you reach out, God will lead you to fellowship and He will bring you good friends. We can't do this life alone, we weren't meant to. So choose your path wisely and with the assurance that God knows what you're going through and what you need. He is all we need to complete this journey. Begin to see your life in seasons and see the same purposes that are built into nature. Read these words from Ecclesiastes 3:1-14.........

There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build up,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them together,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate (righteous anger),
a time for war and a time for peace.

Every time I read these words I cry. Verses 9-14...I'll leave for you to read.

See God in every season and know that this too shall pass, leaving you ready for what is to come. All that life brings has purpose.